Faux Fur

I thought it would be the coolest thing ever to try and make a fur (albiet faux) fur coat. It was a complete bitch to work with though, especially as one of my first sewing projects. I always have these grand cool ideas only to realize how hard it actually is to materialize them. The fabric I choose is a pain to work with, or doesn't act the way you expected it to with the particular pattern or you find that as nice as your product actually turned out, there really is no practical use for it, etc. This coat for example. Its always too cold to wear a short coat like that in the middle of winter, but when it gets warmer outside, it is way too warm to wear! This photo shoot (if you look at the previous photos you will see the connection) is probably one of the only times Ive actually worn this coat out. It kept me warm in the walks between locations. I am, however, very proud of myself that I made this coat. The fur ate at least 3 machine needles and Im sure Ive lost more than a few pins in the seams somewhere. But! Its reversible!... Which is pretty cool if I may say so myself. I made this project, along with a recycled pair of jeans turned into a skirt in my 12th grade fashion design class, the only formal (if you want to call what we did formal) fashion design instruction I've ever had. It was definitely one of the most fun classes I've taken. This coat along with the skirt was featured for a semester in a display case in my high school, which is probably one of my proudest achievements in high school. Got me at least a little bit noticed, but probably not at all. Thats ok though, I don't mind at all. I had fun and I liked the work.

I need a standard dress: Take #1

As my dancing was progressing in collegiate ballroom I realized that it is very hard to find a proper standard dance dress in stores and way too expensive to buy one that is proper. I decided to make one, naturally. I found the fabric and it was gorgeous, like deep purple satiny liquid in your hands. beautiful!! I even got a stunning pearl necklace to go with the white accents. Too bad I later was made to understand that color is probably the most important thing in a ballroom dress. Color and rhinestones. Being in syllabus and not allowed to have rhinestones it wasn't in question but the deep purple even with white, is not a color to wear in competitions. The brighter, the blingier, the better. I am not sure how I feel about the white inserts anymore but I do still like the dress as a whole, mostly because I cant get over the beauty of the purple fabric probably... Despite that, the dress turned out wonderfully and I wore it maybe for 2-3 comps before retiring it into evening wear, due to its actual dullness out on the dance floor. I have worn it to 1-2 weddings though after.

4 years in the making

At one point, probably towards the end of my freshman year in college, after Ive been in a few competitions already. I really wanted to make a gold colored latin dress for dance competitions and I have always liked the look of black lace with basically anything. Fabric bought and pattern set, I began the project. All the pieces cut and altered, I began to put the dress together only to realize that it was a bit too small for me in the bust! I must have miscalculated something! So I began to figure out ways to expand it, hence the side inserts of sheer black. I also wanted a more flared skirt so I cut slits in the bottom of the front panels with plans of inserting black lace godets, triangle shaped pieces of fabric to widen the skirt. But the moment I made the cuts I realized I made a mistake and the inserts just did not work and looked pretty bad. The two fabrics did not merge and flow well. So in exasperation and not knowing what to do about the whole situation I left the dress in my "unfinished projects" or "to do" pile. From then on the dress has been sitting in the box for quite some time, being taken out maybe twice to no avail, until this past summer when I finally took it out, determined to fix and finish it, I put my mind to work as to how to complete its imperfections. I considered putting a whole new layer of sheer all around the dress underneath the gold so some peeks out underneath, but discarded that idea, because I didn't have enough sheer at that moment and I was a bit lazy to go out buy some and take the dress apart before putting it back together. The side inserts were way too see through so I added another layer over the first. then I slit the slits all the way up to the bust and put in the lace strips. Long before I finished it I realized it would never be a latin dress because of unfitting colors and design but it would make a very cute cocktail dress. Unfortunately I haven't worn it yet and don't know when I will. It is a bit risque' with all of its see-through slits and sheer layers. It would have to be a fitting party and occasion and people.

I look forward to the day.

Lace experiments

This skirt was conceived when I made a similar skirt for a friend of mine out of just a soft pink fabric from a simple pattern. I wanted to make a skirt just like the one I made for her but unfortunately did not have the pattern to go off of so I made it up and it turned out quite similar but not exactly copy and once again I though that the addition of black lace paired with the soft lavender would make a vivid contrast similar to what is done with lingerie. I had this scrap piece of lace that I decided to use with it. What I did not take into account was that the lavender was stretchy while the lace was not... Fortunately I was sewing for myself and the fact that it just barely could slide up over my hips was just fine, otherwise I or anybody else may have had a hard time putting it on, the purpose of stretch was kind of defeated. Also, since I was into dancing at that time I decided a slit would be just the thing and added the lace at the bottom to balance the top! This skirt isnt as flowy as I prefer but it definitely works for practices and dance parties. I am really a fan of the contrast of black lace in contrast with a more softer lighter fabric.

Lets Scrap...skirt?

So Im not quite sure if its a good or bad habit but every time I go to a fabric store I always go through the remnant pile and find some piece I really like but I have no clue what I will be using it for a the time, but Ill get it anyway. There are several pieces in my fabric collection waiting for their time. That was the story with this silky grey sheer print material. Then one day after another skirt I made with the lavender material I accidentally saw them next to each other and since the grey draped and flowed so nicely I really wanted alot of it kind of bunched together...actually I have no clue how I came up with this design except that I had two pieces of fabric and I just combined them. This was quite a while ago too, one of my first non pattern followed pieces. The two fabrics complement each other quite well, I think, despite the different colors and feels. Turned out quite fun...but again, hard to match. I like to wear it to dance parties or socials as it can pass for both latin and standard skirt, although I consider it more latin. Scrap materials can be the most fun sometimes!

Victorian elegance

This is the skirt piece to the 2-piece prom "dress" set I made myself Senior year of high school. At this point Im still learning and this was the "biggest" project that I had made at that point in time. The top, a corset, broke and was not ever perfect to begin with so it was taken apart and I began to put it back together and now it has been in my "Unfinished business" box for over 4 years, I still plan on bringing it to completion, when is a different story. I really wanted to make my prom dress that year and really liked the mixture of 17th century nobility and victorian so I picked a red fabric and black lace trim, but unfortunately I could have chosen a different better fabric, something rich and smooth for the occasion. Instead, I chose a stretch dance fabric that is better suited for latin dresses or skating costumes than a prom dress (probably part of the reason the corset didn't turn out as I planned, as it was my first corset attempt basically as well.) Anyway, I still love the skirt style and the red with black lace combo, but unfortunately don't have many occasions to wear it to, as you cannot really dance in it, or find tops to match it. Besides prom, I think I wore it one other time to a new years party. All is a learning experience.

An autumn day in Spring

This dress was also one of my beginning projects that started with me buying fabric that I really liked and not knowing what to do with it. It is one of those learning projects. Its a mock brocade, and this was the result: very simple, not really fitted but giving a light summery feel without the weight of real brocade (I absolutely love real brocades as much of a pain they are to work with. Such a rich feel!) Ive worn this dress several times, to a wedding, to open dances, to semi-formal parties, on a nice summer date. My favorite is to pair it with red heels and some small red jewelry. Gold goes great too though.