Inspiration Everywhere

Carolyn of Diary of a Sewing Fanatic made a resonating comment in her posting Versace Inspired - Some Construction Pictures. She wrote - It's been an interesting process and learning experience. It really hit me that I enjoy interpreting a garment so much more than I like taking pattern pieces out of an envelope, making fitting changes and then sewing up a piece. It really engages and challenges me more.

I returned to sewing fashions from creating textile art. That's quite a change. With art, you're always sitting on the edge of your seat, not quite knowing what's next. With sewing fashions, there's a range however, if you simply follow the pattern, it's more like paint by numbers which isn't really my style. That said, I realized right away that I would have to alter patterns. They wouldn't fit straight out of the envelope anymore like they used to do or at least like I thought they did. I'm more aware now. I want my clothes to fit well. That means alterations. I think that's step one of sewing fashions. Accept it. Get over it. Learn how.

That said, fitting can be frustrating especially when at the end of all those adjustments the garment still doesn't work out as well as you'd hoped. What keeps me going is the ability to use that pattern as the basis for design because ... like Carolyn... what really energizes me with sewing is creating an interpretation of an inspirational picture, refashioning an existing garment, or using inspiration as a starting point for a completely different garment.

With the first, you see a garment you like and recreate it in your size with some alterations. For the most part, it's nearly the same. With the second, you alter an existing garment that is unwearable into a new garment that is - hopefully - both unique and wearable. It's a step by step process. While you might have an idea of the end result, you're never really sure if you'll arrive there or not. This is the closest to the emotions I experienced creating textile art. With the third....




... something you see sparks an idea that is added to a completely different garment and recreated in a new way. Ideas are everywhere. If you are open to receiving them, they will come to you. While wandering around the gift shop on the ferry, I found this t-shirt. The background is knit. The cut portions are batik.

Although they're nothing alike, the rows reminded me of a chapter in Mary Adams The Party Dress Book where she uses bias strips on a skirt. My mind connected the dots and started thinking about knit dresses with details which, if you're familiar with her style, has overtones of Alabama Chanin whose work is all done entirely by hand and contains labour intensive layers of applique as shown on The Maggie Dress for $3,365.00.




Above is another t-shirt detail. The additional applique and running stitches add further interest to the frayed elements. There was another line of clothing in the gift shop called Neon Buddha. The piece that caught my eye was a military styled jacket done in white. The button closures were made from knit appliqued in the shape of braid with a buttonhole in the keyhole shaped end. The edges of the knit curved and rolled much like the batik above. The entire line of clothing seems to be made from knit fabrics and became the inspiration for combining the KwikSew pattern that I showed yesterday with the heavier knit that I bought at Fabricana.

Ideas will mix and match and create exciting possibilities if you allow them to so that after you've spent hours and hours sewing and fitting and perfecting a pattern, you can then use that pattern as a base to design something very new and very fun. This is good because fitting a muslin can become incredibly frustrating. You can begin to wonder if you actually know how to sew and start feeling depressed. It's much better if your mind is dancing with ideas for combining several influences into a dress of your own. YES YES - so much better.




This is the (fourth) muslin I worked on yesterday. For muslin fabric, I'm using whatever I have in stash that will work hence this very fun combo of lime green check and purple zipper. It's one of my "muslin" zippers. I use them over and over again basting them in for fitting and then removing them for the next garment. I also cut up as much of one muslin for use in another as possible. The skirt of this one will most likely become the bodice or sleeves of the next. More about the dress later.

I'm working four hours tonight. It's my first evening shift from dinner to closing. I'm also working all day Saturday which is my first Saturday shift. Other than the fact that I won't get to see my family until almost bedtime tonight, it's quite nice to have an entire day to sew before going to work.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - inspiration