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Spring Palette Challenge Week Three: Time to Sew!

For those of you following along with the Spring Palette Challenge, it’s time to get sewing! I hope you’ve had a chance to brainstorm your palette and pick your sewing projects. The only thing left is to get cracking.

Admittedly, I haven’t done any sewing yet. But this is the fabric for my first project! I’m doing a little blouse in this lovely, buttery yellow polka dot silk shirting. It’s really soft and has a nice drape.

The only thing I’m a little stuck on is buttons. I have these lovely old glass pearly beauties. I don’t mind that they’re a little worn, but they have a very cool cast to them that I think looks a little off with this nice warm yellow. You can’t see it in the photo, but they look almost blue-grey.

I am going to admit something about myself right now. I am a terrible decision maker.

I mean, I’m pretty good at deciding on the important stuff and I’m definitely a risk taker when I’m excited about something. But choosing buttons? I could literally take hours to decide. In fact, I have already spent over an hour staring at buttons on Etsy. There are so many good ones!

Yep, I’m a classic overthinker, so having too many options is a big hurdle to me. I think that’s why I like challenges like this one. It forces me to make decisions and stick to a plan.

I hope I’m not the only one who is paralyzed at the fabric store.

Back to the subject of this post, though: If you’re doing the Spring Palette Challenge, I’ve started a thread in the forum for you to post your progress, so we can all follow along with each other as we sew. I know I’ve already said it, but there are some gorgeous palettes and plans in the forum, so stop in!

Sarai Mitnick

Founder

Sarai started Colette back in 2009. She believes the primary role of a business should be to help people. She loves good books, sewing with wool, her charming cats, working in her garden, and eating salsa.

Comments

Esz

February 4, 2011 #

Oh gosh I get the same with all the choices! There are just so many options of what to make I want to make them ALL, right NOW. Hehe!

Especially Etsy is a shocking black hole for my time – I can spend hours perusing buttons too. They’re so pretty and cheap. But then I get excited and buy a whole lot that isn’t so cheap anymore.

Sarai

February 4, 2011 #

Oh my gosh, I’ve really had to curtail my Etsy time. It is a treasure trove for beads, buttons, and vintage notions.

Carolyn

February 4, 2011 #

I totally get that way about buttons too. Actually, I tend to be that way about sewing projects in general. I have so many patterns (60+ issues of BWOF, a whole pile each of vintage and non-vintage envelope patterns), so many other inspirations and so much fabric (approx 1000m at the last count!) that I have a really tough time actually deciding on combinations.

But, for your button issue, I have a really simple solution to suggest: white, or white pearl buttons (or ivory if that’s the actual colour of the polka dots). What a delicious little blouse this will be!

Hmm, I really need more fabrics like silk shirtings. Oh wait, right, I need more fabric like I need a hole in the head!

Sarai

February 4, 2011 #

I have a lot of vintage patterns too, though not as many as a real collector I suppose. Maybe I should challenge myself to sew with each of them, or get rid of the ones I won’t use! That would be kind of a cool project.

I’m leaning toward plain white pearl buttons too. I just need to find them in the right quantity now. Ack.

Jane

February 4, 2011 #

Those pearly buttons are beautiful and a nice grey-blue could be a nice contrast to the buttery yellow if it was different enough in hue, but I agree that these buttons don’t quite fit with the fabric. And I would totally try to make them and end up never wearing the finished piece.

Sarai

February 4, 2011 #

Yeah, I think they’re a little too big also. I’m doing clustered buttons (in threes), so they need to be pretty small, I think.

Tasha

February 4, 2011 #

Decisions paralysis! Ugh! I’m plagued with that too. What fabric to buy… do these buttons match… do I want to knit that sweater in red or blue or green or yellow or… maybe I want a cardigan instead? I really could use a good white blouse, now I need to find a pattern… maybe I need buttons first… oh look at those cute yellow buttons, wouldn’t they be great on… argh! Story of my life. ;)

I do love the buttons you showed and I think they’d be great with your polka dot fabric!

Sarai

February 4, 2011 #

Haha, do you live in my brain? You reenacted a typical trip to the fabric store for me quite well.

The funny thing is, I own SO many buttons already. It’s sort of shocking that I still have to buy more every time I make something.

Carolyn

February 5, 2011 #

Lol, after watching me, a friend referred to this as “Irish Setter Syndrome”: Ooh look at this pretty! ooh look at that pretty! Ooh I need this, ooh wouldn’t that be so great though!

Petite Josette

February 4, 2011 #

I’m totally the same when it comes to buttons. the first button-down shirt I ever made, in white cotton, it took me forever to decide on the buttons. It seems like a detail, but it makes a huge difference, and when you’ve spent hours on a garment, you want the finishing touch to be perfect. For my latest vest, I actually took it with me to the store and laid my different button options on it until I was able to decide on one. It probably took me close to an hour….
I think your choice will work great. With a polka-dot, you don’t want to go to matchy-matchy with simple white…

laura

February 4, 2011 #

i really like your fabric, that blouse will look great! (:
i have to admit i’m also terrible at deciding things like that – which buttons, details… but it’s okay! if you rethink carefully, you will love the end result even more, i think. however, if i were you, i would stick to your first button choice because they look great.

Katherine

February 4, 2011 #

Love the fabric and agree that the buttons are lovely but not quite right (a little smaller, different shade of pearl?).

And I, too, am the terrible over-thinking sewist-type. I spent at least an hour and a half in the fabric store last weekend when I came in to get 5 buttons for a button-down blouse. I came away with three sets of 6 buttons and fabric for a new skirt. Oops. And I spent at least an hour last night going back and forth on wool to buy for a new coat. Luckily, I actually could use two new different styles of wool coats, so I chose 2. But then I had to choose how much yardage to buy because I’m not totally sure of the pattern(s)….!

Anyway, I sympathize.

Lynne Williams

February 5, 2011 #

It is sounding like anxiety ridden indecision is a common theme for many of us. I am certainly on that same boat, and yet I keep wanting to ride it around the park.

Your yellow silk is very yummy, reminds me of summer days in Calif. I can almost feel it in my hand. Boy are you going to enjoy your sewing.

Hillary

February 5, 2011 #

Ha- I spent at least an hour late one night on ebay & etsy this week scoping vintage buttons too; I get mesmerized and lose all track of time. I love that stage though, when the possibilities are endless and delicious, every new thing you look at gives you wonderful new ideas that all seem perfectly possible in infinite imaginary time. Before I have to pull myself back to real time and make a decision.

I agree though, about challenges being good for me, forces me to make those decisions and stick to them, instead of waffling til the season has all but passed.

jen.camden

February 5, 2011 #

Oh man… how comforting to hear that I’m not the only one. I feel validated =)

I’ve been trolling your spring palette posts longingly, but I’m in nursing school right now and can’t justify the time for an ensemble. But I’m so inspired by these posts, and am enjoying this theme so much. My goal is to completely finish just ONE item (Chantilly test run in stash fabric), bit by bit when time allows, so I’ll have one cute dress when hot Austin weather arrives. It will also be an exercise in undoing bad habits (huge UFO pile, rushed, self-imposed deadlines).

Sarai thanks for the great patterns and inspiration!

Catriona

February 5, 2011 #

I think this would be lovely with tiny fabric self-covered buttons in clusters. Can I ask where the fabric is from? It’s beautiful. I recently bought something similar in cotton, but it doesn’t drape well.
I love the spring palette challenge, it’s so hopeful! It’s been blowing a gale where I am the last few days so any sign of spring is very exciting.

Sarai

February 5, 2011 #

The fabric was purchased online from Denver Fabrics. Here, I’ll find it for you… yellow silk shirting.

I think it looks much better in person than the swatch on their site!

Catriona

February 6, 2011 #

Thanks Sarai!

Sarah

February 5, 2011 #

Sarai, that is such gorgeous fabric!! I love it and can’t wait to see you modelling it. I love the pearly buttons, too. Definitely go for those!

I’m working on my first dress for the challenge: Simplicity 5408.