Turning Your Scraps Into Pure Sexy

 I love apparel sewing, yet don't get off quilting and other types of sewing that involve using up small pieces of fabric (Home dec sewing? Hate it!). That would be why I donate any pieces smaller than 3/4 yard to a seniors center where they apparently use them in craft projects or whatever. Because even a yard is nothing much when it comes to apparel sewing. And I'm not about to start sewing up a bunch of pot holders. You're going to have to look elsewhere for that, my friends. (My three-year-old is right; leftovers ARE yucky!).

But then there are a few beloved prints that I just can't part with — scraps I hang onto just in case I can make them work in some way (as pocket lining? cuffs? a headband?). Take these two dresses I made in 2011, both made from precious printed cotton:

Sewn from Snoozer Loser printed cotton I won from Burdastyle.com

Yes, that bow print is Marc Jacobs!

Anyway, even after several stash culls, just enough of these two printed fabrics remained for me to sew the bodice for Burdastyle.com and Gertie's Bombshell Dress. I seriously had nearly nothing left of these two fabrics, but just look at what I was able to muster:

LOVE!

Of course this bodice is fairly revealing, so it's on the itty bitty side as it is, but also it has 13 pieces, so if you are working with scraps, none of them has to be very big. Matching stripes (or bows, in my case) calls for a little more fabric if you're picky like that. But even so, you really don't need much for this bodice. The skirt, however, is another matter. But I think pairing a printed bodice with a solid skirt is a cute look. I'm thinking of choosing the lightest possible cotton voile and making a gathered skirt with lots of summery volume. (Black to go with the owl matroska print, and peach for the bows). Here's another look (keep in mind this is just the outer shell of the bodice, which will be lined with cups in it and even boning eventually.

I congratulated myself for tossing the last remnants from these two favourite fabrics. Surely nothing could be done with the six-inch-square odds and ends. What do you like to make with your leftovers?