Fitting and Repurposing

So I never actually took any pictures of the celery dress that I made for my sister, and I only finally have because I've done some adjusting to the dress to make it fit her so much better! My techniques of fit class is invaluable. I don't think I'll ever be able to look at ready to wear the same again. And normally you want to leave about 2 inches of ease in the skirt around the hips, but Katy and I both prefer more closely fitted clothing. So after adjustments I present to you, The Celery Dress!



Ya! very stylish, we worked together to design the dress so it's a collaborative project if anything, but I have no problem sharing credit. Katy has excellent taste in clothing, and frequently we both have a desire for something that will be in style in a year or two.

The other day, one of my classmates came in the room in an adorable skirt! long, loose but still fitted to her, and looked so comfortable! After speaking with her, the teacher heard us talking about it and told us to ask her how she made it, "You'll never guess" She said. Turns out it was an old sweater of her husbands, and all she did was cut off the sleeves, collar, and take it in on the sides a couple inches! she added some fabric where the sleeve holes and necklines were because they created an odd looking hemline, and it's so adorable! I asked if I could post about her, and she said yes! I think this is just a great idea for re-purposing something that you would otherwise be getting rid of. There are so many ways to recycle old clothing or fabric, and while I'm not a fan of those no waste patterns (too many different grain variations in the garment for me. it'd hang so strangely.), I really do love taking old clothing items and redoing them for myself. You guys may remember about five months ago when I showed you the emerald green shirt I made for myself. What a great use of a T shirt that Tony wanted to get rid of! I even have a few more I cannot wait to get at once I have more time!

I'm working right now on more things for my techniques of fit class. We're trying to create a perfectly fitting bodice and skirt pattern for ourselves, and I've got the skirt down! Right now I'm working on the bodice (the hardest of the two) and I cannot tell you how many times I've had to do a "Full Bust Adjustment". Lemme just say, all patterns, no matter what size they are, are designed to accommodate only a B cup. I am so, so far away from a B cup. My teacher even joked yesterday "Is there a bust dart that fits you?" because we just keep trying and adjusting, and trying and adjusting.

Once I get the bodice pattern to fit me (it's got to be before this time next week :\ ) I'll be drafting my lab garment and my final garment for Advanced Flat Pattern! I showed you the design for the final garment last post, and I've recently decided to make my lab garment a slightly altered version of my Peplum dress! It was so successful and flattering that I could not limit it to one dress! So I've got this beautiful double layer fabric that is the perfect chocolate brown with intermittent orange flowers. They're kind of a warm sunset orange. Not too bright. the top layer is attached to the brown under layer creating a quilted look, but instead of just lines of quilting, it's actually hearts! it's so cute, I cannot wait to show it! The plan is to have the lab garment finished in time to wear it to thanksgiving actually.. It'd be perfect! Katy wearing her Celery Dress, me wearing my Autumn Peplum dress! Such a well dressed family. ahahaha.

That heart bustier for draping class came along quite perfectly! it was awesome! Since I've made an official pattern for it, once I get my personal fit sloper worked out I can working out the pieces in my size, and then next semester when I'm in the Bustier Class, I'll be making this for myself! I'm thinking a deep red for the heart, and probably either a black, brown, or ivory color for the rest of it. not sure. Oh well! Either way it's going to look amazing, and I'll have made it myself.. there is going to be so much boning in that thing... But Believe me, once it's all finished and sewn up, you WILL see me in it! I plan on wearing that thing out!

Alright well I've got to get started on all that pattern work so I bid you Adieu!



also please forgive me if the HTML coding gets annoying this blog is basically a live broadcast of me learning HTML. yay for Internets!

Been a while!

I have been SO BUSY with school. I've been doing a lot of fun stuff though and definitely a lot of sewing! I made myself a cute sundress for next summer, but I didn't get a good picture of it yet (too cold to wear it!). I took advantage of the pattern work I did on that summer dress though and made myself a wool winter dress! it's a simple strapless bodice top and flared skirt but there was barely any fabric so I had to make the bodice in pieces instead of one whole front bodice, whole back bodice, and whole skirt front. You can tell in the picture the skirt front is two pieces. It was a good move for conserving fabric and most of the time in person no one seemed to notice it until we were talking about it. That made me pretty happy. :) You'll notice i'm wearing a long sleeve shirt underneath! I haven't lined the dress yet because I haven't got enough lining material to do the dress, my jacket for my Tailoring class, and also it's been damn cold! Since it was cold and I wore the dress to a hockey game I also wore tights (and a nice red coat, not shown).


heeeeeey it's my halloween costume! I was a My Little Pony, but I didn't want to sew the "cutie mark" onto my dress so that I could maybe wear it some other time where a lot of cleavage is ok ahaha. I curled my wig, a LONG arduous process, and made my horn! I bought some "pluffy" molding clay from Michaels, baked it for too long, and then painted it white. It was a little tricky attaching the horn to the wig, but after about 45 minutes of fidgeting i got it to attach and stand upright!

It was a pretty successful costume. One kid didn't even recognize me as a unicorn! ahahahahaha. Made me laugh. We only got three trick or treaters though and it was sad.

I am definitely having fun in my draping class! Its been really easy but also very interesting as it's opened up my creativity for pattern making and design! we had to do a princess seam bodice and this is what I did. very simple, but since everyone else did the traditional middle of the shoulder seam to middle of the waist, I feel pretty good about it.




I'm also doing this! yes that IS a heart bustier, and yes I think it's adorable. I'm gonna sew it up as an outside layer of muslin for class, and then next semester I'm taking an actual class on how to make a Bustier, os since I get that one made, I'm going to ACTUALLY make myself a legit heart bustier!







I've also been working on some illustrations for ideas for more dresses to make! I knew I needed to do something awesome for my lab and my final project for my advanced flat pattern class, so I've been trying really hard to come up with something that I liked, and that would also hopefully be good enough for a wedding I get to attend in january!

I toyed around with the idea of some tea or knee length dresses


But then I decided on something floor length when the invitations came and said Formal!

forgive the melty face illustration, i'm not very good at faces still. i'm imagining it in a jewel tone or a subtle shimmery gold.



I've still got a lot of work ahead of me on the dress, Katy's dress, my tailoring jacket, my tailoring skirt, and my bodice and skirt for techniques of fit.again, I'm feeling pretty dang good, but I know there's still al lot of work ahead of me. Wish me luck!

What I've been working on

So i started school!

I've made a wrap dress, but only partially. I need to finish all the edges, fix the bust darts and then finish attaching the outer wrap layer. Once it's done, i'll post a picture of it. it's great!It's in teal knit and it's a little cleavagey but the hemline is below the knees.

I've still made zero progress with Susan's dress.. :(




I'm working at making a jacket for my tailoring class! I'm making C. One of the many amazing assistants did this jacket for her tailoring class many years ago and was very excited that I decided to go do the same thing (it's the perfect Chanel jacket, hello!). I made a copy of the pattern pieces and did a tissue fitting today in class! It was pretty cool, Kathleen was rushed but it turns out I had pretty few changes to make! I (like always) need to take in the seams where my pecs would be (LOL muscles) let out the side seams over the hips a weeeee bit. like 1/4 of an inch. and I need to make a 1/2 inch Full Bust Adjustment. Story of my life AHYAKNOWWHATIMEAN?? ahahaha my boobs are too big and causes my hemline to go up in front. That should be easy, then I have to make it up in muslin! yay!




For my Advanced Flat Pattern class I had to do a Presentation board for a sample line of clothing, including at least one outfit illustration as a plan to be made for my final garment! I'm pretty confident about my illustration skills and I think it turned out ok! I based it on Mad Men (I know, I'm so creative) because I saw the Mad Men collection for Banana Republic. The mens collection was nice! classy clothing with sleek lines, simplicity, and style. I love 50s style. The women's collection on the other hand... pitiful! it's all a-line super mini skirts, the sad same silhouette shift dress, a lacy tank, and too much leopard print. it made me pretty angry.. SO I drew up some dresses and a nice pair of pants! it's only five outfits so it's four dresses (one you will recognize, ahahaha) but I had fun! it's a terrible picture but i'll get a better one when I show it in class next week!


Here you can see my loverly cat Elvis helping me. he's so helpful.


I've already got some big plans for halloween! I'm making costumes for me, Susan, and another friend! We're going to be twisted disney princesses! Susan will be Ariel, Other Friend will be Alice, and I will be Jessie! (I know she's no princess, but she's redheaded)



I stopped by Joanns today and picked up some beauuuutiful remnants today! I don't know what to with the fabric yet though! Tony wants me to make a pencil skirt, but I think it'll make a much better top. if I could I'd say i'd even prefer to make a bustier out of it (it'd be so sexy! and shiny!) but i don't really want to buy a pattern and add ANOTHER item to make on my already pretty long list. helps?

BTW the one on the right is actually double sided that's why you can see both sides!

The last Month or So

I may not have been posting on here, but for once that doesn't mean I wasn't sewing! I have been taking advantage of fabric sources that I already had at my disposal, like my boyfriend's old shirts, and old bed sheets, and have been having a good time with it!


The Boyfriend shirt I did in early June. I cut off the sleeves (which I now use for headbands/bandanas in my hair) and then cut out the plain shape I wanted the shirt to achieve. Again I had some poop luck in the neckline area, and it was HUGE. it was enormous over my collarbones. I had to take it in if I didn't want it falling right off. So i did an inverted V released darts combo. I think it looks awesome. It's a little... oddly placed since I have really large breasts, but it makes it fit well and added some chic style that I didn't think of before, and really love now. I posted it onto Fashism.com and there was a general consensus that it was too tight around the chest and the darts looked funny, but I for once don't care what they said! I think it is amazing and so much fun. it really takes such a casual fabric and clothing article and makes it just that little bit more dressed up.



I then was lucky enough to find about 5 yards of a bright yellow mid-weight synthetic crinkled fabric that I fell in LOVE with. I originally wanted to make a plain, tiered skirt maxi, but I quickly realized it was the wrong fabric for that. I instead folded the yardage in half, gathered it a LOT at the half line (aka the shoulders), and then gathered it EVEN MORE in the shoulders (two different layers of elastic thread and gathering). I sliced into the shoulder to create a V-neck, and did two rows of elastic thread smocking around my waist line. From there I just cut it at the bottom and wore It out! it may be a bit heavier style fabric than typical for this style dress, but I totally love it!! It's perfect for the hot weather that has finally landed in California. I loved this dress so much I've decided to go another direction for my wedding dress (which is still far in the future but it's nice to look)! This is my Official June Dress.



And finally, and most recently I made a dress from Bedsheets! they weren't fancy sheets, just plain 200 thread count oens from Target. You know the ones, marketed at kids going away to college. Well mine were teal and my boyfriend demanded an upgrade to a less girly color and higher thread count. So instead of throwing them away I insisted we keep them so I can do something fun with them. I attacked the fitted sheet first by completely removing like elastics (which became the perfect play things for my cat, Elvis. like teal snakes, he goes insane!!) and then cut out the pattern pieces for the top. This was my first dress with a crossfront like this and I think it went really well! I was really proud because this was my first real attempt to line the top and I did it pretty successfully. You can see some puckering and pull lines, but that's because I did separate lining and not underlining. If I had done underlining I think it would been smoother. I also think I may have been better off waiting to see where the cross pieces crossed before tacking it up in the middle of the bust, but hey At least now I know. I then measured out two large pieces for the skirt and used more elastic thread to do gathering on a panel for the back. I made two huge mistakes here, though. I made the top skirt piece WAY too long, and not wide enough (originally I was going to make this a floor length skirt and realized quickly the teal was a bit too bright to do a full dress of it), and I made the back panel way too wide. I couldn't find my seam ripper, so I literally just cut straight through the middle skirt panel and brought the cut edge up the waist line (about five inches removed). But the back panel fit the skirt width properly, so when I took in the panel I had to creatively minimize the fabric in the skirt.I decided to go with a box pleat in the center back, and it turned out pretty well! it didn't get too bulky above my butt, and gave it better width around my hips. It was surprisingly easy despite all the working and reworking I had to do on the dress. To add some pizazz I sewed on some matching teal ribbon that I had lying around. Yay Official July Dress, not at the very last minute!

Now I plan on moving on to the Rayon wrap dress I want to make myself. I have insisted to my sister that I must do my own knit wrap dress before I even touch her fabric because my fabric is 8 dollars a yard rayon from Joann's, and hers is beautiful japanese print silk knit from Britex for $150 a yard. There's no way I'm not making a trial run for this. I would KILL MYSELF, before she could even kill me for wasting fabric by messing up. After doingthe cross front for the teal dress I feel pretty good about doing it in knit. It'll be so much easier since it's knit, and will barely even need any darting at the waist! I'm pretty excited now for it.

I almost forgot! Before I even get to that I have to work with my group in my Fashion Entrepreneurship class! We're writing up a business plan for a store, ours is a Vintage Reproduction Bridal Boutique, and for part of the business plan we have to create a sample, in our case a dress! I've got to work with my group mates to demolish a Jessica McClintock dress and some yards of lace into a vintage dress! It'll be fun, I'll probably post a picture of the finished dress on here.

Teen Sewing at Cañada College

So my school, Cañada College, has a summer Teen Sewing class. Tuition if free to those still enrolled in high school, and it's a great opportunity for anyone who has wanted to learn to sew but doesn't have relatives or friends that know how, and even if you already know some basics about sewing there is still a lot to learn and gain from this class! It's Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:10 to 4:00 pm, June 21st through July 28th.



There are also some great classes this summer that I will be taking as well that I mentioned last post. Along with the Basic Serging, Beginning Teen Sewing, and Fashion Entrepreneurship classes, there is Beginning Clothing Construction (even experienced sewers loved this class, because they still learned a lot!), and a class called Copying Ready-To-Wear. Copying ready to wear is where you already have basic sewing skills and you are taught how to make a pattern of your favorite store bought article of clothing. The teacher, Lynda Maynard, also helps you create the pattern so it's better fitting for your specific figure if at all possible. From that pattern you can make it over and over again in whatever fabrics, colors, and weather styles you want! 100% valuable!

I hope you guys don't get tired of my talking up my school this much because honestly, it's AWESOME, and not enough people know about it.

I am a terrible Blogger

I barely ever post now! I've finished with school and had about a week off now, and I have missed having free time. I did in fact sew a dress for May, but it was my sister's celery dress that was truly supposed to be finished by march... I am so lazy. I've got quite a few dresses and garments planned for this summer, I wonder which ones I'll actually get to! I've already started working on a Cape for winter. It's going to be adorable!

I've also planned to get a head start on the Halloween costumes that my friends and I will be wearing this year since they are all going to be custom drafted, made, and fitted for each one of us... and that's kind of a lot of work for such a lazy person.

we will be delighting San Jose with Disney Twisted Princesses!

I will be Ariel,
Susan will be Jessie the cowgirl,
and our third friend will be Alice.

it's going to bloody, sexy fun.

this summer at Cañada I am excited to be taking a Fashion Entrepreneurship class! This will help me learn the ways to make myself a better business woman in the fashion world! I will also be taking a basic serger class because as it turns out I don't know how to work my serger all that well. ahahahaha.

Here's to summer vacation, even if the weather says fall!
(i'll be honest, it's just like my old home town without the fog!)

Ruffles and Stuff

I was stumbling around on the internet and found this adorable blog called Ruffles And Stuff. She has some great posts about design, and does some awesome tutorials on how to add pizzaz to clothing. She does a lot of refashioning, and I in particular LOVE this cardigan she modified.

It's so cute and all she did was add collar detail!

she also did a really great post about extending the life and wearability of her daughters clothes. some of those ideas I might even add to my own wardrobe.

Honestly I keep going through all of her old posts (apparently the blog doesn't get updated anymore?) and most of her style is so darling I just want to do it myself. You should check it out.

Ruffles And Stuff