sewing box: March 2012

31 March 2012

a long shirt

I wanted to have a baggy and comfortable dress

and that's how I came to this:

a shirt, longer than usual.

Loving these details...

I really like the fabric: it is a combination of silk and linen.

Oh yeees, it wrinkles a lot as you can see,

but it has a nice subtle sheer.

It somehow gives the garment a touch of elegance.

To tell you the truth I am not really sure about the color...

but hey, you can't have everything!

And that's me,

trying to make a good photo out of it...

It wasn't a good day,

but blurred and in motion everything looks better!

It has a vintage touch, doesn't it?

Like a true old-fashion lover I couldn't pass up

the chance to wear a chemise beneath.

Here it is...

I bought the fabric in Spain, it is called Piel de Angel,

which means angel's skin, nice ha?!

I found it really interesting at that time,

they mostly use it in ladies undergarments.

I suppose it has something to do with it

being so soft and lightweight.

Sorry guys, but I won't model this one!

;o))

26 March 2012

If you saw the link on the right,
you might know then that knitting fascinates me too.

What I really like is that it is so "comfortable":
you just grab your needles and you knit and knit....
.....and knit nonstop, wherever you might be!

Yeah ok,
maybe not sitting on debris
like this lady...

Berlin 1945

(adorable not?)

...but almost anywhere.
After all, you can always carry it with you:
it weighs almost nothing and
it can be squeezed even in
a ready-to-burst suitcase...

They say that Hollywood stars are keen knitters...
Well, here is some proof.

Betty Davis and Sally Stage
(her stand-in) knitting on stage

Katharine Hepburn around 1938

Rita Hayworth

Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini
on set around 1949

[all images above are from here]

And we come to the main point (yes, there is one):
two good friends of mine,
Gee and Pee, are also some crazy knitters.

Still from the movie "Women without men" (2009) by Shirin Neshat.

So for their birthday I thought of giving
them something useful:

a case for their needles,

which I made myself (of course).

And here they are...

1. Gee's Needle Case

It is a very simple-to-do project.

You just layer all the fabrics and zig-zag them
all the way through to form
the different slots for the needles.
Then using a biased tape you can decorate the edge
and hide the seam allowance at the same time.
Finally, you sew some ribbon for the closure.

2. Pee's Needle Case

Now what's left is to make one for myself, but

I don't seem to be motivated enough to put myself into it...

...maybe I'll just make one on MY birthday!
;o))

20 March 2012

Full of circles skirt

Yeah ok I know...

summer, or maybe better, spring is coming and

I present you with a winter garment?!

Sorry for that folks, but it comes in continuation

with the previous post.

Detais do matter, remember?!

This is the very second skirt that I made using a pattern and

learning the tricks of a proper seamstress ;o))

The pattern is very simple (A-line skirt, pleated at the front).

I gave it a little twist though by decorating the belt:

handstitched circles in contrasting color and .....

.......buttons of course!

Sewed some of my favorite ones and that was all!

Presenting me and my favorite cousins on a ¡sunny! winter day excursion.

We had a lot of fun on that day...

...mmmm too cold, maybe not just yet!

Waiting for the summer impatiently we are!!

16 March 2012

Details do matter!

I have to admit it.

I am a perfectionist.

It doesn't mean that I make everything perfect (although I try to).
It just means that I painstakingly work on everything,
down to the very last detail...

simple summer dress 2007 gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg

...taking time to control everything,
thinking and re-thinking every step...
aaah!
Sometimes (which is very often)
I tire myself out, but I can't help it really.

Or can I?

I guess I can, but no matter what,
I will never give up working on the "details" of a garment.

I do believe that details matter!

I think of them as the "salt" that gives taste....

improvised skirt 2007

....they are that little funny twist that brightens up the day!

improvised skirt 2007

You do agree, right?!
-----------------

Seen before are:

1. A simple summer dress

It was given to me as a gift,
but was a little bit too short for my taste.

So I just added the white strip,
which I decorated with sequins that I had stashed...

(thanks to my sister S. I have dozens of them screaming to be used!)

Crazy little butterflies flying around:
I found it very funny at the time, still do.

2. An improvised skirt

This is the very first garment that I made from scrath,
without having any idea about sewing nor making patterns!
So please don't look at it too close...:o))

Although there are many imperfections, this skirt has sentimental value.
The whole idea started from these white figures used in architectural models.