Saturday, August 15, 2015
Summer Essentials: Basic Shorts
Monday, August 10, 2015
Road to Half Moon Bay - Sanchez Farm (field trip)
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| Stock blooming at Sanchez Farm |
Ench By Sew-36: Fiona, the Irish Laurel Dress
Dress creation brings out the romantic in me. When I looked ahead to my summer sewing, I thought if I could sew only one garment for the season, it would be a dress. Fiona, the Irish Laurel dress, satisfied my yearning to design and sew the perfect summer frock.
Hey let’s listen to the show! To do that you can either download the ‘cast from iTunes - Click on this link to iTunes ,
*OR* listen directly on the web, by clicking on this link
* * *
This dress was a very satisfying project for my arty romantic style.
In between sewing summer essentials - shorts and tees - I worked off and on to determine what design lines spoke to me about summer, mock up a miniature sloper pattern to test my ideas, draft a pattern from my sloper, and then finally to sew up Fiona, while summer was still on!
Hey let’s listen to the show! To do that you can either download the ‘cast from iTunes - Click on this link to iTunes ,
*OR* listen directly on the web, by clicking on this link
* * *
This dress was a very satisfying project for my arty romantic style.
In between sewing summer essentials - shorts and tees - I worked off and on to determine what design lines spoke to me about summer, mock up a miniature sloper pattern to test my ideas, draft a pattern from my sloper, and then finally to sew up Fiona, while summer was still on!
* Pensamientos Primeros - Thinking through my idea for this summer dress
- Part 1 - Planning Fiona
- Part 2 - Farewell to Summer Romancing Fiona, the Irish Laurel Dress
- Part 1 - Planning Fiona
- Part 2 - Farewell to Summer Romancing Fiona, the Irish Laurel Dress
*Technicos - Pattern Drafting and Kissing Zipper using a Prick Stitch
*Pensamientos Finales - Fiona's Design Lines have roots in my own history
Finians Rainbow was a modern American fairy tale. It expressed late 1960's dreams for racial harmony and folks coming together. Fred Astaire (Finian McLonigan) and Petula Clark(his daughter Sharon) added in the romance of America seen, and idealized, fresh from Irish eyes. The story of Finian's determination to plant himself a crop of Irish gold, intertwined with romance of countryside and a new happpily-ever-after love for Sharon draws me in as well today as it did when I was a kid who'd only recently arrived in a new place myself. Any wonder that the movie's costumes inspire my pattern work and sewing today?
Visit Me Encanta Coster/Enchanted by Sewing - my regular sewing blog for other summer sewing I enjoyed along the way... in between time spent bringing Fiona to life
Ench By Sew-35:Enchanted by Charles James - 20'th Century Fashion History
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| The Charles James Ribbon Gown - Muslin in the background |
Enchanted by Charles James - Stepping into a liminal space to study and enjoy glorious fashion designs and analyze the construction of those garments is the kind of thing that keeps me … enchanted by sewing.
Hey let’s go to the show together! To do that you can either download the ‘cast from iTunes - Click on this link to iTunes ,
*OR* listen directly on the web, by clicking on this link
* * *
Some months the Enchanted by Sewing podcast, journals my own sewing project accomplishments, techniques and creative ideas. Other times I share the source of some of my sewing inspiration. This month is inspiration time, as I take you along on an another in-the-,moment fashon exhibit - a visit to the beautiful Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco , where I went repeatedly to view the exhibit, High Style: The Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection exhibit of the Brooklyn Fashion Museum.
This collection – which is housed and curated by the Metropoliton Museum of Art in NY City- includes a wide range of the work of 20’th century designers and couturiers.
There was no way I could share all of what I saw with you.
By my third visit, I realized that , despite the charms of designers and coturiers in the exhibit- Elsa Schiaparelli and Madeleine Vionnet, just to name a few of the big names, and some that have been almost forgotten- the hands-down winner for sharing with you, was Charles James. That’s because James, and his clients and admirers, worked to see to it, that more than his beautiful garments were saved in this collection, to motivate and educate future sewists, designers and couturiers. This historical treasure trove includes sketches and muslins which really tell the story of how he worked, and what went into the garments he fashioned. They are an inspiration for the creative process.
The body of Charles James work extends from the 1930s into the1950s. The garments he designed, constructed and created were worn by high society types like Austine Hearst, the wife of Mr. William Randolph Hearst, Jr., Millicent Rogers and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney. They were also made for women with less blue blood like Jeanne Bultman the wife of the artist Fritz Bultman, and Gypsy Rose Lee!
James didn’t just sketch up a gown and expect others to produce it. He worked in the true couture tradition (some say the only American designer who did). He draped fabric in complex ways to get what he was after. Often he created specialized support systems under his gowns, to enhance and extend their third dimensions . Charles James also used fabric in studied ways working with color, light and reflectivity in addition to the hang or drape of the material. He also focused on developing seaming techniques that molded the fabric into directions he wanted it to move.
I’ll be blogging more about Charles James garments I saw at this exhibit over time . You’ll find those in the podcast show notes and at my regular blog, MeEncantaCoser.blogspot.com. So if you find Charles James as appealing as I do, subscribe to the podcast show notes or Me Encanta Coser to be notified about new James postings.
Show at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco http://legionofhonor.famsf.org/legion/announcements/collecting-fashion-20th-century-couture-costume-and-textile-arts-collection?utm_source=Fine+Arts+Museums+of+San+Francisco+E-Mail+List&utm_campaign=e68929bce3-15_3_4_e_news_general&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9757c5111b-e68929bce3-85610377
Other SF show links
https://legionofhonor.famsf.org/highstyle
https://legionofhonor.famsf.org/highstyle/about
~ ~ ~
Hey let’s go to the show together! To do that you can either download the ‘cast from iTunes - Click on this link to iTunes ,
*OR* listen directly on the web, by clicking on this link
* * *
Some months the Enchanted by Sewing podcast, journals my own sewing project accomplishments, techniques and creative ideas. Other times I share the source of some of my sewing inspiration. This month is inspiration time, as I take you along on an another in-the-,moment fashon exhibit - a visit to the beautiful Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco , where I went repeatedly to view the exhibit, High Style: The Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection exhibit of the Brooklyn Fashion Museum.
This collection – which is housed and curated by the Metropoliton Museum of Art in NY City- includes a wide range of the work of 20’th century designers and couturiers.
There was no way I could share all of what I saw with you.
By my third visit, I realized that , despite the charms of designers and coturiers in the exhibit- Elsa Schiaparelli and Madeleine Vionnet, just to name a few of the big names, and some that have been almost forgotten- the hands-down winner for sharing with you, was Charles James. That’s because James, and his clients and admirers, worked to see to it, that more than his beautiful garments were saved in this collection, to motivate and educate future sewists, designers and couturiers. This historical treasure trove includes sketches and muslins which really tell the story of how he worked, and what went into the garments he fashioned. They are an inspiration for the creative process.
The body of Charles James work extends from the 1930s into the1950s. The garments he designed, constructed and created were worn by high society types like Austine Hearst, the wife of Mr. William Randolph Hearst, Jr., Millicent Rogers and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney. They were also made for women with less blue blood like Jeanne Bultman the wife of the artist Fritz Bultman, and Gypsy Rose Lee!
James didn’t just sketch up a gown and expect others to produce it. He worked in the true couture tradition (some say the only American designer who did). He draped fabric in complex ways to get what he was after. Often he created specialized support systems under his gowns, to enhance and extend their third dimensions . Charles James also used fabric in studied ways working with color, light and reflectivity in addition to the hang or drape of the material. He also focused on developing seaming techniques that molded the fabric into directions he wanted it to move.
I’ll be blogging more about Charles James garments I saw at this exhibit over time . You’ll find those in the podcast show notes and at my regular blog, MeEncantaCoser.blogspot.com. So if you find Charles James as appealing as I do, subscribe to the podcast show notes or Me Encanta Coser to be notified about new James postings.
Show at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco http://legionofhonor.famsf.org/legion/announcements/collecting-fashion-20th-century-couture-costume-and-textile-arts-collection?utm_source=Fine+Arts+Museums+of+San+Francisco+E-Mail+List&utm_campaign=e68929bce3-15_3_4_e_news_general&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9757c5111b-e68929bce3-85610377
Other SF show links
https://legionofhonor.famsf.org/highstyle
https://legionofhonor.famsf.org/highstyle/about
~ ~ ~
The Entire (over 400 items) Charles James Collection is Freely Available and Searchable Online at the Metropolitan Museum - Brooklyn Costume Collection. This collection includes not only beautiful garments, but muslins and design sketches James created along the way.
http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search?&ft=charles+james&what=Costume&pg=1A few Example Links in the above collection - Use this link to do your own searching
Muslin for the Ribbon Gown http://www.metmuseum.org/search-results?ft=charles+james+muslin+ribbon
Charles James Fashion Sketches
Clover leaf Ball Gown Sketches
http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/156717
Entire online collection at the Met.Wow!
http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online
Articles about Charles James
Entire online collection at the Met.Wow!
http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online
Articles about Charles James
Monday, August 3, 2015
Inspiration for a garden -Japanese Tea Gardens, Golden Gate Park - San Francisco Field Trip
I'm quite interested in creating themed gardens at home these days - whether in a pot or larger gardening space. Recently my daughter and I went up to the Japanese Tea Gardens in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, and you can bet I was thinking the whole time about elements for the perfect mini tea garden at home!
Do you think I can manufacture something for a large pot garden, or a stretch of yard, as perfect as a drum bridge?
I've seen miniature bridges, but none as perfectly rounded as this. Kids love to climb over this - and I've had a lot of fun on it as a no-longer-a-kid myself.
Hummmm I think I'm going to need some green glass to give a watery look, something along the lines of this lantern and a lovely orange lily. I have a lot of chasmonti floribunda that's overgrown my yard. It has a lovely orange flower and similar lily foliage.
I might not be able to squeeze in a temple in a pot, or in my yard for that matter, but these burnt reds contrasting with green are certainly something to think about when it comes to plants, and or a ceramic pot or tile.
Do you think I can manufacture something for a large pot garden, or a stretch of yard, as perfect as a drum bridge?I've seen miniature bridges, but none as perfectly rounded as this. Kids love to climb over this - and I've had a lot of fun on it as a no-longer-a-kid myself.
Hummmm I think I'm going to need some green glass to give a watery look, something along the lines of this lantern and a lovely orange lily. I have a lot of chasmonti floribunda that's overgrown my yard. It has a lovely orange flower and similar lily foliage. 
I might not be able to squeeze in a temple in a pot, or in my yard for that matter, but these burnt reds contrasting with green are certainly something to think about when it comes to plants, and or a ceramic pot or tile.Romancing my Summery Irish Laurel Dress- Pattern Blue Sky (Part 1)
It's fun looking back at what led to the creation of Fiona, my newly finished Irish Laurel dress. I'm going to talk about this new frock over the course of several blog postings, as I recall what led to the pattern draft, pattern choice, and spirit of the dress. I also plan to dedicate a podcast to Fiona. I'm not sure if I'll produce that 'cast as my August or September show. You can signup at http://enchantedBySewing.blogspot.com to get email notification when new podcasts are released.
I began work on Fiona using a quarter scale sloper pattern, which I traced from a sewing book. There are a lot of slopers on the web that I could have printed out as well.
My sloper has a bust dart and fisheye front dart like this one.
I wanted Fiona to be empire waisted, but I didn't want to simply gather a high-waited skirt under the bust.
Design Goals
1) Sleeveless
2) Empire waist
3) One-piece front (and back).
4) Very fitted bodice
5) Pattern with very simple lines
6) A light, floating and easy feeling summery dress
It really helped working in quarter scale.
a) Initially I cut apart the bodice below the bust, creating a second, separate torso piece. Then I cut another line at the waist.
b) Notice that I pinned in the bust dart (goal 4) and put some padding under it to give me the sense of a three-dimensional garment. That also shows where a skirt would attach to the stitching line, so I know how long to make the seam line for any pattern piece that might be separate would need to be.
In this case, as you can see from the curved line I extended the pattern at this below-the-bust point, so that was not an issue. If I were cutting a separate skirt piece, it would be.
c) I then cut apart the skirt as though I were creating a flared skirt pattern. I blogged about making a flared skirt from a sloper shortly after I finished my "French Pattern Drafting" class with Lynda Maynard. This is the first chance I've had to actually make a flared skirt. Of course this flared skirt will not hang from the waist, but I figured it was the same idea.
d) After I taped up the flared skirt - by closing the waist dart and pulling the skirt apart to accommodate that - I graded down from just below the bust (where I cut the pattern apart) to the side seam of the skirt in the area of the full hip. That's the slightly curved line you see drawn in.
Later on, when I created the actual full-sized pattern based on my sloper. I didn't cut apart the bodice, though I did cut away the skirt at the natural waistline, reforming the full front by judicious taping and pattern paper insertion. I did cut several lines to accommodate dart movement however.
Another thought, if this were a really complex pattern, would be to use some kind of small dress form just to do the pattern work without the fit. I'm not sure if this quarter-size would fit a large doll, but it might. Or you could rework this mini-sloper to fit a large doll. Madeline Vionnet used to drape patterns on a fashion doll.
If the doll represented a child, I'd need to pad it out to represent a more womanly figure. It would be fun to try - if life were only all about sewing!
I began work on Fiona using a quarter scale sloper pattern, which I traced from a sewing book. There are a lot of slopers on the web that I could have printed out as well.
I wanted Fiona to be empire waisted, but I didn't want to simply gather a high-waited skirt under the bust.
Design Goals1) Sleeveless
2) Empire waist
3) One-piece front (and back).
4) Very fitted bodice
5) Pattern with very simple lines
6) A light, floating and easy feeling summery dress
It really helped working in quarter scale.
a) Initially I cut apart the bodice below the bust, creating a second, separate torso piece. Then I cut another line at the waist.
b) Notice that I pinned in the bust dart (goal 4) and put some padding under it to give me the sense of a three-dimensional garment. That also shows where a skirt would attach to the stitching line, so I know how long to make the seam line for any pattern piece that might be separate would need to be.
In this case, as you can see from the curved line I extended the pattern at this below-the-bust point, so that was not an issue. If I were cutting a separate skirt piece, it would be.
c) I then cut apart the skirt as though I were creating a flared skirt pattern. I blogged about making a flared skirt from a sloper shortly after I finished my "French Pattern Drafting" class with Lynda Maynard. This is the first chance I've had to actually make a flared skirt. Of course this flared skirt will not hang from the waist, but I figured it was the same idea.
d) After I taped up the flared skirt - by closing the waist dart and pulling the skirt apart to accommodate that - I graded down from just below the bust (where I cut the pattern apart) to the side seam of the skirt in the area of the full hip. That's the slightly curved line you see drawn in.
Later on, when I created the actual full-sized pattern based on my sloper. I didn't cut apart the bodice, though I did cut away the skirt at the natural waistline, reforming the full front by judicious taping and pattern paper insertion. I did cut several lines to accommodate dart movement however.
Another thought, if this were a really complex pattern, would be to use some kind of small dress form just to do the pattern work without the fit. I'm not sure if this quarter-size would fit a large doll, but it might. Or you could rework this mini-sloper to fit a large doll. Madeline Vionnet used to drape patterns on a fashion doll.
If the doll represented a child, I'd need to pad it out to represent a more womanly figure. It would be fun to try - if life were only all about sewing!
Saturday, July 25, 2015
How To Invite Fairies to Live in your Garden (Tutorial)
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Fairy magic adds enchantment to my gardening life |
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| Wegman's Nursey ( Redwood City) helped me prepare for fairies |
How To Invite Fairies to Live in your Garden
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| Ice plant and succulents enhance this tea party garden |
1)Find a nice pot - I got mine in my Wegman's Fairy Garden Class /Workshop.
You might get creative here and re-purpose a pot, large bowl, can, or any open vessel you already have. Fairies are not picky. Make sure you have a hole in the bottom, or some kind of drainage.
2) Fill the pot nearly full with potting soil
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4) Pick out a few little outdoor or indoor plants to enhance the story. Tiny ground cover plants might work well. In my Wegman's class, I included Australian violets/Australian bluebell and some Irish moss. I had some spider plants at home that had shot out spider plant babies, so I added several of those as well.
In other fairy habitats - such as the tea party themed one above - I've been using (flowering) ice plant, thyme and a lot of the succulents I've been repurposing from pots. With these I often use pea gravel to fill in as a natural stream or landscape. Non-miniature plants like geranium/pelargonium and iris stems can stand in for trees.
5) Find a fairy, and some items that she or he might enjoy. I used a
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| There are Fairies at the Bottom of My Garden |
fairy, a leaf bridge with frogs, and a fairy bicycle. You could also use little toys - like tiny dolls. You don't even have to include a fairy. Just creating the perfect environment , may well encourage a fairy to move in with you. Just because you don't see one, doesn't mean they aren't living there.
6) Rocks, gravel, broken pottery shards, sand and other textures add greatly to the story. In the Fairy Garden class I went too we had access to crushed blue and green glass (you can buy bags of it) and broken shards from a turquoise pot. Those items made me think lake when I spotted them.
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| Waiting for fairies Just because you don't see them, doesn't mean they aren't living there. |
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| Fairy garden is in-progress - keeping my eyes peeled for additions |
My fairy gardens live on my patio. I hand water them when it gets dry. Small garden like these are great during our drought, because they takes very little water. In fact, when we often re-purpose leftover water from other domestic events for watering our pots.
Books
Both these Disney Garden books inspire my theme gardening style, which is so vital for a fairy gardener. I like the tabbed-cookbook style of DISNEY'S GARDENING WITH MICKEY
when I want to quickly review the steps for creating a hanging basket or well illustrated how-tos for small topiaries. (There's lots of good info for larger topiaries and garden sculpting as well - I just haven't tried it out) In addition, there is good gardening (yard or pots) basic techniques as well as many recommendations for plants that work well for specific themes and temperatures. I highly recommend it, because I have used it a lot over a period of several years.I also turn regularly to my Secrets of Disney's Glorious Gardens
book. It has a lot of similar techniques and information as DISNEY'S GARDENING WITH MICKEY and it also has lovely, lovely photos that inspire me. So when I want to sit down and just get ideas for themes or gardening styles, I pour through the photos in this book.Fairy magic is adding enchantment to my life, when it comes to gardening.
~ ~ ~
There are Fairies at the Bottom of My Garden
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