Mashru Silk Evening Gown for Gene

 

Working in two to four hour increments, I got one thing done this week.  The gown is constructed of a beautiful mashru silk from India that is embroidered in silver.  It is also sequined although they're hard to see in the photos.  The bodice is detailed with a drape of silk tissue taffeta that gathers into a strap attached to the back.  It was then adorned with a big bow.  The gown in fully lined in grey silk/cotton and closes with snaps in the back.  Since the fabric is a little bit heavy, I constructed a petticoat of organza with a wide tulle ruffle at the bottom to fill the skirt out.  The petticoat closes with thin Velcro to reduce bulk near the waist.  

This dress and petticoat are available for $155.00 plus $6.00 shipping in the US.  Email me at nwickman@chartermi.net if interested.  

Green Mashru Silk and Cheetah for Gene or Poppy

 

SOLD  Thank you!  I confess I haven't felt much like sewing of late.  A chronic illness has had me feeling pretty wretched. I'm seeing a surgeon next week so looking forward to better days.  But I had a couple of days when I felt halfway decent so did I use the time to catch up on housework or laundry?  Heck, no.  I did this instead.  The fabric is called mashru silk and it's made of silk and cotton yarns.  The weight of the fabric made it necessary to make a pencil skirt but I really like this new dress pattern I came up with.  The coat has a shawl collar and cuffs of animal print minky.  There is a little rhinestone brooch attached to the coat collar.  Love the color combination of jade green with cheetah print.  The dress is fully lined in light green silk habotai.  The coat is fully lined in a matching rayon batiste.  This also fits Poppy Parker or Tulabelle dolls.  

Coat and dress are available for $145.00 plus $6.00 shipping in the US.  Email me at nwickman@chartermi.net.  

OOAK Iridescent Silk Ballgown for Gene

 

SOLD  Thanks!  This is what I've spent the previous four days working on but this beautiful fabric deserved something labor intensive.   This hand embroidered iridescent silk organza is from Farmhouse Fabrics.  I had this fabric on my wishlist for some time but held off because it was expensive.  Eventually in a weak moment I couldn't resist it anymore.  One thing I love about Farmhouse Fabrics is they let you buy quantities of less than a yard which makes it easier for me to acquire these fine fabrics.   After hand basting the bodice pieces to petal pink silk charmeuse,  many tweaks to the bodice were made to get a perfect fit, and get the band right.   The underskirt and bow are the pink silk satin, and a pink tulle petticoat underneath gives it fullness.  The belt with bow is attached to the back opening and closes in the front with a snap.  The gown is lined in nude silk/cotton and closes with snaps in the back.  This will be a one of a kind gown as I don't have enough fabric (or desire) to make another.  

Gown is available for $250 including shipping to the US.  Email me at nwickman@chartermi.net. 

 

Blue Polka Dot Silk Blend Dress for Gene

 

SOLD  Thanks!  After last week's fail, I made a muslin of this pattern before cutting the actual dress out of this gorgeous silk/cotton blend sky blue polka dot fabric from Farmhouse Fabrics.  I was thrilled that it only needed one teeny tiny adjustment to get a perfect fit.  This  was inspired by a vintage design and you can scroll to the end to see the pic.  The dress is fully lined in white silk/cotton and closes with snaps in the back.  The belt is white faux leather with a buckle that I painted to match with enamel.  The little bandeau hat is white cotton with blue silk ribbon.  

Outfit is available for $110 plus $6 shipping to US.  Email me at nwickman@chartermi.net.  

Yellow Silk Brocade Cocktail for Gene

 

Sold.  Thanks!

I'm not even sure which Gene this is as I bought her nude because I really liked her hair.  So I dressed her in fine silks for cocktails.  The sheath dress is yellow silk charmeuse with a self belt with a sparkly rhinestone buckle.  The coat is a reproduction of a vintage design of gorgeous silk brocade fabric from Frenchfashions.net and also features rhinestone buttons.  The coat does close with a hook and thread loop if desired.  The dress has a snap back closure.  All are fully lined in silk/cotton.  I made a little turquoise lambskin envelope clutch with a rhinestone embellishment just to give it a pop of color.  The outfit also fits Poppy Parker and Tulabelle dolls.  I just acquired my first Tulabelle so she was able to model for me.  The set is available for $140.00 plus $6.00 shipping in the US.  Email nwickman@chartermi.net.  

 

Blue Checked Dress and Bolero

 

Here's one I forgot to post.  I originally made the little bolero to go with the Norell dress but it didn't need it.  So I made a simple sheath dress out of the same checked cotton lawn material, added a matching bow to the bolero, and created a little hat of the same fabric.  The sheath and bolero are fully lined in silk/cotton.  The bolero closes with a hook and thread loop, and the dress with snaps in the back.  The hat is wired inside to shape to the head.  The sheath, bolero and hat are available for $85.00 plus $6.00 shipping to the US.  

One for the scrap heap

 

I haven't felt much like sewing lately.  I do have a chronic auto-immune disease that has me feeling pretty much out of gas lately and there is probably a surgery in my future that will help a lot.  But I have been messing around drafting new patterns, probably a dozen at least.  So I had a burst of energy yesterday and decided to try one.  This just shows that things that work on paper don't always work in real life.  It should have worked but the dart points are too high, the waist is too short, and it won't close in the back.  This after spending several hours and setting in four sleeves.  Oh, well.  Thank goodness I didn't cut out a skirt.   The question now is do I like it enough to want to do it again.  I still like the idea but I don't think it works with this cotton fabric.  It's a tad too heavy for the gathers.  There is a perfect fabric for it though--the peace silk sold by annegeorges.com