sew is your face!

wow, the last three weeks have been insane for me!  i worked sew hard to prepare for the Divisadero Art Walk that i didn’t really have time to think of anything else.  the Art Walk was a huge success.  i had such a great night and i owe it all to my boyfriend for helping me set up, the wonderful strangers who expressed their interest in my work, and my wonderful friends who showed up, bought stuff,  and hung around all night.  i am truly blessed.

during my mad dash to complete everything, i managed to knock out a couple of vests made from neckties.  everyone seems to be excited about them and i have two stores waiting for me to create more to leave with them.  they’ve been labeled “perfect for burningman”.  i’m really excited about them to, i think they look awesome and i would wear them on and off the playa!

the first vest i made is a women’s size small (or size 4).  i had a momentary lapse of reason when i decided to patchwork all the pieces together to make the yardage before cutting out the pieces.  i say this because i used a different stitch for every piece and it took me 12 hours to complete the vest from start to finish!  i plowed through five bobbins which really translates to ten bobbins worth of thread (top and bottom thread).  i don’t know how much thread that really equates to but i’ve never used sew much on one garment before.  which is funny because the garment is relatively small.  it definitely looks incredible and now i know what my machine is capable of, that’s for sure.  i know, i’m a nut.  i don’t think i’ll use that method again in the future because it’s way too labor intensive.  too bad it doesn’t fit me (i’m an extra small) cuz if it did, i’d wear it to death…if you happen to be a size 4 or size small, you can purchase the vest here.

after spending sew much time on that garment, i decided that there’s got to be an easier way to construct them, but have it look just as amazing.  the second vest i made is a men’s size medium.  i used a total of 16 ties and the pieces i chose were much bigger this time.  i also decided to use only two stitches: a feather stitch to quilt the ties together and a fun, criss cross in the shape of a boxy X to go around all of the edges.  well, three if you count the serged seams during construction.  it turned out fantastic!  i couldn’t be more pleased with how it looks.  i lost track of time but i’m guessing that this garment took somewhere between three and five hours to construct from start to finish.  that is waaaaaaay better than 12 hours!  i think i can now streamline the process and get it done in three hours tops.  this one’s not for sale yet, i’m using it as a show piece to sell the stores on my idea.  but, i will be working on a men’s size large next, and they will be available for sale shortly thereafter sew stay tuned!