Oh what a tangled web…

Last night I started weaving one of the styles with all the strips of twill tape Yaksitis cut for me last week (thank you, patient intern!).  I don’t have a weaving loom – there’s a good idea for a Christmas present if anyone in my family is reading this – so I’m doing it all by hand and scotch tape on my coffee table.  I didn’t think it would take me as long as it did to get started.  It took me about 2 hours to do what you see in the pic above.  I’m hoping I’ll make more progress tonight once I’ve gotten the hang of it.

I’m finally cutting!

It’s time to bite the bullet and cut some of the fabrics to make the actual styles I’ve been working on.  Until now I’ve been testing out the shapes in substitute fabrics as some of the actual fabrics I have for the show are expensive and I have very limited yardage in my studio.

But it’s time to stop procrastinating and start cutting.  So that’s what I’m doing.  And I’m starting with style 001.  Easy, all I have to do is cut one square.  This one, like most, measures 32″ x 32″ and it’s going to be made into a shrug-convertible-to-a-crop-top.  I’m waiting for the organic cotton snap tape I ordered to arrive so I can put together the collar, but in the meantime I can finish the sides, hem and armholes.  I can also attempt to dye it tonight using tumeric or saffron to get a bright yellow clr.  More on that tomorrow!

Also, a big thank you to all the generous support I’ve been receiving for the fundraiser from Candace, Jen, Preston, Jillian, Miramito, Tanya, Judy & Kristen, Thom, Sasso, Fred, Merry and Nobu!

5 in 1

I’m working from home this weekend, but thought I’d take the chance to tell you about 5 in 1, a retail co-op I’m part of in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  I was working there on Friday, and realized I hadn’t mentioned it here as part of my design process, despite the fact that it has become an integral part of my work schedule.

Open only Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, 5 in 1 is run by eight local designers (and friends), including Helena Fredriksson of H.Fredriksson, Caroline Priebe of ULURU, Mary Meyer of Mary Meyer Clothing, Susan Domelsmith of Dirty Librarian Chains, and, of course, yours truly. Each of the designers has to man the shop one full weekend every six to eight weeks, although we get to decide what “work” actually involves, whether it’s one-on-one tête-à-têtes with clients, trunk shows, sample sales, or something more experimental.

The 5 in 1 retail space gives designers an opportunity to work together, share resources, experiment and give the customer a personal and curated shopping experience. A 5 in 1 customer is able to engage in conversation with the designer about their process, materials, fit, concept, and cost. These sort of exchanges are not only good for the business but nourish them as artists personally, creatively, and emotionally.

The next time you’re in Brooklyn on a weekend, take a few minutes to check out the store and talk to the designer working that day, I promise it will be worth it.

Discharge dyeing

I found this discharge dye technique online a while back and have been wanting to try it. I tested it on a some scrap fabric and an old t-shirt I had at home and it worked pretty well, so I decided to add it to the collection. I didn’t expect to end up spraying twill tape in my shower at 11:30 pm, but that’s the glamorous life of a fashion designer, I guess.

After the black colour is removed from the warp tape, I’m going to weave solid black tape into as a weft and we’ll see how it looks. Fingers crossed this isn’t a complete disaster as I only have enough discarded twill tape to make one skirt, for now!

Weaving and dyeing… part deux

Last night I spent most of my time spraying the twill tape strips for the hand woven style with a dilute bleach solution.  It takes a while to set so I had to go back several times throughout the evening to repeat the spraying process.  I’m waiting for it to turn a natural off-white clr and am thinking of dip-dyeing the bottom portion of the strands with a contrast clr.  I’m looking for low impact natural dyes.  If I can’t find any, I may just go buy some beets.

What you see in the pics is the tape strands hanging (from my towel rack in my shower) in their original black state, then slowly turning a yellowish clr with the bleach solution.  Eventually it will turn a nice white.

It’s time to make accessories…

I had another look at the fabrics for the collection today, and while I love them all, the line is mostly composed with white, grey or black…which doesn’t make for a very exciting show.  I decided to add some colourful accessories to brighten up the collection.

My first attempt is a tranformable piece that can be worn as a necklace or a a harness, depending on your mood.  The one shown above is in a navy blue satin cord, but it’s only a prototype and I’ll likely be making them more elaborate and definitely brighter for the show.  I’m thinking of using primary clrs as used in Russian Constructivists’ work mentioned in an earlier post.

It’s an interesting piece on the mannequin, but will be much better over the clothing!