Episode One

One project down!

The Challenge: Choose one item in your suitcase to incorporate into your look.

The Twist: Pass that item to your right.

The Constraints: Fifteen minutes to sketch. Undisclosed amount of time in the Mood Annex to choose fabric. Five hours to build.

My Take: Well, since this is a solo project, I didn't have anyone to pass the item to. So, I had my sister select something from my closet for me to work with. She chose the following
I got this dress from my mother-in-law when she moved to Florida. I thought the fabric was pretty, but I hadn't worn it because I didn't find it super flattering to me. Hopefully she won't mind it being a part of my project!

Since I don't have the luxury of the Mood Annex, my sister and I went to a local fabric store. Originally, she suggested using only the bargain fabric bin, but since that was tiny, and the selection of the whole store was minimal at best we agreed that having the run of the store was necessary. She watched the clock, and I had half-an-hour to get the fabric I needed and get to the check out. I wound up with many yards of orange tulle. Not what I had sketched, but I am guessing those designers don't always find what they sketch.

I arrived home, set up shop, and got constructing. The most difficult and time consuming portion of the task was ripping out the seams to maximize the amount of fabric harvested and to save the zipper. I wound up with a whole lot of ramen-esque thread from the seams. This photo captures about a third of the thread. Yikes!

Due to the lack of seam allowance in the original, I had to use the fabric carefully to obtain the construction I had planned. I also decided to go from an asymmetrical look to a more symmetrical Elizabethan inspired look. There were some mistakes, such as accidentally trimming off the seam allowance on one piece. The sad thing is that I was remembering to allot seam allowances prior to this. The second the scissors clipped the last bit of fabric there was much foul language! There was some cursing, some talking to myself, and some general weirdness throughout, though I still don't have a catch phrase. I didn't take any video, which I need to change next time! About halfway through, I watched the workroom portion to feel as though I were on the show, carefully stopping before the runway.

It was dark when I finished, so I had to wait to photograph my creation. Like some of the designers, I did wind up with a couple of pins in my dress due to last-minute fitting issues. I was sad about that, but given this was my first challenge and given the limited amount of time I have to shake that off.

The Result:




The moment my garment was finished, I watched the runway. I think/hope I would have fallen to the middle of the pack. I loved Selma Blair as a guest judge!

My Thoughts:
I learned a whole hell of a lot! My garment will need some tweaks to wear out. I need to adjust a couple of seams to lay better. Also, this fabric has a great desire to roll up. I think I need to stabilize the hems somehow to get them to stay put. (you can see this in the photo of the rear of the garment.) I definitely need to do some video, and some photos of the progress, so stay tuned for that! De and re-constructing a garment completely is a lot of work. Tulle is not my favorite thing to work with. Ironic since I love tu-tus!! I would also love a little of Tim Gunn's guidance. Hmmm...any way to make that work?

So there you have it, challenge number one. What do you think? Did I make it work?