Insprired by Nature

Nga mihi o te tau hau! Happy new year! So I have been on a tiki tour around Northland with my lovely whanau, catching up with aunties and cousins and soaking up our great outdoors. I have been collecting inspiration from Papatuanuku (Mother Earth) for my Oversew Fashion Awards project.
Unfortunately I have managed to put my back out again so I am hoping I can still get an outfit done. Ongoing issues with it which is very frustrating!

So here is some of my inspiration. Green features very strongly so once I am back, I think I will do some opshopping and see what greenery I can come up with 🌿

Have some sketches done too which I will share soon. Isn't Aotearoa Tino ataahua!

2018 Oversew Fashion Awards

I think it is about time I had another go at the Oversew Fashion Awards. So I have decided to track my progress here. With a June 2018 deadline, I am hoping that I can pace myself and not be too rushed :) I have started a Pinterest Board and done some rough sketches, so hopefully inspiration will flow...

Next year is shaping up to be a bit less hectic than this one - I am no longer running a Diploma course for youth workers, which entailed travelling to Wellington a few times a term. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, but am keen to focus more on upcycling, sustainability and my local community (moved from New Brighton nearly 2 years ago). I am involved with our local Opportunity Shop - Revival Clothing. We have run upcycling workshops in the local school and the commumnity, had 2 recycled fashion shows, hosted a local wedding gown display complete with high tea, had stalls at the local Pumpkin Fest, and supported the school production with upcycled costumes - as well as lots of other stuff. Money raised goes back to the community. We are also running a food/care parcel system for locals in need, and have started up a sewing circle in Birdlings Flat, just down the road.

So all of that is keeping me pretty busy. I have decided to give Youth Work a little bit of a break next year - which will feel a little odd. But I think it is for the best. So it should be an interesting year. Will keep updating my (hopeful) progress on an upcycled outfit for Oversew...

Oh and we inherited a border collie cross from friends. Pip is lovely, and she has settled into life in the country well. She was rehomed off a farm after an accident with a bull. Love having her by my side :)

Oversew Fashion Awards Show 2015

The long and the short of it is that i had my entry accepted - only 50 were accepted out of 120 submitted...so even though my design didn't quite meet the brief (in that it looked more like leather and tartan as opposed to leather and lace!) it made it down the runway. I was lucky enough thanks to the lovely Denise from NZ Eco fashion week to be given a ride to Carterton to watch the event. So much fun!!!! Met some awesome people too. One day i would love to put a mini collection into the NZ Eco Fashion Week. Also had a chance to mull over my dream to run a community wardrobe - like a creative space for people to learn and sell stuff and rent clothes for good occasions etc...

So anyway here is my favourite photo from the show - my model linda, a local accounts manager is very funky and rocked my outfit - she was the perfect choice!

A great experience! Next years theme is Fire and Ice...

BTW...

My outfit for oversew got accepted! Yay!!! So it will be in the show on 23rd May. Here is a wee preview: Happy with my work - I think next time i will try and work within the design brief, instead of designing something for me and making it fit into the brief. Feel confident enough to do this next year!

Oversew update

Its almost finished! Can't quite believe i actually got to this point - only about 5hrs ish of construction to go, then off in the post and fingers crossed... Here is a peak at the jacket thus far

I have added the final details to the trousers (buckle closure above the zip and leather detail on the pocket to tie it into the vest) - as well as taking the leg in, as i figure the grungey look needs to be reasonably slim fitting. Happy with them, however i think the knee pads are slightly too high? Not sure where exactly they are supposed to be, but when i wear them, they are slightly above my knee. Hoping the outfit reflects leather and lace - the tartan is pretty bold, so not sure if i have reflected the theme as well as i could have. Great learning process though! And actually really enjoyed working with leather, so i am keen to have another go at this sometime this year. :)

oversew update - tartan trews

After 3 late nights the tartan trews (trousers) have taken shape. All that's needed now is hemming - however i am laid up after a wee bit of surgery to remove a dodgy mole on my arm. As i one handed type this, i am hoping that said arm is all better shortly, as i have also got the fifties frock for the Timaru fashion show to finish and post by next tues. Fingers crossed! :) Anyhow - the trousers had to take a creative turn when i realised i didnt have enough length in the skirt to cut the pattern. So they have morphed - padded knees and a join in the back, to make it look like they are meant to be like that - I reckon it adds to the grunge/biker look i am going for though. Nothing like a little upcycling to practice a bit of design innovation. I have used the original skirt yoke for the trouser yoke, and added an inseam pocket for cards and cellphones to fit into. There is an chunky exposed side zipper to add to the grunge look. Really happy with how they turned out! As to the leather vest, the lace has finally arrived, so i have managed to get a bit further along with it. Still a way to go, and certainly pretty tricky! Will update once i am back sewing.

Oversew Fashion Awards entry - progress

I have come to a halt with the leather vest, as i am waiting for some black venise lace to arrive from ebay. This is what it looks like at present: I have placed darts in the bust area to get rid of the gape, and resewn the front to get rid of the stud closures. I am playing around with the old collar, and still trying to work out how to incorporate lace into the design, other than as the sleeves. It looks a bit baggy as i can't pin it properly being leather! So anyway today i tackled the spats - or gators or whatever they are called. After going over my pinterest boards, i finally came up with a method - very simply - wrap fabric around my leg and draw a line down the centre back and centre front, then cut and sew and adjust until a nice shape eventually appears. It seems to be working so far. So tonight i cut out the sample spats pattern in some tartan i have had forever. I am sewing a centre front leg seam and they will lace up with eyelets along the centre back leg seam. I am thinking i will make them from the leather jacket sleeves, and add lace here and there to go with the theme for the show. So here are some pictures of the pattern i came up with, and the cut pieces ready to stitch. And here is one sample spat all done with a touch of lace. Fits quite well, Yay! Oh, and i have finished the celtic cross patch for the back of the vest. My next big challenge will be to come up with a pants design which works for the tartan fabric from the skirt...So thats all for now - and with 11 weeks to finish it i think i am on target!