Passion for Fashion Recap

Hey friends! I just landed in home in New York, and I have SO MUCH to tell you about American Sewing Expo. In fact, it probably won't fit in one post. So let's start with the event that brought me to the expo: the contest! As I mentioned last week, I was one of the finalists in the Passion for Fashion competition, a live Project Runway-style challenge. Thursday night we met at the expo center and picked our models in random numerical order. I was 9th out of 12, but still got an incredible model named Samia. Little did I know exactly how perfect she would be for my creation. (See what I did there? Foreshadowing!)

Friday morning we arrived early at the show and received our challenge from Janet Pray, president of ASE and all-around awesome lady. It was very reality TV: we walked into a room with movie posters hanging all around the walls. The challenge? Pick a movie poster and design an ensemble inspired by the movie, a character in it, or the poster itself. There were lots of great choices: Breakfast at Tiffany's, Alice in Wonderland, Casablanca. But I knew which one I had to have:

Frida Kahlo is one of my favorite artists, as well as a style icon of mine (blogged here!). Readers, I had to have it. Luckily I was 4th to pick (in reverse order from model selection) and got it easily. (I later found out that no one else wanted it anyway!)

We got to work on sketching. I immediately thought of Frida's body cast--she was in a horrific bus accident in her teens, which resulted in massive injuries (including a broken spinal column) and necessitated 35 surgeries over the course of her life to correct. She began painting while she was bed-ridden, and later would paint her body casts, using a mirror to help her.

I saw one of her casts in person at the Casa Azul in Mexico City, and it looked like a strapless bustier to me. I also thought of skeletons--Frida's broken bones and Day of the Dead sugar skulls--and a skeletal structure became integral to the design.

After sketching, we were given $100 to shop for supplies on the expo floor. Here I am picking out some felted wool rayon at Crawford Designs. I also bought fabric at Haberman and Sew Batik, and a couple gorgeous trims from Soutache.

 Anyway, long story short, here's the outfit I made over the course of the challenge:

The bustier was made in navy cotton, and I used ivory petersham ribbon on the outside as external casings for spiral steel boning. I arranged the ribbon in a subtle ribcage design and adorned it with bows, because Frida was nothing if not feminine. The back is similar, without the bows. There is vertical and horizonal boning, creating a cage effect.

The skirt is batik, as Frida loved folk art. There's horsehair in the hem (of course!) and border-print ruffles peeking out from below. The capelet is in a saffron-colored felted wool/rayon, and it elongated Samia's neck in the way Frida's portraits often did (you can check out some portraits here if you're interested. My favorite is "Broken Column."). The final touch was a bright rose-red silk ribbon which was twisted through Samia's hair.

How perfect is she???

I draped all three garment patterns, which felt like a big accomplishment. We had to sew everything over Friday and Saturday (in the middle of the expo floor, no less), ending at 3pm to get ready for the big runway show. 

We were interviewed by the judges first (one of them was Suede from Project Runway Season 5), and it was hard. I was nervous.

We followed that up with the runway show, where we got to talk about our inspiration for the garments. Samia looked stunning. After all the garments were presented, they announced the top six and I made it! We were interviewed by the judges and some audience members while onstage (I felt like I was in a pageant). We made our way backstage while the judges deliberated.

We came back out and the winners were announced, starting with third place. It was me! Hurrah! I won a Babylock Melody sewing machine.

Here are the winning garments. The center is First Place (inspired by Alice in Wonderland) and on the right is Second Place (inspired by 101 Dalmatians).

Overall, it was a fantastic experience. Everyone was super nice (no reality show back-stabbing) and it got me thinking outside of my usual design choices. The sewing wasn't as stressful as I anticipated; the hard part was the designing. I think I'll have more to write about that later--as well as my recap of the expo itself, of course. I have the garments home with me, so I can show you more construction details if you're interested. Just don't ask to see how the ruffles are attached--that was the one time crunch! (Don't worry, it's not glue or staples.) It's just not very pretty . . . and of course everyone at the reception afterwards wanted to flip up her hem and inspect it. Oy. Anyway, more to come!

Call for Entries: Most Awesomely Bad Pattern EVER

Let's take a moment to thank ZipZapKap, who brought to our attention her 70's McCall's pattern for apron chaps, which have to be the most sublimely horrible thing I've ever seen. Seriously, I'm (practically) speechless. It got me in the mood for a little contest here at my Blog for Better Sewing. So, I'm sending out a call for entries: can you top these apron chaps?

Please send your entry for MOST AWESOMELY BAD PATTERN EVER to me at gertie [at] blogforbettersewing [dot] com. Or post a link to your entry in the comments here! It's up to you to decide what makes a pattern awesomely bad: the design in general, the pattern art, etc. Patterns from all decades (including now) are up for entry.

The exact details of the prize are TBD, but I'm thinking it will be the pattern of your choice ($20 or less) on Etsy.

You have until the end of the day of Friday, 11/13. I'll then choose my top three and post a poll to let you choose the winner!

Update: Enter as many times as you like!

Do I Spy a Leg O' Mutton Sleeve in the New SewStylish Magazine?!

In this post, I made fun of the leg o' mutton sleeve. It's just one of those vintage styles that I can't imagine coming back into fashion. I mean, the name alone is ridiculous. What woman wants her arm compared to a cut of meat? We might as well call it the ham hock sleeve.

So imagine my surprise when I received an e-mail from Taunton Press with the image above. It's a sneak peek at some of the looks in the SewStylish fall 2009 issue. That clearly appears to be a leg o' mutton sleeve on the model. She's ready to party like it's 1899!

Will any of you be sewing a look like this? Am I alone in my feelings about the leg o' mutton?

I have mixed feelings in general about SewStylish magazine. There are usually a lot of "what were they thinking?!" styles in each issue. Exhibit A: the cover of the upcoming fall issue.

What is that on her head? A turban? A kerchief? And let's talk about that jacket. Actually, let's not.

But then there's always something that keeps me buying SewStylish. Exhibit B: skirt #2.

I was a finalist in SewStylish's Spring Fashion contest, to a bit of infamy. I'm hoping they'll have another contest in the Fall issue. You know I can't resist a contest.

What are your thoughts about SewStylish? Will you be buying this issue?

Look at this Beauty!

Isn't this 1951 slip pattern a gem? I love how it's in that sweet spot between the 40s and 50s, style-wise. I found it yesterday on Etsy from this seller for a really reasonable price. Have you noticed how vintage patterns are much more affordable on Etsy than on the sites dedicated to selling vintage patterns? I wonder what that's all about. Anyway, I've had great luck shopping there.

This slip is all part of an elaborate plan for this contest.
The grand prize is a $1,000 gift certificate to Fabric.com! So I've decided I have to pull out the big guns. The stipulation is that you have to use one of their top ten patterns of 2008. The patterns are kind of a snooze fest, to be honest. Lots of plain knit tops.

But I already had this DVF knock-off in my stash, and I'm planning on giving it a 40s makeover. This plan involves several pattern alterations, many yards of lemon-yellow matte jersey, a bunch of gorgeous little yellow ball buttons, a vintage slip pattern, some Daffodil ambiance lining fabric, and a little lace to top it all off. Don't worry, I've got it in control. (Ha!) I'll keep you updated as I go along.

Are any of you planning to enter this contest? What are you scheming? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

I Can't Resist a Sewing Contest

I just can't. If I see a new contest, I have to enter. I love how contests get me outside of my comfort zone, and I end up making things I wouldn't have otherwise.

There's a new one going on right now, sponsored by Craft Magazine and Singer. It's a swimsuit cover-up contest--there's one I haven't seen before! So here's what I'm brainstorming:

The Sarong Dress. Just look at this magnificent vintage Butterick pattern! Rawr!



These dresses were popularized in World War II, after soldiers would bring them home to their wives. The sarong actually seems to be more of a "mock sarong," with the tie being non-functioning.

So here's where I have to use my (not so) trusty patternmaking skills! I took a course at FIT last semester, and I think I'm up to the challenge. I got a B+, after all! I want to use this image as inspiration and make a few changes: wider straps, and a shirred, elasticized back so it's easy to get on and off.

Oh! And look at this nice print I found at A.K. fabrics in the Garment District yesterday! Five dollars, darlings!


I don't really love Hawaiian prints (unless they're vintage), but this is retro and abstract enough for me. I think it will look awesome gathered and draped!


In other news, I found the pattern for "the feminine, portrait neckline blouse" from Vogue's New Book for Better Sewing (that's VNBFBS for those in the know!) on a vintage pattern site and it's on its way!

Isn't it just fab? Well, honestly, the illustration is fab, the blouse we'll have to see about. I looked over the instructions in VNBFBS, and they want me to do all sorts of crazy things like tailor's tacks and a basted fitting. Let's see how long my patience lasts. They tell me all I need is a "pioneering spirit and my sewing equipment." Thanks for the encouragement, VNBFBS!

I have a 60" wide yard of the coolest black linen eyelet, and I hope it will be enough to make this baby up. Stay tuned!