Sewing for ME!!!

One of my goals this year is to make more everyday wardrobe items for myself.  Even though I have the luxury of 2 full weekdays to sew, they're usually filled with projects for either my theatre clients or Etsy shop.  The result is that I haven't sewn something for myself since I made a reception dress for my wedding almost 4 years ago.

Last month I found a really great blog article through Pinterest that showed how to use 14 basic wardrobe pieces to make 30 different outfits, and I'm incorporating this idea into my sewing goal to make my own wardrobe challenge!  One of my rules is that I have to make or thrift everything, no ready-made items unless I already own them.  (I'm also trying to go on a fabric buying fast, but that really hasn't happened yet...)

So my first item in this great quest is this cute little blouse based on the Sorbetto from Collette patterns!  The fabric is a very thick poly/rayon with a matte finish.  Almost feels like it could be a peachskin fabric, but not quite.  It's light but substantial enough that I don't feel like I'm naked.  The original pattern is sleeveless, but I found a sleeve pattern online and it works perfectly.  I wasn't sure what the boxy shape would look like on my body type, but I made a muslin version first and did some alterations on that to get the shape just right before cutting my fashion fabric.

I'm not sure yet how this will work into my 14 piece wardrobe, but I know it will get used regularly.  I'm already thinking of more variations on this pattern to make again soon!

The Cost of Handmade

$620 for THIS?  I bet I can get it for $20 at Target...

I recently read an article in the "New Yorker" about an artisans fair in New York where craftsmen from luxury brands like Hermes (you know, the one that makes $1500 handbags) demonstrated their art for the public.  The author describes how while watching the complicated process of individually screen-printing each Hermes scarf by hand, an avid collector of the brand remarks, "I used to think these scarves were expensive".

There are a lot of guides out there to help artists price their handmade goods, but nothing I've read really hit home like this did.  I do have a hard time pricing my items, for a couple of different reasons.  One, I'm making the mistake of comparing my pieces to those you'd find in a store.  Two, I'm pricing them based on what I myself would pay - the problem here is I'm CHEAP.  Seriously, Ebenezer Scrooge would be proud of my penny pinching skills.  Which is a good skill to have when running a household or small business, but it's bad to base my profit margins on it.

The rich lady paying $400+ for her handmade silk scarf is someone my cheap side laughs at, but my artistic side needs to embrace.  Each handbag I make is 100% constructed by me from start to finish, from the actual pattern pieces I use to cut the fabric, to the little metal clasps that I squeeze on with a pair of pliers.  Even with the steps I've made to streamline my process, each item can take anywhere from 1.5 - 5 hours to complete.  Not to mention the time it takes to develop each pattern, since I don't use commercial designs.

So wake up call to me:  Your stuff is worth it.  That $620 Hermes scarf is made out of just one piece of fabric, and the design is mass-produced meaning there are hundreds of them out there adorning the necks of ladies with too much money.  Your items are complex little pieces of fabric origami, and each is one of a kind!  I probably can't get people to pay $600 for one of my bags (yet), but there's no reason I should charge bargain-basement prices for a unique handmade item.  In the words of the great and wise Stuart Smalley: "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me."  My work is worth it!  Now I'm off to re-price my Etsy shop!

Handmade with love, from me for you!

Tutorial: Super Easy Knit Hats

This easy-to-sew knit hat is great for dwarf, gnome, and pirate costumes.  I recently made a set of the for the dwarfs in "Snow White", and they turned out great!  It's versatile enough to wear it a few different ways so you can have a group of people wearing the same hat without matching.  You could also make it out of polar fleece for a winter hat!  

Follow the break to get the full set of instructions!

Pin-spired!

Like many people (okay, lets be honest - most women) , I am addicted to Pinterest.     Not in a crazy "plan my wedding even though I don't have a boyfriend" kind of way, but I love the whole idea of a virtual bulletin board.  Designers have been using this kind of thing for years, but back in the day we used magazines, people.  You know, those things printed on paper?  Remember paper???

Anyway, I love it.  Not only does it feed my need for crafts, DIY home improvements, and really awesome and/or easy recipes, but I've also found it extremely helpful for designing shows.  And every once in awhile, I find something that just blows my mind...

Like this little gem from MK at outfitposts.blogspot.com.  Using just 14 basic pieces, plus a few accessories, she put together 30 outfits!  I have to dress business casual 2 days a week, this is perfect for me.  I love almost all the different looks, and it feels really wearable, not too done up or over the top.  

So of course, this means I need more clothes ;).  But I'm going to make this a challengeand exercise in thriftiness, and here are my self-imposed rules:

• I must try to use as many existing pieces from my wardrobe as possible.
• Anything that I don't already have must be built, not bought.  And I need to use fabrics and patterns from my stash.
• The few things that can't be made, like cardigan sweaters or accessories, must be thrifted. 

I think this is going to be really fun!  Last summer I wanted to sew one new item for myself each week, but work got in the way.  This time I think I'll just take it easy and do as much as I can, when I can.  Right now I am in the middle of 2 shows, starting a huge musical for March, and I'm also working on 3 wedding dresses between now and June, not to mention all the work for new items, craft shows, and custom orders that is involved in my Etsy shop.  

So I'll be busy for awhile, but I can always sneak a few things in where possible.  And since this doesn't look too appropriate for the 30 degree weather we're having right now, I can shoot to have it all done by this summer.  I will of course let you know how it goes, and post any pieces I make.  Maybe when I have the whole wardrobe put together I will model my version of each outfit!  (Okay, that probably won't happen because I hate having my photo taken.  Sorry.)

If you want to play along, I'd love to see what you come up with for your own wardrobe!

I hate zippers...

Let me say it again: I really hate zippers.  So I don't know what possessed me to make a zippered case for my Chromebook, except for the fact that it looked really good in this tutorial I found online.

Let me rewind a little bit, because this post was originally supposed to be about my lovely lazy Sunday a few days ago.  I played on my new toy a bit to see how it works, I watched videos online, and generally wasted an entire day doing nothing. It was great.  Except for not my husband, who was sick, and was the reason why I was doing nothing, because if he was in bed all day I certainly wasn't going to motivate myself to do the household stuff that needed to be done when there were fun things to explore on the interwebs - like this really yummy chicken soup I made from scratch that day.

In my aimless lazy Sunday searching, I decided that I needed a cover for my Chromebook.  And I would make it - why not?  I had a Sunday to burn, didn't I?  So I found a good-looking tutorial, went through my fabric and zipper stash, and started on my path to destruction my nifty new zippered cover.

There's a reason I don't make anything with zippers in my Etsy shop.  It's because every zipper I try to sew looks like a 6 year old did it.  It always amazes and disgusts me that I can sew complicated works of art like 17th century court wear or boned corset bodices with hand-set grommets, but I can't even sew a damn zipper in to save my life.  So my simple zippered case (the zipper goes around a corner - A CORNER!!!  Oh, the humanity...) took much longer than I expected.  But here it is, and it looks awesome.  Just don't look closely at the zipper...

I picked up this fabric last summer on sale thinking I would make myself a new purse, but I think it makes a great case.  The dark swirls are actually chocolate colored velvet - mmm.  And I love how the hellspawn teal zipper adds a pop of color to match the print.  I added a simple pocket on the outside because hey, you can always use an extra pocket.

If - and that's a BIG if - I ever make another one* I will skip the curved zipper and just do a plain straight one.  My straight zippers at least are at a 10 year old's level.

* Do not ask me to make one for you, or why I don't sell them on Etsy.  Seriously, did you just read this post?

Happy New Year! New toy, new title, new outlook, new content.

Happy New Year, interwebs!

The start of a new year is always a great time to look back on the past year and pass judgement on ourselves for things we could have done differently, and then vow to do things the "right' way over the next 12 months.  This is where New Year's resolutions come from.  And even though I say this all tongue-in-cheek, I am not immune to the effect a fresh new calendar year can have on the human brain.

Which is where today's post comes in.  When I started this blog, I did it specifically to drive traffic and help with SEO for my work as a costume designer.    But in the past year the small business I started on Etsy has really grown and I find myself focusing more and more on making it a viable source of income.  It's exciting stuff, but a lot of work!  This shift led me to really examine what I want to put out in the world to help me grow my business, and I came to the conclusion that I should share more about ALL my projects on here, not just my costume design.

So here we go!  Armed with my shiny new Chromebook, a generous Christmas gift from my family that means I can work anywhere with an internet connection, I'm ready to start the new year with a "new" blog.  The name change just came to me one day and I feel like it reflects more of what my life is like and gives me more flexibility for content (plus there were like 20 other "Behind the Seams" out there).      Instead of limiting myself to posting about my design work, I'm going to share about my Etsy business (and growing it off-Etsy!), personal projects that may or may not involve sewing, and maybe even give a glimpse into the home-restoration projects that consume my weekends!  It's all game from now on!

Happy New Year, interwebs.  Let's see where 2013 takes us!

Breaking the Rules

I knew it had been a really long time since my last post, but when I saw the date on my Pinterest  post I almost fell over - February?!  Has it really been 7 months since the last time I updated this?  Mind you, I have a whole list of topics I want to write about but getting them on "paper" has been a challenge.

One of the "rules" of blogging is don't point out if it's been a while since your last post.  You're supposed to just move on and pretend like nothing happened.  But not posting for 7 months is part of the story!  It's been a busy spring & summer, and I want to fill you in on what's been happening...

MARCH

March brought the spring musical - "The Gondoliers" by Gilbert & Sullivan.  I am NOT a Gilbert and Sullivan fan.  If you're not familiar with them, they're the duo that wrote "The Pirates of Penzance" and "The Mikado".  And I bet I just lost about half of you there...  Don't worry, it's okay.  If you want to know more about ol' G&S I suggest watching the movie "Topsy Turvy".  It gives you a good idea about their methods of re-hashing the same story line over and over.  But I digress - with this production the director choose to use the G&S over-the-top characters and give them a Commedia dell'Arte makeover, which works really well because Commedia is also made of over-the-top characters.  And I just lost the other half of you... I know it's weighty theatre stuff, but the bottom line is it makes for really awesome costumes.  I was able to use some visual cues from Commedia like Harlequin's diamonds and Pantalone's red pants (or in this case, stockings) AND just go ridiculously big and outrageous with the main characters.  Check out those wigs! 

To see my inspiration for this show, check out my "Gondoliers" style board on Pinterest!

APRIL & MAY

Bridge of the "Enterprise"

April was somewhat uneventful, but rolled into "Andromeda's Galaxy" in May.  Oh. My. God. I loved this show.  Why?  Because I got to help re-create the original Star Trek series on stage.  Yep.  So the basic idea is that the story is being told by a young girl named Andromeda, as it appears in her mind.  Because she grew up watching old "Star Trek" re-runs with her babysitter, it looks like Star Trek in her head.  I can totally relate ;)  I don't have many photos for this one, but you'll have to trust me that it looked pretty cool.  The director is also a huge Star Trek fan, so we had fun adding little details like Kirk's (stupid) green uniform shirt , an blue-skinned Andorian crew member, and of course, a Red Shirt.  

Vulcan make-up

The infamous green shirt More bridge crew members

JUNE & JULY

June is actually a continuation of April & May.  Since I didn't have any new shows booked for the summer, I decided this would be a good time to focus on my Etsy business.  On June 9th, I had a booth at the Constructor Craft Fair selling my handmade purses and other little bits and baubles.  This event was huge, and so much fun!  Never having done a large craft fair before I wasn't sure what to expect as far as sales and traffic, so all through April & May I was working my behind off to build up a good-sized inventory.  Thank goodness I did!  I almost sold out of many of the little card holders and pouches I made, and many of the new larger bags sold as well.  The biggest pay-off was having so many people react positively to my work, and it was a real confidence booster.  That little boost gave me the motivation to add new items to my Etsy store, including custom-made bridesmaid clutches.  The custom orders took off in July, and I've been keeping busy working on those over the past month, with new orders coming in every week!



Sur Le Feu at Constructor Craft Fair 2012

FUTURE PROJECTS

Before all these new orders started to come in, I told myself I would finally take some time this summer to sew for myself and my husband!  It's been at least 3 years since I made anything for my impossible-to-shop-for 6'6" husband, and even longer since I made something for myself (that wasn't a wedding dress).  My original plan was to make at least one item a week.  But you know what they say about the plans of mice and men...  I have managed to make a few things for myself, though, and I will be posting them here for you to see and explain a bit about my experiences with the fabric & pattern in the weeks ahead.  It is August, however, and that means the show season is ready to start again in just a month!  I'm not sure exactly what is in store this year, but I do know I will be designing "Into the Woods" this spring.  Can't wait!!!