And I'm Back...

Hiatus much... no excuses. Haha.

Anyway here's a shirt and matching bowtie I made for a childhood friend of mines wedding this past summer. The fabric was super inexpensive from from my neighborhood fabric store. I hand-stitched the contrasting blue and orange tuxedo ruffles which are made from china silk bias on the bus ride home.

And just for kicks I used contrasting blue and orange buttons in an alternating pattern.

On a Whim

As the title suggests, I whipped up this shirt for no particular reason. I used my self made basic shirt sloper as the base but made some major alterations. I draped a new two piece sleeve, moved the opening to the back, widened the neck and added a pintucked bib.

I wore it right after completion before taking pictures on a night out on the town so please forgive the wrinkles.


Front

Back

Sleeve Detail

Next up: Blazer for a childhood friend's wedding... stay tuned.

200th Post

200 posts, 1 new shirt.

I'm on a roll!

eBay

So I decided to put the hat on eBay, check it out here!

Special Thanks to my friend and roommate Abby for being my ever-patient model! The shots came out fabulous!

Bid Away!

Princess Beatrice's Hat... Sort Of

Let it be known, I feel Princess Beatrice's choice of headwear to the Royal Wedding was brilliant. The piece itself is genius, she was quite stunning head to toe. This is my tribute to her and her fearless approach towards fashion.

With just a day to go before my very best friend Brendan's birthday, I found myself without a look worthy of such an occasion. Princess Beatrice's hat was fresh on my mind, and as I am a sucker for a good head-piece, I decided to go for it. Being extremely busy at work I had my fabulous roommate Abby run out and gather supplies for my Royal Fascinator via text.

Later that night when I arrived home I got right to work. The entire piece is carved from styrofoam and is covered in nude felt which is hand-stitched together.

Once the base was completed I added the bow and tacked down the ruffles for desired effect.

The base again is hand-carved styrofoam from the original circle cutouts. Once the oval was mounted to the base I added an elastic and was ready to go.

Long story, short... I made quite the splash. I'm also thinking of putting it up on ebay, will decide in the next day or 2. Until then, a couple more pics:

Prolific Pattern

Here's another piece I made from the pattern I draped, used in the last 2 posts. This one is extra special because I finally used the vintage fabric I bought while in Paris circa 2007. I've literally been carrying it around since then, I'm pleased I finally have something to show for it.

This time around I raised the neckline, added a Peter Pan collar with a proper collar stand, and added cuffs to the sleeves. All seams are French and have been topstitched with a thicker thread. The green buttons are just something I had laying around from a menswear class I took at SCAD and if you look carefully you can see I again opted for the pink heart button at the collar.

Looks pretty dapper with a matching bowtie I had made previously.

I'll be wearing both tomorrow for sure!

Summer Shirting

Using/altering the pattern I draped from the previous post I whipped up this shirt the following day after work. I used some blue and white stripe super-soft light weight cotton I had in my fabric trunk. I then finished it off with some buttons from my late Grandmother's collection she left to me, 6 antique mother of pearl buttons topped with a singular pink heart button. I also used the selvage fringe as decorative accent to the button placket and neckline for that little something extra.


Finished garment.

Heart button detail.

Gratuitous bathroom mirror shot.

Denim Jacket

Work has been getting busier and busier but there's no rest for the weary! Last weekend (all 1 day) I got around to making a jacket/top I designed a few days prior on a whim before falling asleep. I used some denim I was given at work, the buttons (familiar anyone?) and grosgrain I had laying around at home. I draped the pattern on my form and got sewing. It's double breasted and fully lined in the self fabric.


Perhaps the trickiest part was all the ribbon-work done prior to sewing the pieces together.

A couple pics upon completion.

A quick snap on my way to a meeting.

Perfect for the last few brisk days of spring before the summer swelter!

For My Girls

Two of my very dear girlfriends from work commissioned me to design and create them headbands. One requested a piece of tulle and grosgrain and the other wanted a tribal head-wrap in the same fabric as my fringe tote. I took a few measurements, drew a few sketches, gathered up some supplies and these are what I came up with.

The Christine: Cotton daishiki half-twist turbanette with fabric covered elastic at back.

The Debbie: Tulle ruffles and paillettes on silk grosgrain with matching elastic at back.

Very excited to hand them off to the girls and see how they look!

Seeing Spots: Cropped Vest

After work, just for fun, I pulled out some polka dot fabric I had in my fabric trunk and revisited my man-bolero pattern I drafted last week. I added a patch pocket, a double welt pocket and a back tie as well as fully lining it this time around. Not too bad of an outcome, I think I'll wear it tomorrow over one of my black deep v t-shirts. Just right for this pre-summer heat wave we're having here in NYC!