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Mix n Match Dress

The sewing room has been quite out of season lately as it's super-warm upstairs so apologies for the lack of updates, but that's why. (I've also been working on some art and have some Holga photos developed with some more new ones on the way so those are things to look forward to!)

Meanwhile, I cooked up an idea about how to use almost ALL of my scrap fabric from the past 8 years I've lived in Chicago. This fabric has traveled with me to different apartments - some have been part of projects from my first year in fashion design school, some are fabrics I've inherited (thanks Mom), fabrics I rescued from thrift stores, or leftover fabric from recent projects.

I hereby present my Mix n Match dress!


This idea is so simple, it really isn't an idea at all.... but you get what I'm doing. The idea is to have a super-simple design block with an array of variations. Most designers do this anyway - save patterns of a few basic design blocks then manipulate it depending upon the design idea. (I have my patterns from anything I have made from the past 5 years or so on hand in a container for reference.)

I basically wanted something I can make a dress form without making new patterns, basically. I based the design off of this dress which is simply an armhole princess seam pattern block, but it makes for a very cute and functional dress which has a vintage feel.

Here is my working sketch on the right (and another non-related sketch on the left), where I decided the block should be an armhole princess seam just like the red one I love.



And here is progress of the dress I'm working on, pieces laid out how they'll be sewn with color block slash side pockets.


The paisley fabric I think I recall rescuing from a thrift store, though it's been so long I can hardly remember. The mustard color is leftovers from this dress, then the dark blue polyester is from this apron I made for my mom for Christmas, and the mint green is the long part I chopped off of the dress seen here which was once a floor-length 70s maxi dress.

Overall, this dress should sew together pretty quickly, but seeing as how it's supposed to be in the 90s well into next week... I may not have much luck in the sewing room since it's the hottest place in the house in the technical attic space.

Time to install the 80s air conditioner I have which barely works? With my luck, I'll blow a fuse in this ol' house.

Stay tuned for some Holga photos within the week!

Bonus: Been listening to Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti station on Pandora. The best contemporary psychedelic goodness you can get (in my opinion) since my favorite 60s psych/garage internet radio, Technicolor Web of Sound is no longer in business. Some nice shoe-gazey tracks show up on this station too!

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