make clothes

This is a very broad goal, but I think it’s still attainable. Before the end of the year, I would like to have sewn:
three shirts
three skirts
one jacket/blazer
one vest
one dress
one winter coat

I’ve been doing a bit of shopping lately – mostly to update my warddrobe. Which to be honest needs a lot of updating. The last couple of years I’ve gotten stuck wearing pretty much the same thing. Different variations of the same black outfitt … yes, it gets kind of redundant after a while.

So of course with looking at all these different clothes I started thinking about my long lost goal of actually making my own clothes. So yesterday, I pulled out my sewing machine, figured out how to use it and then started reading this book on sewing I bought a while back. While reading, I realized that there are a lot more tools I need and a lot more I have to learn before I can seriously consider making a decent garment. So – that’s where I’m at now. That and learning to sew a straight line.

Whether its altering weird old vintage or charity pieces or creating the wild and elegant wonderous deisgns I have in my head, I want to create them. But it out into the world; give them away as presents or sell them to individual stores. If I find I have a real knack for it then I’ll pack in whatever I’m doing and go to art college and do this.

printed a design, using silk screen. went alright but i need to iron out a few problems with the screen block and such.. guess it just comes with practice. no closer to gettting a loom.

printing designs that ive made on stuff. and creating clothes from scratch but i need a loom and all sorts and wool or cotton plants?”

On my trip to LA I decided to pick up some fabric for my new endeavor into sewing my own clothes. I stopped by at Mood Fabric, very well known for having a good selection, but I only managed to come out with some plain cotton material. ? I don’t know what happened. I think I decided to chose something plain because I know that my first attempts are probably going to come out looking pretty unwearable – so I didn’t want to waste the fabric or the money.

At least its a start :)

Ok, its not exactly Project Runway material – but I altered a shirt I wore out this last Friday. Once upon a time it was an ugly, over sized, baby doll, mumu, shirt and I made it into this tight fitted, cute, little thing. I’m very proud of myself. I’ll post pics just as soon as I can squeeze myself back into it.

I love the style and creativity that goes into making clothes, but I’m having a moral crisis about the whole sweat shop issue (well not crisis, but I think the fact that our clothes are made by underpaid workers in 3rd world countries really sucks). So I figure making my own clothes will somewhat distance myself from the process, although I’m well aware that the fabric i use is manufactured in the same way.
I like to make things complicated. I could have just as well said I want to be unique and make my own clothes but that would be simple.
Anyway, I’ll post pictures on my clothes making adventure and we’ll see how it goes.

an attempt at sewing rugged outdoors type pants. Size and shape, pockets, waist, I can handle. I’m hung up on how to get my needles to stop snapping (I’m using 16’s and some supposed leather needles but I’ve broken six in one evening) and how to put a gusset in the crotch of the pants. I’d never even heard of gusset till a climber friend asked me if I put them into my pants!

addicting

fun