Manic Pop

The last dress of my 5-garment dress collection, designed entirely and made from May to September this year. What a summer it was!   Although the pattern isn't 100% perfect, I'm really excited about the new tricks I got to use on this dress: a scalloped yoke using both this and this tutorial as well as inset square pockets on the front of the dress with a large trim around it.      Ok, forgive me: we shot these in Michigan and I didn't have an iron or steamer on hand. The back got crinkly from the drive in! This dress is only the first go-around of sewing it and I have some minor adjustments to make, as always. In lieu of making a muslin, I usually just jump right into my fashion fabric unless I'm working with something really expensive. These were errant yardages I had in my stash along with some new trim I bought for no reason before deciding to use it on the dress. First thing's first: the single side dart really bothers me. The...

Before I get my sewing day started today, I wanted to update with progress on some designs I'm working on . I'm actually almost done with my first run of the Sweetheart Dress which from here on out, will be only in other prints as I only had about 3 yards of this vintage print. This design will be available on Etsy in September but with another fun print I have not yet found. Currently, only the front is pinned to the dressform just to check. The waistline will be more gathered once I get the elastic in it. This is an original design by me. I completed the patterns in about 3 hours on Sunday, cut the fabric, and went into sewing it all on the same day. That's technically a lot of work, but I work fast now!  The side here needs additional pressing, but you get the idea. I went ahead and used the orange/yellow with the pink combo instead of using only pink like everyone was directing me about a month or so ago. I LOVE it. No regrets about it!  So I haven't ...

Finished what I am calling the "Sun set Skirt" last night!  Ok, ok - I am faaaaaarr from a Photoshop expert. If you look hard enough, you can see a bunch of flaws. My advice? DON'T LOOK SO HARD. This skirt is made from a very fine, stretch lycra. In retrospect, perhaps not the best fabric choice. The fabric shows every minor sewing issue and when you walk, it stretches in such a way that the fabric looks like it's a pattern issue with pulling. Also, the fabric store I go to - you have to take your choices. I originally was looking for a stretch jersey but didn't find anything I liked. I also had completely different colors in mind but couldn't find the hues I wanted. I'm not beating myself up about it. This was my 2nd stretch knit fabric garment ever and it was my own pattern.  You may recognize the design from my Ultimate Manic Pop Collection board I did. I never planned on making anything from that board, but over time I real...

I finished my Sunrise Panel top! Yay! Here is something to learn from this top: Always add an extra 10 inches (I swear to God) to your sewing pattern! Why? Because then you'll end up with a too-short top like me. I suppose my real fault is not making a muslin before going into fashion fabric, but I'm lazy and impatient when it comes to things I'm making for just me. Although really? I guess it's not that bad. I won't be going out alone looking like this, that's fer damn sure! I get hit on far too much over here and that's not being conceited. Men are pigs around my neighborhood, really. I mostly plan on wearing it like this with my beloved orange Brooklyn Industries skirt from about 3 years ago. And here is the back, if you're curious. Things I learned while making this top:  Like I said, over-add inches to your bodice block after tracing. You'll thank me. I'm now better with zippers, but still not perfect. This...

So excited about this dress! This dress is made entirely of scrap fabric that I had in my fabric storage. I think the top fabric was thrifted, the yellow and dark blue fabric were scraps from the Space Dress and the mint color is a ton of extra fabric from the old 70s bridesmaid dress I found.    Exposed zip in the back. You can't quite see in these photos, but the colorblock detail is in fact slash patch pockets on each side.  

So after about 6 months of on-and-off working on this fall jacket I finally found fabric I wanted for it!  I had a chance to stop by Textile Discount Outlet again on Tuesday in Pilsen (dummy me had gotten zippers that were just slightly too short for the mix 'n' match dress measurements, but I was feeling absolutely awful the day I picked up zippers.) If you're in the Chicago area and looking for cheap fabric, it's highly recommended you check this place out. Wandering around almost-aimlessly, and not expecting to find my fabric there for that jacket at all, I wandered into the upholstery fabric section. I did find a bunch of beautiful, ornate brocades but none that would really work with these knitted pieces that I made, according to the jacket design from a 70s craft book. Thinking back, I perhaps should have used a solid color for these since it would have made my fabric decision a lot easier but then... ta da! I found it! Perhaps yes, the fabric is...

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 ...

While not a vintage craft or sewing pattern, I wanted to share my excitement of discovering these books at a recent trip to Chicago's MCA. I always enjoy checking out the gift shop and one of these amazing books was on the shelf. Apparently, they were only in Japanese up until not too long ago. Nice to have an English edition to follow along to! These books are full of insane pattern-making how-tos! I recommend these for an experienced pattern maker as they can be a bit complicated even for someone trained in pattern making like me. My favorite teacher in college was Japanese as well - someone I learned a TON from. She worked for Issey Miyake for a bit and gave me an appreciation for the complexity (or simplicity) of making sewing patterns. I believe she considered fashion design "soft sculpture" in a way and that changed a lot for me once I looked at it that way. To this day, I get pretty excited about seeing and working with sewing patterns. Fashion design ...