What I have been up to

Because it has been three years since I posted on here, I kinda want to post an update on what's new... because you know, Braggy Bragstein reasons.

Biggest and best development is without a doubt the fact that I am currently 342 day away from becoming Mrs. Tyler Daniel Lutz! 

AWWWW HELL YEAH! 

Good ol' T-Rex popped the question this summer while we were on an incredible vacation in Alamo, Vera Cruz, Mexico. No big deal but it was on a tropical beach under the moon and stars while we were at a beautiful resort with a bunch of our favorite friends in the world... 

Tyler's face is probably due to the lack of champagne/ abundance of terrible cider the resort had.

Oh yeah also I got TWO engagement rings! He proposed with this amazing giant planet ring and then later on was like 'oh yeah I also have this diamond if you'd rather have that...' and well yes I obviously would like to have both please. 

His mother's diamond is in the smaller ring, and the gold on the larger one is her band <3 i="">

So he done good. I've been doing all of the fun fiance things lately like going crazy on Pintrest and trying on our Mothers' wedding dresses. Unfortunately my mother was like 4'8 and 80 pounds when she got married so her dress was comically too small. 

Also parts of it have become so brittle it's impossible not to Hulk out of it...

Tyler's Momma gave me her dress years ago 'just incase I needed it for anything' but it isn't quite what I have in mind for myself so I'm going to use the skirts of the two to make myself a wedding day crinoline.

In other news we now have another fur-child. Really we have had her for about two and a half years now and I don't know why I didn't post about her forever ago because she is god-damn adorable. Meet Clara Bow!

She is supposed to be a Fox Terrier/ Jack Russell mix... I'm not really sure how accurate that is

We have moved to another side of town and now we have a large window for the girls to greet us from every day. It also is where they hold their post as the neighborhood cat watch we have dubbed the 'Bad Bitch Cat Patrol.'

They don't take no shit from no kitties.

As far as work goes, immediately after coming home from the best vacation ever I started a new job as a Production Coordinator for a local clothing company called Niche Clothing Co.

It's a pretty solidly great job that I feel lucky to have. Everything is made in the U.S. in either L.A. or here in San Antonio. There are seven people working at the HQ including myself and the two owners so everyone works together really closely and comfortably. Also there is and entire WAREHOUSE of fabrics with DOZENS OF PALLETS OF FABRIC EVERYWHERE. My room is the 'cutting room' which means more fabric, and infinite amount of rotary blades and cutters, and a cutting table that is like 20 feet long. It is a for real naughty seamstress wet dream up in there. 

Nerd Alert got hard to maintain while planning a wedding for one of the members... and now it's my turn so nothing is going on there. It's all on the back burner to be honest but it will probably pop up again in the near future. We got a little big for our britches for a while there if I'm gonna be honest. Aside from that, things are mostly the same. I just wanted to mention those few things so that if I mention them in the future they might make a little bit more sense than if I hadn't...

Whatever. 

bff's en espanol

Maleficent: Round 2 (the pattern shapes)

Good news- The muslin fit pretty damn well! 

muslin or cult robe: YOU DECIDE!

This shouldn't be that surprising, because Laurena is a returning client and I always keep all of my past client measurements, sketches and patterns. What I DO NOT always do is write names on them. I have a huge stack of folders for each and every client I've had in the past five years and then I have a folder of mysterious measurements, notes and sketches with no identifying names or costume drawings or anything. There was no 'Laurena' folder. 

THANKS A LOT PAST CRISSY YOU STUPID ASSHAT.

I finally found what I was pretty sure was hers and I went with it. A year or two ago I made her a really cool Storm cape, and the measurements seemed like the type I would take for something like that. Also she is HELLA TALL and these were for a tall girl. 

So anyways she tried it on and it was a pretty great fit. I made a few notes of where I wanted to add more flare, length, lowering the necklines and what not. Then I went back to my patterns and did a good amount of adding and subtracting. 

So here are my patterns shapes. I'm going to post my pieces before and after the post-fitting adjustments. Everything I squiggled on in black is a piece that I added in, but also they are side-by-side so just know that the newer version is on the right.

The front did not get a huge amount of adjusting. I wasn't sure how low of a neckline she wanted, so I had kept the original neckline from the pattern so she could tell me. Other than that all I did was to round out the bottom. I sort of just pieced things together before, but now I know what length and shape I need. 

front bodice pieces

The back didn't get too much either. I hadn't made it long enough, so I added on to the bottom and also rounded that out (that would be the squiggly black part). Again, I wasn't sure how low she wanted it in the back but with this depth she can still wear a normal bra- which is SUCH A GREAT THING when you are wearing a costume. 

back bodice pieces

Now the wings- I did not nail those. There was a lot of adjusting. Pretty much as soon as they were sewn onto the muslin I was like "Awww crappola. I need to add here and here and here."

So's I did. I added a curve to the top for more movement, opened the hand-holes up a little bit, added some width because I hadn't previously noticed that the sleeves fold over onto themselves, a little more flare at the bottom where it connects to the skirt, and then adjusted the curve of the bottom to be as long as the skirt.

wing-a-lings, same front and back

The skirt insert I did not do any adjustments to. It's definitely the MVP of this costume so far. 

numbah one pattern stunna. inserted on every side seam

Now the collar, that is what really brought me here. That is a stupid difficult collar to make. 

um yes excuse me- who's idea was this?

I found a lot of how-to's on this part, but none of them ran across from the front to the back. They all just attached at the shoulder and were one piece. Well let me just say, nay nay nay no sir that is not correct at all. These are curved up and down, run from the front to the back and stand up tall. You aren't gonna do that with one flat piece. So here is what I did:

first round on top, new on bottom.

I know that the actual costume has a leather collar. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out all of the collar details. For sure I still need to make a piece to sew to the bottom of the collar pieces. If I sew it on like in an 'L' shape, it should perk up once it's on a curve. Also I still need a facing so I can probably just make those the same piece. I think I'm going to use a foam base for the shape, glue some screen wire mesh to it and then coat it in 'leather.' I should be able to mold the foam with the wire and a heat gun.

Here's hoping I'm right...

My next stop is to the fabric store. I'm currently unsure of what I want to make the hip and back spine detail of. It's like a spooky scale-y spine or something. If you have ideas by all means let me know.

I wish I knew how to quit you

It's safe to say it's been a while since I made a post on here.

What in the world could make me want to start this back up after three years? Well I will tell you. It's dat god damn Disney.

It's Halloween, which for many of you I'm sure means a very busy sewing season. I have three costumes I'm working on for other people right now, and they all happen to be from Disney.

First, I'm tailoring deconstructing, re-cutting and sewing back together a Mary Poppins jacket for my friend Stephanie. She bought it online and it is sort of a disaster.

Second, I'm making a Megara costume from Hercules for a more different friend Stephanie.

And third, and let me tell you. This. This is the reason for coming back- mother fuggin' Maleficent. Ugh. I'm making her dress from the Christening scene from the live action movie. While I haven't actually seen the movie, I have googled it endlessly at this point and I think I get the jest of it. The costume itself isn't what made me what to start posting again. It's that I can't really find a link to anyone who made one and is also posting pattern shapes in their progress! 

This is totally not a big deal and I think honestly most of the people who want that costume would just buy it. And I don't mind the drafting process because it is literally what I do... but not everyone has that going on and I can't imagine something more stressful than trying to make this with no idea how. And so with that being said, starting now and for the next few days I will be posting up a tutorial on: How to Make Maleficent's God Damn Black Dress.

oh. my. stars.

Drafting.

If I had to pick one word to describe my process for making costumes, I think it would be Frankensteining. Why make an entire pattern when you can just use the front of pattern A, the skirt from pattern B and then fill in the blanks? Duh. It only makes sense.  

After filling up a folder on my desktop of screen grabs and photos from costume exhibits, I realized that ol' homegirl is really just wearing a caftan with a train. Luckily, I L-O-V-E caftans and in addition to owning a few, I have a solid amount of sewing patterns in my collection. After pulling out a handful and narrowing it down to two stacks of 'ooooh I'm gonna make this for myself' and 'this is the one I need' I moved on to finding the right shape for the body.

Simplicity 5315 A.K.A. my future at-home uniform

Since there is somewhat of a fitted shape to the bodice I opted to use the caftan shape for the wing-a-lings and general silhouette only. The body is made from a dress pattern that had the most similar lines and shapes I found. 

Vogue 7836

I added in a bit of a flare to the center front seam, and also to the side seams to make the skirt more dramatic. I also added in pizza-slice shaped pieces onto the side seams on the front and back to add even MORE drama to the skirt. The wing-a-lings connect on the side seam. Next I used a more poncho-shape to get the right curves on the wings. 

Simplicity 7183 made for a solid wing-a-ling curve

After I had the pieces all drafted out, I made a muslin for my client Laurena to try on. I'm usually one to go all in when I make things, it's a rare occasion that I go through the entire muslin process... but since this is going to take what I am currently calculating at 9,000 yards of fabric, it seemed like a good time to make a muslin after all.

She is literally on her way over now, so I will update how that goes tomorrow. In the mean time I'm going to go stuff my face with cookies until she gets here. 

what i have been doing lately...

its been a while since i posted last. kind of a long while. so what have i been up to? 

I NOW HAVE THE COOLEST JOB EVER OF ALL TIME IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE AND BEYOND!

my sister kathy, myself and our two best friends amanda and sofi started a little business together called nerd alert designs. maybe you've heard of us....
we are making vintage styled nerdy clothes, and wearable costumes. we opened up our etsy store on june 1st, and have since then blown the eff' up!
here are a few of our dresses- all of the patterns are drafted up by yours truly:

we also sold this dress to the lovely chloe dykstra which she wore on epic meal time:

and we have gotten featured all over the place! most recently we did a photo shoot and interview for miranda tv which should be out this week. 

i look like a toddler in this, but a badass toddler so it's ok!

so thats what i've been doing.. it's pretty much all of my time now, and i am lucky enough for it to even be my full time job! i'm still doing SOME sewing for myself, so i'll try to keep posting that here :)
i just wanted to let yall know where i disappeared to.

new dress extravaganza!

i guess you cant really tell how much sewing i actually do, because i might be the worst blogger ever, but barely ever does a day go by that i am not on the sewing machine. i consider it my full time job. between the sewing i do for myself, etsy, montage, tailoring and custom sewing/dresses, i stay busy enough to keep myself happy and comfy! (well, i'd be more comfy if i wasn't the worst person on the planet with finances. seriously, it's bad)

right now i have on my plate a 3-piece suit for one friend and some light nighties for another friend's sickly grandmother, tons of mending and tailoring, wedding presents to make, a wedding dress coming up, a big wool coat, some crazy ninja pants, and my brother and his wife just found out their little twins they have on the way are going to be a boy and a girl-- so i have a LOT of baby sewing to do as well.

i get a little worried now and then that i am going to burn myself out on sewing, but only when things get like this. i think it's because i have this amazing book of new look dior, and in the beginning there is a little bio on him. i remember the first page i ever turned to in that book i read that he never really took up sewing because he was afraid it would ruin the passion he had for fashion. that pretty much scared the shit out of me. when nothing i am making is for myself, it gets a little sad. then, it really does feel like work and not like something i love... so the solution i came up with is this: for every 3 projects i take on, i have to make myself one awesome garment! so, get ready for the dress parade-- i have been a very busy bee!

my first project was this little skirt-

i could either have a party skirt here, or a used car lot skirt....

 

i self drafted the pattern because, well.... that shape isn't exactly rocket science. after it was sewn and put together, i cut out a shit-ton of little yellow, orange and red felt triangles, attached them to the skirt with a quick straight stitch after drawing out the line i wanted them to follow in chalk. then, i took the ribbon and sewed it on over the tops of the felt. in the back on the side there is a little bow where the ribbon ends meet. i took a photo, but i didn't iron this first and it looked like shit so just use your imagination....

next, i made this pretty dress from some vintage fabric in my stash

so soft, and so light! i wish i had more of the fabric :/

the pattern was fairly easy to use, but it turned out a bit large in the bodice and it didn't have too many ways to take it in easily, as there are no darts. another big problem; i made the skirt a complete circle skirt and wore this on what appeared to be the breeziest day ever.

my. ass. was. all over the place.

 fantastic. oh, check out the also un-ironed details on the top!

really nice when it's pressed....

i made a dress from the pattern once before, years ago... but had added in some darts. shoulda' done that again.... but this one is at least a lot nicer, and now i am like, 20 pounds bigger so i most definitely needed them way more then!

now, the next project is a simple denim skirt:

nothing too fancy... until i tie this AWESOME RIBBON AROUND IT!!!!

yep. now it's adorable

this was from the ever-popular-on-my-blog butterick 9633. i did shorten it quite a bit this time. it's spring time, which means highs in the 80's and 90's, humidity like crazy and is therefore time to raise my skirts out to keep my lady bit nice and cool!

that ribbon though-- i love it. if you guys go through as much ribbon as i do, and you are still buying it from the fabric store, you are crazy. GO TO A FLORAL WHOLESALER!!! those shops are like, neverland! you can get insane yardage for so cheap on grosgrain ribbons, decorative ribbons, tulle... EVERYTHING!!! i got that ribbon for about $11, but i also got like, 40 yards. i also got red and white grosgrain (the white is the one on the flag skirt) and a small navy polka dot grosgrain all for $2.49 each in 25 yard rolls. i can't stress how much i love it there. plus, candles are crazy cheap too.

now, next up is this little yellow lace dress- from advance 9825

the skirt seems so crooked. it isn't. really. i don't know what's going on there...

this is for once, not vintage or used or recycled fabric. i actually BOUGHT this. new. anyone who really knows me, knows i almost never buy myself new clothes, much less new fabrics... but this i just couldn't resist! i ended up wearing it out for a birthday dinner with tyler's family.

 important lesson learned that day about lace + kimono sleeves... 

serge your edges or expect a double armpit blowout!

 now last but not least, my st. patrick's day dress! it's green enough!

it is such a heavy canvas like material, i don't even need a crinoline- i just STAYS like that! 

if you can't tell by now. i love all things nautical. seriously. most of our house is decorated with whales, sea monsters or sailors... so of course this is fabric i had just layin' around....

and a lime zipper, for back up green

 this is another copy of simplicity 4637... but this fabric gives it a totally different look.

 and my ultra patriotic belt! hazaaaaaaah america!

so, that is where i am at for now. still overwhelmed, but at least i will look cute while i bust all of this stuff out like a god damn champ! whoop whoop!

gettin' stuff done!

i started this post a while back, and THOUGHT i saved it to finish later.... but obviously didn't. balls.

anywho.... so that market i mentioned a month ago came and went, and it was SO fun! the market was held in the beautiful space on the riverwalk just beneath a fabulous old theater. look at my cute little ol' booth!

i think it came out pretty cute! it actually looks a lot like a mini version of my living room....

those little doggie pillows were a real hit, and lemme just say, were a brilliant last minute idea! i seriously whipped those all up the night before the market out of all of the scrap fabric left from my dresses! 

there were even a few dresses for sale with matching pillows!

 i only ended up with a few left out of nearly 20! not bad at all :)

in other good news, i finally finished making a sari that i had started working on over a month ago! look at this beauty, in her beauty-ful sari!

i hope she doesn't mind my posting these....

it's before she was ready and before the final pressing so everything is a little poofy!

ok, and i should say a friend of mine corrected me that this isn't actually a sari, but an anarkali... but i don't want to embarrass myself trying to pronounce that so i'm calling it a sari! oh! i even made the churidar pants to go with it! i should have taken a photo of those... dammit! 

i am pretty happy with how this came out, and with the fit. this was one of those magical clients that is- to the eighth of an inch, the same exact size as i am, so fittings weren't even needed! it was amazing! courtney bought all of the supplies for her garment, but i went ahead and added in this pretty glass button detail from my button stash to the back.

 you know, just a little sumthin' sumthin'

now my big project is pulling a 3 piece suit out of my ass in a week. i've gotten all of the meticulous measuring down, most of the patterns cut, the fabric bought... i just have to sit down and finish it! only... i'm off for like 4 days in a row and am having a pretty hard time focusing on it. today i spent a LONG time cleaning off the top of my dresser and sorting out my crap-ton of jewelry.

see? its MOSTLY clean!

poor tyler, i don't know how he puts up with my messy messy self! so now i am off to ATTEMPT to focus on that suit, right after i dig this frito out of the keyboard, because i am not just messy, i am also a fat ass.

another puppy dress? HOW AM I 25???

so i am crawling around on the floor, cutting out a pattern and i realized all of a sudden that i let a week past without posting a new dress i made! so i stopped everything i was doing and stared at my camera that is RIGHT NEXT TO MY SEWING MACHINE and asked myself 'how have i not posted this dress?' so, here it is: the puppy dress!

arf! arf!

now, this is probably just more proof that i am in fact a giant toddler, but i don't care. (well i do a little, but not enough to not make and wear things like this) this is just the cutest damn dress i've made in a while!

 

i found the perfect buttons and trims to match! 

 the fabric is something i have had stashed away in my dwindling fabric hoard for a few years now... and i have been too terrified to use it. you know how when you get some really fantastic yardage, you get so scared of wasting it you can't use it? that's this. that's actually this and half of the rest of the fabric i have. anywho, i got it at the wimberly market days for like, $15 for about 3 yards. the pattern is (again) simplicity 4270... which makes this the 5th or 6th time i've made that dress! it is obviously my current favorite.

i also recently finished up a project i have been slooooooowwwwwlllllyyyy working on since summer- new shades for the living room! check these babies out!

i guess really this is just one baby, but still, you get it.

there are 4 windows in our living room, all the same size, so this wasn't too hard to do. first i decided this was what i wanted... then i just HAPPEN to find a whole bunch on craigslist (only 30 miles away!).... then it was all just cutting them to size and attaching them to new roller shades! it really should not have taken me so long, but you know what? i get distracted pretty damn easily so that's just how things go around here!
the other windows are the east coast, europe/africa/australia, and texas. they are all different styles, so it looks pretty great. i am very happy :)

now, that market i mentioned in my last post, you know- the one i was teaching a workshop at and was going to post all these great pictures from? let me sum it up for you real quick:

pppppppppppppffffffffffffffffftttttttttttttttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

in other words, it was stupid.

mainly, it just wasn't my 'scene,' but at least the little workshop went well! i am setting up this friday at another little market on the riverwalk downtown at taste of texas wines with a bunch of friends :) good thing this one is at a cool wine bar-- momma needs her craftin' juice!