motorbird

life: Skateboarding, LIFE opined in 1965, is “the most...

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 17:23:10 -0500

Skateboarding, LIFE opined in 1965, is “the most exhilarating and dangerous joyriding device this side of the hot rod. A two-foot piece of wood or plastic mounted on wheels, it yields to the skillful user the excitements of of skiing or surfing. To the unskilled it gives the effect of having stepped on a banana peel while dashing down the back stairs. It is also a menace to limb and even to life.”

Pretty stylish!

Dressed and Dancing

Sun, 06 May 2012 14:42:00 -0400

I succeeded. I made a dress for my friend Liz’s wedding. And it didn’t rip at the seams thankfully. However, the finished product was significantly different from my original design. Refresh your memory; I was going for sketch B.

The key difference is the lack of ruffle at the bottom and grey lining peaking through. The reason? Simply - I ran out of fabric!

I guess that’s one of the challenges of shopping at Value Village: limited to the generosity of others. Though, that challenge is exactly what I appreciate. My design can be shaped, in part, by availability rather than over-abundance.

But more on that later! On to the subject matter at hand! My finished dress!

I’ll give you the end first: the finished product in action:

And even in a not scripted stance, it seemed to work:

Observe movement:

On To The Details

Prior to showing some of the flaws of the dress, I wanted to point out how the seams in the skirt came together. This beautiful seam is a huge benefit to having created a couture lining. I love how they overlap and have a clean finish. My mom mentioned how an attached lining like this makes ironing out the creases harder if not entirely impossible. While that may be the case, and perhaps there is a work around, I personally feel this seam is worth a bit of a crease:

Flaws in Design

While the dress did hold up, there were a couple of problem areas. For one, the back where the zipper ended puckered out. I actually had to tape it down (shhhh!) to my body. Although as you can see in this purposefully dark picture, the tape didn’t hold up quite as well as the dress and at times it “shelved” out:

Why? I’m not sure. Perhaps the zipper was too short. Perhaps the back panels of the dress were just slightly too tight. Do you have any insights into why and how to fix this?

One other problem that appeared was that the seams and darts in the bust section of the dress started to loosen.

I think a reinforced double seam in these critical areas will do the trick. Plus, an added centimeter in the bust itself. The top section of this dress was just slightly too tight. The bust from my first dress fit better.

Lined

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 23:59:04 -0400

As my deadline for completion drew to a close, I worked at making the dress lining so that it would appear professional. I kind of told myself that I would make clothes that I can’t afford to buy. While ambitious and not nearly there I do feel that I’ve been making some progress.

I attached a lining taught by The Dressmaker’s Handbook of Couture Sewing Techniques by Lynda Maynard.

A break from sewing to reblog this powerful and stunning art...

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 00:42:00 -0400

A break from sewing to reblog this powerful and stunning art from Saudi Arabia. My favorite in the slideshow is Landscapes of the Mind 7.

As a detour, I saw this fabric and thought of my mother. It was...

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 14:36:00 -0400

As a detour, I saw this fabric and thought of my mother. It was meant for her. So I bought it, made this scarf and mailed it to her. She was so excited by my surprise!

And in the meantime, I taught myself how to sew a blind stitch.

Voguespiration

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:16:15 -0500

A friend’s suggestion; a new Vogue’s arrival. The proximity of both events caused me to take this bold step: design a dress specific for my friend Liz’s wedding in two months.

So I took to my sketch book and was inspired by two spring options. I know which one I’ll make, but thought I’d share both.

Sketch A:

Inspiration A:

I love this because of the texture, the color, the lightness (although I’d probably venture toward slightly less see-through - there will be parents in attendance of course!

Sketch B:

Inspiration B:

Which do you think I’ve chosen to attempt?

My first dress

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 23:36:15 -0500

I decided recently to venture into a new format. I tried six months ago to make a pair of shorts. I cut out the muslin, I sewed the front, I got to the zipper and the front pockets and the flap that’s supposed to cover the zipper and I stopped. A got frustrated and quit for six months. Now, I’ve accepted that shorts are not a territory for the new self-taught sewer to venture shortly thereafter having started.

But a dress, I thought! A simple pattern, would be doable. I planned to take my time and walk away when I couldn’t figure something out. I made the muslin version and it looked great, apart from the adjustment that I needed to make for the bust.

By adding a few inches to the bottom, I then followed the same principles as indicated on the pattern to place necessary darts and lines. and it seemed to work! Experienced sewers, is that the correct way to do it? Or did I just have beginners luck?

The rest seemed to go smoothly, until I was basically finished and I had to attach the sleeves to each other. This was difficult and the pattern drawing made no sense, as they often don’t. I followed my advice going into this project and walked away from this dress for the night.

But as I lay in bed, I thought and I theorized and I figured it out! The next morning, the idea still churned in my head and I went to the dress to test if my hypothesis was true…and it was! I smiled as I pulled one strap through the other and saw where the two raw edges would connect underneath the lining for the perfect closed seam:

What followed next was a dress, which although not entirely well fitted, was still something I felt proud about!

Then I made this shirt which only looks cool in this photograph....

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:18:00 -0500

Then I made this shirt which only looks cool in this photograph. Trust me.

I made a shirt and wore it out. The lesson on this one: sizing...

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:14:00 -0500

I made a shirt and wore it out. The lesson on this one: sizing on patterns is off - way off.

A friend was getting married and we were asked to make a quilt...

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 23:58:18 -0500

A friend was getting married and we were asked to make a quilt square, which I, of course, was ecstatic about. After experimenting with how to be literal with a sewn depiction of the New York City skyline, I settled on a much more abstract solution to my inability to sew pointed angles.

Next, I made a record bag.

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 23:52:07 -0500

Next, I made a record bag.

I started sewing in the spring of 2011 as a way to create...

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 23:49:02 -0500

I started sewing in the spring of 2011 as a way to create something which I’ve always wanted. Here is my first sewn piece: an apron. I bought this beautiful fabric at the sewing shop where I took the class, along with all of the supplies needed as listed on the back of the pattern.