Bring on the shoppers...

What a fun Saturday morning! Last Saturday, July 20th, we had over 80 of MimiG's followers descend on our store. Mimi and I have been talking about this day for months. When we started discussing the numbers I think it was around 50, but it quickly rose and before I knew we were up to 89 shoppers. I just wanted to share a few pics from the morning and give a big thank you to Mimi, her great family who was there to support her, and of course the shoppers. We had a great time answering your questions, feeling fabric with you, searching for what you wanted, and watching our fabric cut like crazy! We hope you guys had as good of a time as we did. We can't wait to see what everyone makes with the fabric they bought, as well as the fabric from your goodie bag. Make sure to tag us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Here are a few pics...



Setting up the goodie bags



Yummy snacks from Panera and Coffee Bean.



We made one of Mimi's dresses so everyone could see it in person. This fabric is almost sold out. I can't wait to wear this dress in Hawaii. It is so comfortable!



And the cutting begins!

Just one of the many hold piles. The knits , stretch wovens, and cottons were all hot sellers.







Lining up to get questions answered from Mimi. This went on for the entire 3 hours. Mimi is a great source of knowledge and you could tell this group really wanted to absorb as much as they could from Mimi, as well as the Michael Levine staff.



Bringing more fabric from the warehouse. There were a few prints that everyone really liked. We can't wait to see how everyone interprets the same fabric in different ways.



Checking out and our new Michael Levine bags. Don't forget to check in on August 6th to see how you can win a goodie bag of your own. I will announce the details on our Facebook page.



Larry, the owner, and I had to get a picture with Mimi. It's been such a pleasure getting to know her this year.



More shoppers checking out of The Loft, our "per pound" store.

Even while everyone was waiting for the bus to arrive they were asking questions and getting information.







And the bus arrives. Whew. What a fun-filled 3 hours! We really enjoyed our time with you guys. Make sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter so you can keep up with everything we're doing. If you're a local, make sure to say hi when you visit again and if you're from out-of-town, don't forget you can still shop us at lowpricefabric.com. Again, we can't wait to see what you make from all the fabric you bought. Have fun!

Enjoy!

One dress done...

Hi there,

So the first dress is done. Well, really the second dress...keep reading and you will understand what I mean.  I have to share with you that this was not as quick of a project as I expected. Robin, the new addition to our blogging team, had to sew this dress twice. Yes, twice. We're going to call it a "learning experience". I picked out the fabric from one of my warehouse walk throughs. I loved the colors and the softness of the knit. It had not hit the floor yet, so I grabbed a roll for our online store and a piece for Robin to make a dress from. After looking at a few patterns, we decide on Simplicity 1804 . We felt this one was simple and versatile and would be flattering to many body types. The twist really helps define the smallest part of your body. Before I show you the final dress, I'm going to show you the first one Robin made.

As soon as it came together Robin realized the fabric did not line up right in the front and that the seam there was just not flattering.  After I tried it on a few times, we decided to make it again but the second time Robin knew she would have to tweaked the pattern a bit. First, she adjusted the center front seam piece of the pattern to go on the fold which got rid of the seam right between my boobs. Really, who wants that?! Lol.

Here she is placing it on the fabric...

We also felt the neckline was too low. Here she is making the adjustment to the neckline...

The last tweak was adding length to the bodice. The pattern called for the twist to be right below the breasts. Besides the fact that I have a long torso, it just felt too high to us so she dropped it down a bit. From looking at the finished dress you can see it is still pretty high. It really wouldn't have worked on my torso the way the pattern called for.

Next she ironed the interfacing onto the fabric before she cut the pattern out.  Doing this helps prevent any possible shrinkage to pattern piece.

Lastly she had to make some adjustments as she was pinning to make sure everything lined up and then it was onto sewing.

We decided to make the second dress shorter. Personally I like a little leg and I just thought it would be nice for our readers to see it both ways.

So here is the finished dress. I wore it to work today and had so many compliments. It is always fun, even for our employees, to see the fabric come to life.

I really like the style and comfort of this dress, as it's perfect for work or going out to lunch on a weekend. Just be prepared you may have to tweak the pattern a bit to fit your individual body. Thank goodness Robin has a great eye and could make it work.

Any questions, please let us know.

Thanks & enjoy!

Regina & Robin

Time for a few new dresses...

So you would think since I work at this amazing fabric store that I sew clothes for myself. That is not the case.  I have worked at Michael Levine's for over 10 years, and while I did learn to sew, read patterns and even knit, right now sewing is not something I do for myself. I have made a few burp clothes and blankets and even knitted a handful of scarfs, but with three kids and a full time job, I just can't squeeze it in. I do love fashion and home decorating so, like many of you, I am always walking through both stores saying what I want to make with our fabrics. Usually I hold onto the thought for a day or two and then move on. Last month, while walking through the warehouse, I came across two fabrics that really jumped out at me. I really wanted a dress from both of them and have been thinking about how to make that happen for a few weeks now. Yesterday, as I was driving (that is where I do my best thinking, especially if the kids aren't in the car), I had a brillant idea. I realized I could kill two birds with one stone. I could make a dress and blog about it and after I could wear them. Yes, see, I am amazing at muti tasking! LOL! I decided to enlist Robin, one of our employees who in a avid sewer. This morning, I wasted no time and went to her to propose my plan. She jumped onboard instantly. She will now be joining me on this and similar projects, as we continue to grow our blog. Next,  I went to the warehouse and pulled the fabric. They are both new knits and will be online next week.



I talked to Robin about the look I wanted and we found a few patterns that would work.





After a few minutes, we narrowed it down to these two.



The floral will be perfect for the long daytime look in Simplicity 1804. Robin may need to adjust the neckline, as it looks a bit low. The stripe knit, which has two usable sides (one side  is a stripe (shown above) and the other a solid grey) will be great for this funky romper dress, Marcy Tilton, V8813. The under layer will be the solid and the over pocket layer will be the stripe.



Both are casual, but I can still go out to dinner on a wekend and look nice. Just what I am looking for.

Next week I will post an update. Hopefully they will be done soon. I can't wait!