Christmas Chiffons

I finally finished 3 of the 4 chiffon jackets that I was working on in late October. Life interruptions.... partys, visiting relatives , throwing a party for 50, holiday events, and other diversions such as the gala outfit that I made myself. If you love fabric, and fit, and have the patience of Job, DO make yourself a spaghetti strapped princess seamed cocktail dress from heavy black charmeuse, lined with hand dyed habotai, belted and topped with a simple black chiffon jacket. Note the hint of sarcasm? Honestly, a 7 section dress challenged my math abilities, and when I finished working with all that slippery silk I would have slit my wrists had it not been for the fact that the dress was an absolute dream to wear.

The first jacket and charmeuse tank were delivered on time on Nov 7th. See the picture of Sugar in the Sapphire chiffon with black floral detailing on sleeve and front over the black charmeuse tank. The photography is bad. The beautiful Sapphire color is Dharma's fiber reactive Sapphire. The black detailing was acid dye.

The second construction was the pretty black and blue jacket that I have named Night Dive. I discharged the selected areas on Dharma pre-dyed black chiffon. Dharma discharge paste was used and the discharged areas were over dyed with Colorhue dyes. The title of the piece was chosen because the design and coloration reminded me of snorkeling one day in the Caribbean surrounded by thousands of iridescent juvenile squid and other little sea creatures.

The third construction was the navy discharge jacket. I have posted a pic of it with the accompanying navy stretch charmeuse pinned to the form to make the jacket detailing more evident. No over dye was used on this piece. Jacquard's deep navy acid dye was used for the base color of the jacket and the charmeuse. The discharge agent was thiox. As silk dyers/painters know, photographing silk is tricky. In reality the base color of the jacket and the charmeuse are identical. The flash caused the difference you see in the photo. I am claiming this piece for myself. It is still a bit of a work in process as I need to decide what I am going to do with the navy charmeuse and I am tempted to embellish the discharged areas a little more...

There is fourth copy of this jacket that has yet to be sewn. It is also a discharged black with an olive green over dye. This piece was made with hand dyed black chiffon using a Jacquard acid dye. When I sew it next week I will post a pic and detail the host of horrors that befell me as I worked to discharge the hand dyed black chiffon.

Hot Flashes and Fashion

When my body decided to turn on itself and torture me with frequent hot flashes and an inability to sleep past 3 a.m. I had to make some life and wardrobe changes. Nudity was not an option, and the fabrics and fashions available in the hot house of South Florida were unappealing and TOO HOT. Although I enjoyed sewing and designing for most of my life, my machines and supplies had been packed away for ten years. They were abandoned when I gave up on finding fabrics that were attractive and wearable in a hot climate. My wardrobe was a study in apathy. Core holdings had dwindled to boring black pants, ugly suits, jeans and Old Navy tees for lounging. I longed for something pretty that fit and was cool to wear. I was HOT and Homely. Something had to change.

At 3 am in the early spring of 2007 it hit me - I could make my own fabrics and colors! Tra la! Thanks to Google I quickly located a good supplier of silk fabrics and dyes - Dharma Trading. I quickly placed an order and started reading everything I could find so I would be ready to create as soon as the goods arrived. I was a kid in a candy store again! Loaded to the gills with dyes, brushes, newly constructed frames, resists, discharge paste, and an electric turkey fryer purchased to steam my creations, I was off and running. I could and would create my own fabric!