Minus Sun

22 07 2012

the Suicidal Girl’s blouse final ver.

So finally, I have finished the full look for the Suicidal Girl for this collection “minus the sun, night all day”. I hope you can see now that the concept of a single star in the night sky is represented by the lemon yellow top section of the blouse. French knots embroidered with silk yarn are the twinkle of the star which she will become in the end. I always like to design something quiet and romantic for her.

close up of the peter pan collar and the embroidered section

Covered buttons made with matching fabric blend in well.
The cuffs and hem are also embroidered with French knots.

16 07 2012

the Suicidal Girl’s blouse calico ver.

This is the calico version of the blouse which goes with the bubble skirt in the last blog post. I am currently embellishing the final version which is taking some time. This blouse has a peter pan collar, raglan sleeves, change of fabric in a circular shape, gathered cuffs with binding, loop and covered button closure, and dots drawn with fabric pen. Buttons are in navy and the dots are sky blue.
In the final version, the top section is in lemon yellow and the bottom section is in navy. It is suppose to represent a star in the night sky. The dots are done by French knots representing the twinkle of the star. Hopefully, I will be able to show you soon.

08 07 2012

the Suicidal Girl’s skirt

This is the skirt for the Suicidal Girl for “minus the sun, night all day” collection. I am making the blouse to go with this so it will make more sense when worn together but here it is, my first bubble skirt. I have been wanting to make one for a while. The concept is a single star in darkness and the black skirt represents the darkness. (The star bit will be represented in the blouse.) The phrase that came in my mind is “a star in the end.” I like the volume of it and the way the hem goes inside, making me think of a black hole. I have done some smocking near the waistline in navy just to emphasise the volume and the colour of the night sky. Made with black cotton sateen fabric, gold polyester lining, and black acetate grosgrain ribbon for the waist.

front side

back side with a blouse on top

grosgrain ribbon at the left side waist

smocking in navy

lining in contrasting gold (let’s give it some hope)

12 06 2012

the Cultured Girl’s dress

Hello, here is my latest piece from “minus the sun, night all day” collection. It is a simple dress with breast darts and no shaping at the waist. Made with navy cotton drill, baby blue and orange cotton fabric with crocheted black silk yarn at the hem with gold beads. The concept for this dress is a double star. A double star is a star consisting of two stars which are close (it looks like a single star from far away) and linked by gravity making then orbit around the same centre. I have used a famous double star called Albireo as the motif of the pockets. It is famous because of the colour contrast of the two stars, orange and blue. It is very interesting to learn about stars… It will be nice to have an astronomy geek as a boy/girlfriend.

Close up of the neckline
There are two cut out circles, one each for front and back. They are linked with a hand stitched dashed line in grey. I tried to represent how two stars are related to each other in a double star.

Close up of the neckline showing the hand stitched facing in blanket stitch

The two flap pockets representing the stars of Albireo, the orange one is bigger than the blue one. They are hand embroidered with the star inspired pattern in the same colour thread as the fabric. When you lift the flaps the inside is embroidered as well and the shapes of the pockets become complete circles.

Close up of the hem with silk crocheted trimmings in black with gold beads. I like the contrast of gold against the dark fabric making it remind me of the night sky.

13 05 2012

commissioned Smart Girl’s blouses

Here are the two blouses I’ve made for the same customer. They are made-to-order versions of the Smart Girl’s blouse in calico and in the final design.

This one is almost the same as the calico version but with added elbow patches and in a slightly stiffer calico. The stitch lines are drawn using a fabric pen, no actual embroidery.

This design has cotton crocheted collars and a breast pocket in the shape of the Great Square of Pegasus with dots representing stars and dashed lines joining them. Handmade square resin buttons go with the square theme.

This part is the different from my original. Added elbow patches with lines representing graduation for direction. This design is coming from the Controlling Girl’s shirt dress.

This is the other blouse made in middle weight grey cotton.

The cotton crocheted collar is the same but the buttons are round and smaller.

There are no running stitch on the pocket or at the hem but stars are hand embroidered with sequins and French knots. There is a embroidered girl peeking from the pocket.

close up of the girl

12 04 2012

the Smart Girl’s blouse

This is the final version of the Smart Girl’s blouse for my “minus the sun, night all day” collection. The calico version is here. I have made the hem and sleeves slightly longer and the cuffs narrower to make it look “smarter”.
I have used a textured stripe cotton fabric in pale blue for the main part and plain pale blue fabric for the breast pocket and cuffs.

The special buttons made for this blouse. Sequins and beads in pale blue are inside the resin. The number of gold sequins inside each button matches the position of each. For example, the second button from the top on the blouse will have two gold sequins. The Smart Girl likes to count, you see. The square shape is perfect to go with the breast pocket’s story mentioned below.

I wore it with my pleated skirt of my high school uniform here but I am planning to make my own pleated skirt to go with the blouse soon.

a close up of the cotton crocheted collar
The ladder lace section matches the running stitch on the breast pocket and the hem.

a close up of the back showing the collar and the inverted pleat below the yoke

The breast pocket is in the shape of the Great Square of Pegasus. There is a sequin and French knots around it at each corner representing the stars. Like the actual stars that makes the square, three of the stars shine in white/blue and one shines in red. Running stitch joins the stars to create the imaginary lines in the night sky. You can see the hand stitched buttonholes in this image as well.

The cuff’s fabric matches the breast pocket.

Hard to notice, but there is a sequin and French knots representing a star at the hem of the left front bodice (opposite to the breast pocket side). The hem is hand finished with running stitch representing the movement of this star.

06 04 2012

the Controlling Girl’s shirt dress

This is the final version of the Controlling Girl’s shirt dress of “minus the sun, night all day” collection. It is made of navy cotton drill. Threads used for embroidery and stitching are yellow and light grey. I would like to wear it as a dress but it can be worn like a jacket as it is quite tough and oversized. It has a different feel from the light calico version which looks like loungewear.

First of all, have a look at the special buttons I’ve made just for this shirt.
There are 6 buttons for the shirt opening and 2 buttons for the cuffs.
Embroidery, beads, and sequins are applied to calico and then cut out in circles.
Each represents a different planet.
from the left, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn
top two are Uranus and Neptune from the left

the finished buttons, the above pieces trapped inside resin

And here they are on the finished shirt dress

I really like how the hem curves at the sides.

breast pocket with embroidery showing the waxing of the moon

flap pocket with star motif embroidery
This pattern is used for the collar and cuffs as well.

layered pocket

the hem finished with blanket stitch

circular elbow patch with stitching representing graduation for direction

the cuffs with green Uranus and blue Neptune buttons
You can see the hand stitched button hole as well.

24 03 2012

the Smart Girl’s blouse calico ver.

This is the Smart Girl’s blouse in calico for my new collection. The hand stitch details are again, drawn in with a fabric pen and the handmade resin buttons are all with red sequins and sparkles inside.

crocheted collar with a ladder to match the running stitch on the pocket and the hem

breast pocket in the shape of the Great Square of Pegasus with stars at the corners and dashed lines to join them, which will be embroidered in the final garment
square buttons are used to go with this square pocket

the hem to be hand stitched in running stitch representing the movement of a star, a star will be embroidered of course (travelling around the hem!)

20 03 2012

the Controlling Girl’s shirt dress calico ver.

This is the calico version of the Controlling Girl’s shirt dress of my new collection. The embroidery details for the final version are drawn in with fabric pens instead. Colours are kept to black and red only for the calico version. Therefore the handmade resin buttons used for this one are all red. In the final one, buttons will be representing planets in different colours.