Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Sewing bee - Round 1 - pencil skirt & music - Lekala 4255 in stripes

So the craziness of the PR sewing bee started once again. I really contemplated staying out of it specially after seeing the 1st challenge -  a pencil skirt that is really not my thing or what I should be sewing right now. But once you had a taste of it can you really pass it ?!? What I loved about this contest was the push you got out of the your comfort zone. The need to explore new ways. And the fact that I had no plan on sewing anything like the 1st challenge was the 1st indication that I should do it. And as if the pencil skirt was not enough they had to request a musical or musician inspiration for it. Now that was really hard. Because for me music is all about feelings and emotions . How to render all that in seams...
     I all started this time with a song. the 1st song i could think of the moment I read the rules was Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat - Lucky :
  It is a lovely song that both me and my husband love. We are far from the perfect couple with the perfect clicking in every way ... but we love each other and we are each other's best friend. And now the hard part... How could I put all this in a "pencil skirt"?!?
     I browsed my fabrics and my patterns... I looked at random skirts on the internet... I sketched skirts with my 5 years old ... waiting for something to click...
The 1st think I decided is that nothing can tell a story better then a stripes printed fabric. I wanted to go for dualism by using a coordinated polka dots fabric but I could not  find anything suitable. So I choose a black and white irregular stripes fabric for my skirt and polka dots for lining.
Lekala 4255
Then I picked my starting pattern in Lekala 4255.  It had interesting lines and twists that I felt i could work with and they generally give a decent fit and my waist/hip ratio is not standard so any standard pattern might have required to much work.
After having a general plan I did a very very quick muslin to get a feeling of the pattern and help decide how to tell my story on that white canvas  skirt ...
 It was a really good thing I did that. It was way to long for me and there is no way I could have fixed that after sewing it without ruing all the fun in the back. There were some pull lines and fabric excess that needed to be addressed. And on top of everything else I still hadn't told my story yet....
   But the morning I finally had some time to actually work on it not just imagine it all things finally got together and clicked. I would eliminate the side seams. Side seams are for me a symbol of separation between different entities. I wanted those lines burred and I wanted the front and back to go together in their own way. To have their own story. And more then anything I wanted harmony. And because this was a love story after all I thought I could create a heart shape over my bottom from two different pieces coming together the right way.
   And now the result:
Lekala 4255
Lekala 4255
Lekala 4255
Lekala 4255

   Did I got it? Did I manage to render my feelings and my song? Or it was just me going crazy ... This is the bee after all. Crazy is part of the game.

10 comments:

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  2. I like it. The skirt came out cute. I'm impressed you were able to eliminate the side seams like that. I prefer the blouse with the flounce at the neckline. It's plain in the back to let the skirt tell its story, but the flounces match giving the front a bit more interest. I think this combo suits your body shape better too. Really nice. (deleted my first comment to fix it since I didn't see an edit button.)

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  3. How lovely skirt! It looks stunning on you. I love the lining too, it's unique and cute:)

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    1. Thank you Eli! It turned out better then I expected! I am happy you like it!

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  4. I really love this. I left a comment at PR, but I love your entry so much that I will leave another one here :). You have made such a gorgeous skirt. I thought that the whole music interpretation didn't gel with my way of thinking about sewing, so the round 1 rules did not appeal to me, but you have made the inspiration work to really create something unique. I love your final result. Very effective use of that print.

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    1. Thank you so much! I was wandering why you were missing this morning! I was expecting an entry from you! To be honest the whole music thing left me blank at first! I did not want to pick a song that meant nothing to me just to get a graphic image and I don't follow how musicians dress! I was afraid my symbolism would be too vague but it turned out better then I anticipated. I am glad I took a chance on it ( and now I just got Abba on my head)!

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  5. What a cool skirt. I love your story in this and your vision is definitely in it. The way the stripes move around the skirt and then fall in the back is so eyecatching! Jason Mraz has just a lovely voice! His cover of Rainbow Connection is my absolute favorite. I thought about the Bee but I really want to try for the Costume contest this year and the overlap would be too much especially since I'm going to attempt a full on suit for my husband.

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    1. Thank you so much Elizabeth! You would have been a great addition to the bee but I am sure your costume will be spectacular! I will keep an eye for it! The timing will be difficult for me but I hope I will manage to do it for as long as they would have me! It sure is a fun challenge!

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