It ain’t the greatest
I really need to remember to snap more pics while I’m building stuff. In this case, I didn’t snap any. Although, given that I did make 4 ugly shirts on the way to this only slightly less ugly one, I’m not real sure I should sear your retinas with all that ugliness.
Anyhow, Here’s what I wore to the New Kids on the Block concert last Friday. It’s not the best picture and it’s not the best outfit, but I always build something when I go to their shows. Not because I think they care what I’m wearing, but because otherwise, I’d never actually make anything for myself. I used to make outfits for when I was a seatfiller. My Grammy outfit is still in my closet and I’ve worn my American Music Awards quite a few times since then, too. It’s all incentive to stay the same size.
Admittedly, there are certain things I like to do… Stretch pants, stretch velvet, parts that flow when I spin around. I dunno why, I just like those things. And I usually like to show very little skin. That’s probably why I flailed so much on the concert outfit. In comparison:
This was what I made to wear to the Grammys.
Back to the concert outfit… The fabric is burn-through velvet. I got a few yards in 1999 because it was just so awesome to me. Then, in 2004, I found a partial bolt for $1/yard. I bought the whole damn thing…figuring of course that I’d use it for ‘something’. Well, that something had arrived.
I’d designed it in my head for about two months prior. Nothing actually turned out like what was in my head. I even screwed up the pants. They were supposed to be a little longer. Whoops. Oh well. My seatfiller boots went great anyway.
Initially, I was going to do this cute half shirt on the top and make a bunch of tassels to hang down just above my knee somewhere. Then, that morphed to a tank top…to a long shirt similar to a dress…to a backless, but longer top. When all was said and done, I ended up with a short halter. It’s okay, but not my best work.
I’d never built a halter before and I didn’t have a pattern to pull the shape I wanted, so I just had to guess and drape and make it up as I went along. I only had a few days to get my act together, so once all my important parts were covered, I pretty much had to be satisfied.
Yes, the necklace is holding up the center of the halter. It actually looked better that way rather than letting it hang.
The necklace was also an experiment. It’s my first triple-decker. I might make more, but not necessarily out of crystal unless I receive special requests. 90% of the beads in this particular necklace are upcycled from my grandmother’s broken necklaces. They’d needed restringing when they were given to me in high school (some even earlier!). I kept all the beads around for ‘just the right’ necklace.
That was the only part of this whole outfit that turned out…and was even better in person than what I’d dreamt up in my head. The sparkle on that thing was incredible. It also weighs a lot, though.
I mis-measured the waistline and cut the elastic too big. Luckily it was snug enough not to look too bad. The skirt isn’t really a skirt. It’s just a bit of fabric attached to the waistband and I cut it to give some nice folds. I’d feel better about the skirt if my sewing machine had gotten along better with it. The bobbin kept barfing. I almost gave up, but again, I was pressed for time. The halter top was already done. All I needed were the pants.
Because of the burnthrough aspect of the velvet, I needed to use two layers in a few important spots. I suppose the outfit might’ve turned out better if I’d had more time, but I’m not positive. The good news is that I learned soooooooooooooooooooo much from this adventure that I’m betting the next outfit I make from that fabric will be a billion times better. I already have a few ideas.
I still wanna try the tassels. I’ve never done them. They’d be the same as the ties on the back of the halter…and those went off without a hitch. Here’s hoping I can do a better second rendition.
Or at least use up the remaining 17 yards on the partial bolt!
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August 23rd, 2009 at 3:45 am
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