Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Season 25 Week 2: Gimmie Some Texture

 Well now, that was an amazing start to Season 25, wasn't it?  We can tell this is going to be SUCH an inspiring Season!

Are you sitting down?  Because this week's designer makes for the Gimmie Some Texture theme are going to knock your socks off!!!  Be sure to scroll through them all and then support TWO of the designers with your vote at the end.

Here you go:

Sew Whit Designs - Puttin' on the Ritz

Inspired by the luxury, glamor and exuberance of Art Deco fashion, this week I created a formal wear collection full of texture. This black spangled sequin fabric has been in my stash for years just waiting for the right project to come along. I paired it with some black stretch velvet, some black power mesh, and black lycra lame from Cali fabrics. I designed the top from scratch using a custom bodice sloper. I used french seams and bound the neck and sleeve with fold over elastic. For the skirt I used the Stoplight skirt pattern from the Project Run & Play shop. It was perfect for mixing the black velvet and lame textures, but allowed me to keep a basic pencil silhouette to really show off the top.

For my son I used this striped shirting from Cali Fabrics, for a basic button down, dress shirt. I used Peekaboo Patterns classic Oxford pattern and played with the direction of the stripes on the yoke, pocket and collar. For the jacket I used the little gentleman’s jacket pattern, also from Peekaboo. I added the flaps to the welt pockets and buttons on the sleeve. For the jacket, I used this fantastic stretch rayon linen from Raspberry Creek Fabrics. I chose wood buttons for a good contrasting texture against the linen. For his pants I used the Grady pants pattern from sew a little seam. I choose a tan Suede fabric from my stash.

For Miss P. I definitely wanted a flapper vibe. When I saw this fringe fabric at JoAnns I knew it would work perfectly! This fringe was a nightmare to sew on but is soft drapey and comfortable to wear. I’m so happy with the end result. I used the Cayala dress pattern from Lil luxe collection for the basic shape. I wanted to keep the silhouette pretty simple to show off the fringe. I topped off the look with a beaded headband I made with this gorgeous trim from Cali Fabrics. For her jacket I used the same black velvet and lame as I did in my daughters look. I started with Jennuine Designs Baie Blazer, slashed and spread the peplum to get some more fullness and drape. I added pleated trim to the hem and cuffs. For the finishing touch’s I added a satin belt and some beaded buttons. Head to my blog for my details and a pics.


August Sewing - Touché

Texture surrounds us, and we often define our world with it. We might say, 'he looks slick', or 'she's a little hard headed', or 'I'm in a sticky situation' or even 'those button holes went in smoothly.' The word however, texture has two definitions. One as a noun referring to the visual or tactile nature of a thing. And secondly, as a verb referring to the action taken to change the surface or visual characteristics of a thing. I wanted to demonstrate both: the look and feel, but also the act of creating texture by adding-sometimes in abundance-and by removing-only very carefully-and stitching-lots and lots of stitching. I'm calling this collection Touche which means touch in French.

As soon as I saw the eyelet fabric, I knew it would be part of this collection. It has two beautiful sides. I always love a fabric with two beautiful sides. I carefully drafted and cut the 8-panel skirt to create a symmetrical and pleasing presentation of the eyelet motif. I added the selvage as fringe, Cali Fabrics Swiss Dot for the ruffle and an invisible zip in the back. I found a knit that had the perfect texture and stretch to compliment the skirt, added billowy sleeves and a gingham ruffle detail at the neckline. The look is completed by the Noodlehead Sidekick bag to show off the white side of the eyelet fabric. This was my daughter's favorite outfit.

For the second look, the drawstring pants are made out of a designer deadstock chambray. I used the Little Lizard King Oakland pattern for the base and the pockets came from an adult pattern I had. I used a ladder stitch on my sewing machine for the topstitching and then went in by hand and created little knots around all the ladder rungs. On the oversized back pockets, I hand stitched the arcuates with embroidery thread. The little tank top is Little Lizard King Sanibel in modal rib with a ruched center to give it some detail. I drafted the button down top in the most adorable Liberty florals. I wanted it to be something that can be worn buttoned up or open. The front and back yolk are lined, and the sleeves are like little wings. To finish it off, I added some hand stitching and ribbon to the back yolk with decorative stitched hems to add character.

I am a BIG fan of Alabama Chanin and thought this final look would be a good time to create a look based on her embroidery techniques. I played around with samples and realized that I would not be able to finish if I stitched it by hand. Instead, I used my straight stitch machine with two different color threads. I combined two different stencil designs and arranged them on my pattern pieces. This really gave me the feeling of creating an art piece, and I can't wait to do it again! The curved front seam in the new Lowland Kids Breezy shorts reminded me of the leaf in my stencil. I gave the waistline the paper-bag treatment keeping those edges raw and ruffled. For the shirt, I recreated visual details and movement from the shorts, but in a different way. I used the Little Lizard King Sausalito as the base pattern, raised the armhole, changed the neckline, added a yolk and ruched the back.

Please visit the August Sewing blog to see behind-the-scenes photos and to read more about what I made this week.

Enjoy!


DIY with Manneken - Textures from Nature

I'm so happy I passed to Week 2! This week my proposal is inspired in natures textures. Nature is full of different textures, which resemble many fabrics. Pleats from the ruffle fan palm trees and pleated inkcap mushrooms, the waffle texture of the sea sponges, the green range of colours... All this have been my main inspiration.

I really love pleats, and if you really give it a thought you can get a different look with them. I wanted something a bit more dressy, but comfortable, a look that my daughter can wear a day out for lunch with the family, or even for a small event.

First of all I designed the shorts. The shorts had to have all the attention. I chose the waffle pique, inspired in the sea sponges, for which I chose black to give it an elegant touch. For the front pleats I used yellow tulle, to brighten up the shorts. They're wide legged to be more comfortable, and to have a more girly look. Side zipper for closure.

The top had to be simple, with a bit of color, to contrast the shorts. I designed a wide neck top, made of elastic green crepe. The surprise comes a the back, which has a pleated bow made of the same yellow tulle of the short pleats. No closure, easy to wear.

The two pieces can again be worn with other garments, and make different looks. The top with jeans, and the shorts with a white blouse would look really cool.

I self drafted all the patterns again. The fabrics are from Ratucos.

For more info, you can visit my blog or my instagram account!

Hope you like my proposal and help me pass to the following week!

xoxo

Anita


Sincerely Shantelle - not [di]stressed, just chillin'

Thanks for having me back for Week 2 for the theme, "Gimme Some Texture." As an ode to the carefree life that is age 5, and a slight pun on my fabric choices for my collection, I've titled my look not [di]stressed, just chillin'. I made 4 new pieces for this collection, and brought my joggers from last week back (because I really liked them with the pullover I made and...why not lol).

Contrary to what I thought would happen, I wasn't toooo stumped on texture week. My inspiration began with kids' streetwear, and I picked up certain elements to use throughout. It was cool to explore my fabric stash looking for the ones that I knew would fit in well with the theme. I don't have any real organization for my stash, so anytime I'm looking for something, I have to hunt through three separate closets (and about 15 clear totes/bins) to find what I need. I think that took longer than my sewing 😜 By happenstance, I came across a distressed French Terry while I was intentionally looking for a faux-textured French Terry, and they worked really well together. I based my entire collection around them.

For the first piece, I wanted a distressed raglan zip up. I modified a raglan tee shirt pattern into a zip up. It was pretty easy to modify by using my knowledge of how to insert zippers. To add a little warmth to the hoodie, I lined it with the midweight cotton French Terry that I used for my zip joggers last week. Distressed fabric was a little tricky to work with, but I think I managed really well with it. For bottoms, I was inspired by the moto patch harem style pants from my streetwear search. I took a basic harem pants pattern I owned, changed out the pocket and waistband style, & color blocked it to include these cool pleated moto patches. They were time consuming, but I really loved the dimension that the patches added to the pants. I used the same technique for the pleats on the shoulders of his tee to upgrade it from "plain." I think the tee ended up being my favorite! For my final piece, I modified a dolman pullover to have these little front scooped pockets and added a double lining behind the openings so you can see the faux textured fabric through the holes of the other textured French Terry I chose.

I really love this week's pieces and that beautiful blend of faux vs. real texture that I created with them. For full deets on the looks, more photos, and a little funny, make sure to stop by my blog! I hope to see you again next week :)


Jong Design - Look, Feel, Make: Texture

I am so glad I made it to week two! Thank you everyone who voted for me, I really appreciate it.Texture is the theme this week. What an interesting and big theme! You can look at it, feel it or make it yourself. So I combined these three and created a mini-capsule for my youngest daughter. The whole capsule is inspired by different decades and I took the best out of every decade which fit exactly to how my daughter is and what she loves the most. Because at the end, that’s what is the most important.

With using different materials you can get interesting effects and with using other techniques you can manipulate your fabric limitless! And that’s why I made a shirt as base from a plain cotton lycra. I want to show that you don’t need expensive or special fabrics to create something new. This relaxed fitted shirt I drafted myself, cut it on tunic length and added drawstrings at the side to create ruffles and pleats. I cut the word ‘MAKE’ (a synonym for ‘texture’ but being more wearable) out of paper, transferred it on to silver knit fabric and used reversible applique to sew them on. At the sleeves I sewed some pleats and folded them in different directions. Some studs are holding them in place and beads at the end of the drawstrings are added. With ruffling the sides it becomes a top. With the ruffles out, it can be worn as a tunic.

As the shirt can be worn in two different ways, I also wanted two pants. I drafted a straight version first and from that pattern I made a pair of bell bottom pants too, with inserts to create some extra effect. The silver version is a knit velvet, the bell bottom pants are scuba suede. The buttons are made from the same fabric as the inserts to create some extra texture. They are just for decoration, because for a child nothing is easier than to hop in and out their pants if they feature an elastic waistband. I used the scuba suede to make a little dinosaur, my daughters favorite animal, because texture is about touch as well, right? The dinosaur got a little bow around her neck, which I tied on an hair-elastic, so the dinosaur is now an elastic-custodian too. Lol.

Because of the different saisons I decided to draft a little bodywarmer extra. It is reversible, but my daughter prefers the fabric with the strands to be worn on the outside. I have no idea how this fabric is called, but it is so funny and has such a great texture! For making it easy for a child to wear it, it can be closed with a magnet, which is sewed in between the two layers.

Because she loves to wear hats, I also made a matching one to complete the outfit. This is the only pattern I didn’t draft myself, but I wish it was mine! Therefore, to give it a bit of a personal touch I folded origami butterflys in order to achieve a 3-D effect and to show that origami isn’t just for paper. The same little butterfly was added to the bag, as was a hot stone for finishing. With the bag too I want to show that a plain denim can become something totally different! I folded pleats in a horizontal and vertical direction to create a whole new effect. In the upper front pleat I sewed a little hidden pocket. A little belt for wearing over the dress as finishing touch and ‚my’ mini capsule is finished! For the photoshoot we went to some different places around our house, again for proving that texture is just everywhere! For more details and pictures you can always visit my blog: www.jong-design.com/blog.

 
Now it's YOUR turn to support TWO of these talented designers with your vote! 




This week's celebrity guest judge, Olu of Needle and Ted and Made It Patterns really has a difficult task before her to determine the scores!

The designer scores are determined as follows:

1/3 of the designers score is determined by the celebrity guest judge(s)
1/3 of the designers score is determined by the panel of judges
1/3 of the designers score is determined by YOU, the audience!

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