New dresses, New Dyeing

Summer is in full swing and I am very busy! While it is hard to be disciplined and go to my studio when the weather is gorgeous out I really feel very rewarded when dyeing new fabrics and working on new projects.
And PS the new Shabd Alexander book is awe inspiring!
Here's a peek at a new custom dress.

Summer is coming....

I've been a busy bee for the last few months and one of the things I've been obsessing over is making shorts.

I started drafting a pattern from scratch about a year and a half ago in a prior apartment and sort of never got around to using it.  So a few muslins later I've got a pair of African wax fabric shorts. No bells and whistles just an invisible side zipper.

Say hello to Shorts 1.

Shorts 2 will be with fabric I hand dyed last year with indigo and they're going to have pockets.

In college I made many pants so this feels like going back to my roots. 

Yay....

And the dress exists.

And so the dress now exists.

I kind of love it and want to remake it, tweaking it ever so slightly from this one.
I also did color tests and would love to make it in lime green with black...we'll see.

Close up of the hand dyed fabric.

Wiksten Summer 2011

Wishlisting it.

Though Wiksten does sometimes sell sewing patterns and I bought one for a tank/tank dress.
Will post pic of dress I made soon.
She sews all the pieces on her line herself and just moved away from Brooklyn(sadface).

photos via Wiksten.

Old and New

My pride and joy this Memorial Day weekend was making this top from my hand dyed Shibori fabric.

I realized my sewing machine can make buttonholes but that I do not have any buttons.
So here's my rickety cross stitch that help my top together all weekend.


And below are some detail photos of a raglan top I made, screen printed, and hand painted(with the help of my amazing beau at the time) junior year of college.

Dress + Friends + LOVE= Good times!

Drumroll please, present the dress I made for my friend's wedding. I love it and I especially love the red crystal clutch I got to wear with it.

See friends and good times had.

Prom Style.

Facebook Style.

Sort of Candid Style.

Bare Bones.

Dear Dress,

Please look hot for the wedding!

SUPRISE!

Greetings cyber friends, for the last two weeks I have been a busy little bee. I am newly a freelancer, or what I like to refer to as a hustler.

I have a great freelance gig in the meatpacking district as an assistant fashion designer(cut and sew mostly) with some wonderful ladies and one man.

Also, have somehow managed to trick someone into thinking I am a patternmaker and seamstress. A feat I never thought I could/would accomplish. I just never had the confidence in my skills to man up to making things for someone else, I always found the idea overwhelming.

Now having found the courage I patterned and made 2 muslins and the first sample in real fabric for a size 6.

Below is a sneak peak at the straps.

I am excited about this new accomplishment because it means my college education wasn't a complete waste, and I think the first sample looks pretty darn amazing!

Plus, I met the lovely designer on the streets of midtown when she liked my skirt and wanted a pic, I said ok but dont rip me off it's my design...a very nyc tale...

Back to sewing, I have to start cutting the second real fabric sample...I need to finish it today.

ARG!

I May Be on the Verge of EXPERT....

     Still in progress, but I am seeing the light at the end of this jacket tunnel.

So for a while now I have been yearning to feel like an expert at something, anything really.  Well this pattern on burdastyle(see 2 posts ago) is expert level and I must admit I'm rockin' it so to all the self doubters start challenging yourselves and you may be suprised at what you are capable of.  For example I can now say I am no longer intimidated by zippers(though I do believe if I had access to an industrial machine my zippers would look even nicer).  The point is I should have more confidence in my skills as should ALL YOU!!!!

And SEW, the Sewing continues....

Pieces of the jacket!

I have started sewing the Larissa Motorcycle Style Jacket from BurdaStyle.com a website that has free source sewing patterns that you download and print out...I'm a little intimiadated because I'm trained to make my own patterns I don't know what all the dotted lines and symbols mean, and oh yea zippers frighten me (just a little becasue I don't have an industrial sewing machine and ideally i want my zippers to look perfect!) so here goes it.

So far my back panel is sewn together and all the pieces that will make up the jacket are cut and interfaced etc. I will upload my pics of my pile of pattens this wknd so you can see the havoc they reek in my apt.

For those interested I am making the jacket in a light grey wool and am itching to get it sewn together by v day.

The Larissa jacket, as seen on Burdastyle.

That's Right Folks, I've been Sewing!

For my adoring fans!

I love making a garment to wear for a specific upcoming occasion.  Last Friday after work I headed over to Mood on 37th St to pick up come fabric for a motorcycle style jacket I knew I was going to make in wool, when while I was standing in line I caught a glimpse of what I think is MJ fabric, so went a head and bought a yard thinking I have a dinner to go to in a week I'll make a fabulous top and so here it is...

Closeup of Kimono Style Top with Cowl Neck.  

Finished Just in Time to Wear To Dinner.

Finished Shirt with French Seams and Handfinished Neck, Sleeves, and Hem.

Fabric Pattern Laid Over Final Fabric for Cutting on the Floor, can't wait to not be a hunch back and have a space where I can work on a cutting table...till then...