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I have finally finished my wool suiting 1940s dress that I have been planning on for a while, and I am really pleased with how it turned out! The dress pattern that I used is the Vintage Vogue pattern V9082. The whole pattern fit very well, and the only adjustments that I had to make were to the darts. That was an easy fix to ensure that it fit me perfectly, and the rest of the dress went together quickly. The pattern called for a hidden zipper, but I prefer to set the zipper in normally because that makes it stronger, and I have had the issue of hidden zippers getting caught. One detail that I am very proud of is the matched front panels. This happened completely by accident, and I love how it looks. The sleeves have two pleats in them to create a 1940s silhouette without any padding. There are so many photos that I like from the photo shoot, so I will put a break and you can see more if you would like.
Also, stay tuned for a video about how I made this dress over the next few days!
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Since school ended recently (and I am done for good! Until college...), I have been working on a few projects. The first one, which I have brought up before on my blog in my Fabric Haul post, is a late 1940s styled dress with a matching blazer. This one has been a bit weird to work on since its been so warm lately and I am making the set out of a wool suiting. However, I love the fabric that I chose out, and can't wait to keep working on it. This one I am actually going to make a video of me sewing it, so you can see some of my process when it comes to sewing more 'modern' clothes. Another thing that I have been working on is planning for next years MakeFashion show. The call for proposals is coming up quickly, so I have been drawing out my ideas as well as coming up with a budget. I posted a short video of me working on one of the sketches on my Instagram. I have been using these Artist's Loft Dual Tip Markers, which are blend-able markers slightly similar to Copic Markers, and I am loving them! I have also finished my regency stays, which I had mentioned a while ago, and I will do a post on them once I have some good photos. ~K
I have been intrigued with quilting for a while now, but so far I have never tried it. I decided to learn some new skills by making a small quilt as a present for a teacher. The fabric that I used is from a bundle that I received as a gift a while ago. I thought that the colours in the cotton fabrics went so well with the cotton sateen that I decided to use it as a backing for the quilt. The quilting that I did was very simple, since I have only ever tried it on some test pieces, but I like how it turned out. The entire front piece is hand sewn together, and the quilting was done by machine. It was finished off by hand as well. Since this project turned out well, I have some ideas brewing for a pair of 18th century quilted jumps. Jumps are basically a pair of stays without the boning, and they were often worn by working class women. ~K
There are a few things that I would like to change on this dress, such as adjusting the fit (it is slightly too big, something I can fix pretty easily), as well as adding another band about 2/3 of the way down the sleeve to make the sleeve have a double puff. Other than that, I am pretty pleased with how it turned out! The front of the dress features a box-pleated panel, and I added a red ribbon along with a brooch. ~K
My mom and I went to the Regency at the Fairmont Palliser a few weekends ago, and it was beautiful. The hotel is old and is stunning inside, and I loved seeing all of the costumes that people were wearing. I made dresses for my mom and I, and I have to admit that I cut a bit close to the deadline when it came to making them... I ended up finishing my dress just a few hours before we had to leave. Fortunately, I did not have to finish it in the car on the way there, which I have heard of happening in the costuming world! I used the pattern on the left for my dress, and the one on the right for my moms. Everything that I used for this project was stash, so it didn't cost me anything. This first one was made out of a sheet. It is gathered at the sleeves, waist, and neckline with twine, which can be tightened or loosened so that different people could wear it. We accented it with a white ribbon at the waist. In some of the pictures you can see the twine at the sleeves. The twine is hidden when the dress is worn. I will do another post about the dress that I wore, along with some photos from the evening at the Palliser.
~Katherine A few weeks ago I picked up a few things for new projects. I have had a gift card from my boyfriend and his family to Fabricland for months now, so I finally got to use it! The first thing that I grabbed, which I was originally planning for, was a wool blend for a 1940's pattern that I have been wanting to make since the beginning of the year. I am thrilled with the fabric that we found, so I will be making both the dress and the matching blazer with it some time in the near future. I also picked up all of the things that I will need to finish the dress: a zipper, belt buckle, and some buttons. The next thing that I picked up I am very excited about! American Duchess just released their new pattern, inspired by the Red Dress from Outlander. I was impressed by their last patterns, so I didn't hesitate to grab this one. It comes with patterns for a separate top and skirt, along with a pannier pattern, which I will be putting to good use! Another thing that I am thrilled to have picked up was a dress form! I have wanted a dress form for ages, so I ended up choosing that for my grad gift. The last thing that I got was actually a gift. This is one of the most amazing gifts that I have gotten, and I love how it looks in my little sewing room. A family friend was getting rid of a few things, and she gave me this beautiful sewing machine! Since it came with all of its extra parts, I am hoping to be able to get it working so that I can sew with it.
I have been working on a few things to get ready for grad lately, but once grad is over, I will start working on some new projects that I have been planning. Also, we went to the Jane Austen ball last weekend, so stay tuned to see some photos from it! ~Kate The reason why last weeks blog post was pretty late because I was on vacation in Mexico over the spring break. I loved travelling much more than I thought that I would (I have never really been out of the country, so I was a bit nervous), and I got a ton of inspiration while walking through the markets and sitting on the beach. My family history is actually from South America, so it wasn't as big of a culture shock as I thought it might be. A lot of the language and humor, etc, that we encountered there were pretty reminiscent of my grandparents, and it was really great to connect more with my roots. I loved all of the colour that we saw on the buildings and in the clothes, and I think that I will be bringing some of that into my work more than I have in the past. I normally gravitate toward more darker, muted colours, and I am very excited to start trying to use more colour. I was also inspired by some of the costumes that the dancers wore when we saw some of them at the resort. Since I have been planning and drawing out my ideas that I will be submitting to MakeFashion next year, I have been using some of these new ideas for it. I really loved the experience, and I am hoping that I will get lots more opportunities to travel in the future. I can't wait to use some of the colours and shapes from Mexico in my future designs!
~K I have just started on the project that I mentioned in earlier posts- the Regency era dresses. I will be making two dresses: one will be a simple round gown in a blue cotton sateen, and the other will (hopefully) be a bib-front dress in cream muslin. Yesterday I cut out the pieces for the first dress out of a Burda pattern, one that I talked about in this post. I will be pretty busy sewing-wise in the next few weeks. Along with this project, I will also be changing my grad dress, and this weekend I am picking up fabric and supplies for my next few projects. ~K
I have recently moved all of my sewing paraphernalia into my own little sewing room! Okay, it doesn't count as a real room, since its actually the storage closet, but its very cozy and cute! Its nice to have my own space to sew in, and its great to be able to close a door and leave out whatever I am currently working on. Since my cat has a habit of eating fabric, this works perfectly to be able to shut him out while I am working. We found this beautiful light that looks stunning in the little space and gives me more light by the sewing machine. I was given the sari a few years ago, so I used it to cover the shelf, which was pretty ugly. I have always been too scared to cut into the sari to make something out of it, so its nice to be able to use it and see it every day. ~K
So the fashion show was on the weekend, and it went almost without a glitch. The show turned out beautifully, and even though there were some things that didn't quite work out on my dress like I wanted it to, I still love how it worked out. I had an incredible technician who helped me, and it made the whole process so much less stressful, even when things went wrong. Everyone who worked on this project was amazing, and I am in awe of their efficiency and how calm everyone was, even during the most fast pace moments before the show. I was working in the team Virtually Vogue, and I had the privileged of working at ARCHEloft in Calgary, a maker space that is open to pretty much everyone. Every single part of this project and the people that I was working with was incredible, and I hope that I will be able to be a part of the event again next year! Okay, enough gushing... here are some photos from the show on Saturday: You can also watch a video from the show here. If you would like to see more photos from the evening, let me know! Tons more will be showing up on the MakeFashion website as well as their facebook page, so keep your eyes peeled if you are interested in seeing all of the other gowns from the event. Check out their instagram, too, since they have been posting photos of every gown at the show.
~K Photos by Kenneth Fung I have been quiet around here for the past few weeks, but I do have an excuse! I have been recently working with the MakeFashion team for the fashion show at Telus Spark in Calgary that is happening tomorrow (!!). MakeFashion is wearable tech, meaning that not only are the dresses stunning and completely unique, but they also include lights, motors, and other technology. I am so excited for the show, it is going to look incredible! I have been lucky enough to sew an entire dress for one of the collections, so I will be posting lots of photos once the show is over. It has all gone so quickly, and I can't wait to show you what I've been working on! The show will be on this Saturday at 7, you can check out their website here to check out some of the amazing work from past years and find some more information about this years. I will be posting more behind the scenes looks and progress pictures on my instagram, which you can check out here ~K
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