Victrola Romper with Simplicity 6959

I actually finished this last piece almost 3 weeks ago before I went to visit Chicago for a bit (yes, in the winter - cold doesn't bother you after 10 years of living there!)

I was lucky enough to find a few vintage patterns at a local thrift store with miraculously all the pieces! I feel like that never happens.

I'm still going on my odd-Photoshop kick though this one is more just a color-palette background. I kinda like the way they all look so much better now. This pattern is Simplicity 6959 from 1975.

So in these photos.... I was sort of going for a retro-ad feel. I think it works!

Here's the scan of the pattern packet.

I toyed with the idea of making this romper in a combo (reeeeally bad Photoshop but it gets the idea across), and eventually went with all-over print since why not? I have the fabric already!

I'm pleased to show off that the fabric I used is one of my own designs, printed off on Spoonflower! It's my hand-drawn Victrola repeat that I designed using Photoshop and a few skills I learned long, long ago in design school. (Haha.)

I usually joke that I "never learned anything in design school" or that it "never got me anywhere" but that's actually far from the truth. It's helped me in all my retail management positions and as a bonus, I have a fantastic side project. I currently love being able to be a creative weirdo and not have to make things. I'm just being an artist, really. That's all I ever wanted to do with my life for the most part, and I am living it.

I was also excited to see that this fabric print I designed somehow made a Featured 100 list on Spoonflower.

This doesn't actually seem like an easy feat seeing as how thousands of people upload their designs to Spoonflower on a daily basis. I was quite shocked, actually!

Otherwise, this pattern sews up pretty quickly. I somehow got tripped up on the collar/facing combo because I design mine differently and the directions weren't super-clear. I also had to hand-baste the zipper near the top closed while applying the zip due to the weird facing, but hey.

If anyone wants to buy this fabric design for themselves to use on a garment, it is available on my Spoonflower account! I'll be working on some more print designs in the near-future since I'm having a ton of fun with it!

Here's an 8" x 11" swatch of the fabric design once again!

Latch Hook Rug Update

A little under a month ago I received all of my supplies to take on one of the biggest long-term projects I have ever taken on - a self-designed latch hook rug. I don't know why, but I am clearly nuts. So beginning today I am posting photos each month, (preferably on the 1st of each month) progress of this gigantic shag rug. See how I started it here (scroll down past posting of my $10 dress). This is a photo of it today: Yes, I used the candelabra for scale. Haha. This rug is really soft and is fun to run your fingers through. It doesn't look like much was accomplished, but though the number of packages we have gone through of pre-cut latch hook rug yarn already I have calculated that we've used over 2500 strands for this ie.) 8 packages. I also just ordered 10 more packages of lime green since that's what I ran out of first and 6 more packages of straw yellow. There is still quite a bit to go, but you see the blue row squares? Each of th

DIY Trapeze Dress

I'm a pretty big fan of tent dresses (or trapeze dresses - call it what you want). They're simple, easy-to-make and you can have many variations of them. These are a fun style to wear for spring and summer! See this DIY from a Good Housekeeping Crafts book from 1971 - photos at the end of my own trapeze top from a while ago! (Bear with me on the photos here - this book is quite cumbersome and hard to scan.) Applique patterns, in case you wanted the dress to look EXACTLY like the photo. (But why?) How to cut the fabric efficiently. (This is actually pretty important cost-wise for you - especially with something this big.) Using pattern instructions from my patternmaking book from college, I created this swingy trapeze top a bit ago. I used sweater fabric from a thrift store find for the collar of this top. I also opened up the back on the pattern to have a diamond shape. It can easily be belted like in this photo fo

Shingo Sato and the Art of Transformational Reconstruction

So I got really excited on my break at work today when I got an email from Burda about a webinar they're doing on a pattern technique called "Transformational Reconstruction" developed by Japanese designer Shingo Sato. I hadn't even heard of Shingo Sato until today let alone his design technique but oddly, it's sort of the path I'm going down with my designs anyway as seen with the Sunrise Panel dress as well as the Petra Dress and the pattern making involved in those designs. What I did there is perhaps a "light" version of Sato's where the darts and shaping are hidden in the seam lines. If you've been reading this blog long enough, you know that my design aesthetic focuses largely on color blocking, unusual seam lines, and a love of anything psychedelic. Note: All photos stolen from the internet. Sorry! I'm super-excited. Let me know if it's yours and I'll take it down. Shingo Sato teaching. More designs using

TanithFebruary 27, 2015 at 1:12 AM
This has turned out so cute and fun! And I really find your fun photoshopped outfit photos inspiring! They make me want to do some fun things with my photos more often too :) And I really still seriously love this print.
BobbiFebruary 27, 2015 at 5:41 AM
Cute! I love the fabric you designed. Very cool. I'll have to save up for a skirt's worth.

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