Sketching

I look at creating clothing as a series of steps. First there is an idea or inspiration, then the design, then the sketch, then pattern making, prep (cutting, serging, etc.), and sewing. 

Sewing is what I am most familiar with. 

Pattern making has been my favorite since I started learning how a few years ago. 

Sketching is what I need the most practice with. 

My very first time sketching a design was a few years ago. It was an eye opening experience for me because I wasn't half bad at it! I really loved sketching and brainstorming ideas. 

I bought myself this Fashionary sketch book. Each page has three faint sloper outlines. There are also pages of helpful info involving design.

This page shows all different types of coats and shirts.

I refer to this page regularly! It translates all those symbols on clothing care instructions.

I find inspiration in things that I see, often adding my own flare and style to it. 

I've also learned that fabric is a very important aspect of design. To achieve the look desired, the fabric choice is critical. I like to specify next to each design what color and type of fabric I imagined for the piece. 

For a Fashion Design and Merchandising class I took, we had to come up with an imaginary fashion line with six different looks and a theme. We had to know who our target customer was and what the price range would be, among other things. 

This project came easily to me because I had so many sketches ready to go! My target customer would be someone just like me: someone who is willing to pay a little extra money for quality fabric and construction. My target customer is someone who want to be the best dressed person in the room. 

I would rather have one beautifully well made, expensive dress than have twenty poorly made, cheap dresses. Hands down.  

My Love for Costumes

I've always had a thing for costumes. 

It seems like everyone has their thing that they pay close attention to in movies or TV. For some it's the special effects. For others it's the dialogue or the camera angles. For some it's the costumes. That's me. I love me a good costume.

Despite that, I never had a passion for theater. 

However, for the first three years of college, I would walk past the Costume Shop on my way home each day, see the dress forms and sewing machines through the window and find myself wishing that I could get paid to sew. That would be the life! My senior year, I finally mustered up the courage to apply. I there until I graduated. I only wish I had applied three years sooner!

After the experience of working so closely with the theater productions, I have a new-found appreciation for theater and the work that goes into it. 

So much fabric!

When I graduated, my parents wanted a tour of the costume shop I had told them so much about. We took these pictures as we walked around.

The storage room was filled with costumes, sorted by era. The system of racks moves to the row selected.

There are so many textures, styles, and prints!

Surprisingly enough, I learned a lot about history from working here. In order to find the piece you were looking for, you had to know the difference between Edwardian and Victorian. I found it fascinating how greatly fashion has changed over time and the factors that influenced it, like war and revolutions. 

The cutting table is where Patty, my boss, worked her magic. She was a master pattern maker and an incredible seamstress. Each of us would sit at a sewing machine and get to work. There were often visitors, sometimes students and sometimes a helpless wanderer with button-less pants in need of our services. 

Often, we would play cheesy romantic comedies as we worked. We couldn't very well watch the movie, but we could listen! 

Reminiscing

I love looking back at pictures of things that I've made throughout the years. I've never been good at documenting, and often I forget about a project until years later. 

This picture makes. Me. Cringe! 

It was 2007. We were at the movies about to see Hairspray (in what appears to be BROAD DAYLIGHT). We loved to dress crazy at every opportunity we got. Also, ignore the fact that we were shooting for the '60's and landed somewhere in the early '90's.

That's me on the left in the green dress. I do believe that that little green sheath dress was the first piece of clothing I ever made for myself. That next Christmas my parents got me my first sewing machine. 

Fast forward seven years from the first dress I ever made to the most important dress I ever made: 

My wedding dress.

I still get butterflies when I look at our wedding pictures! It reminds me of how I felt the week that led up to the wedding. I was about to marry my love and be his wife forever! I couldn't help but feel like I had prepared my whole life to be there. Family is everything to me, and choosing Jesse was the best, most important decision I've made.

We were engaged for three short months and we had a perfect wedding day. In those three months, I somehow managed to make my wedding dress. I remember being in the car with Jesse and Nickell, our photographer, on our way to the beach to take pictures a few days before the wedding. I was sitting in the back seat sewing the last few lace flowers onto the dress, being especially careful not to let Jesse see the finished product. 

My dress turned out very simple, but just the way I wanted it. There is a sense of pride that comes from making your own wedding dress that will never be matched. That's an awesome feeling. 

Wildlife Wednesday

In my textiles class, we learned about all sorts of textiles, weaves, knits, synthetic fibers, natural fibers, and dyes. I learned some very useful things about fabric. It has made me a better seamstress. 

One of our projects was creating a stencil and transferring it to fabric. We traced our stencils on freezer paper because it is waxed on one side and can be temporarily ironed onto the fabric. 

I chose to make something for my new boyfriend, Jesse. 

If you knew Jesse, you'd know that he loves snakes! I found a really cool image of a snake online, traced it on the freezer paper, traced the outline with a razor, and ironed it onto the shirt. Then I painted it, starting with light blue and progressing to black. 

He even wore it on a Skype date during our semester apart!

Unintentional coordination! Dressing up for Wildlife Wednesday when we were in college was HUGE.

It's kind of cheesy, I know, but Jesse is so sweet, he would happily wear anything I make for him, no matter how embarrassing! 

Color Block Baby Sleeper

A few weeks ago I went to my sisters baby shower. I realized the night before that I didn't have a gift! I hurried and dug up my fabric collection and layer out all of my knit fabrics. I had some patterned, some pink, some stripes, and a LOT of blue. I decided to use all of them!

With baby clothes, I'm never picky about my fabric because it requires such small amounts and I use whatever I have already. I have noticed that I tend to go with the color block, straight-out-of-the-90's style (exhibit A). 

So much blue! Perfect for a baby boy outfit.

A few of my baby patterns. I decided to make a sleeper because it had the most pattern pieces for color blocking.

I never take pictures mid process, but I did manage to catch one.

Work in progress!

Sleeve detail

Foot detail

And the finished product! I used a grey zipper because it was all I had.. 

The adorable elbow patches were Jesse's idea! I loved the idea so much, I almost cried! Now we can consider it a team effort, right? 

I was really happy with how it turned out and my sister loved it, too! Her due date is a week away and I can't wait to see him in it!

Swing Dress

It's pretty rare that I sew something for myself, but when I do it's bound to be a swing dress!

When I see an article of clothing I love, I first start imagining what the pattern would look like if I were to make it. Then I go home and do nothing about it. Months later {sometimes], I make it!! 

That is exactly what happened with this dress:

The Anthro dress that served as inspiration (also the most beautiful dress I've ever seen)

I've been dreaming about this dress for a year! It might be the prettiest dress in the world. It was my inspiration with the flowy cut and the ultra high neckline. I chose to add sleeves and use a solid knit instead of a patterned silk fabric. 

Solid colors are my safe zone. I have yet to try a fabric as amazing as that orange-red floral. 

I love pattern making. It's my favorite part of the process because it requires so much planning and attention. Its such an important part of the design process. You really have to know what you want the outcome to be and how you're going to get there. I love the challenge!

A shot from Easter Sunday!