Two pieces swimsuit

Here is the first swimsuit I made, even before the 1 piece posted earlier.

For the pattern, I copied one of my swimsuit and did some changes to the top. I also added the heart cut-out so I will sport a nice tan-tattoo next summer!

I can't wait till next summer to try it at the pool!
Overall, I'm glad with it.

One piece swimsuit

I wanted to post everything I've been doing this semester in the order I sew them. But, well... I'm procrastinating a lot and I still haven't taken the pictures. So I figure it's better if I just post what I already have.
So here is the one piece swimsuit for my knitwear class. It's actually my second swimsuit, but you'll have to wait to see the other one.

The teacher gave us a pattern but it was too vintage for my taste. I changed it so it shows more legs (it was almost like a short...)

Side view:

Speaking of legs, I really had a hard time with the tension.
So let me explain that a bit more. Dealing with knitwear is usually pretty easy as long as you use a serger (sorry, a merrow machine). But when you have to add an elastic (and I'm not speaking here of elastic thread), you have to play with the tension of it. Meaning, you have to pull more or less on it to achieve the perfect tension.
This can be done just by hand, but it needs some training to get it just right, or with a tensioner. This thing is supposed to help as it regulate the tension but well, that's actually pretty crappy as it sometimes decides to do whatever it wants. So you end up with something all wrong. That's how, one leg was perfect and I add to redo the other one 4 times! It was starting to be annoying!

But veni, vidi, vici. I'm now done with it.

Well, I guess I need to spend time just learning to do that by hand, without tensioner. But I will need a break with swimsuit. Which is perfect 'cause... it's winter!
Even if it did annoy me, I will do more swimsuits later. But I'm more into 2 pieces.

My first short

After a month without any post, it's about time to show you what I've been doing for my classes.

Let start with the 1st garment made for "fashion Design". It's a lined short (aka hot pants).

The teacher gave us the pattern and had to add some trimming. As you can see, I got inspired by the military/navy..

I like it. Even more with a red or white top and high heels. But... It's not my size *sigh*
I have a safety pin in this pic, or it would look like it's a really low waisted, baggy short!

Oh, and the lining if playful: that's a black red and white dotted fabric.


I'm trying to find motivation for posting everything before Xmas, so here is a list or what I still have to show you.
For Design Construction:
- a capri pant
- pants
- a bolero jacket
- a biais top (working on it right now)
- a peplum jacket (the next and final project)
For knitwear:
- a legging
- a turtleneck top
- a 2 pieces swimsuit (Have to redo the top)
- a 1 pice swimsuit (to be finished)
- a dress (final project - will probably start next week)

Oh I have to show you the pictures of my up-cycled gown!

Upcycling Fashion Show: my paper dress & plastic jacket

In about 2 weeks, my school will hold a runway show/contest about upcycling called "Flash & Trash". I am right now working on my look for the event.

But last month, I got the opportunity to present for a runway an upcycling look I made especially for the First Lady Eco Bash fashion show. It was such a great opportunity to present for the 1st time something on a show! I also helped backstage as a dresser. That was crazy but we had so much fun!

So here is the look I created:

Isn't she cute?
Everything is made out of grocery bags: the dress from dyed paper bags and the jacket from ironed plastic ones.

I think this look is quite simple, mainly if you compare it to the others. But I like it nevertheless. It's so me!
Well, I have to admit that I had plan something a bit more dramatic for once, with a belt and headpiece. But we were in such a rush backstage that my model had to walk out before I got her fully ready. If I was deceived at first, I'm finally happy it happened as I prefer it this way!
Plus, I got the chance to add what was missing for the finale, so here is a sneak peek of what she was supposed to look like:

Oh, and did you notice the necklace? I love it. I made it with plastic bags and metal can tabs!!!

And cause my models wasn't alone in this show, here are some pictures of the amazing other looks:

It's now time for me to go back on my Flash & trash project. See you soon!

Fashion Night Out

As you might know, September 8th was the Fashion Night Out.

So with DH, a friend from school and another couple of friends we decided to go to the Galleria. Here, in Houston, the Galleria is THE shopping experience. You can find anything from Zara to Dior. They have a whole lot of boutiques and shopping superstores like Nordstrom and Macy's.

For the Fashion Night Out, they had DJ in the common area with complimentary drinks. Many shops offered drinks as well and sometimes lite bites.

We figured it should be the perfect evening to dare enter all the designer boutiques. That's why we went there instead of following NY or Paris Fashion Night Out online.

So for the music and drinks, all was perfect. That's just so nice to hang around designer clothes, and champagne glass in one hand. And everyone dressed up for the event. It was as interesting to look at the stores as to look at people. I loved it.

I was kinda of deceived by the lack of people who dare to enter the high end boutiques. On some of them, we were the only clients!
If I got really disappointed with Dior, all the others exceded my expectations: security and sellers were nice and they were offering champagne glasses and sometimes food.
My fav' was Yves Saint Laurent because they offered macarons coming right from NY and they made me try on something I'd die for! I'm sad I could find it online, at least to post a picture of it here. I'm not even able to describe it...

And at the end of the evening, there was a runway show with fall trends:

The runway ended with a whole lots of women coming up the stage and dancing on Party Rock Anthem from LMFAO. I loved it:

And yes, I dressed up for the event:

Please, be kind to me as that's my 1st step in the fashion world!
I wasn't that bad with the high heels and skinny belt, wasn't I?

I really loved looking at all the designer clothes with my friend from class. We basically checked silhouettes, colors, materials, dart, finishings... of every garment!
And looking at the people and runway with husband and friends was really nice. I'm definitely going back next year!

My 1st dye!

For my next dress I choose a Vogue pattern from Guy Laroche. And I indulged myself with an order of silk chiffon and china silk.

But 'cause it's cheaper, allow me to have the exact same color for the lining and it was time for me to experiment I ordered it natural, with some dye.

So here comes my first dying!

I'm happy with the results as it's even. I was really worried about that!
I'm not sure the color is what it should have been though (Navy Blue). The color is actually brighter than the picture. I had no way to weight my fabric, so I not sure I used enough dye... But I like the color I got. That should look gorgeous with my new shoes.

I now have to work on the pattern because the review for this pattern are pretty bad. So, I'm gonna drape it... on my unfinished duck tape dress form!

Back from shopping!

I'm just coming back from some shopping.
I bought awesome shoes, a lining fabric (black white and red) for my class project and a Navy Blue dye. I got the the black cotton pique fabric yesterday, to make a Hot short (no I didn't come up with the name... the teacher did!) for my class.
The other fabrics come from Taiwan (Thanks Faye!) It's a really nicely textured cotton linen blend. I will use it for handbags with printed fabrics and jackets!

Yesterday evening, I also order some silk chiffon and china silk to make this Guy Laroche dress to go to the Fashion Night Out.
FNO is actually on September 8th and I will have to dye the fabric (that's gonna be a first for me!), so... I'm not sure it's gonna be ready.

I'm so excited!