Since my Curiosities collection is based on the 1880s, I have most of my undergarments for them from my Frankenstein dress. The only things that I have had to make to go under these dresses were a bustle cage and petticoat. I could have used the bum pad that I made for my Frankenstein dress, but I wanted a more dramatic silhouette, and I have always wanted to make one. I talked about making the bustle cage in the last post, and once that was done I draped a petticoat over it. It is just muslin pleated onto a waistband with a lace bottom.

So far I have made two of the skirts, both of them are very simple. They are draped in the same way as the petticoat, I just draped them over the bustle and sewed them to a waistband. 

I have been filming the progress of each of the pieces so far, so I don't have many pictures. I will put out the video once I have pictures of the final products.

​~K

I finally started on my newest project- a collection of bustle dresses! I was inspired by many things for this little collection of (hopefully) four dresses, the largest inspiration being photos from the circus throughout the ages, especially the 1880s. I also have been inspired by my tarot cards (by the artist Nicoletta Ceccoli), as well as the show Ripper Street, and some of the strange vintage photos found online. I have talked about this collection before, in my Plans and Fabric Haul video, and have finally decided on a name for the collection- Curiosities.

The first thing that I needed to make to before I started the dresses was a bustle cage. I made a bum pad for the last bustle dress that I did, but I really wanted to make an actual bustle cage, so I decided to use the American Duchess pattern for panniers, but I just made one instead of two. I also made the pattern about 4 inches smaller since my panniers are quite large.

Next up- the dresses! I've decided to start with one that is based off of Alice in Wonderland.

​~K

I finally finished editing my video on the In the Mood for Love Dress. I filmed pretty much the whole process of me making it, from cutting it out (using a pattern from Patterns by Gertie) to the fnished product. The music is La Valse d'Amelie by Yann Tiersen and Chris Snelling. If you want to see more of my youtube videos, my channel is here

Thanks for watching! I will put up more photos of the finished dress in a post next week

​~K

I recently made my way to Bhatia Cloth House with some projects in mind, and I am so excited with what I came out with! 

Let me know how you like this type of video!

​~K

I have finished editing the making of video for my bustle dress! I am thinking of doing more videos like this, so let me know if you like it!

​~K

I had the most incredible opportunity recently to make a costume for a film made by an Albertan director. I worked with Mitchell George from Crooked Cinema to make one costume for their new film Highway Patrolman. I was so thrilled to be able to be a part of this, especially since my goal is to be a movie costumer! You can check out their website here.

I made a 1950's styled diner dress for the film, which was great to do since I love the 1950's and have had a bit of an obsession recently with the era. I used the same Burda pattern as I did for my 1950's Blue Dress with a few alterations to it. I made the dress in about 3 and a half days, while working on the side a bit. It was a bit of a tight schedule, but luckily enough this was an easy style to make, and I was able to find the right colour of fabric very quickly.

The collar, cuffs, and apron were self drafted, and the dress was based on the Burda pattern. The dress was done mostly on the machine to save time, and finished by hand (button holes, cuffs, and collar were all done by hand).

I got quite of few progress pictures of this dress, so this will be a very photo heavy post!

I am so thrilled with how this turned out, and with the fact that I got this opportunity! Be sure to keep an eye out on Crooked Cinema, and for when Highway Patrolman comes out!
~K

I just had a very exciting opportunity, and I will tell you all about it as soon as I can! But for now, here are a few photos of me working on my bustle dress- this was just when I was hemming it a few days ago. All that is left now are button holes, although that project has been put to the side for a few days. I will get back to it very soon, and I do have a location for photos now, which is very exciting! 

Also, if you haven't noticed already, I added another page to my website! I added a Self Care section, which is another blog page. Since I have been doing so much training about cosmetics and skin care with my job, I thought that I would share another one of my passions with you, and some of the information that you may not be hearing from others. I also have an instagram for the self care side of my interests, and you can see that here if you are interested.

I also have some more exciting news that I found out a week or so ago- I got accepted into Olds College for Costume Cutting and Construction, starting next fall.

I can't wait for all of these new opportunities, and I am very excited for when I am able to show you what I have been working on this week!
​~K

As I had said in my last post, I did move my studio recently! It is easy to see that this room is larger than my last one, which is very nice. I am so pleased to have the extra space now, and I love how everything looks in the room.

When I moved everything upstairs, I was pretty surprised at how much I had managed to fit in the last room! Everything in this new studio is from the last one, except for the comfy chair in the corner, which you will see in later pictures in this post.

I also have a second book case in this room which was not in the last studio. I am thrilled to be able to fit all of my design books in here!

If you would like to see the tour for the last studio, click here
If you are curious about my progress for the bustle dress, I am just doing the finishing touches and then we will get photos once we have the chance. I am working on a video for it as well, which I will post along with the photos.
​~K

I have been in Calgary quite a bit lately for training for my job, so the last time that we went my mom picked up some fabric for me while I was training through the afternoon. There are a couple of projects that I have been planning for a while now, and I am so excited that I have fabric so I can start!

The first project that I have been wanting to make for a few months now is a dress inspired by the movie 'In the Mood for Love' directed by Wong Kar-wai. The movie is beautiful and sad, and the costumes are stunning! It is set in the early 1960's, and I loved the main female characters costumes, so I wanted to make myself something like that. For that project, I got a deep orange- red silk dupioni, as well as a pattern from Patterns by Gertie, which I am very excited to use since I love all of her patterns but so far have not gotten one! 

The next fabric that I got is a red jacket fabric, which is sort of similar to polar fleece, but more tightly woven and a little thinner. I am going to make a Victorian inspired jacket for myself to wear in Germany when I go in the spring. I have decided to use the pattern that I made for my bustle dress bodice for this one, just adjusted to fit an un-corseted body and with a collar. 

I also got a pin-striped light weight wool that I am going to use for a World War 1 era womens suit. I am loosely basing this one the new Wonder Woman movie, since I love Wonder Woman, and I loved the suit that she wore in much of the movie! That one is a plain grey wool, but I didn't want mine to be too close to that one, just more similar in shape, so I chose a black pin stripe instead.

The last fabric that I got is a white and black striped cotton. I have been planning this project for ages, and I am really excited to get going with it! I think it will be a pretty quick outfit, which will be a nice change from my multi-step bustle era dress that I have just been finishing up. This one will be made into a a-line skirt and halter top printed with gold bees. My mom made a bee stamp for me, and since I love bees so much I wanted to make something out of it for myself that I can wear in daily life. This outfit is a little summery, but I think the skirt will be fun for winter to layer with tights.

These pictures were taken in my new sewing room! I will post a studio tour in the next week or so, and I am so excited to show you! I moved into a much larger space and I am so thrilled with how everything looks in it! It also has a window, which means that I finally have the natural light that I've been missing in my old little room.

~K

PS- Would anyone be interested in a video of me talking about plans and looking at fabrics and trims and showing sketches?

For my newest project, I have decided to print my own fabric!My mom (her blog is here) carved a stamp for me, and I printed it onto a grey cotton with fabric ink. I had a very clear idea of what I wanted, and I knew that it would be very unlikely that I would find a fabric like it so I decided to print it myself. I am thrilled with how it turned out!

It took me between an hour and an hour and a half to print each chunk of fabric, which was 2 yards long. I printed 3 of those, and I am sure that it will be enough fabric for what I want to make with it.

You can also see for the first time in these photos our combined studio space! I am still in my little storage closet, but this table is perfect for cutting out pattern pieces and such, so it's really great to have this second space.

I have been busy over the past few weeks, so stay tuned to see all of the projects that I have been working on. I will also let you know what this fabric is for in my next post!

​~K

I filmed the whole process of making my 1940s styled dress from yesterdays post. If you have any questions about the process, or if you want to see more videos like this, let me know! To see more photos of the finished dress, click here.
​
The music is from bensound.com

~K

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

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