Nancy K's comment yesterday really made me think. It both echoed what I believe and pointed in interesting directions. She wrote: With clothing, I feel that flattering pieces are foremost if you want to feel good in your clothing. You can be creative, but if you want to like how you look, fit and flattering shapes come first. Can you be comfortable and creative in your wardrobe? With moderation and a lot of editing and self critique.
Some people are able to carry off a lot of drama that might make the rest of us cringe. While I may - LOL - be a drama queen, I'm not a drama dresser. I'm most comfortable in lower contrast garments that fit and flatter and have fun details.
I've mentioned before about each artist's viewing distance - the optimum distance from which their work is best viewed. Mine is up close. From way over there, the little bits and pieces that make up the whole cannot be viewed and yet - when you come closer - they - I hope - provide fun and personality.
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One of my favourite pieces where I felt I was especially successful in being me creatively is this version of Marcy Tilton'sVogue 8876 that I made in 2013. Looking at it now, there are some things I'd like to change like adding more ease to the back especially and that's okay. I've gone from hiding under way too much ease to sausage-ing myself in not nearly enough and I think I'm beginning to find my place. When I sew this again, I'll upsize it just a bit. I'd like to sew another dress and also use this pattern to make a coat much like Steph's.
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The fabrics were both remnants. One is a seersucker black cotton and the other a black/grey/purple cotton plaid. The contrast is minimal. It's more about the visual texture of the surface and the surprise of color, especially the purple.
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I zigzagged over the edges of the collar and top-stitched all the seams with thread in the same purple that's in the plaid and used the selvage to finish the bottom hem...
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.... and plaid binding for the sleeve hem. You can't see these details until you're up close to the garment.
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The back yoke, center front, one layer of the collar, and the piping in the seam lines are all from the plaid fabric. This is enough to co-ordinate and keep movement throughout the garment without overwhelming the viewer. The line of purple buttons up center front creates a column that leads to my eyes.
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It was fun to sew this dress, to put together the fabrics, to stitch the details, pat the developing piece, and celebrate its finish. It's me... creatively. I want to sew more like this. Nancy's comment reminded me to focus on what I've worked out through effort, editing, and self-critique.
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Confession - I re-read yesterday's posting and realized that no wonder "my" pleat looked just like Marcy's... it is Marcy's! I couldn't remember taking the picture with a white background and when I started digging deeper, the one on the left is Marcy's picture/pleat and the one on the right is my picture/pleat. Sigh... you can see just from these two illustrations that my fabric is much firmer and has less drape. Part of why the pants - Vogue 9035 - didn't work first time around and why I'm going to try, try again.
Yesterday, I started washing the fabrics I bought at Sew Expo. They're yummy. I took pictures to show you tomorrow.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - the benefits of effort, editing, and self-critique
Some people are able to carry off a lot of drama that might make the rest of us cringe. While I may - LOL - be a drama queen, I'm not a drama dresser. I'm most comfortable in lower contrast garments that fit and flatter and have fun details.
I've mentioned before about each artist's viewing distance - the optimum distance from which their work is best viewed. Mine is up close. From way over there, the little bits and pieces that make up the whole cannot be viewed and yet - when you come closer - they - I hope - provide fun and personality.
One of my favourite pieces where I felt I was especially successful in being me creatively is this version of Marcy Tilton'sVogue 8876 that I made in 2013. Looking at it now, there are some things I'd like to change like adding more ease to the back especially and that's okay. I've gone from hiding under way too much ease to sausage-ing myself in not nearly enough and I think I'm beginning to find my place. When I sew this again, I'll upsize it just a bit. I'd like to sew another dress and also use this pattern to make a coat much like Steph's.
The fabrics were both remnants. One is a seersucker black cotton and the other a black/grey/purple cotton plaid. The contrast is minimal. It's more about the visual texture of the surface and the surprise of color, especially the purple.
I zigzagged over the edges of the collar and top-stitched all the seams with thread in the same purple that's in the plaid and used the selvage to finish the bottom hem...
.... and plaid binding for the sleeve hem. You can't see these details until you're up close to the garment.
The back yoke, center front, one layer of the collar, and the piping in the seam lines are all from the plaid fabric. This is enough to co-ordinate and keep movement throughout the garment without overwhelming the viewer. The line of purple buttons up center front creates a column that leads to my eyes.
It was fun to sew this dress, to put together the fabrics, to stitch the details, pat the developing piece, and celebrate its finish. It's me... creatively. I want to sew more like this. Nancy's comment reminded me to focus on what I've worked out through effort, editing, and self-critique.
Confession - I re-read yesterday's posting and realized that no wonder "my" pleat looked just like Marcy's... it is Marcy's! I couldn't remember taking the picture with a white background and when I started digging deeper, the one on the left is Marcy's picture/pleat and the one on the right is my picture/pleat. Sigh... you can see just from these two illustrations that my fabric is much firmer and has less drape. Part of why the pants - Vogue 9035 - didn't work first time around and why I'm going to try, try again.
Yesterday, I started washing the fabrics I bought at Sew Expo. They're yummy. I took pictures to show you tomorrow.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - the benefits of effort, editing, and self-critique
You don't always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go and see what happens.
- Mandy Hale