Manic Pop

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...

What a ride 2013 has been! Sometimes I get to the point where I say to myself, "You haven't done enough." I'm actually getting that feeling right now, but maybe perhaps it's because during winter I slow down a bit altogether. (Seriously though - don't beat yourself up kids. It doesn't get you anywhere) . If you haven't seen my " Past Projects " page, it really got beefed up this year. I made a total of about 24 garments this year - only TWO were not my own original pattern (the one that wasn't my pattern was the fall coat and a skirt I pattern tested). I'm also counting the 4 tank dresses I made in that number. By contrast, I only made about 6 garments in 2012. Pattern making is something I have gotten pretty quick at, though I think this year I want to move onto far more complex things. Maybe I will, maybe I won't! I suppose we'll have to see. I learned quite a bit this year! Let's look at some highlights by th...

I think every year, I have one project that pisses me off sooooo much that I just end up in tears and throwing it across the room at some point or another. Last year it was the Cloud Dress (which isn't difficult at all) and this year it was this dress! At some point, the zipper just decided I needed to completely rip it out. Lucky for me, I had adjustments to make on the entire dress. This dress is definitely NOT HARD to sew, but that stupid zipper still made me much more upset than I ever needed to be. I can't tell you how many zippers I have sewn in my life: probably around 100? Maybe less? I have a technique down but all the hand-basting, pressing, going slow in the world wouldn't get this one to not bunch. Ok, I lied - it looks quite alright now. I always do a lapped zipper due to the fact that I can't find any invisible zippers that are more than 24" long in stores. I always forget to look on the internet for them and by the time I need them, I...

 As if I really needed anything else in my life that was rainbow!  But I digress. I've been doing some major stash-busting recently and thought up this quick project to get rid of multiple colors of fabric that have really little use anywhere else. I was inspired by my friend Anastasia Chatzka who is pretty much known for her usage of circle skirts but also wanted some way to make it.... ya know, more gaudy! Gaudy like me! So I made an 8-panel gore circle skirt! The top is something I thrifted about 2 years ago at this point with the intention of adding a collar to it but I really don't think it needs anything.  I dug that up going through my collection of scrap fabric - I had forgotten all about it! I simply couldn't pass up a print like this one even though it wasn't my size.  I did some adjusting to it and here is the very un-scientific way I did it:  See how large it was? First I put it on my dressform which is about my size. (She has ...

Alright, kids! I said that I wanted to release a PDF sewing pattern in 2014 and I'd like to make good on that. Here goes nothing! Right now, I'm in the planning stages of it all. The patterns are currently made for all of theses styles from 2013 but I need your help in choosing which one I should release! You can either leave your answer in the comments or click on the poll on the right sidebar - voting ends on January 9th.     ------------------------------------------------------>>>  Please note that all these patterns include POCKETS. Petra and Sunrise have inside side-seam pockets and the Scallop has designed slash pockets. The pattern will likely see a full release by late 2014, perhaps Autumn 2014.  More details closer as I move along on this. I'll need about 10 pattern testers about 2 for each size. I'm planning on US sizes varying between 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8. More information and photos on each design here: Petra Dress Sunr...

And now.... a very special blog post!  Back in about July me and Tanith of Tanith Rowan Designs collaborated on a maternity dress! I was up for the challenge: I had never made anything maternity before and I am still in early stages of using stretch knits for designing.  So I devised a version of my Sunrise Panel dress just for her based on her measurments and specifically for a stretch knit.  Dummy me didn't take photos with my DSLR like I usually do (or maybe I did but deleted them accidentally because I ran out of room on my SD card?) so we'll have to deal with in-progress photos from my phone.  I think the hardest part was deciding on colors. The fabric store I went to in Chicago can be hit or miss with stretch knit and being a little less knowledgeable in stretch knit, I wanted to see all the weights in person at the store before I bought it.  This is also the first garment I have sewn entirely on my serger - but it was...

Ah boy... it's been a whole 10 days.  I'm finishing up the last 2 patterns for the rest of my mini dress collection for the grand opening of the Etsy store. I severely needed a break on Tuesday to just not think about anything (I still work 40 hours a week, mind you!). Today was also full of running errands, sourcing fabric for my own personal fall jacket. Preview: I decided I'm making this one from BurdaStyle with color adjustments, minor detail adjustments. It's obviously not because I cannot make jacket patterns (see New Militia jacket) it's just that they're time consuming, especially when this jacket is only for yourself. I also may be addicted to PDF patterns now that I tested one out for another independent designer. You'll see what I made when the pattern is released but it's reallllly cute! In case anyone missed it on Facebook , here is a photo of Tatiana wearing the Sweetheart Dress from the current Manic Pop collection! She says she...

Time for an edition of: What's in My Sketchbook!   People do a thing like, "What's in my bag?" and display all the items neatly but my bag is such a mess. It's like, wadded up receipts (at least one from Walgreens), about 3 broken pencils, Micron pens, and my sketchbook. My sketchbook is perhaps the most interesting. I'll be on the bus or train and suddenly scrawl in it and that's how the Sunrise Panel Top came to be - it was a doodle on the train one morning! Next project: Contrast maxi skirt, potential colorways Admittedly, I have a "schtick". Some might say a "voice". One of those things is apparently putting these 3 colors together, but I can't decide which colorway I like best just yet, but it's definitely between the 1st 2. This was a quick Photoshop rendering tonight of my next project which I just bought the fabric for today - a stretch lycra. I might make my pattern for 2 stripes only inste...