Holy motherload

These wooden hangers were being thrown out by a neighbor.
They’ll be perfect for photo shoots of garments.

a study in scraps

My NYFA classmate and friend Samantha thoughtfully invited me over to her place to look at her Vera Wang wedding gown.

Some things I did not know about Vera Wang:

1. She doesn’t “do” white gowns, only cream.

2. When you order a Vera Wang wedding gown, you schedule a fitting, at which they take many many measurements–more than the average fitting–so that when your gown arrives in the mail, it fits you perfectly. Guaranteed. No more fittings or adjustments.

Samantha’s favorite thing about the gown was how the big ruffly bustle looks sort of punk-rock, tatters and frayed raw edges of tulle.

Oddly now, whenever I see a beautiful gown, I start peering up the skirt. I’m looking for signs of how the designer managed it. The Vera Wang innards were, I’m sure it goes without saying, impeccable. The scraps were stitched to the skirt base in big sworls so they wouldn’t look too uniform. (Mental note!)

Her gown reminds me of these two Alexander McQueen masterpieces:

 

Looking at these gowns, I remembered I had long ago blogged about this CUP + PENNY scrap scarf. It was one of my very first sewing projects, from the book I used to teach myself sewing.

 

Maybe it’s time to cook up a new scrap project…a ruffle bustle on a skirt, perhaps?

Dolman sleeves and spelling question

Design tape on gray jersey, learned how to make a dolman sleeve. (Is that how dolman is spelled? I know some of you lovely sewing blog writers will know the answer.)

a declaration of independence

Lately I’ve been talking a lot with my NYFA classmates, and thinking a lot about clothing, about what we wear every day, what it says about us, and whether we’re doing it right.

My friend Meg had a great point. She said, there are a lot of people here in Seattle (including myself) who are very careful about the food they buy. We like to consume healthful but delicious food, prepared in a gourmet way. In my neighborhood of Belltown, I feel like everybody’s a foodie–there are so many good restaurants around here, it’s hard to eat bad food.

And yet, these same people (myself included) don’t think the same way about the clothing we wear. We don’t hesitate to purchase the latest trends from H&M, despite the fact that they were mass-produced in a factory by people who aren’t paid or treated well (sweat shops), using materials that are cheap and sometimes not all that great for your skin. We wear cotton that doesn’t breathe as well as bamboo or hemp and gets stinky faster. We pay bottom dollar, and we get what we pay for. The clothes fall apart quickly and we replace them with other, more “trendy” clothes, only to look back at photos of ourselves years later and wonder “Why would I have worn that? It didn’t look good on me at all.”

Being a foodie, I think it’s time for me to also become a fashionista, someone who wears clothing because it’s a) something that looks great on me and will continue to look great on me over time no matter what trends come and go, b) something that is well-made and will last, and c) something that feels great on me.

I solemnly swear, henceforth, I shall only wear clothing that is:

A) handmade by me

B) handmade by another designer

or C) vintage (and preferably handmade)

There are way too many great vintage shops in Seattle to keep buying new store-bought clothing. Although I am susceptible to Anthropologie…like an old lover I just can’t seem to quit. So maybe the occasional junk food will be allowed. More often, though, if I see something in the stores, I’ll try to imitate it at home by making it myself.

Do you have a few pieces in your wardrobe that fit the above criteria for comfort, long-lasting quality, and long-lasting (or “timeless/classic”) beauty?

playing with dye

Have you ever used dye before? It was quite fun to drop it into the bucket of water and watch it disperse and dissolve. If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you might remember that I am equally fascinated with cream being dropped into a cup of tea. I wonder if I could ever replicate that effect on or with fabric? Like a billowy silk gown that flutters and swirls when the model walks?

Anyway, here’s my tunic tank top dipped in a stainless steel pot typically used by my hubby for making pasta or soup. Said pot was very excited to be included in a sewing project, as said pot sometimes dreams of exploring other careers.

I wanted an ombre effect on my tank. It didn’t quite turn out the way I had planned it, but when you’re making an Alabama Chanin project, you go with the flow and you let the garment do what it’s going to do. I think the same can be said for dye-jobs. You’re not completely in charge. The materials are going to have an opinion of their own, and you have to learn to respect that and work alongside the materials instead of trying to be the task-master.

That being said, when I first followed the instructions for dyeing (dip it for 30 seconds), the dye job was waaaaay too pale, especially after I cold-rinsed it. Barely visible, I mean. I dipped it again. Still too pale. After dipping it several times, I decided to jerry-rig a spot to hang the garment in the bucket overnight. After about 12 hours, the dye had reached a desirable shade (though still not as dark as I had originally envisioned).

It still doesn’t fade up quite like ombre. However, I’m completely happy with it, and will simply have to do more dye jobs in the future if I want to accomplish a true ombre effect. While I was at it, I also dyed a pillowcase and a scrap of fabric I had turned into an infinity scarf. The scarf had lain in the bottom of a drawer for a long time, because the fabric doesn’t have the right drape (just doesn’t look right when it’s on me), and because it was just boring white cheap cotton. I got a really nice ombre effect on the scarf, and decided to use it as a decoration when styling purse shots:

Nowadays, it’s a home-dec item tied onto the standard, boring chandelier in our dining room. Someday we’ll have a stunning fixture there, but for now I like how the scarf gave it just the right touch of personality.

me want honeycomb

I don’t think I’ve ever done this before: posted older shots of a garment after I’ve already posted the finished product. Ever since school (where I’m a teacher) and fashion school (where I’m a student) started up, my blogging habits have been completely thrown for a loop. Cats sleeping with dogs, lions sleeping with lambs, it’s crazy.

If you look carefully you’ll see in these shots that I had not yet added the bias strip along the hem.

This was the step where I bound the arm and neckholes with self-made bias strips. (They lay much flatter after I pressed them.)

Because I decided to forego hand-stitching (life’s too short), I wanted to use some other cool stitching technique on my machine, so I played around with combining multiple stitches. I used a zigzag stitch first (#2 on Sweet B), then did straight stitches on either side of the zigzags. The effect turned out sort of like a honeycomb stitch, which I’m quite pleased with.

now i become myself

Music by Tycho

Poem, “Now I Become Myself,” by May Sarton
Sculpture Echo by Jaume Plense
Tunic tank top, self-made and hand-dyed, from Alabama Chanin

Now I become myself. It’s taken
Time, many years and places;
I have been dissolved and shaken,
Worn other people’s faces,
Run madly, as if Time were there,
Terribly old, crying a warning,
“Hurry, you will be dead before–”
(What? Before you reach the morning?
Or the end of the poem is clear?
Or love safe in the walled city?)

Now to stand still, to be here,
Feel my own weight and density!

The black shadow on the paper
Is my hand; the shadow of a word
As thought shapes the shaper
Falls heavy on the page, is heard.

All fuses now, falls into place
From wish to action, word to silence,
My work, my love, my time, my face
Gathered into one intense
Gesture of growing like a plant.

As slowly as the ripening fruit
Fertile, detached, and always spent,
Falls but does not exhaust the root,
So all the poem is, can give,
Grows in me to become the song,
Made so and rooted so by love.

Now there is time and Time is young.

O, in this single hour I live
All of myself and do not move.

I, the pursued, who madly ran,
Stand still, stand still, and stop the sun!

“mistakes,” versus “design choices”

 My next Alabama Chanin project has begun.

I’ve traced the patterns and cut out my fabric pieces, for a tank-top tunic.

I made a mistake by not combining the skirt/peplum portion of the pattern to the top portion. It’s all supposed to be continuous, like this:

But instead there will be a seam between the top and bottom portions.

NOT a big problem.

One of those mistakes I’m going to refer to as an “intentional design choice.”

Uh, yeah, that’s it, it was intentional.

i’m feeling pretty good about nettie

 

I am moving right along on the Nettie bodysuit!

The instructions are thorough, and the project is surprisingly easy.

 

I made quarter marks along the leg openings…

…then stitched the leg binding on.

I swear I am not making a onesie for myself.

Once the binding was one, I folded it over to the wrong side and top-stitched using my new twin needle.

Yep, still excited about my new twin needle.

 

That looks pretty darn snazzy if I do say so myself!

I am getting very close to a finished product here. Next stop: snap crotch!