When I Met You in the Summer...

This is a late post but, after about a month and a half I can say I finally finished my last project for the first year of my fashion class. This strapless floral dress demonstrates many different sewing techniques including boning, lining, and creating invisible seams. I paired it with a pair of simple flesh-toned heels to complete the perfect look for a summer outing.

Give Me a Break

This was my first project I ever made for a guy. It's a very loose fitted men's Hawaiian shirt.

I used this lightweight 100% cotton fabric with a tiki and Hawaiian flower print. There's a lot going on and it's a bit tacky but there's nothing wrong with a little fun for a vacation top.

This is the collar. This was probably the hardest part. I had to undo it a couple times before I finally liked it.
And here's a close up of the inside hem. It's serged for a clean finish.

This was the first time I ever sewed on buttons all by machine. I thought the button hole could have been better; it's kind of loose and messy. The buttons on the final product was fine...but I did snap two buttons in half before I figured out how to use the machine properly. 

And like always all edges were serged or hemmed for a professional look. 

(I just realized my serger tension looks off......oh well)

Finally, here's my model. I originally made this shirt for my brother but it was too big on him so here's my English teacher.

Fitted Straight Skirt

This was my first time making a fitted garment. It's not the best, it's not perfect, but through this project I was able to learn a variety of new techniques as well as practice my sewing skills. I chose a thick bottomweight fabric. The deep purple and two-textured zebra stripes gives a more edgy feel to the skirt which is perfect considering this is a fitted skirt.

This skirt consisted of 4 darts-2 in the front and 2 in the back. The darts allow the skirt to fit snug around my waist, making the skirt look more professional.

This was my first time installing an invisible zipper and although it wasn't exactly "invisible" I still did my best. (I think this was the only thing I lost points in). Two different Bernina foots were used to put this zipper in.

In order to get my points for this specific project, I had to blind hem the bottom by hand. If this was a skirt done on my own time, I would have just used a machine. I didn't like how hand sewing made the outside of the skirt bumpy, but my teacher wanted us to learn this technique.

The top waistband was topstiched and I have to admit the picture actually makes it a lot cleaner than it actually is. A hook was used to close off the top of the skirt and clearly the picture shows my lack of handsewing skills. But it's all good, the hook is covered when the garment is worn.

My oily forehead, awkward modeling skills, and terrible photo quality doesn't do the skirt any justice. But i couldn't publish this post without an ootd. Being a fitted skirt, this piece is perfect for more formal occasions or when feeling a little more dressy. Since it's winter, I threw on sheer black tights under the skirt. The loose-fitting white top is from H&M and it helps to balance out all the dark colors. 

Get your party pants on.

This was my very first project for my fashion class and everything was made at school. I have on my San Francisco 49ers beanie and of course I'm with Indy (the build-a-bear). I find that I get a lot of hate for wearing my San Francisco gear in LA, but hey, a fan's got to do what a fan's got to do.

Here's a close up of the fabric. I originally wanted a 49ers printed fabric, but since I couldn't find any I searched for anything red and gold and this is what I found. I was debating over whether I should buy this or not because after all it was for a school project.....and there's beer all over it. But whatever. I went for it. Turns out my teacher's really chill because she loved it. Our dress code doesn't allow us to wear pajama pants to school; yet alone one sporting alcohol, so my teacher suggested I wear these to a tailgating party(haha) and one day I think I will.

Okay I suck at taking pictures but here' some more detail. I sewed with a 5/8th seam allowance and I serged the ends for a clean, professional finish. And since cotton flannel doesn't give in to stretch, I added an elastic to make it snug.

And this is just a close up of the bottom hem.

 

This is the pattern I used. I'm an awkward person and I obviously can't model...but I think I at least beat this guy. Anyways here's a link to where you can buy it.
For sizes XM S and M
For sizes L and XL
And here's the company's website for more details.
mccalpattern.mccall.com

So this was the first time I ever sewed anything with a pattern and I'm really happy with the result. I used the same pattern for the pants from my Halloween costume and I plan to use it for many more projects in the future. I'm excited to add another piece to my growing fan cave and since NBA just tipped off I should start thinking of a project to support the Lakers. Hehe. Well thanks for stopping by!

Peace out.

Halloween 2k13

So....this was my Halloween costume for 2013 :)) I was Pebbles and my friend Elle was BamBam from The Flintstones.

I was inspired while eating my breakfast one morning....hehe I love my Fruity Pebbles <3

The only picture I took during the making was this one....hopefully in the future I will have more. Not much material was needed and I think the total cost for both costumes was about $15. 

Yay I love the finished product! :) Since this was my first post I kept things really short and simple. I plan to get in more and more detail as I continue to blog. Hope to see you again soon!

Rock and Roll.

By the way...where's waldo?