Tag Archives: batik

My Dad Wrote A Book, There Was An Event, So Of Course I Made Myself A New Dress!

19 Tuesday Jan 2016

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My dad wrote a really wonderful book called David Brower: The Making of the Environmental Movement which you can buy here. I’m totally biased of course, he’s my dad, and I helped transcribe interviews, but it really is a fantastic book about an inspirational man who’s work revolutionaized conservation, but who’s name is sadly widely unknown. I actually knew Dave. I had the privilege of growing up just down the hill from the Browers and got to go to waffle breakfasts at their house on many a Sunday.

UC Press published the book and fittingly threw a party at the David Brower Center in Berkeley last night. For this occasion, I decided to make myself a new dress. Unfortunately it was cold enough that I never took my coat off, but thankfully I took pictures before hand!

The design took a while to come to me, but with the rainy weather we’ve been having I decided to try something pretty different for me;  I added sleeves. To start, I went to my favorite fabric store in Berkeley called Stonemountain & Daughter where they have a truly spectacular selection of Batiks. The second I saw the bolt of this fabric, I fell in love. I ended up walking around the store with it clutched in my arms for a while, and after a bit realized that I was basically petting it I loved it so much!

When it came to construction, instead of dealing with darts like I normally do, I chose to go with princess seams to get a nice fit. During the construction process I kept getting major 80s flashes so I ended up raising the waist a bit and did my best to take out any fullness in the sleeves. It’s tough to get the fit you want and still be able to move your arms, but I think I managed in the end.

I had wanted to play with the colors and pattern of the fabric and piece it together in a cool way, but given the amount of fabric I had, my options ended up being pretty limited. I like the way it turned out a lot, but I wish I could’ve played with where the lighter color ended up a bit more.

For some reason I have been having some fit issues with the neckline in the last couple dresses I have made and had to give a little tuck at the neckline to get everything laying flat. Of course I ended up loving the detail; yay for happy accidents!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

26 Thursday Nov 2015

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Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you are all able to be with people you love and who love you today.

I spent my Saturday this past weekend doing something I haven’t done in quite a while….I made myself a new dress! My intention was to make a new dress for Thanksgiving, and actually I managed to finish it in time to wear it to a friends show on Saturday. So, some of you have actually already seen it in person!

The majority of the dress is made from fabric I don’t even remember buying. I was doing a bit of inventory recently and came across this batik. I LOVE it! I wish I could remember buying it. From far away it looks a bit like a camo print, but up close….its like a celestial explosion.

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The weather has finally decided its winter, so I opted to go for something a little longer than I normally do. The problem with this, was that I knew I didn’t have a lot of this fabric. Thankfully, this print is so multicolored, I knew I would be able to find a solid cotton to go well with it. I had thought it would be a chocolate brown, but it ended up being more of a dark brownish purple.

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The design for this dress was very much dictated by the amount of fabric I had to work with. I wanted as full skirt as I could get, but knew it would not be very full, given my small amount of fabric I had. The one small happy accident was the neck line. I used an old pattern to start and it ended up making the neckline WAY too wide. I had already sewn most of the bodice together, so instead of starting over, I managed to create the pleat at the neck and am thrilled with the results!

With my amazing photographer Drew Beck now living in NYC it falls to me to try to capture my new pieces in photo form. I appologize for the photo quality, I have no idea what I’m doing, but I’m trying!

Also, pardon the cardigan….its COLD!

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And an absolutely terrible indoor shot from my attempt at photos on Saturday, but I realized I didn’t get a shot of the front without the cardigan. Sorry!

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I Look a Little Different: Alterations Needed

19 Thursday Nov 2015

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For those of you who don’t know me, you may have noticed that I look a bit different in my photos these days. A few years ago I decided it was time to take back control of my body and joined Weight Watchers. It took me 13 months, but I lost 65 pounds and have now kept it off for almost 2 years.

The one downside is that not a single thing I’ve made myself in the last 8 years or so fits any more! That means I have a lot of alteration projects to work on.

The following are two looks I have previously posted that I altered to fit my new body. I have a ton more looks to do this with and will document the process for those pieces so you can see how I do it. (I just ran out of time with these two!)

Look #1 Original post here

photo by Drew Beck

photo by Drew Beck

photo by Drew Beck

 

Look #2 Original post here

photo by Drew Beck

photo by Drew Beck

 

photo by Drew Beck

Pencil Skirt with Matching Bustier – FOR SALE!

24 Thursday Jan 2013

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This outfit is a pencil skirt with a matching bustier. I made this as a class project while studying at FIDM. It is fashioned from blue batik and a solid blue cotton. The skirt has two small side slits and the top is fully boned for support. It was created on a size 10 dressform and I didn’t get around to putting in a zipper in the skirt or closures for the top so I can alter this to fit anyone from about a size 4 to a size 10! Find it for sale HERE.

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Photos by the amazing Drew Beck, find more here: http://drewbeck.com/

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Photos by the amazing Drew Beck, find more here: http://drewbeck.com/

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Photos by the amazing Drew Beck, find more here: http://drewbeck.com/

Thank you to my lovely friend Katie for being my model and Drew for the awesome photos.

Andrea – Engagement Skirt & Baby Blanket

26 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by in blanket, Skirt

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Andrea is my best friends husbands brothers wife…..yeah….that’s a little hard to follow! Basically, we are not related, but she is family AND she is now the mother of the first of the next generation!

About 3 years ago this gorgeous woman asked me to make her a skirt for her engagements photos, and I most happily obliged. I’m a little fuzzy on the details, but I do believe I was wearing my batik skirt at a holiday family event and it caught her eye. She was getting ready for their engagement photoshoot and asked if I would be willing to make her a similar skirt, but with a few changes to make it more her style. I’m pretty sure I simply pulled a measuring tape out of my purse, took some measurements and then went to work on it the next day! It was just close enough to when I had bought the fabric for my skirt that when I went back to the fabric store, they still had some! Score! (Especially since that was her favorite part!) I finished it up and then I actually gave it to Richard (her husband) at Trader Joe’s where they both work! That was the first and only time I have not delivered my work to the actual person buying it! I was a little nervous, but it turned out great!

Here are a few of the amazing shots:

Nerinna Valera Photography

Nerinna Valera Photography

Nerinna Valera Photography

As you can see, I made a very similar skirt to mine, but this one is no high waisted and the waist band is a bit thinner.

NOW, these two are married and just had an adorable little boy named Caleb. I had seen photos of the babies room as they were getting ready for his arrival and thought I would make a baby blanket to go with it. The theme was kind of a simple and modern jungle (that’s the best way I can describe it!) So off to the fabric store I went. I gave them the blanket about 2 days before the baby was born and totally forgot to take any photos of it, but this is better. Thank you Andrea for taking some pics of the little guy with his new blanket!

Enjoy 🙂

Caleb!

Snuggles with Mommy

…and the actual blanket!

I made it big enough that he could grow up with it, and padded it enough that it can be used as a floor covering. Can’t wait to watch this little guys grow up, just not too fast!

Archives – Suzanne

18 Wednesday Jan 2012

Posted by in Commissions, Dresses

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Did you know? I have a super-power!

I have the ability to look at a fabric and know what it should become!

At least I’d like to think so.

This is my gorgeous friend Suzanne (or Suz). She was one of my very first commission, if not the first and that is super cool.

She came to me, wanting a summer dress that came to a V in the front, and pockets of course! Those were her only guidelines. So, we went to the fabric store and I found what I thought was one of the most beautiful fabrics I had ever seen and showed it to her for approval. She looked at me like I was a crazy person, but trusted me enough to let me go with it. And….

THIS is what happened:

photo by the amazing Drew Beck

It is a simple dress with a slight surplice top, coming to a V in the back as well. There is a waistband and the the skirt has a little fullness from some pleating. In-seam pockets as well.

photo by the amazing Drew Beck

photo by the amazing Drew Beck

Thanks Suz for being such a pro at modeling! and Drew Beck for the great pics.

A Skirt for Isaac and Becca’s Wedding!

16 Monday Jan 2012

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My dear friend Isaac married his love Becca yesterday.

I attended a party at their house afterwards, which was filled with love and laughter and dancing and drinking! It was a magical night.

So…what did I do that day? Made a new skirt of course! I have had another great Batik fabric lying around and finally found my inspiration. A paneled flared skirt that I could fit my petticoat under if I so desired.

Since this was a winter wedding, and it has extremely cold around here lately I paired it with tights, a cardigan and a big belt…not to mention the petticoat of course!

I forgot my camera and so had to take these when I got home at about midnight. Thank you parents for the tripod!

very full skirt!

And now without the petticoat

It was a perfect skirt for a perfect night. Mozel tov you two!

Batik Skirt 

06 Friday Jan 2012

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This skirt is The only thing I have ever sold on Etsy!

This fabric was originally a center square featured in a duvet cover I made years ago. It was surrounded by brown fabric and I loved it. Unfortunately about a month later I adopted a light orange kitty and his fur was showing up way too much on my bed. I had to stop using it.

BUT I wasn’t going to let that beautiful green fabric go to waist, so I made a cool little skirt out of it!

Hope you like it!

p.s. If you would like to see more awesome things from Drew Beck, please check out his page!

Maman Batik Skirt

03 Tuesday Jan 2012

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photo by the amazing Drew Beck

I can be a very hard person to shop for….when it comes to all things visual. I know I have a style, I just don’t quite know what it is, how to define it and how to share it. This makes giving me clothing or jewelry or anything like that a pretty risky thing, considering I never know if I’m going to like something.

One thing I am sure I love is Batik fabric. It is an Indonesian style of fabric dying that uses wax to make many different layers of colors and patterns. I don’t love ALL Batiks though….so when my mom gave my sister-in-law and myself small matching packages last year, needless to say I was a little nervous. I was ready to plaster that fake smile on my face, when I actually opened the gift. She did GOOD! Inside was about a yard and a half of a brown and teal Batik that I actually loved! Not sure if I would have ever chosen it myself, but I am very glad she did as I was able to make this beautiful skirt from it. Thank you Maman!

It is a basic Dirndl skirt, which means it’s a simple rectangle gathered together at the top in pleats to add fullness, then attached to a waist band. One of the most simple, and classic skirt styles there is.

photo by the amazing Drew Beck

p.s. If you would like to see more awesome things from Drew Beck, please check out his page!

Happy New Year!!!

01 Sunday Jan 2012

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Happy New Year!

What did I do yesterday? Well, I made a dress!

I’ve had this fabric for almost a year, but had yet to come up with the perfect design. Little did I know that the inspiration would hit me on my drive up to Inverness last week when I found out the NYE party I was going to was upgraded to fancy-dress. Here it is!

With the swirls in the fabric, I wanted to go in the opposite direction and add some angels to this dress. I chose to do a three paneled skirt (my new favorite discovery….makes the pockets a lot easier to get to) and instead of rounding the hem, I kept it straight, giving me three points on the skirt, the longest in back and two on the sides. I’m wearing a petticoat in the photos to give the skirt volume, but this should make a nice summer dress once it starts getting warmer.

I didn’t have any other colored zippers on hand, hence the glaring white (that will be changed). The back scoops down, but not so low that you can’t wear a bra.

I also added some pleating details around the neckline that I accentuated with some top-stitching.

Happy New Year to one and all, I hope 2012 brings you much happiness and love.

-Katy