Vintage Pattern Meets African Batik Meets kokoleo

Last month I got a commission to make a sundress using authentic batik fabric that was purchased in Kenya, Africa. The customer wanted it to be a 1950s style cocktail dress based on this vintage reprint Vogue pattern:

To be honest, I'm not a fan of patterns, especially vintage ones. You'd think with all the sewing I've done that following a pattern would be no problem, but I much rather prefer devising my own way of doing things, be it custom plush monsters or a cupcake costume or any other weird one-of-a-kind. Fancy grown-up dresses with darts and gathering and interfacing and buttons and hidden side zippers still intimidate me. Which is precisely why I said, "Yes, I'll do it." To prove that I can. And I did!

 

 It took a few weeks of careful planning before I got up the nerve to piece it together. One wrong cut and I would have been screwed since it's not exactly the kind of fabric you can pick up at JoAnn's. Luckily, I remembered reading somewhere that vintage patterns run about 6 sizes smaller than their modern counterparts, so while the pattern I had went up to a size 14, that's really a modern size 8 and I needed to make it a 10. Argh! Math! I checked the measurements against those I took from my customer and realized that the pattern was too small so I simply trusted my seamstress instincts and cut about a 3/4 inch extra on the sides, top and bottom and followed the basic shape of the original pattern. Thankfully it fit her perfectly.

Here's the back view. The skirt is nearly 4 yards gathered at the waist.

 The only materials I purchased for this project were the shoulder buttons. I have a billion buttons in my studio stash, but not 10 identical ones.

Working with the free-form, assymetrical pattern was a bit tricky. I took extra care to line it up in a balanced, flattering manner, making sure not to let the circles be two giant bullseyes on her boobs. I thought the cummerbund needed a little something extra so I added this oversize vintage plastic button that matched the colors perfectly. I've had that button for probably 6 years now knowing it would be perfect for something some day. 

And now it's done! My confidence in my vintage pattern-following abilities has grown and my customer got a one-of-a-kind, custom-fit, African batik, vintage reproduction, kokoleo cocktail dress.

Thrift Thursday - For the Dogs

I got this flannel tapestry at Goodwill today for $1.99:

It's pretty big - 4.5 feet wide by 3 feet tall. What do you think I should make with it? A wrap skirt? Tote bags? Pillows? A big dog bed?

Custom kokoleo bed sheet sundresses

I compiled some photos of custom sundresses that I currently have the fabric to create.

 Since the fabric and bed sheets I use are vintage and hard to find, I have a limited supply of each print. Often, I've found, when customers peruse my sundresses they find a pattern they love but it's in the wrong size. By custom-making them, I can save my fabric for those who really want it and can make a dress in size six months to six years. This way, customers can choose their favorite trim and buttons and get a true one-of-a-kind that they helped design. Check them out in my Etsy shop or email me if you're interested.

She's an angel straight from heaven!

Here's a little assemblage McKenna made from the scraps on my studio floor.

It's an angel. At the time, I was making her angel costume for our church's Christmas pageant.

And here's another angel she made 2 weeks ago in the snow.

Ginghams-N-Things

Ahhh, gingham. I love it. I can never get enough gingham. It makes a nice background for my personalized items and it seems I'm always running out of it. When I saw this batch at an estate sale this morning, I scooped it up right away. That alone would have made my morning, but I also got these:

Which made me very happy too. Believe it or not, I'm pretty particular about my fabric choices. I tend to go for vintage, preferably 50s-70s, bright, bold, and unique. Wacky and odd is a plus in my book. Brittle or stinky is a deal-breaker. These are just a few things I've noticed about my fabric preferences.

I like:
cotton prints (sturdy, not flimsy)
bright colors (ones you can spot a mile away)
wacky animals (preferably psychedelic)
stripes, gingham, calico (paging Laura Ingles)
velvet (totally pettable)
fleece and faux fur (good for monster-making and fun to pet)
felt (for monster mouths)
tulle (for monster tutus)
naugahyde, vinyl (smooth and strong)
smooth nylon/polyester (especially with photorealistic prints)
vintage bedsheets that aren't faded (so smoooth)
patchwork, quilt tops (vintage and in good condition is a dream come true)
Ikea fabric (it's sturdy and bright)

I don't like:
JoAnn's novelty prints (hokey)
thick scratchy polyester (ick.)
linen (boring and wrinkly)
burlap (gives me heebie-jeebies)

There's probably more. I'll revise that list if I think of any.

I also got these (mostly) vintage notions today:

I don't really need 3 purse-size tape measures, all that iron-on fabric or even any more ric-rac for that matter (I have enough to ric-rac the world). However, while I was looking through all this stuff I realized what I'm going to do for my next giveaway. I'm going to give it away! I come across so many odd, cool, practical notions in my thrifty adventures, I really shouldn't hoard it all. So, over the next few months I'm going to keep an eye out for some more cool seamstressy things and put together a package or two. I'm sure someone could put these:

bias tape makers to good use. (Before today, I didn't know there was such a thing.) Same goes for this:

Now, friends, let me tell you about MAGIC STITCHER. . . It's an unusual and ideal gift that I'm going to give away!

Diary of a Fabric Addict

I'm back! and feeling better. The fiery pit of hell that was my throat now just feels like a furball. I Zycammed and lozenged and Emergen-C'ed the bejeezus out of it to make it go away. Maybe I should give up sewing and become a doctor. Nahh. . . look at what I'd have to give up:

It's all relocated, folded, color coded, and grouped according to its texture and usage. You'd think I couldn't fit another piece of fabric in there but I can. Watch me! I found a rare Friday estate sale advertising "Sewing Items and Everything for the Quilter...ie: Fabric, Threads, Pin Cushions, tons of Notions" and after dropping Sage off at kindergarten, McKenna and I stopped by. Here's our haul:

Thread. I go through about 5 spools a week and I've been needing some new colors. Those were all the oldskool wooden spools, there were also some newer ones:

That there looks like a spool showdown! Pretty soon they'll start wielding needles. Watch out!

Uh oh - looks like someone forgot to return their "5-Day Loan Sample." Lucky me.

I love that one. You can click on it to see a larger view. In the windows are people talking, fighting?, drinking?, and there's one where a woman is giving a man a shirt and one with a man in a wheelchair. At least that's how I see it. They're all up for interpretation. I've been attracted to buildings and windows lately, but I'll save that for another post. Next!

Wheee! Sewing machines! It's from 1993, the year I graduated from high school. Does that make it vintage? Am I vintage? A few weeks ago a teenage girl in a thrift store asked me if the outfit she picked out was 80s enough (I guess I looked like I'd have knowledge of that era?) I told her yes, the pastel track suit was very Golden Girl-esque. She seemed happy with that answer and said she loved vintage clothing. Up until then I never considered pastel track suits as being vintage, just fugly. But I digress.

I bet some people would consider those prints to be pretty ugly. Not me! However, the gingham faux patchwork ones hurt your eyes if you stare at them long enough. Go on, do it. See? Next up, notions:

These are great big in real life. I love me some great big buttons.

The Sagittarian in me loves those centaurs.

When Sage saw the bag full of those little roses, he asked if he could eat them. Ha! He thought they were candy. Of course, I only let him have a few because I didn't want him to spoil his appetite.

Is it weird that I go to people's homes and buy their unwanted fabric, then take pictures of said fabric and gush over it like it's bars of gold? Eventually I'll cut into it all, turn it into something new and send it back out into the world. I can only hope that when we're all old and having estate sales that some kindred young spirit will be excited to find a vintage kokoleo hidden in the mix.

Happiness is. . .

. . . a heap-o-fabric.

Made by Monday - Progress.

I moved my sewing machine table, machines, fabric and shelves. Now the task of folding, sorting, and organizing all this material and maybe even (gasp!) purging some. My mom is coming to visit next week. I should have saved this task for her. She's good at it.

This pile is about one foot high and six feet wide
Soft as a downy chick.
It's made from the fabric of forty million scraps
plus a few bolts of cloth in it.
It'd hold eight kids and Kali our dog (but I won't let her, because she's hairy)
and a kitty we keep well fed.
I don't get much sleep but I have a lot of fun
on my patchwork fabric bed!

(John Denver fans will get it.)

Thrift Thursday - The fruit of Joshua Tree.

On the main road that runs through the town of Joshua Tree I spotted two thrift stores right near the entrance to the national park. I told Erik, "You know I'm not leaving this place until I get to go in there." Although he's not a fan of thrift shopping, he obliged and even found himself a funky Tiki shirt. Lookie what I found:

Check out the oldskool Tigger, before he got all Disneyfied.

That is actually a smock shirt that ties in the back. I might wear it, but I probably won't cook in it.

Whoa, look at those freaky animals! I like the boy and girl fabric best. But not better than this:

Now that's the kinda print that sends my heart a-flutter. I loved it so much that as soon as I came home I made two toddler sundresses out of it:

each with a tiny toy that lives in the pocket:

The second most exciting fabric score was this:

which inspired me to make these:

Each with a matching heart in its pocket.

Wait! I'm not done yet. there was also this haul:

It was all folded like this when I bought it. I thought the mushrooms were awesome but the sleepy kitten/home sweet home prints were kind of dumb and the patchwork print was rather faded. But when I got home and unfolded it all I realized that's actually the backside of the patchwork print fabric and the mushroom fabric also has panels of owls and butterflies. Owls and Butterflies, people! I made this today:

Last but not least, I also got this:

Which I turned into this:
I love how this time last week I had no clue this fabric existed and now I have all this. Now, excuse me while I go see what else is out there. . .

Frift Friday

Okay, I usually show my thrifty finds on Thursday in conjunction with Thrift Thursday, but yesterday was Valentine's day and I wanted to give a shoutout to my loved ones instead. I haven't shown my recent acquisitions in a while. Thanks to Craigslist, I manage to find at least one decent sale a week. I got this haul last week in North Hollywood at a benefit sale for costumers affected by the writer's strike:

Remember how I said I need to stop being afraid to cut into my favorite fabric because new fabric will always take it's place? It's because I actively seek it out. I'm pretty sure there's enough fabric out there to ensure I'll never run out, I just have to go out and find it. I got the following fabric at an estate sale in Valley Village:


The house was a shrine to 1965 - gold and velvet wallpaper, bold printed curtains, mod furniture. You could tell the woman who lived there used to be quite the fashionista back in the day. Now though, she's in her 80s and unable to maintain the house so the sale was to fund her retirement. I'd rather give my money to a cause like this than any chain fabric store.

Check out this haul I got the other day:

Holy crap that's a lot of fabric! This is the kind of haul where I have to think up justifications for when Erik sees me come in the house with yet another bag of fabric. This stuff is exactly what I need for my banners and pillows so it was well worth my $26 investment. Plus! All the money went to benefit a senior center that cares for elderly people with Alzheimer's, so it's shopping I can feel doubly good about. When I went to the sale (at the North Hollywood Masonic Temple) there was a circle of old folks in the auditorium bouncing a ball around on a parachute. I wanted to join them.

Rather than searching for specific fabric and notions, I let what I find determine what I make. This keeps it interesting because every outing is an adventure. I never know what else is out there, when and where I'll find it, and what I'll turn it into. We'll see!

Thrift Thursday

Last Saturday I attended two estate sales close by. Both were in homes whose heyday was the 60s and 70s - lots of mustard yellows, olive greens, wacky linoleum, and general Brady Bunch style interior design. Here's my fabric haul for the day:

and this tablecloth with 5 matching napkins. I love the chicken wire print.

Today I took McKenna to a rummage sale at a convent nearby. She was alert in her stroller the whole time, just looking around and cooing. I think she's going to be a great bargain hunting companion. I even found her a vintage, unopened package of Goody barrettes! I got myself some big buttons and a cool needlepoint piece which I promptly came home and started turning into a purse - hopefully I'll have it made by Monday. We'll see!

Look ma! I cleaned my room!

I've documented my newly organized, color-coded and folded fabric for posterity's sake (because it probably won't stay this way for long):


It took me hours this weekend but I managed to find the floor, put things in designated places, complete a few projects, assess all that I have and even (gasp!) get rid of a few things. I'm over the first trimester hurdle and finally feeling like I'm getting my creative mojo back (and not falling asleep before 10 p.m.). Last night I made six! pairs of monster pants. I'm even managing to keep things nice and neat. See?



At least, this is what I call nice and neat. Others might call it crowded and cluttered. I've never really been one for minimalism.




Here's my bulletin board, crowded with pins I've collected from craft shows, cards from shops that carry kokoleo, flyers from shows I've been in, and a few kokoleo labels waiting to be sewn into yet-to-be-made purses and clothes.


Too bad I'm going to have to give up this room when the baby gets here. We're thinking of converting the porch in to the new kokoleo headquarters. Or maybe the garage. Porches and garages don't really make good nurseries. I simply have too much though to NOT have a space of my own. We'll figure something out. Life would be so much simpler if I didn't sew. Think of all the time I'd have! All the space I'd have!

Nahhh, that would be boring.