Tuesday, December 23, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
What's on my table now
Oy. I am up to my ears in chiffon and promises. My dear friend is celebrating her 50th in 2 weeks. She admired a new design of mine and so... here I go again... making something for someone that I pray they will like. Then, my dear sister-in-law saw the design and made her request... Then, there is another special someone that is going to get a surprise... You know the punch line. None of us are the same size. Agh. I drafted my pattern for my shape. Adjustments are a bit of a shot in the dark.
Shall we make it a little more difficult? The jacket demands a smooth front top underneath, and my prototype top was made from charmeuse. Yes, you are getting the picture now, I also have to make more slippery charmeuse tops for my gal pals - AND- modify my pattern for their various shapes. That might be a simple feat for some sewers... but I am not great at adjusting for all these middle aged bust lines and back sizes. Ever notice the presence of the dreaded "back fat" that we seem to accumulate in later years? How about those gaping arm holes in sleeveless tops? When I finish this round of projects I SWEAR I will never attempt this again.
This time last year I was working on a series of stoles for the wedding party of a friend's daughter. They were hand painted, and fairly identical. No stencils or screens used, just a complex drawing and a ton of gutta. I thought that was the most difficult thing that I would ever do. NOT.
Right now I am letting some discharge printing set up on one of the jackets. Pray for me :-) Pics will be posted later....
Shall we make it a little more difficult? The jacket demands a smooth front top underneath, and my prototype top was made from charmeuse. Yes, you are getting the picture now, I also have to make more slippery charmeuse tops for my gal pals - AND- modify my pattern for their various shapes. That might be a simple feat for some sewers... but I am not great at adjusting for all these middle aged bust lines and back sizes. Ever notice the presence of the dreaded "back fat" that we seem to accumulate in later years? How about those gaping arm holes in sleeveless tops? When I finish this round of projects I SWEAR I will never attempt this again.
This time last year I was working on a series of stoles for the wedding party of a friend's daughter. They were hand painted, and fairly identical. No stencils or screens used, just a complex drawing and a ton of gutta. I thought that was the most difficult thing that I would ever do. NOT.
Right now I am letting some discharge printing set up on one of the jackets. Pray for me :-) Pics will be posted later....
Serendipity and the Steamer
I am so happy today. I have searched in vain for a used jacquard upright steamer for over a year. Yesterday I received an email from Surfacing ( a Yahoo group for surface design) that someone needed to part with her steamer. We connected, and as the Universe would have it, we made the deal. She is happy; I am happy. I saved some money; she is getting some money to use for her current needs. Ain't life great!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Color and geography
My DH and I travel frequently. One of the things that I enjoy most about our travels is looking at the colors in other parts of the country. We live in the subtropics - sunsets are mango, watermelon, and sky blue. Everything is a rich pure green except for the palm trunks which are light grey and brown. Flowers range from rich oranges to brilliant pinks and magentas; the ocean is aqua. With all of this beauty I still relish the colors of other parts of the country. The palate expands with neutrals so warm and rich, and skies of more dilute blues and greys...
This weekend we are off to Apalachicola, Florida for a visit with my favorite uncle. I look forward to the pines and darker rivers of north Florida. Moss and sage greens rule the landscape, and texture is everywhere! I will be collecting some things this weekend to bring back for texture in my deconstructed printing. Hopefully I can snag a big piece of Spanish Moss.
It will also be wonderful to be in cooler weather for a change. We just got out of the 90's this week. It is in the 50's at night where we are going. Yippee!
Color, temperature, and geography are such powerful artistic influences. Are you taking advantage of everything around you?
This weekend we are off to Apalachicola, Florida for a visit with my favorite uncle. I look forward to the pines and darker rivers of north Florida. Moss and sage greens rule the landscape, and texture is everywhere! I will be collecting some things this weekend to bring back for texture in my deconstructed printing. Hopefully I can snag a big piece of Spanish Moss.
It will also be wonderful to be in cooler weather for a change. We just got out of the 90's this week. It is in the 50's at night where we are going. Yippee!
Color, temperature, and geography are such powerful artistic influences. Are you taking advantage of everything around you?
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
My experience with Colorhue dyes
I stumbled on Colorhue dyes this spring as I searched for ultralight silk thread. My source is http://www.silkthings.com/ . I was fascinated by these dyes due to their ease of use. You apply the dye to dry or wet silk, the strike is instant, and there is no after fix or wait required. They discharge well and clean up is easy. I bought the sampler pack for trial and later ordered full size bottles of the primaries . The instructions that accompany the product are adequate.
The downside to Colorhue for me is that you can not paint with it and it is virtually impossible to mix it sufficiently to avoid an occasional fleck or speckle. You can, however, mix it with shaving cream and sponge or screen it on without any difficulty. The picture above is a test swatch that I made screening over stencils with Colorhue. Mind you, this was a scrap that I did for play. It is so liberating to try color and ideas without delay or hassle.
This orange chiffon capelet and tank were done solely with Colorhue. http://picasaweb.google.com/pam.hebding/20080412?authkey=tDRWDtb2MGI#5246360908903674194 You can not see the ombre in the capelet photo for some reason. It is subtle but obvious in person. I sewed the capelet (did I say how much fun it is to make chiffon flounces?) scruch dyed the curved neck portion and ties and dip dyed the ombre flounces before attaching them to the neck and tie peices. The top is scrunch died stretch crepe. Like so much of my work this piece had to be changed because of a dyeing problem. This time is was the flecks in the flounce. In order to disguise the flecks I had to repeat the ombre dip dyeing. That resulted in a much deeper color than I originally planned.
There is a bonus in working with Colorhue. You work quickly with the product and there is a lot of dye water wrung out from your work that is still useful. I test the color in the waste water bucket, and if the color is pleasing, throw a yard or two of fabric in the bucket. That gives me a background dye for another project later on.
The downside to Colorhue for me is that you can not paint with it and it is virtually impossible to mix it sufficiently to avoid an occasional fleck or speckle. You can, however, mix it with shaving cream and sponge or screen it on without any difficulty. The picture above is a test swatch that I made screening over stencils with Colorhue. Mind you, this was a scrap that I did for play. It is so liberating to try color and ideas without delay or hassle.
This orange chiffon capelet and tank were done solely with Colorhue. http://picasaweb.google.com/pam.hebding/20080412?authkey=tDRWDtb2MGI#5246360908903674194 You can not see the ombre in the capelet photo for some reason. It is subtle but obvious in person. I sewed the capelet (did I say how much fun it is to make chiffon flounces?) scruch dyed the curved neck portion and ties and dip dyed the ombre flounces before attaching them to the neck and tie peices. The top is scrunch died stretch crepe. Like so much of my work this piece had to be changed because of a dyeing problem. This time is was the flecks in the flounce. In order to disguise the flecks I had to repeat the ombre dip dyeing. That resulted in a much deeper color than I originally planned.
There is a bonus in working with Colorhue. You work quickly with the product and there is a lot of dye water wrung out from your work that is still useful. I test the color in the waste water bucket, and if the color is pleasing, throw a yard or two of fabric in the bucket. That gives me a background dye for another project later on.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Final Note on Making Your Own Dress Form
My form was finished off with a muslin cover that I made without much thought other than fit. The cover allows me to pin to the form with no problem and makes Eve (the name of my form) less of a biological display in my Florida room where she is usually standing.
I inserted some poly fil between the form and cover in places to correct a couple of problems that I created by handling the form too much while it was still damp. The back shoulders needed to be fluffed out and one boob was out of synch.
As she stands now Eve measures as an exact duplicate of my odd body. She has a 17" back waist measurement, a 14" shoulder measurement, a 38" bust measurement, and a 27" waist measurement. I am 5'3" tall so although my narrow shoulder measurement is not unusual for my height, my back waist and bust measurements are not standard in ready made forms that would have worked with my narrow shoulders.
If you can use a standard form, do it. This project was long and tedious because I wanted the form to be exact for me so I could get a good idea about how a particular design would look on me. I also wanted to be able to avoid any personal fitting during a sewing project. Eve fits my needs although I wish I had taken better care to mark the form properly so draping would be easier.
I inserted some poly fil between the form and cover in places to correct a couple of problems that I created by handling the form too much while it was still damp. The back shoulders needed to be fluffed out and one boob was out of synch.
As she stands now Eve measures as an exact duplicate of my odd body. She has a 17" back waist measurement, a 14" shoulder measurement, a 38" bust measurement, and a 27" waist measurement. I am 5'3" tall so although my narrow shoulder measurement is not unusual for my height, my back waist and bust measurements are not standard in ready made forms that would have worked with my narrow shoulders.
If you can use a standard form, do it. This project was long and tedious because I wanted the form to be exact for me so I could get a good idea about how a particular design would look on me. I also wanted to be able to avoid any personal fitting during a sewing project. Eve fits my needs although I wish I had taken better care to mark the form properly so draping would be easier.
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