Debora Coelho

#32 Dress - black and gold silk dress - Simplicity pattern # 2178 Cynthia Rowley collection. Here I am wearing the gown at the Charles W. Morgan Homecoming Gala in New Bedford‘s waterfront. It was such a spectular event. The entire setting was just perfect. A beautifully restored historical whaling ship, the oldest, with beautiful people adorning it. Some of the guests are actually descendents of the ship’s original families from our world whaling history. New Bedford was once the richest city in the world. Last night’s gala reflected more than a celebration of our past history, it was a strong display of hope and promise that our beautiful city is once again looking to the ocean for it’s future. That’s very exciting. I believe I will be needing many more dresses…

#31 Dress - The Green Clover Dress - Simplicity pattern #1354. I finally mastered the fit on this pattern. The fabric makes for a great cool summer dress. And to think I bought it at Joann’s Fabrics on the “RED” tag clearance for $3.00 a yard. What a deal! The skirt flows graciously walking along the Newport Harbor. The matching hat band brought it altogether. Newport is a perfect acceptable place to wear hats. It’s actually recommended. That’s the power of sewing and having extra material to play with. It makes the whole outfit totally your own.

And now for this week’s project…The Green Clover Dress - Simplicity pattern #1354. For those of you following my sewing story may remember this pattern. I’ve repeated it three times. This is the last time I will be using this pattern for now. I’m ready to move on. Even so, I’ve really enjoyed working with this pattern. The sewing was relatively easy. The fitting however was a different story. I spent a lot of time making this dress style fit properly. The cut may not be for me. I need a closer neckline to work well for me. The fabric also drove me a bit crazy. It unraveled very easily. I had to over-lock every seam. This dress is once again fully lined with added boning to the bodice. It fits beautifully and I hope to wear it this weekend with the summer hat. I love hats. I just feel awkward wearing them when one else does. However, I’m sure my husband will find us a perfect New England environment to wear it to. I’m looking forwards to the “dress romance.” This has been an incredibly ...

This week I have two dresses to display. As you may remember I made this beautiful black and gold silk dress using Simplicity pattern # 2178 from the Cynthia Rowley collection. I was very happy with it until I tried it on for the final “dress rehearsal” for this grand gala tomorrow night. I felt it still needed some serious body at the midriff. So I made an emergency trip to Joann’s fabrics and picked up this very thick black material that is actually used for upholstery and used as an extra layer on the midriff and added a serious amount of boning for ultimate support. It actually worked! Then I was in need of matching sandals which I purchased at Macys department store. Finally, the most visible accessory… the matching clutch bag, I just whipped it together for a complete look. It’s perfect! I’m so happy with the whole look. This event tomorrow night is super special. It’s worth going all out for. This is about New Bedford’s history and it’s people. It’s actually a sold out event. ...

I’m still in the process of trying to count all the dresses I made in the past year. To date I counted 30. In case you missed any, here’s all the pictures of them. There is still more to come. Some of which I haven’t had an opportunity to wear yet. At the end of this week, I will hopefully display two more dresses from this week’s project bringing the count to 32. I’m blessed with dresses. Each and every one of them I made while caring for my mother. She spent her whole life as a professional seamstress. Today, at eighty she is demented and requires 24/7 care. Even so, she loves to watch me sew. She connects to life through my sewing. She can still pick out an uneven hemline and express when she doesn’t think a dress fits well. Best of all, she loves to watch me get dressed and smile at how beautiful they look. Her face just lights up with joy. Everyone of my dresses is part of our time and story together. I wear them with great joy and nothing and I mean nothing comes close to the ...

Hello everyone. I had a change of sewing plans this week. I put the “The Green Clover Dress” on hold while I followed an inspiration of making another dress from this incredible beautiful black and gold silk fabric I found last week at Bedford Fabrics in Fall River. I used a Simplicity pattern # 2178 from the Cynthia Rowley collection. When I first opened the pattern envelope, I was overwhelmed by the amount of pattern pieces and the directions. I just used the basic pieces and self lined the dress and tossed out the directions. I worked it to my body and it fits remarkably well. I just love the asymmetrical neckline. I extended the right shoulder strap by two inches and the bodice by three. The skirt is a designers disaster. It is not flattering or slimming. I added two side slits to make up for the bad design. Next week, when I work with the same pattern, I will replace the skirt all together. I’m also getting tired of working with bodices being cut too short. On the next dress, I’...

Dress #20 and #21 The Quilt Dress & Paisley Harmony Dress from Simplicity pattern #1354. Here are some pictures of the two dresses I made this week. They are both very comfortable. I had a lovely time wearing them. What do you think? Would you make any changes for the one I’m making this upcoming week?