KATHERINE FUNK
Menu

BLOG

Update

10/12/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Pattern making at the end of summer
Since starting at a new university in September, I have been very busy and slightly neglecting my sewing. However, it has still been in my thoughts, and I haven't abandoned it completely! 
The last 10 days of September were a whirlwind of excitement since I had my small collections from the Future Oceans fashion show in a pop up boutique. It was so fun to see my garments being displayed in a storefront, and the area that we were given to show our clothes was absolutely stunning. I am still so grateful that I was able to be a part of that, even just to see what it looks like to have my eco couture for sale in a mall (it was a pinch me moment). 
I also did sell a few pieces through the 10 days, so the past few weeks I have been altering my patterns to fit the customers measurements, printing custom fabrics, and sewing the dresses. 
Luckily, my university has a maker space with an industrial sewing machine, so that part was easier than I thought that it would be.
Picture
Picture
Example of a Chemise a la Reine. This one is housed at the Manchester Art Gallery
Since making the orders for my Future Oceans dresses, I have been hit with inspiration. This is also thanks to my classes, since I am writing a research paper about the Chemise a la Reine (which I'm sure I will make a version some day, since I've been fascinated with them for ages). Doing the research on clothing in the late 18th century has been giving me so many ideas. I thought that I would talk about some of those tentative ideas here.
Picture
An example of a Robe a la Francais/Sacque Back Gown. These ones are from the MET
Up first: a Robe a la Francais, also known as a Sacque Back Gown. 
​I have been in love with these gowns since middle school, when I saw a photo of one on pinterest. These gowns have such a unique construction method, and if they done properly they are absolutely stunning (at least in my opinion). 
It would be so much fun to chose the decoration for this type of dress as well, which makes my decision to make one even easier. I am planning on draping it myself using the instructions from the American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking.
Picture
Costumes for Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak by Kate Hawley. These photos are from the exhibit at the Toronto Art Gallery (called Guillermo del Toro: At Home with Monsters that was shown in 2018)
Another gown that I have been desperate to make for a few years now is something inspired by Crimson Peak. I loved Lucille Sharpe's costumes throughout the movie (the red and navy dresses in the above photos) since I love the natural form era (late 1800s). I am also a sucker for beautiful yet morbid things, so these costumes are right up my alley. I don't want to copy any of the dresses from the movie, but I would like to make something inspired by them.
Other than that, I have other ideas swirling around in my head but I'm not sure how much time I will have for sewing, and since both of these ideas are pretty big (I would need to also make specialized undergarments to go under them, so that will add quite a bit of work) I think that they will take a pretty long time.

Thanks for reading!
​~K
0 Comments

The Umbrella Academy: The Handler

5/4/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
How beautiful is this outfit??
For the next one in my Umbrella Academy series is The Handler! The Handler is very different in the comics than in the show. She has a fabulous 1950's style in the show, with a fascinator, fingerless gloves, and a beautiful A-Line coat. I immediately fell in love with her costume, hair, and makeup when I first watched the show, and I have the urge to make her dress.
Picture
The Handler in the comics... slightly different than in the show
Picture
I love her whole look! It is paired with a fabulous pair of red heels as well
Picture
The dress that I would love to make one day
Underneath the coat, I wore my pencil dress from last years little Fall Collection (photos here), and the rest are all pieces that I had in my closet already. The coat is from Reitmans, the fascinator I have had for a few years, and the gloves were hand made (not by me). I ended up wearing this little outfit to the Comic Expo in our area since I liked wearing it so much, and I love The Handlers personality.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
~K
0 Comments

The Umbrella Academy: Grace Hargreeves

4/25/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Netflix recently released Season 1 of The Umbrella Academy, a TV show based off of comics by Gerard Way (from the band My Chemical Romance) and Gabriel Ba. I immediately loved everything about the show after watching about 2 minutes of it. The music is fantastic, the set design is beautiful, and I absolutely love the characters.
If you haven't heard of The Umbrella Academy, it is about 7 kids who were all born on the same day and have different 'super powers', and have been adopted by an eccentric billionaire to be superheros. The show is set when they are all adults and have left the Academy that he set up, and talks about their dysfunctional family.
Picture
Grace played by Jordan Claire Robbins. Here she is wearing just one of her many stunning 1950's styled costumes
Picture
Grace with the kids in the TV show
Picture
Grace looks a little bit different in the comic books
I am a sucker for stories about dysfunctional families, so this show was right up my alley. I also love the retro style that pops through that is mixed with a bit of steampunk vibes.
Picture
Picture
After watching the show many times and reading the comics, I have decided to do each of my favourite characters. I just recently (as in a few days ago) finished my courses, so I wanted to do something that was just for fun! I also had a dress that I finished sewing a few months ago that I never got photos of, so I decided to do a bit of a Grace cosplay. Grace is the kids 'mom', a robot created by the billionaire who adopted them. In the show, she has the most fabulous 1950's dresses.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
I thought that the pattern on the fabric of this dress was very fitting for Grace since it has sewing pattern pieces on it. This was made from a Vintage Vogue pattern and is a wrap dress with a V back and patch pockets.
Picture
~K
Picture

Picture
0 Comments

    Etsy

    Archives

    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016

    Categories

    All
    1860s
    18th Century
    1920's
    1930s
    1940s
    1950s
    1960s
    1970s
    American Duchess Patterns
    Berlin Collection
    Bustle Era
    Cosplay
    Curiosities
    Dark History
    Embroidery
    Etsy
    Fabric
    Fabric Haul
    Frankenstein Dress
    Future Oceans
    Hair And Makeup
    History
    Made By Me
    Makefashion
    Making Of
    Mexico Collection
    Modern Sewing
    New Collection
    New Projects
    Other
    Paper Dresses
    Recommendations
    Regency
    Research
    Sewing
    Sewing Studio
    Special Project
    Stays
    The Umbrella Academy
    Travel
    Undergarments
    Video
    Vintage
    Vintage Inspired
    Wes Anderson

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Collections
  • About
  • Blog
  • Portfolio
  • CV
  • Contact
  • Collections
  • About
  • Blog
  • Portfolio
  • CV
  • Contact