I wanted something totally flippy and ridic. The setting was “modelling industry party”, so I figured on making the skirt shorter as well. To work the legs, etc. I have to give Chase some credit here, he said “you know what could go with burlap? Gold lamé. The plaid-ish fabric was salvaged from this insane shirt Chase has had in his closet for years. I’m using it as my embellishment and lining for the skirt and cowl, which I feel remains in the spirit of the challenge. The panels of…
Tag: limited fabric
Week 2: Progress
I’d originally thought that the contestants’ fabric was limited to the dimensions of a burlap bag. Laying out my pattern pieces the other night I realised that must be false, as a basic dress shape takes up the majority of the yardage, leaving little extra for the fripperies that were so popular last episode. Thank goodness for that. Boo, however, to no muslin lining or stabiliser. I have a plan, however. I cut out the fabric while watching Trailer Park Boys and cursed myself for what appears to be some…
Week 2: Drafting
I did my pattern plotting on the commute home, so I had the time to be kind of a nerd about it. And to plot it entirely out, forget I wanted to do a halter-back-ish-thing, go back and fix it. So, watching video clips of the contestant’s reviews in the workroom, I heard it said that this was a “ten-hour challenge.” I don’t watch the show, remember, so I didn’t know what they meant by there being a “day” to complete a challenge. I was like, “A calendar day? Twelve…
Week 2: Setup/Sketch
Ooh, now we’re into the real challenges. The thing this week was to make a party dress from a burlap potato sack. Thanks to previews I am well-armed with burlap, my cheapskate nature let me only get two yards of the 48″ wide fabric, which was totes an overestimate as it looks like potato sacks run twenty-odd by forty-odd inches. Ah well, the stuff is mad useful. As of my hand-drafting this entry this morning, I didn’t know if contestants got to use lining, but it looked like they were…
Week 1: Done!
I was seriously worried I’d majorly fail in this first week. I mean, I sew, sure—but I don’t work at anything close to a professional level of tailoring. Luckily I am a person who, as a kid and to this day, reads sewing books for fun. I collect vintage examples of the damn things (and housekeeping books). My theory is that I must have absorbed the how-tos over time. So this first entry is not bad at all, even though I’ve never lined a skirt or made pleats. Although I…