I’m Alive!

Pardon my lackadaisical posting habits, I am experiencing an unprecedented custom order boom. Usually the first few months of the year are slower for me, but good GOD, not this year. Plus it’s nearing the end of March and I’m not trying to panic over how much garden prep I have NOT done yet.

Also I know I have already totally failed at my “one new tutorial and one new sewing pattern” per month thing.  BOO! I actually have things mostly ready, but I just haven’t had time to finish them. ARG!

Yeah, that’s right. BOO and ARG!

Anyway, here are some of my new designs that I’ve been working on!

A new sweater coat called Absinthe- I had planned on designing a whole bunch of new coats, and then got completely overwhelmed with all these orders, so I only got one out in time!

The TARDIS dress! Featuring my custom designed fabric:

The Party Animal dress. Or as some people call it, The Lisa Frank dress.

Read more…

Sketches in Triplicate

I wasn’t much of a sketcher (is that a word? Or just a shoe) up until recently. I’ve always had more luck in 3 dimensional art (sewing, sculpting, etc.) than I was with 2 dimensional art (drawing and painting).

Then I got a Wacom Bamboo Tablet for my computer. I LOVE THIS THING. If I’d known how easy it was to draw on the computer, I would have started doing this years ago!

Perfectly sharp lines and no erase marks! (Maybe that’s why I was never a big fan of drawing. I make too many mistakes and have to start over. Not anymore!)

I sketch in Photoshop, even though it would probably make more sense to sketch in an illustrating program like Inkscape. But I’ve used Photoshop for so much longer, I’m way faster.

You can see one of my old sketches in my Why Handmade Is “So Expensive” article. It has a certain coloring book charm, I suppose, but here’s a computer sketch I did a few months ago:

Upgrade time!

I did a few more sketches this week (and I also sewed all three dresses, so you’ll get to see the real life versions soon!).Read more…

How to Sew Fabric Appliques

Here’s my video tutorial for fabric appliques / patches. Appliques are a great way to embellish or customize a project. You can add them to bags, clothes, Xmas stockings, and more. Appliqued handmade goods make great gifts because you can tailor each one for the recipient!

If you scroll down, there’s also a photo tutorial version so you can go at your own pace, or go to a specific step.

Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel!  There are lots more tutorials on the way!

And if you have any tutorial requests, leave me a comment!

appliquetut

This tutorial was filmed using a Creative Labs Vado HD Digital Video Camera, a Canon Rebel (for still shots), and edited in Sony Vegas Movie Studio.

 

Here’s the photo + text version of the tutorial:

Read more…

Tricks and Treats

It’s not secret that Halloween is my favorite holiday, so I’ve of course been working on lots of Halloween goodies for SmarmyClothes.com! Smarmy Halloween Costumes, weeee!

Shark Attack! dress:


Nightmare Before Christmas Sally ragdoll dress:

Beetlejuice Sandworm dress:

Red Riding Hood gothic lolita dress:

Ice Cream Cone dress:

Hot Dog dress:

bleached ribcage skeleton tee: