Faux Nineties

 Faux Nineties, Veritable Wax Print

Or, at least, so its says.  I think it may be a screen print, because there is a noticeable difference between the front and the back of the print, although it does take some squinting to see.

Overall, though, I think it passes as much for a late era Memphis/early era Factory Pomo style of print, so that it reads as more of a 1990s Throwback design than a wax print (real or not)

Border Hearts

 I finished this dress over a week ago--I have already worn and washed it, and am only now getting around to recording it here.

It's another hacked Simplicity 9153, made with fabric printed in Côte d'Ivoire, according to the selvedge.  This is not an actual wax print--it's a fancy fabric print (it says on the selvedge that it's screen printed.)  I got it from the friend who brought their relative's destash fabric a few years ago--many thanks!

Upcycle #7

This is, as far a I know, the last one!  And I rushed it, of course, although not after vacillating over bodice fabric for a few days.

The skirt was this one, which I sewed in 2018 from thrifted wax print

Initially, I had picked out a lightweight aqua twill to use for the bodice, but the color match was Really Not Good, and there wasn't enough of it anyway.  Then I considered using another wax print, but, for various reasons, no.  Then, as I was falling asleep, I had the thought: A black & white print.

So.

Good idea?  Enh.  Finished idea?  Yeah!

Upcycling #6

Many years ago I couldn't resist thrifting a bit of yardage with loads of colors that I usually don't wear, but...butterflies and moths...although...manufactured by Shamash and Sons, so: butterflies and moths rendered in the most direct, unstylized--yet vague--way.

I immediately made a skirt

(the files say June of 2013)

I wore it a lot!  And managed to spatter paint on it from an airbrush mishap (not the first or last time that happened.)  And then gained weight.  But I kept it, because, as subtle as they were, there were still paint spatters, so it was completely inappropriate for donating.

Then I decided to do this whole skirt-to-dress upcycling project.

Upcycling #5

I made this shirt a few months ago.  I honestly didn't realize at the time, but it was way too big, even considering that it's supposed to be loose.  The main reason I hadn't realized is because I hadn't been wearing it, because I stopped wearing skirts and pants (because I am shaped like pregnant.)

I liked the print enough that I decided I'd make it over into a dress

and that's when I realized it was way too big

[UFO Pun Here]

So I cut out the pieces for this tunic in February

of 2018

 which was about the time I started trying to accept the shape my body is now, and I think I realized even then that it was not a shape that would fit into this shape of tunic.

But I still decided yesterday to finally sew it.

Impulsive

So I should be sewing doll clothes for a trade that will happen soon, but my brain said, "nah" and I sewed this completely unplanned dress today

If You Sew It Together, It Goes Together

For years I've been sewing doll clothes with mixed prints.  I used to have a list of rules I'd use for choosing what print went with what other prints, but, sometimes, I'd notice two prints next to each other in the storage spaces and think they looked good together.  Whichever way, I always got compliments on the finished doll clothes.  (I used to sell a lot, before Etsy went evil, so the compliments were often backed up with purchases.)  So, eventually, my A #1 Rule For Mixing Prints became: If you sew it together, it goes together.

People might question separates of mixed prints, but, if the different prints are sewn together?  Who are they to question the designer?  Humans are all about pattern recognition, too, so they can find ways to make the prints coordinate, if they really want to think about it.

Now, another thing about my attitude toward mixing prints is this: if you can easily give a name to the entire class of one of the prints, then the brain parses it as A Whole Thing, and it might as well be a solid.  Stripes, checks/plaid/gingham/madras, dots, leopard print, camouflage.  But not florals (and I haven't quite figured out why)--florals, however, will easily mix with all of those others.

So, yeah, I'm sitting here now wearing a dress I sewed with a mix of a madras plaid and a Star Wars print and really feeling like it's not much of a pattern mixing achievement, because, pfft, "plaid" is neutral.

But, I wondered...could more aggressive print mixing work on a grown human, or is it something I should keep for dolls (and small children)?

So I made this

As far as I can tell, yeah, it does totally work.

Where's the Fire?

Certainly not here, because it took...ah...a month...before I finally fixed the uneven leg lengths on this pair of Obnoxious Shorts™

...just...just sew *something*...

The truth is, I'm constantly sewing, especially on the weekends.  It's doll clothes, though, and I'm never sure if I want to post about that here, or if this is my non-doll sewing place.  The doll stuff does go on Flickr and Instagram (although not everything they wear was made by me--I try to mention it in the captions when it is me-made.)  This last weekend was...kinda weird (resulting in a new washing machine that's supposed to be delivered today), but not weird enough to eliminate all the sewing, and I sewed something not-doll size!

I'd decided I wanted to make a skirt, and to make a skirt that fits my actual waist right now, and I wanted to use a pattern instead of making the usual free-form "rectangles gathered to an elastic casing" skirt.  I'd also decided I wanted to start using the bits of wax print I've thrifted over the years (ignoring the wax prints I cut for a tunic mumble mumble months ago that're still patiently waiting to be sewn together.)  But, since I hadn't used most of the skirt patterns before (and I have very few in the correct size, as most of my patterns are bought for the shirt pieces), I had the odd-for-me idea that I should make a test first (I feel like the term "wearable muslin" is too fancy for the way I make stuff.)  But I still wanted to use the wax prints.  Just...not the really nice wax prints.

No matter how I angled things, I couldn't get the skirt pattern I wanted to try first to fit on the not-so-nice wax prints.

So.

I gave up and made this

It's two rectangles gathered to an elastic casing.

But!

It has pockets!

(pockets borrowed from another pattern I was thinking of using, but that skirt is cut on the bias, and...wax prints aren't meant for being cut on the bias.)

 And not a bit has been ironed.  My lack of ironing has been encouraged by the fact that my stereo receiver, which is on constantly, is very old and probably needs a new transformer and stops playing sounds and instead starts physically buzzing loudly whenever there's a bit of a voltage drop, which...the iron causes more than a bit of a voltage drop whenever the element is heating.  So that's my current excuse for not ironing things.

As rumpled as the skirt is overall, I did get the hem fairly crisp, thanks--as always--to copious amounts of top stitching.

There's a strip of the same cloth, folded in half and stitched to the right side of the skirt before being flipped to the inside and top stitched near the edge, with the second line of stitching near the folded edge of the facing strip.  This cloth is really lightweight, so this finish adds some body without adding much bulk.  Using the strips of cloth this way also allowed me to use all but scraps (from around the curves of the pockets) of this cloth, which is a good thing.  Actually using my cloth is a good thing.  I should try to do that more often.  (And I should try not to buy more grab bags of cloth from the thrift store, especially on half-off day when I can easily convince myself to go ahead and buy three bed-in-a-bag-size bags of random cloth.  I really should stop doing that.  But there was a lot of great cloth in those bags!  That maybe I'll use someday!  For more than just doll clothes!)

I am happy that I finally used this print

It makes me think of books, viewed from the ends.  It's aggressively cheerful--I was a bit miffed that none of my pink threads were this pink, but the red outlines allowed me to use the brand-new spool of red Saba tex 40 I somewhat randomly added to my last order from Wawak.

Things work out.