seriously sewing

I had been sewing non-stop the past week (I think sewing, dream sewing, talk sewing--practically live sewing) that I have neglected my resolve to exercise more. I was not able to go to the gym the whole week, no walking sessions too. Although I am itching to sew some more tonight, I would put it off until after some gym time.

ulam ko, patis

I found myself home alone for Sunday lunch. Neneng is off today, my sister in law is still in transit to sg and my brother will be away for one more week. I had to put something together for lunch, the initial intention was to have prawns but upon inspection of our ref, I found that there was none! I cooked garlic in oil and crab fat then put the rice in. To incorporate vegetables into my diet, I sliced some tomatoes to go with the meal. I ended up having patis (fish sauce) as my ulam. This reminds me of what students from a certain school would shout at kids for the other school during NCAA, "Ulam niyo patis".

For dessert, I had one of these.

mosaic or watermark?

I saw an interesting dress online and decided to make something like it, instead of the usual strap, I decided mine would be tied. I need to improve more on the gathering technique though.

The fabric is not easy to work with, the bottom part, that is. I'm not quite sure what kind it is but it is a similar to chiffon, a thicker and more slippery version. I don't particularly favor this fabric because it is not agreeable with the weather and never mind if the colors are not the ones I would usually go for (the strap fabric should make it more me) but the pattern was something I could not resists. I can't decide if it looks like mosaic or watermarks, either way, I really like it.

I'd like to thank Roch for getting me the multi-colored tailor's chalk and more pins. It was my first time to use the blue marker, and it looks very good. It even matched the khaki of the fabric. And I never run out of pins anymore!

I can't seem to capture the actual colors of the dress.

waterproof-ish

I was so happy with the dress I made yesterday, and this isn't me justifying staying home on a Friday night to sew. I applied the facing technique on the armholes and neckline of the dress, I had been wanting to try it out for a very long time and finally, I've done it. I also made a pattern myself, as I have never bought (or used) a pattern before (and haven't seen one pattern that I would willingly buy) I measured the polo dress I was wearing yesterday for a collarless-and-sleeveless-and-buttonless counterpart. Of course I had to tweak the measurements and cutting a bit to get some of the "effects" that I wanted. The photos doesn't quite capture the dress, I was disappointed after looking at the pictures, the dress isn't photogenic. I used the seemingly waterproof cloth, similar to the ones commonly used for casual non-industrial cargo pants.

Although I didn't write in code, I think I am the only one who could understand these.

I think the neckline is my favorite part of the dress. And it is not because I spent a lot of time on it, but because it is not only comfortable, but also fits right into my clothing preference bank.

Whenever I see (or remember) that the front and back patterns are not at all symmetrical, I smile to myself. This is so cool!

This looks simple enough but it took me nearly four hours to make it, these includes measuring the other dress, noting the measurements, drawing into my sewing journal, drawing on the cloth, cutting the cloth, figuring out how to do the facing, sewing, cutting extra thread and containing my excitement.

I really wish I could take better pictures of the clothes that I make.

lightning lightning

I was telling my friend that I was looking for a cloth with a hound's tooth pattern so that I could make it into a dress.

T: I hope I can find something with a hound's tooth patten, black with some other color, instead of the usual white.
F: Hmmmm. What is that pattern nga pala?
T: It isn't checked or plaid, wait, I'll pull something up (googles an image and sends to friend).
F: Oh. Yeah! The pattern na parang lightning lightning.

-0O0-

Here are some photos of the lightning lightning dress with and without the belt that I blogged previously about. I am excited to wear these after ironing. The dress should look a lot neater and the belt more crisp.

I like the dress without the belt too. I can wear it this way on fat days or when going to buffets.

Can you make out where the buttons are from?

This photo not only show the different views of the dress but also my consistency (or the lack of it) in setting up the camera to take pictures of myself.

singing happy songs in the ummm, somewhere

It comes to a creepy kind of level, how much she looks like my sister!

black belter

I finished a dress early this week and while there a nice story behind that, I will reserve it for when I post photos of the dress.

This entry is a child of the would-be entry about the dress.

I thought (and a couple of friends as well) that the dress would also look nice with a belt however, the wrestler belt won't be able to cut it. Since I don't plan on spending on another wrestler-ish belt, I stepped up and made one. I must admit that I got carried away, I even lined the belt with fabric from the dress even if no one can see it when the belt is worn.

A funny tidbit though is that the buttons are those loose ones that come with clothes, to be used as a replacement in case you lose any. If you look closely at the belt, you could make out what two shops the three buttons came from (the origin of the other button is undetectable).