boiled wool & screen printing

Just caught something interesting on the radio. Triple J have a thing called catapult where they promote new ideas and they have this one about someone who is making patterns for download at Fitzpatterns.com. Anyhow, I thought that was interesting for people who cannot make their own. I have not had a good look coz I can make my own!
I have been speaking with my sister-in-law about boiled wool and she has given me this bag, which I think is brilliant. She is a home sewer who would put many professionals to shame.
I showed the bag to my ma-in-law who pulled out one that she had made! It was a different technique though, I believe, this one had been felted (same thing, but different process).



And what have I been up to? Well, I have the screen printer going - though just a few experimental pieces. I did one for my niece, without testing it first, yes I know, big mistake. It did not work out, the paint was too thick - I bought it on spesh, so I think it was a bit old. I tried to wash it off and then I just tie dyed it. I have not done tie dye for a long time, I used to love doing tie dye (still do). Here are the results and a picture of my workroom. Stayed tuned to 5trillion.com for more - though I regret to say that I have not updated this site for ages.

Millinery & Racing

I saw a very interesting and inspiring episode of ‘Artists at Work’ on the ABC last week, about Melbourne milliner Richard Nylon and his creations for the Melbourne Cup. As a point of interest (to me, anyway) he was born in the small country town of Casterton where my brothers live! Here is a picture from the website.

I was in the city on Saturday and there were many people trying hats on for the Melbourne Spring racing carnival, it is really more about the fashion than the racing, which is just fine by me.

Fletcher Jones

I took a photo of the Fletcher Jones building in Flinders St the other week. I never noticed there are 40's styled men on the facade smoking cigarettes! Or maybe I did and just forgot about it, anyway how advertising has changed. It is against the law to depict people smoking in advertising now.

Here is also a pic of a new shop in Flinders St. I am not sure how long it has been there, but there used to be no clothing shops on Flinders St. as far as I can remember anyhow. Now with the vibe in the city, they are opening up here. See previous blog for some pics of the alleys near here.


As you can see there are a few roadworks going on ( I was trying to be arty) and Flinders St. station is reflected in the windows.

Handmade

I have been thinking that I will need to re-think the term I am using 'handmade'. While my clothes are, or course, not handmade I feel happy describing them as such. The reason being that I make them at home from pattern to finishing - with a machine or two and this is why they are not strictly handmade. This is good enough for the Etsy website and so it is good enough for me.
But, I think I will start sourcing 'outside' help with the sewing. I am working full time at the moment and just do not have enough time to make everything. Maybe I should call myself a DE, for the purposes of the website (5trillion.com) I mean. I do not really like this term for customers though, because when I first heard it on the fashion incubator website I did not know what it was. I need a tag line for my business card. I want it to say more than 'clothing', 'designer clothes' sounds a bit wanky and 'fashion' doesn't really say anything at all.
I will think this over.
Here is a simple skirt I made, I am thinking of having one made in black and maybe I will silk screen something on it.
No, the silk screen is not finished yet, so I haven't done any printing... but stay tuned.

corset

There was an article in 'The Australian' the other day about how a fashion show in Spain is only letting models with a BMI of more than a certain amount in the show. They are sending others away deemed to be too thin and unhealthy. I have nothing more to say about that, I just thought it was interesting as it shows the extent of social responsibility in the fashion industry. However, the article also noted that other 'big' fashion shows would not be following suit.

Enough of that and more about me.

Here is the bodice I made upon request by someone who gave me her wedding gown bodice to copy. It was great to have this as a reference as I have only made something with boning once. I sometimes ask the staff in fabric shops how they might sew a particular thing, as you never know they may have a good tip. The person I asked about the boning said she puts sticky tape over the ends, I asked how that would go when washing and she just said - 'you don't wanna know what I do'! Fair enough I thought, home sewers do have many tricks, some good and some bad.

I made the bodice from stretch satin and used this for the lining also, I bought the piping and had to sew straight through the middle as it was leaving too much of a gap with my zipper foot. I used 'rat tail' for the loops at the back and made the tie and shoulder straps from the stretch satin. It has stiff interlining on all panels, it was more a corset that a bodice I suppose.

blog oblivion

It was very nearly one of the many blogs that disappeared after a short amount of time. But, I am still here! Been kinda busy, but it does not take much to write a few words, so I should stop making excuses and get on. The words will be few, but I will place a few pics of what I have been up to. First is a dress I made for a lovely lady I used to work with; I changed jobs, moved house and have been doing some dressmaking, so there you have it, all my excuses for not keeping up with the blog!

Stayed tuned, when I find the cord for the camera (I know it's in a box somewhere) I will post some more about what I have been making.

While I was taking a moment to catch up on the latest in fashion blogs I came across this article in 'the age'. It is about the average size Australian woman, well more about the fact that she doesn't exist. Unless you have been living under a rock, you will know that this is a global problem. The problem being finding clothes that fit, not the fact that we all aren't a 'stock size' 8. I have been thinking about this quite a bit lately, and I am not sure why more people don't get their clothes made for them. I know it is a lot easier just to go the shop and buy something off the rack, but for specialty occasions or even some wardrobe staples why not get something made that should fit well? When I was growing up we had a good dressmaker in our area. Mum and I would buy some fabric and take it to her and she would make whatever I wanted. It was not expensive and I got exactly what I wanted. As I mentioned previously I have been doing some dressmaking, some for my sister, as she cannot find clothes to fit and some for people who have seen a picture in a magazine and want the same.
It is also a good idea for another reason, you know who has made it i.e. it has not come from a sweatshop in China. Though I am not sure where the fabric is made most of the time, but where the garment is made is a start!
The reason I have been thinking about this lately is that I have nearly finished reading an Australian book called 'The Dressmaker' by Rosalie Ham. It's giving me romantic notions of 'oridinary' people wearing high couture!

Dressmaking

As I said before, I have been busy dressmaking, so I thought I should provide some evidence!
This is a dress I made for someone I work with, she gave me a dress she liked and wanted a copy, with sleeves and a size bigger. Here is the finished product. It's made from nylon interlock and lined in similar. I have not done a lot of dressmaking lately, so am enjoying getting back into it and honing by skills.

Flinders Lane - Melbourne

Shopping in Melbourne on the weekend. Now that I have decided to launch myself into this designing and dressmaking business in a bigger way than I have before, I can call these 'business trips'. So it's all work! Went to Federation Square as there was a design exhibition on. I read in the paper there was to be a market with designers selling their wares in the carpark, but I could not find where this was. I did not really look too hard, it was so cold and the other I was with was not that keen. Nevermind, I did see some lovely jewellery and fashion photos inside the gallery.
We had lunch near Flinders Lane, which has become a very popular place for eateries. It is funny how a city changes, there never used to be a lot going on in the city on the weekends, now there are plenty of bars to go, places to eat and places to shop.
a pic of some street art near Flinders Lane.
a pic of where we had lunch.

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Sleeve variations / terms

I came across this in my pattern making notes. I could not remember what to call the sleeve on the 'dragonfly shirt' on 5trillion, so I (stupidly) just made something up. It is a bishop sleeve. So here are some more sleeve terms.

busy dressmaking

I have been too busy dressmaking in the last two weeks to do any sewing for the website, which is good as I am getting a bit of sewing money in, but as always lament the fact that I do not have more time for sewing and crafting. I am making a suit and am about to start on a debutante dress, I will add a picture of this when done, so long as the wearer agrees. I bought some silk for a silk screen last weekend and I will have someone (thanks Cam!) make up a screen for me. He is a bit like me and thinks if you can make it, you should. Hence, the reason I am a fashion designer/ dressmaker who never has any clothes to wear!
I have been thinking about the direction the on-line shop should take, as in whether I should try to specialise with one or two products (say, just shirts or t-shirts) or make a whole range. It is a little bit disorganised now, I mean I just have singular items on a dummy in each picture. I will work on getting a model to wear a whole outfit in each; it will be much better this way. Therefore, I think I just answered my own question; I need offer the whole outfit for sale.
I am looking forward to doing some screen-printing; I have done a little bit in the past, but only basic stuff. I think I will start with some basic one colour prints with paper cutouts, these are often more effective than elaborate photograph emulsions anyway I think. Stay tuned!

Pricing

Further on the subject of pricing. How do we price our items? I am talking about artists, craftsmen, DE's (design entrepreneurs- a term I picked up from fashion incubator), whatever category you may put yourself in. On one end of the scale there are people who sell their wares at markets and who are just doing this as a hobby. For instance there is a market I go to once a year and there is a lady there who sells hand knitted beanies, scarves, tea-cosies etc. I always tell people this is the best place to buy a beanie, they are inexpensive (mine cost $10) and you can get one in pure wool. On the other end there are artists whose work can be sold for tens of thousands of dollars (more if you're dead!). But can people who sells things at craft markets, or DE's compare themselves to artists? Well, why not I say. I was talking about Akira Isogawa (his work at right) in the previous post, this designer is one who leans toward 'artist' rather than 'designer' in my opinion and this is why he can charge a lot more for his pieces than us mere mortals just starting out.
The spot where pricing becomes tricky is when you have to sell items in order for this to become your employment and means of income, rather than a hobby, and you do not have a reputation or name to rely on. So the price has to be low enough for people to buy and high enough for you to make enough money to support yourself.
I rang the publishers of Vogue Australia to ask how much it would cost to put an ad in the back of the magazine. They asked me who my target market was and what my prices were. At the moment the items on 5trillion range from $20 - $105. They advised me that their customers would be prepared to pay more than that. I explained to them that I had just launched the shop and it was not ready for marketing in a big way yet, I just wondered about how much this would cost. Initially they gave me a price of $650, but then said they could do this for $500 for a business card size ad in the back of the magazine.
This was all food for thought anyway and got me thinking more about how important pricing is. When my man came home from work and told me they needed to re-wire the shed and the electrician was charging $65 an hour, that too was food for thought!

Melbourne shopping

I went to Melbourne today and did a little bit of shopping in the city. Well, when I say shopping I just go to look at things. I went to the GPO which is one of my favourite (and I think underrated) places. Up the top corner of the building is the Akira shop, who is one of my favourite designers. I was there with my sister and I pointed out a dress I thought was v nice and she agreed. When we left the shop, she told me it was $1500. I looked at most of the other prices (as I always do), but did not see this one.
I have been wondering over the price of things lately. I remember doing a fashion range when I was at college and we had someone come in and talk to us about pricing. In my collection, I had some lovely printed silk, which my Mum had bought when overseas, so I guessed the price to be about $45 a metre. Also in the collection, I had some cotton voile, which I bought for $2 a metre. I asked how I would price the garments given the huge difference in fabric price and that the garments were part of the same collection. I do not think I got an answer, just a look around the room for another question.
More of this at another time.

Etsy

I have opened a shop on Etsy. The items on there are a little different to the 5trillion shop. I have other items such as jewelry, bags and clothing that I have just made one of. I did not want 5trillion to become too cluttered with this other stuff and I wanted to offer different sizes at 5trillion, not just one piece, if I did not have any more material to make more items for example. I guess it could be seen as the samples shop for 5trillion, for clothing at least anyway. The jewelry and bags are just other items I have made for fun. So check it out, if you are after a bargain.
Etsy is a great site, with lots of different artists and crafts peoples wares.
Tote designs also has a shop there.
I think I will move this item from 5trillion to the Etsy site, as I have only one of this in size 3.

Collars and new item for 5trillion

I have just been reading about collars and ease at fashion-incubator. I do not recall ever refering to ease in the under collar, we were taught to make the upper collar bigger so it could roll. I pulled out my old notes from college to check exactly what it had to say. So, if the under collar is smaller it does require ease in order to sew it together, but as it is so minimal I never thought of it that way.

Pink lace top on 5trillion.
I am in love with lace at the moment. I hear lots of people saying, ooh the 80's are back, weren't they so daggy! But I love 80's fashion, actually there are probably aspects of every era that I love. I think I love it though because this is the era I grew up in. I remember wearing lace tights, white skirt, pink top and a piece of lace in my hair to a party when I was younger and I just loved that outfit. I have many memories that include what I wore at the time or clothes in general, including Christmas shopping with mum, my pressies always included a few new outfits.

Fawlty Towers

I had a productive couple of days sewing. I made another puffy, raglan sleeve T for Kim who helped me with some photos, also made myself a puffy, raglan long sleeve T with ribbons and bows on the front. Quite pleased with the way they turned out, think I will offer it for sale on 5trillion. I bought some lovely, soft viscose knit and made what I have decided to call the 'Sybil' top, after Sybil Fawlty. 'Fawlty Towers' repeats have again made their way onto our TV (free to air) and I cannot resist but watch again when they are. I love seeing what Sybil is wearing. In this one it was, what I would describe as an Edwardian style blouse with a big bow on the front, buttoned up the back and full sleeves gathered at the extra long cuff, 2 buttons required! This teamed with a very tight pencil skirt.
Another show I love to see for what the women are wearing is 'Man About the House', though I have not seen that on TV for a long time.

P.S. I wrote this message before I put the top on the site. I'm not sure what happened, maybe I decided against it, but it is not called the Sybil top but something a little plainer; nevermind, maybe I will do another and call it the 'Sybil'.

more vintage patterns and college

I have been busy cutting out some stretch fabric for some T's, long and short sleeve. Soon to be available at my shop 5trillion. Usually if I need to cut another T-shirt in a size just a bit bigger than the one I have just done, I don't bother getting out a new pattern, I will just make it a bit wider, a bit longer and give it a little bit more room in the armholes. This always reminds me of a story from college. One of the girls I went to college with did some work experience at a place that made clothing predominately out of stretch fabric. They asked her to cut out another garment in a size bigger than she had just done. So, as per grading class, she was adding 3mm here, 3mm there, until someone asks her what she is doing. She says I am grading, they say, don't worry about that, just wack 5cm around the whole thing! Didn't we all love that story in pattern-making class when we were getting rapped over the knuckles for being 2mm out on a pattern. Of course it is important to be exact especially when using non-stretch fabric (thought I had better make that point!).
Here is a pattern I used for one of my fashion ranges at college. We all thought this was so clever without shoulder or side seams. 'A SNIP, less time, less fabric, only 2 main pieces', so it states on the cover.

Op-shop bargains

I went to the St. Kilda market this Sunday to see what they had on offer there. Unfortunately it was raining so we just drove past and did not get out of the car. The stall holders (who were there) were huddled under their umbrellas and small tents or were packing up. I will go again another time when the weather is a little nicer, though I should not say 'nicer' as the farmers and gardeners have been looking forward to some rain.
On Saturday I went to one of the local op-shops in town. As most op-shoppers know it is good to go frequently as you can be lucky to pick up a bargain. I bought this beautiful pair of gloves for just $2.50, I also bought an elbow length pair that were quite stained, I did soak them but they did not come up too well. I will give it another go. I also bought 2 more patterns. I love this one from the 80's, knickerbockers jumpsuit! I'm sure it will make a comeback soon.

Further notes on the previous pattern, it came out quite well and was pleased with it. But I had a terrible time trying to work out how to finish attaching the tie. I have lengthened the body of the top so it does not fit neatly onto the bottom of the garment anymore. I was trying to achieve a nice neat finish and do as little hand sewing as possible. In the end I had to leave an opening in the tie, near the body of the garment and pull in through. The only hand stitching required was for closing of this opening in the tie. Still to be added to 5trillion.

Vintage patterns

I have just been over at fashion incubator where the talk is about vintage patterns. I don't mind saying that I often use commercial patterns. It's not so much a short cut as it can take as long, if not longer to modify the pattern to fit and look they way you want. Here is a picture of the one I was using today. This one did not require much change to the fit as such, ie. it was not too tight around the armholes, which is usually the case. The front (or back) wrap panel was too loose though and required some tightening, it still has quite a loose kind of shape (I made it out of interlock) but I am quite happy with the way it turned out. I had quite a time figuring out the best way to do the tie though, as I decided to lengthen the garment keeping the tie in the same place. It did require some hand stitching in the end, something I generally try to stay clear of! Keep an eye on the 5trillion site for the finished product.

Chapel Street

Further to yesterday... I also took a stroll down Chapel Street, it is still one of my favorite places to go. The reason was to visit the Chapel St. Bazaar and the Remnant Warehouse. I haven't been to the Bazaar for a very long time, but I am totally addicted to going to the Remnant Warehouse, which, incidently, is closing down. It will not be closing for about a year I believe, but where will I find something to replace it?! They stock designer remnants, so roles of fabric that Melbourne designers have used. I really don't go there for that reason though... I'd rather not use something that has some other designers print all over it. I just go there for... you guessed it, the bargains. I bought a beautiful piece of lace which I will make a top from, but only some idea now of how it will look at this stage. Keep an eye on 5trillion to see the outcome.
At the Bazaar I saw some fantastic vintage pieces of clothing, I do love vintage clothes, I have a little collection going which I will post pics of in the future. Also they had a few good vintage patterns, I also have a collection of these. I have managed to pick mine up for about 20c each, these were 5-6 dollars. Some I had picked up at the op-shop next door many years ago, others I have bought from country op-shops more recently. I will post some pics of these in the future also.
I have added a pic of Melbourne from the Westgate bridge, I just love that view and want to photograph it every time I go over. I used to live east of Melbourne and you don't get a view of the city as you drive in from there, it just kind of creeps up on you.

Starting over

After much deliberation I have decided to start the blog again with a whole different view in mind. This time it will be more about my life as a fashion designer, pattern-maker and seamstress. It will be in addition to the musings blog on 5trillion.com. The reason being this one is a little bit 'more information' and just for people who may be interested and not neccesarily customers. 'Musings' blog on 5trillion is a little bit of info about the clothes for those who are thinking of buying something. Does this all make sense... it will all become clear as both evolve, I hope! So here I go, I went to Camberwell market today to have a bit of a sqiz as I was told it was quite good. It was, though not as good as I thought, I may have had my expectations set a bit high after being told 'you should go, it's really good'. Nevermind. I still prefer the country markets... yes, OK I am a country girl so I may be a little biased, but they seem to have more homemade items. I went to one in Gisbourne (west of Melbourne) a few months ago and they have quite a good array of handmade clothes, jewellery, food etc. The country markets, of course, are not so big and do not have the volume of people who go to the city markets.