I’m excited to announce I have a new article, Animal Instinct, published in Creative Machine Embroidery, September/October 2015 issue. The six page article covers the steps to create an embroidery technique I created, called Ghost embroidery.
Category Archives: Couture
Red Silk Sheath
There is something about a simple sheath dress that states sophistication. The classic sheath can be dressy or casual, but even in a casual fabric it is still classy.
One day at Gail K’s, I was shopping for fabric to make a prototype for one of my husband’s inventions, I found this beautiful red tone on tone silk. I love silk so I just had to have it, my immediate thought was to make a simple sheath dress, and this is what I came up with.
Fashion Ladies Skirt
I love embellishments and little decorative details on fashions and that is why I love embroidery. I have a Bernina 200E/730 that I bought years ago and I still love this machine. It has the capability to do hundreds of decorative stitches and to do machine embroidery so I can create one of a kind fashions.
One year when I was at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo in Atlanta I discovered this embroidery company that does their own designs, which have an Asian design flare and not a lot of stitches per inch so the embroideries come out light to the touch and not stiff, which makes their designs perfect for flowing fabrics, light weight fabrics and knits. Momo-Dini Embroidery Art is owned by two sisters, Momo and Dini, Fine Art Professors originally from China, they do their own artwork and sales and they have won many awards for their paintings and designs.
I look forward to seeing Dini Yan at the Expo every year not only to see what new designs they have created but because she is so nice and friendly. This year I was really excited to be able to show her what I created with their embroidery designs.
One year they came out with these designs called Fashion Ladies and I immediately knew what I wanted to make to show off these designs. Unfortunately the design CD went into my “stash” like so many other fabrics and embroidery CDs do, but this year I made this skirt a priority on my sewing list. And I am so glad I did because it is beautiful and fun to wear. For some reason I feel like a little doll wearing it. It makes me happy.
Reversible Jacket
About 25 years ago I found a vintage Forstmann 100% wool bouclé jacket that was my husband’s grandmother’s. It was about to be thrown away and I saved it. I had it cleaned and I wore it a couple times, and it inspired me to want to make a more modern version of the jacket. It took 25 years but I finally made one. 
I am not a “wool” person so I knew I didn’t want to make the new jacket out of wool.
One day while fabric shopping for another project, this beautiful synthetic faux Persian lamb jumped out at me. It came in three colors, and I fell in love with two of them. I couldn’t make my mind up which was the prettiest, so I thought, why not make a reversible jacket, then I can have them both. Here is the process in making this extremely soft and comfortable jacket.
Mixing Fabric Prints
Mixing prints can make or break an outfit. It can be fun and it can be challenging. It is a matter of your own style, your comfortability, your ability to take a fashion risk, your confidence, and your own taste. Many years ago, mixing prints was taboo, it was considered atrocious but now you see it everywhere, even being done by the best designers on the runway.
Wearing mixed prints fashion is not for everyone, because you will draw attention to yourself; therefore, when you wear fashion that is made up of mixed prints – you must
HOLD YOUR HEAD HIGH AND WALK WITH CONFIDENCE.
In Home decor we mix patterns all the time, but for fashion it is a little more difficult. In fashion you don’t have the large area to create a “breathing space” or “pause” between the prints, like you do in a room.
If you want to try mixing fabrics but don’t have the confidence, then start out slowly by mixing your accessories. For example, carry a patterned purse with a striped dress. Or animal print shoes with a pair of african print pants. Or like this picture, she has an animal print purse with a plaid skirt and a sweater wrapped around her waist, all in the same tones.
These are the guidelines that I have discovered by playing around with fabrics.
With Love – Prom Dress 2013
Boo Hoo, my grandaughter Angelica is a senior in high school. That means it is my last year to make her a prom dress; therefore, it has to be spectacular. This article is all about her prom dress I designed and made. It is full of pictures showing some of the sewing processes, the thought processes, and many couture details of the dress. I hope you enjoy the beauty of the dress as much as I enjoyed creating it. Continue reading
Preview of Things to Come
I
n this gallery article I want to give you a little preview of some of the things that I will be blogging about throughout the years. I will not limit us to only these creations, they will be filling in, between other new designs, ideas, organization, and thoughts I have along our journey.
I love to sew and I tend to sometimes think outside the box. I like to push myself to try to out do my last project. I also like to just make something easy and simple, kind of like cleansing my sewing pallet. I am not in competition with others but with myself.
I love the appreciation and admiration that the sewing community have for each other’s talents. We are all at different levels and we all have a different flare for fashion, but yet we all inspire and help each other “grow” our sewing skills and our confidence in our sewing and confidence to wear our creations. I hope I can be an inspiration to you.
Let’s have some fun together creating! Remember to laugh at your learning mistakes, making them into a creative challenge, and to dance at your victories and throughout the sewing process.
TechNeats 