Going to a mildly dressy do this Friday - nothing special, but definitely a little sparkle needed. I have two sparkly tops, but the black long skirt I often wear with either of them is (a) tired-looking, (b) boring and (c) no longer stylish. Besides which, this really isn't a "long-skirt" event, although dressy pants will be very acceptable
What to do, what to do. Brilliant idea - use my wide pants pattern I designed two years ago and still looks good on me. Therefore, need some soft, drapy fabric in basic black. Off to Hancock Fabrics, and there, after some searching, I found just what I want. A length of my current fave, rayon challis, but not much left on the bolt. Now, I need three yards if I am to give it a self-fabric half lining, four if I line it completely. It really does hang so much better with at least a half-lining.
Took it to the cutting counter and asked the nice lady to measure it for me. One yard, two yards, three yards, FOUR yards. Yippee, I'll take it, I said. She replied........er, um, it's actually four yards three inches, do you want the extra three inches?...........................
Yerss, I'll take it, I can't see making the poor lady stand there cutting off a three inch wide strip of 58" fabric.
By contrast, when I ordered some fabrics on line earlier this year, the one-yard pieces were generously cut, and some which were obviously bolt ends had anywhere from a quarter to almost a whole yard extra thrown in.
Oh well. It is stitched down the edges, been through the washer and dryer, ready to lay out the pattern and start cutting in daylight tomorrow.
Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.