Remade TShirts

I just returned from DOL-Sisters and, once again, it was so inspiring.  Being around a pack of women who are gathered to design and sew unusual garments is my power juice of choice.  I only worked on one thing this time.  Right now I'm really liking to GO SLOW and enjoy the process.

Who needs more clothes, right?  I don't have space in my closet now so making new things isn't so much about having something new to wear as it is the process of thinking about it, gathering the materials, designing it as I go and sewing it.  I'm addicted to this process.

Right now I'm so addicted to Diane Ericson's way of "making fabric" by taking pieces of fabric and sewing them into a piece of cloth, then draping them on my dress form to see what they want to be.

This piece started out as 5 used tshirts and some knit scraps.  My scraps are getting like Linus's blanket...smaller and smaller all the time.  After making the "fabric" I used the top of a tshirt pattern that fits me well and just draped the rest on the way to the hem.  I hand sewed a skinny piece of black knit in a spiral pattern on the back using perle cotton.  I used that hand stitched detail again on the neckline and at the hem.

Painted Canvas Purses

I tried a new purse/bag pattern from Paradiso Designs.  It's called the Urbanista Hobo bag.  I saw it at the Puyallup Expo a couple of years ago and bought the pattern.

Made it from some painted canvas I did this spring from the Graffiti Chic online class by Alisa Burke.

The pattern instructions were a bit hard to follow but I managed to get it done.  Made one fatal mistake, I put the handle cutouts going in the wrong direction.  Could have screamed...oh, I did scream.  But, like some mistakes, nobody will notice except me.

I bought some cool burgundy snakeskin pleather fabric for the bottom and strap.  Oy, my first run-in with pleather.  May be my last.  But, I learned how to work with it...on the last seam!

Crazy Skirt

I"m still having fun making garments from thrift store tshirts and fabric remnants.  This skirt was not floating my boat after I first stitched it together so I cut it on the front and back, diagonally, and sewed it from the outside.  It added just a bit more interest.  I'm happy with it now.  Not delighted but it's fun to wear.  I'm learning a lot about this technique and really loving the minute by minute aliveness of it.  More to come, I'm sure.

Remade Cashmere Sweaters-New Crop

I sell my remade cashmere sweaters at Many Hands Gallery next to the bakery.  Lauren, the owner, called and said she was out so I made the three that you see here.

 This one was fun.  It's such beautiful weather I wanted to make something that was light and whimsical.  The green was a poncho I overdyed.  These colors remind me of Mexico...or a gypsy caravan.

 This purple one was made from some over dyed cashmere pieces I did earlier in the year.

 I made this little pin to go on the sweater.  It's got a vintage button with a horse on it.  I'm starting to use the little precious bits I've been saving all these years.  For what?  I'm using this stuff up!  Sooner rather than later.  If I don't someone else will and where's the fun in that?

This sweater was made of three different red ones. A lot of people must have bought red cashmeres many years ago because there are a lot of them out there!   It started it's life two years ago as a hideous Christmas remake.  What was I thinking?  I hated it so much I tore everything off and started again.  It took me 8 hours to rip off all of the embellishments but it was my penance for making such an ugly thing in the first place.
Now, it has a new life with beautiful vintage kimono pieces.  I mixed them with other vintage textiles and little circles of cashmere sewn on kantha cloth style.  Now I'm happy.

Cashmere Scarves

In addition to remaking cashmere sweaters into new designs I love using my scraps to make these scarves.  There's nothing like a little cashmere around the neck, eh?

 Here are two scarves wound together.

 Detail of one scarf

And here's a new design I'm working on for next fall.  I love the lines, they are more bold and, in my mind more modern than my previous scarves which were a bit too "cute" for my taste today.

Men's Shirts-New Life

I'm so attracted to men's shirts.  They're made so well and you can often find ones that have the most exquisite fabric.  I can't help myself, I collect them.  I've been making these little over-shirts, for lack of a better name.  Sometimes I call them dusters if they're long enough.  This batch really wasn't.

They're straightforward and pretty wholesome.  I add little bits of found textiles homeopathically...that is in small doses because these are meant to be worn every day with levis or whatever and need to have small voices.  Well, I just looked at these pictures and I guess small voices might be stretching it a bit. 

Placement Prints

I was at the new Mood Fabric store in LA with three sewing pals early this year.  It's a pretty impressive place.  If you haven't seen it you need to check it out the next time you're down in LA.  We all saw this killer knit that was printed in a levi pattern...actual tromp l'oeil levis on it, very cool.  I think we all bought some.

But, how to place these motifs on a garment?  Got it home and wondered that for several months.  I finally took a flying leap with this dress.

Fairly successful but if I'd been able to read today's Mood blog post I might have been even more so.  Here it is.  Thought it was worth sharing.  Here's the link.

http://www.moodfabrics.com/blog/about-placement-prints-and-how-to-sew-with-them/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=about-placement-prints-and-how-to-sew-with-them

If you don't get the Mood blog you might want to check it out.  Most times it's about more youthful styles but every once in a while it hits the mark.