Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Season 16 Week 3 - Streak, Stroke, Stripe

It's time to see how the designers have interpreted the Streak, Stroke, Stripe theme.  Stripes are so on trend right now, and have been for a long time for a good reason!  I think you're going to absolutely ADORE the way the designers interpreted this theme!!!

Mabey She Made It--Gorgeous Geometrics


 Stripes! I love the symmetry, angles, and juxtapositions of strategically placing positive and negative spaces. Working with stripes and trying to do something exciting and "new" is a daunting task though, and I have loved the challenge it poses. My inspiration this week came from a mix of quilting and vector images (interesting combination, right?) for a couple of dresses that make you stop to admire the detail in some places and the details fade to the background in others. And I wouldn't have it any other way. And the fabric? These looks are made from a poly blend so they're durable, machine-washable, and they come out of the dryer wrinkle free. It's a mama's dream fabric for kids. It looks elegant, but with none of the fuss.

 

My first look was a dress that utilizes a quilt "block" as a focal point of the whole dress and the rest of the dress is built around it. I fussy cut the stripes to create a diamond shape from both the ivory and gray sections and used them together to create alternating quarters of the diamond background. Then I used the same black stripe to "hold" the corners of the diamond like a setting in a ring and extended the stripe all the way around the dress bodice and used hooks-and-bars to create a closure that doesn't interfere with the stripe at all. The skirt is a box-pleated maxi skirt because I love the strong lines that a box pleat gives and knew it would be the perfect complement to the bold stripes. By matching the stripes across the pleats I get a more simple visual but with detail and fullness that I couldn't achieve with a gathered skirt.

 

My second look pairs a solid ivory top and a pleated pinstripe skirt with more subtle detailing. I used a charcoal gray thread and a triple stitch to follow the parallel and perpendicular lines I drew onto the front of the ivory top, making a beautifully simple yet interesting striped motif. I LOVE the strong geometric design on such a simple background. And in the back, I created a low-scooped back with a bow tie for a fun surprise when you turn around. The gray pinstriped skirt also has some beautiful details like the inseam pocket, invisible side zipper, and the contrasting direction of the waistband stripe. This look had to be deceivingly simple next to the large scale of the dress, and I think it's a perfect complement. Overall, I love how using stripes (which I do regularly but in a much more literal manner) pushed me outside my comfort zone and got me to think about stripes in a whole new way. My gorgeous geometric creations are pieces I'll love for a long time to come. My only regret? That that top isn't my size. ;) Come over to Mabey She Made It to read all about the details and see more photos of the designs including some process shots!






Sew Chibi Designs - Action, GO!



Excited to finally share this week's Stripes themed looks! Of all the challenges this season, I think I was most anticipating this one because it gave me a chance to change my perspective on something we see every day! Each week, I wanted to try out different moods: the first week was a bit moody and French, last week was super girly and cute, and this week it's about cool, idol-inspired fashion... but for girls! Always a fan of the series, "Boys Can Wear Pink", I thought about how to do something that would have a similar message, but for girls! It's empowering for them to see themselves in hip, urban streetwear in addition to the pretty dresses because it gives them a chance to appreciate different facets of what makes them awesome individuals! For motivation, while designing my stripes looks, I watched what I watch a lot of every day: Asian pop music videos, especially those from Taiwan and Japan! Paired up with my longtime love of optical illusions, I created fashion for my girls that they could wear on a summery Friday night, hanging out with friends in the city, playing vintage video games at the arcade, then catching a movie at one of the retro theaters nearby.


Sephira's look is, oddly enough, pretty monotone. In stark contrast to the usual rainbows, I chose to carefully add stripes of red, infrequently and "spontaneously", only popping up in the slashes on the jeans and the single stripe around the shirt. Starting with the shirt, I took my own pattern, the Umaru shirt which features a built-in, hidden, color-blocked pocket and altered it to be a continuous pattern piece folded up instead. I love the look of moto jackets but wanted to make something that could be worn any time of year so I made a cowl-necked shirt with a separating zipper that curves towards the neck (to mimic the curves of her sister's shorts curve). I found this interlocked knit fabric with basic black and white stripes, with a hidden pocket on both sides of the zipper. After the shirt was sewn, I felt it needed more excitement so grabbed about 5 black fabric markers and created an optical illusion effect with triangles within the stripes, by filling in the negative space (several times, until it was the same opacity as the original stripes) with black. The back (which can be seen in my post) has four hidden triangles as well as.  A single stripe of red was added to break up the monotony of the black and white. The 5-pocket, black, denim jeans I made are adapted from the Koko skinny pants pattern by Blaverry and feature striped topstitching on the pockets as well as a zipper fly, adjustable elastic back, and belt-loops. To make it edgier, I made cut-outs at the knee fronts then color-blocked them in white denim (with super secretive decorative stitching I'll mention later on) with zippers for when it's time for running and playing. I also added four "slashes" of red by making facings like welts to create a finished, reverse applique effect. Cool girl ready for some action? ✅Check!


Azriella's look is based on all of the best dress shirts I find in Asian men's fashion combined with Portland hipster fashion. I am helplessly inspired by what is done in terms of fashion in countries like Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. I started out with this twill fabric from Ikea as part of their SOMMER collection that has stripes in all sorts of designs and in all the best colors. For her stripes, I wanted to do more of a color-blocked effect with varrying widths and applications. Using the Morocco Pants pattern by Petit a Petit Patterns, I made fitted shorts with a zipper fly, wide hook and eye closure, inset and double welt pockets, and contrast (black in the front, white in the back) cuffed hem facings. Her shirt was a based off of pattern #08 in the Japanese sewing book,  a Sunny Spot (2015) but with the button placket and French seams (side seams as well as sleeve/armscye seams) of the Laramie Pattern by Hey June Patterns. I did an inset of two color-blocked panels of opposing stripes using a two corner method of setting in a square into a single piece of fabric. The big question I asked myself when I was designing this week's theme was, how can I show stripes in a way that hasn't been seen frequently, and then I discovered glow in the dark thread. I used the thread in several places: the twin topstitching in the back of Azriella's shirt and Sephira's sleeves; as well as the (several) running topstitches on the white denim of Sephira's jeans and for two, satin-stitched rows on Azriella's shorts. They lost their minds when they discovered their outfits glowed in the dark! That's what it's all about for me: my kiddos are excited about forward fashion and the stuff I make them. Happy mamma, here! To read more about all the hidden details, check out my blog post, Action Go! on my blog, Sew Chibi Designs!





It's Liesel - Stripes in the City

DSC_9114-title 

 What a fun theme this week! I'm so excited to be moving on to this round. Thank you for helping to get me here! Streak, Stroke, Stripe is the inspiration, and I loved choosing fabrics to use for this one. I thought about manipulating fabric to create my own stripes, but I decided to stay truer to my style. To style these looks, I added small stripe influenced details to push the theme all the way through!

  Week 3 collage 1

The first piece I made was the pin stripe rayon challis wrap maxi skirt. I knew this piece had to be created for this week. I wanted to use a variety of prints, fabrics, and scales of prints, so to go with this skirt, I made a dolman sleeve top with a knit fabric, and a stripe with a much larger scale than the skirt. I think they work well together, so well, that it's almost not "crazy" enough for a good pattern mix outfit. Haha! The skirt's stripes are so fine, that it almost acts as a solid. But I love the subtle detail it adds to the outfit. For the skirt, I used the Isabel dress pattern from Made for Mermaids. I used the skirt portion, and re-drew the curve to make it the length I wanted. It was designed for knits, so I made it wider, and gathered to get the fit I wanted. Then I added two layers of ruffles. Longer in the back, and gradually shorter around the front. The waistband encloses the skirt in it's seam. To secure it, there is a button sewn into the inner layer of the waistband, a buttonhole on the other edge of the skirt, and a second tie sewn into the side seam of the skirt. The shirt for this look started out as the Jalie Bobbie top pattern. I scooped out, and widened the neck, and made the body of the shirt shorter, and wider than designed, for a more bohemian feel. Then I added ruffles to the sleeves.

  Week 3 collage 2

For my second outfit, I used this beautiful olive print ITY from Cali Fabrics. Since I used symmetrical stripes on my first outfit, I wanted to go more abstract with this. It was fun to play with pattern placement on this print. I used the Havanna Blouse pattern from Cali Faye as a starting point. I modified the front bodice, so I wouldn't need to add a button, drew a completely new back piece, lengthened the blouse to dress length, and added pockets! Since this was designed for woven fabrics, I also made modifications to the width of the bodice so it wouldn't be as full with the heavier knit. I absolutely love how comfortable and easy it is to wear, and the simple, but strong style. With all the neutral colors in these outfits, I wanted the photos to be in a neutral background, so the stripes could have the focus. We went to an unused parking garage, and the setting would have been perfect, except for the WIND. We managed to get most of them on the ground level though, and it worked out perfectly! Please go to my blog post to see the rest of the photos, and more details!

  DSC_9225

Sew A Straight Line - Retro Stripes

Streak, stroke, stripe. It's week three, baby! I'm rolling things a back to a time of iconic music, movies, and fashion. A time when both pastels and neons were raging and print mixing was at its peak. A time when stripes were bold and bodacious. My look this week is 80s inspired and 2018 rad. 

title shot retro 

Pastels were my launching off point for my daughter's look. I wanted a rugby shirt for her, remembering how rad those were when I was a kid in the 80s. I drafted polo-style shirts for my boys years ago. To switch my pattern to a rugby style, I inverted the placket, keeping the front of the shirt flat and smooth across with the placket itself on the inside of the shirt. I pieced three knits for the body and sleeves of the top, making wide stripes. Then I used a contrasting rib knit at the cuffs and upper collar. The placket and under collar are from a funky stretch twill. The shorts are a beautiful linen from my stash. In fact, nearly this entire week's look was from my stash. I only bought the panel for my son's shirt and some zippers. Anyway, shorts. The linen has a great wavy stripe print that I would have LOVED to wear as a kid. I used Ottobre 1/2016 #16 as a starting point. I made the pant pattern into shorts and drafted a buttoned welt pocket at the back instead of patch pockets. 

ivy retro stripes

My son's look has a cool backstory. Two weeks ago, my 12 year old asked me my plan for Stripes Week. I told him I had a few ideas I was tossing around, but nothing that I was super excited about. About 15 minutes later, he looked at me and said, "I have an awesome idea!" He grabbed a sharpie and the pizza box from our dinner that night, and sketched out an idea for a shirt that was just too awesome. His idea was a solid panel with some picture or scene on it, broken up with bold stripes. We jumped online and found the perfect panel. It had a strong Miami Vice vibe to me, and my 80s Retro Stripes look was born. My 9 year old is the model for the 12 year old's design. The basic silhouette of the button down uses Ottobre 3/2015 # 24. I cut the left side front into 20 strips, alternating the fabric, starting with wider linen and more narrow beach scene fabric at the top, then going to more narrow linen and wider beach scene at the bottom. On the right, I added a buttoned welt pocket with the beach scene fabric, and some piping along a front yoke. The entire shirt is sewn with a bright blue contrasting thread. The shorts started with a trouser pattern from Burda Style, 149b. I wanted something loose and casual, and different. The pattern uses a gusset through the crotch, making them comfortable and unique. I drafted a zippered fly and a drawstring waist. There is also a hidden button on the inside at the waist opening as a more secure closure in addition to the drawstring. I added some parallel lines of stitching at the back pockets as a subtle nod to our stripe tribute. Finally, I frayed the leg openings to give it a cutoffs feel. And what would an 80s look be without a windbreaker? I had in my stash some great quality, super lightweight outerwear twill. I have no clue where I got it, and it was obviously cut into, but I don't remember buying it or making anything from it, so it's a total mystery. But it needed to be a jacket. I wanted an updated Members Only look, and think I got it. Ottobre 1/2013 #39 got me super close. I added piping, or pinSTRIPES, with the same funky stretch twill as my daughter's rubgy shirt placket. I omitted the flap pockets at the chest and instead went with a zippered welt pocket to match the waist pockets. Then I lined the whole thing because, well, because lining looks and feels nice. The drawstring waist finishes things off nicely. You can see more on my blog

jjjonas stripes

Pinstripes, rugby stripes, wavey stripes, pieced beachy stripes. A look that would have turned heads in 1988, but made for 2018. Retro rad, retro stripes. 

retro stripes flat lay

Now it's your turn. Support these incredibly talented designers with your vote. Voting ends 8pm EST Thursday night.  I don't know about you, but I think Adrianna of Hey June Handmade, our guest judge this week, is going to have a very difficult time!

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6 comments :

  1. So fun to see the creativity, talent and refreshing ideas here.

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  2. Oh my! How can I pick a favourite? You ladies are so talented!

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  3. Inspired to sew all the stripes 🖤

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  4. Very great post with excellent and insightful information. Thanks for sharing.

    Girls Traditional

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