The Cupcake Goddess

the Very Last Post on this Blog

If you don't know yet, I've moved! Hop on over to A Fashionable Stitch and start partaking in the fun. This is the very last blog post for the Cupcake Goddess, so if you want to still read about my adventures, get extra fun stuff from the Shop and see my latest creations - resubscribe here. Same girl, same fabric stash, same crazy ideas - just a different name is all. A Fashionable Stitch will be taking over in just a few days, however if you don't resubscribe you'll miss all the fun, and worst of all - I'll miss you! OK? Ok.

xoxo,

Sunni

the Sewalong for Beginners

Who's ready to get their verve on with a sewing project? Haven't sewn anything in a really long time? Brand new to sewing and need a little direction? Hop on over to A Fashionable Stitch and get joining in on the Beginner's First Ginger Sewalong.

Some Very Very Important News!

image source

Dearest Readers,

After much deliberation, meditation, tears, excitement, joy, laughter and the like I've decided to move to a new domain. This post was supposed to go up Monday, but we all know how things like this go, right? Yes, right. And last night, after I thought everything was up and running, it wasn't! Things went wrong, all my images seem to be lost in internet space and it seemed like I had ruined everything. You know, the usual everyday crisis. Ha ha ha (this is very nervous laughter by the way).

I've decided to move everything over to A Fashionable Stitch. Its new-ish and yes, there is still tons and tons of work to be done and soon, The Cupcake Goddess will be pointing there too. Why, you might ask? Quite frankly, I was getting confused having my real name, my alias and trying to run a shop that was yet under a different name, but listed under the username thecupcakegoddess (which it still is - plans for that are in the works). You can still refer to me as The Cupcake Goddess - I mean I'm her right? - I'll just be over at A Fashionable Stitch. Ok? Ok. Phewwww!....

What does this mean for you? Well, it means that if you still want to read me, and see the unveiling of my shift dress, see updates to the shop (ps ~ just got more belt backing yesterday, you know what that means) and oh yes, the Sewalong I'll be announcing tomorrow then you'd better hop on over and subscribe to A Fashionable Stitch. If you don't, well, I hope I still show up in your feed reader, but just know that I'm still in the process of moving everything and fixing bugs and such.

You guys are the best! Want to leave a comment - hop on over to A Fashionable Stitch and get started. (I would love it if you left me some comments just to test out my new site)

xoxo,

Sunni

News Flash! Weekend Sewing and Sale!

Gosh! It seems like every week just flies by these days! Wow! I've been in the middle of something serious - moving. A virtual move, but nonetheless, its a HUGE thing for me. I'll be announcing it officially on Monday but please don't be surprised if you can't access the Cupcake Goddess over the weekend. Ok? Ok.

So, what's on your sewing table this weekend? Well have I got a whopper to get through. I have 2 patterns to test drive (a blouse and a skirt), 3 skirts to make (all from the same pattern, so that's good), the Valentino shift to finish and one more shift dress to make just because I want to. I'm completely determined to get through all of these projects by Monday. That or my name will be MUD. There will be much tea consumption and I just bought some Elvis and Johnny Cash to put on.

Did I mention that I'm going to be doing Me-Made-June too! I did Self Stitched September last year and felt a little frayed by the end just because of the work situation. I've terribly excited I won't be battling that this go around. Yay!

Elegant Musings is holding a pretty awesome givaway from my shop and from various other shops too! Hop on over to view the week full of Birthday Giveaways!

Oh and I think its time for another sale from A Fashionable Stitch! Go fill up your cart and enter JUSTBECAUSE (all caps please) in the coupon section at checkout. You'll get 15% off of everything in the shop if you do! Only lasts a limited time! Hurry over and have fun.

Have a wonderful weekend!

xoxo,

Sunni

In the Shop - Belt & Buckle Kits

Oh my goodness Friends! These are sold out, for now! Don't fret - I've got more up my sleeve and will be posting them very soon! I'll let you all know when they are available again!

Whatever happened to the belt and buckle kits of yesteryear? I remember coming upon my very first belt and buckle kit in a thrift store. Oh the excitement! The tingling fingers, flutters in my heart. It's a thrilling thing, you know. I wanted another one before long. I've found them here and there and I have a small collection that I truly treasure. I'm a belt person, what can I say?

Getting to the point, I've found a way to carry these. Now, isn't that exciting? These include everything from bygone days - buckle, eyelets, belt backing, the adhesive buckle pattern and prong. There's instructions for how to make it on the inside of the packaging. There are many ways to make a belt, and definitely one of the best is Casey's tutorial, so head on over to her place and check that out too.

For just this moment, these are very limited and I have a small supply of the hand cover buckles too. I'm carrying just three sizes, but don't fret many more sizes will be available soon. I also plan to be carrying the belt backing by the yard in the shop and I've got another variation of the belt and buckle kits coming out very soon (maybe this week!) too. For now, run over and snatch up one for yourself, a friend or even.....your mom - Mother's day is just around the corner and how much fun to give her a little remembrance from her youthful sewing days! Happy happy belt making!

xoxo,

Sunni

the Shift Dress

1920s flapper dress - image source

The past two weeks its been shift pattern madness in the shop and you've seen my muslin of the shift dress I'm working on. So what exactly is a shift dress? A sack? A shapeless dress? These are actually the images that used to come to mind when I thought of a shift dress. I did a little more research about shift dresses and came up with a few interesting tidbits.

1920s shift/flapper dress - image source

The shift dress dates back before the 60's, though I daresay when we hear the words shift dress, the image conjured is one from the 60's. Well, at least it is for me. From what I've read and seen, it dates back to the 20s. When it appeared in that era, girls wore a dress that lacked the "cinched-in" waist, was comfortable, shorter than the other dresses of the era and most importantly - easy to dance in. Ha. Not lacking in scandal either. Women who wore these types of dresses were considered a new breed of woman. Fast forward to the 60s, when women again become tired of the cinched in waist and here we are shifting about in mini A-line dresses, same interest at heart - straight or slightly accented waist, comfortable, short and easy to dance in. They had an almost "space like" effect with that rigid A-line silhouette.

1960s shift dress - image source

Not all shift dresses are completely devoid of fit or figure enhancement either. It's true that a shift dress does not accent the feminine hour glass figure, but in a way that's sort of their beauty. They can have rather fantastic pieces effects, small details that complete the overall look and they don't require alot of fabric. The Valentino Shift - 2 yards. What's more, you can add accessories, like belts, to cinch in the waist while still retaining the comfort value. Yes, please.

Oolong Dress - image source

And what about cutting it out on the bias? Look familiar? None other than the Oolong from Colette Patterns. And I think what's great about this dress is that now you have curve enhancement while still retaining comfort without having to wear restrictive underthings. That goes a long way in my book.

So who has a shift dress? Do you love wearing it? It's back to work on the the Valentino Shift for me. Almost time to put in the zipper. Sigh. I would like to have a serious chat with whoever invented the zipper. There would definitely be raised voices.

xoxo,

Sunni

Shifty

I've been a little starry eyed about shift dresses lately. Probably because, as you know, I have seen several by now. I decided to save one for myself to try out. Enter the Vogue Valentino. I've been doing a fair amount of research on the shift dress too. Apparently, the shift dress was so christened not so much because you can "shift" around in it (though true), but more because of a shift in culture. A shift away from things that bind and suck you in. A letting loose so to speak. There's more to it than that, I'm sure. Another topic for another day. Back to the issue at hand, that means that the shift dress is or should be comfortable. That's very appealing to me. Especially now since, I do a lot of shifting about the house in my various capacities as a haberdasher, so having one of these isn't just about want, but need.

I've set my mind on a silk charmeuse, which I don't have a photo of, but you'll be seeing it quite a bit, I'm sure. Comfortable dress deserves comfortable fabric don't ya think? So, getting down to brass tacks, I went about doing up a muslin over the weekend. Oh yes, let's see, here it is:

Truly not bad. And what's even more surprising is that it doesn't look like a sack. In fact, it's actually rather stylish on my figure. Let's please disregard my somewhat provacative stance here. Come now, isn't muslin one of my better colors? I'm actually surprised you can see the dress, what with my skin being the same color and all. Anyway, so what do I need to fix? Well, the underbust is coming up too high by about an inch. In addition to having a long torso I have a fairly long neckline to bust measurement. Also, the under armholes are just a tad on the high side which is giving a little pull on the underarm and of course, the hips and the shoulders need a bit of a widening.

The construction of the dress was fairly simple, but there are some interesting things that I noted on several different shift dresses that passed through these hands. The placement of the zipper for one and how it's closed at the top is rather interesting here. The zipper on this dress is in the back in one of the princess seams. It closes at the top with a hook and eye closure. I'm not sure that I love this and I might end up changing it to the side because even getting this zipper on the muslin up and down was something of a trick. A trick that didn't really work, me not being a gymnast and all. Also, nearly all the patterns I sorted through were designer patterns and all of them called for an underlining. I have my own thoughts about why, but I thought I would let you ruminate a bit as to why that is.

And now a word about the length. This sucker gets a 3" hem according to the pattern. That will fall just above my knee. Now, is it just me or is the shift dress on the pattern envelope really quite a bit shorter? I mean the thing is at the mid-thigh. Strange, no? Anyway, I'm actually happy with the above the knee length. I might go a tad shorter for the next shift. We'll see. There is only so much shortness on a skirt or dress I can handle (for me, anyway). What do you think? Don't you need a shift dress now?

xoxo,

Sunni

image source

Sorry for my absence and the lack of post about the shift dress! I've been feeling a bit blue, and a bit under the weather. Hate to say it, but it's a girl thing you know. Sigh....still I wanted to post a very big THANK YOU! to all of you who have filled out the survey thus far! You have helped me and given me so much inspiration beyond belief! I would still love to hear from more of you, if possible. The survey will be open until the end of this week, so hop on over and give me some feedback about the shop please!

And I promise, come hell or high water I'll show you the shift dress muslin tomorrow! Yay!

xoxo,

Sunni