dyeing and printing and sewing

I have been doing a bit of all these things this week. I dyed some tee's that I had made up with the new dyes I bought last week. They came out a lot darker than I anticipated; which is good because that means I can be a little more frugal with my dyes. I also made up a jumper for my niece. I made it from a block I had from college which I think has too much of a boxy shape about it - kinda 80's style - which is making a comeback, so that could have been a good thing after all. Anyway, that is what I will tell her! She is only 5, but very style concious, like a lot of young kids are now. As you can see I tye dyed a heart shape in the middle. I think I might have some kind of weird tye dye addiction, I have to refrain myself from tying up everything I throw in the dye pot. Maybe I will just do a heap one day and that may get it out of my system.

5trillion update

I am in the midst of doing a big update on my online shop at 5trillion.com. Please take a look and also read the musings blog there for info re these new items and a link to my photos on flickr (just click on one of the thumbnails on the musings blog or go to flickr link and type in 5trillion in tag search).
I have also been trying to update my etsy shop but it has been so slow in loading I have had to give up.

nude & lace top

Today I made a new top and also finished off 1 brooch to go with the denim bolero. The top is made from nude coloured chiffon with a piece of lace sewn down the front. I bought a bag of lace from the local bargain box fabric store and also another from e-bay (both off-cuts). I am not sure where this one came from. I also made a camisole to go under the chiffon top, as of course it was transparent.
I plan to put both on 5trillion and make some more brooches for the denim bolero so people can choose which one, or two, they would like when making a purchase.

new stuff on Etsy

Here is a picture of my workroom. This is a denim bolero that I am making, with an embroidered brooch acting as the closure. When doing machine embroidery I get my cottons out to see which colours would look best, then for this one I got out my pencils in the same colours to sketch some designs.

I have added some clothing to my Etsy store.
I have not updated 5trillion as yet, but hope to do so soon.

I have been getting into a bit of screen printing lately which I am quite enjoying. I made up some tops, which are on Etsy, and have some more in the pipeline. I have made up one style, but now I have finished it I am not sure that I like it, so I may just pull it apart and change it a bit.
I have also been chatting a bit on the Etsy forums and found some interesting work done by others in Melbourne (I am not in Melbourne, but v close by) and all around the world. Such as these 2: annalaura and a. t. whim.
There are so many wonderful things for sale on Etsy I am not sure why you would shop anywhere else! (In my humble, if not slightly biased opinion).

Having said that I found a great little shop just off Greville St. in Prahran that sells clothing made by people who live in or around Melbourne. Very cute stuff.

I went to the last trading day for the fabric shop mentioned in the previous post. I bought 1 roll of white cotton interlock and 1 roll of rugby weight cotton knit. As you can see by the label it has come from New Zealand and was bought from local clothing manufacturer Ojay. Today I have ordered some dyes from kraftkolour here in Melbourne, so I intend to make lots of garments that I will dye and screenprint.
Stayed tuned.

fabric

One of my favourite fabric stores is closing, really this time.
Remnant Warehouse in Prahran (Melbourne) will close on the 31st March, after being there for 40 years. It is a fav. as it is a good place to buy base fabrics, like denim, interlock and plain woven cotton at good prices. I bought these stretch cottons, which I have not exactly decided what to make with yet.
The top one I dyed myself on the stove, it was the blue colour, but as you can see it did not quite come out right in one corner, but the rest is fairly even.

I have added some more items to my Etsy shop but nothing to 5trillion as yet!
The problem still being that I cannot get the photos to look as I want them to. Will have to get a body in them, that is for sure. Here is what I have been working on for 5trillion, anyway.

dressmaking again

I have not disappeared off the face of the earth; I have been dressmaking. Not a lot of time to make my own things while doing this. But now I am back making my own creations, so I hope to make a few updates to 5trillion.com soon.
This blue dress was made for a bridesmaid. I was shown a top that they (bride and bridesmaid) liked and wanted me to make a dress using the same design. The fabric was a little different and I had to sew the pattern into it by hand. I did this just by gathering up puckers in the dress and sewing seed beads on in a cluster. The photo doesn't really do it justice, it looked better in real life.

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.