     
You see this pinafore that I'm wearing? Well... it might just be a prototype for something I might be selling in the future. Maybe. (You heard it here first.) Now that I have a proper dress-making mannequin, industrial-sized bolts of fabric and am confident enough with my sewing skills that I've started making pieces for other people, I am seriously considering taking the next logical step and creating a little line of clothing. (^_^;)
This idea is all very much still in the baby-stages of planning, but I'd like to know what you all think! I've been working on a number of designs over the past couple of months, and, well, I am awful at keeping secrets. I have been bursting to let you guys know. So, this is a little hint of what will (hopefully!) be a thing in the not-too-distant future!
Blouse - Vintage | Skirt - made by me | blazer - thrifted | hair clip - c/o Sarsparilly | shoes - Naot
But I also wanted to reach out and get your opinions before blindly embarking on something like this. Please give me your honest opinions about this particular piece - what do you like, what don't you like, what could be done better? (This is just the prototype, and obviously I will be doing things like the hemming a little bit more neatly!)
All the love in the world,
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Tuesday, 30 September 2014
DIY Tartan Heart Pinafore & An Announcement
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Please make your lovely clothes for us <3 I definitely will try to save money to buy
ReplyDeleteI love this idea!!
ReplyDeleteAs per your request here's my honest opinion :)
- the heart should be centred on the pinafore top (not that near the dress hem)
- maybe in a gingham fabric?
- nothing else, it's really flawlessly cute otherwise
:) Please keep sewing, you're the reason why I began to do it as well!!
I love the idea of you making clothes!
ReplyDeleteThe dress on you is gorgeous, but in my opinion it would look even better if it was a bit longer. Everything else (hamming, fabric placement, heart cutout) is very good!
I love this! And the quality looks fabulous.
ReplyDeleteMy suggestions:
- Move the heart up more so that it's not touching the line of the skirt.
- Make the skirt longer (I would love to wear this, but I feel so self-conscious in short skirts)
It's super cute and something I would definitely wear!
ReplyDeleteSounds like an awesome idea! If you start with made-to-measure clothing first (like clothing commissions), you could gauge what sort of things your audience is looking for and make a clothing line from there, perhaps? I.E. Have swatches of fabric on display, let people pick what fabric they like and the sort of pre-selected design they want to make from that fabric (and how long they want the skirt to be, haha). If you need help building an ecommerce site for it too, I wouldn't mind giving you a hand!
ReplyDeleteAs for suggestions..
- I, too, would move the heart up away from the waist.. I have a really cute dress with a flirty heart cutout right where the breasts are (of course it's a higher neckline though) and think it looks pretty cute when you're able to layer the top with a singlet and have a bit of cleavage poking through.
- I would actually make a decent, inch-thick waistband for it.. flippy skirts without waistbands always sort of screamed "I made this at home" to me, and just having somewhere flat and fitted to anchor a belt against (should one ever choose to wear it with a belt) would be nice. Waistbands also just look neater and make your natural waist stand out more.
Here is a very badly photo shopped example I made: Link Oh man my skills leave something to be desired.
You are so much braver than I am, Annika, I still don't get how to add zips to a skirt properly, I wouldn't be able to cope with having to make clothes for other people, haha. And wow I've written an essay. Sorry!
Demi | carbonchic.com.au
Hahahaha, how did you do that?!?! You're a photoshop genius! Thank you so so super much for all your suggestions though, very very helpful :D
DeleteLove the dress, so cute! I think the other comments so far have given great suggestions. This might be just a matter of personal taste, but if I wore this dress I'd want the heart to be "fatter" and the top and shoulder straps slightly wider.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome Annika! I think the comments above make good suggestions and I just have one more to add: overlock all your inner seams. It makes your clothes hold up so much better plus I think it looks super professional ^___^
ReplyDeleteYusss I'm planning on asking Santa for an overlocker for christmas ;)
DeleteI really love it! I like how the heart isn't in the middle of the top thingy, it makes it look a bit more playful :) I personally wouldn't wear it, because circle skirts make me look awful (I've got a really weird body shape), but I love love love how it looks on you!
ReplyDeleteYou having your own line sounds awesome! I love your style and the clothes that you make :) Your tutorials have been a great help to me while I've been learning to sew and your style continues to be a source of inspiraton now that I (sort of) know how to sew ^_^
ReplyDeleteI agree with some of the above suggestions, though: the heart could be a bit more centered and the skirt part could be longer (because if I were to wear that dress in all my 180cm glory, it would be a shirt, not a dress :D)
That would be the greatest thing in the world! Your style is incredible and unique and I've been looking for more places to by that kind of style. If you open a store I'm sure you will have many happy customers :)
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh! I love this. I would 100% buy from your clothing line (as often as the broke uni budget allows! Haha) and especially because I know all the things would be made locally & ethically!!
ReplyDeleteXo!
aaah your line would be so cool! I'm afraid shipping to the Netherlands would cost a fortune but if it didn't I would definitely buy from you!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I'm digging the heart cutout. Maybe if it were higher up (closer to your heart!) and shorter (as in, less tall, or just smaller in general) I'd like it better. Also with tartan stuff you have to take care to centre the chequers properly as you have done in this prototype. I also prefer a slightly longer length especially for these floaty circle-skirt type things!
ReplyDeleteBest of luck :3
I always love the DIY things you do. and I love the cutout but for me it would probably work better if there were plastic/a mesh or other material under it only because if it were an actual hole I could see my breaking it/stuff falling in it etc. That's a personal suggestion though I think it is super cuute as it is anyway.
ReplyDeleteYour creations are amazing and totally me so I'd definitely consider buying... tho as Angie said, shipping may be expensive as I'm in the UK :( <3
The Quirky Queer
Thank you so much for the suggestion!! I hadn't even thought about that ;) but I could maybe do some with, some without..? :D
DeleteThat is so exciting!! Congrats!
ReplyDeleteMiranda
Little Gold Pocket Watch
oh goodness this is very exciting!
ReplyDeletethe pinafore is so cute, the only suggestion i have is to make the heart a little wider? if that makes any sense?
i can't wait to buy something from you!!
I think it would be fabulous if you made a clothing line!
ReplyDeleteThis is soooo super cute! I can never find anything like this at a clothing store so it would be AMAZING if you sold your own clothing~ I.M.O. I think a little lace trim on the inside of the heart would look cute! And what if you did a bear one like your bear pinafore? :D like an inverted version! I would totallyyyy wear/buy both if you decide you want to sell them ^__^ Stripey fabric would also be cool as well *_* Do you think i could pull off a DIY like this on a thrifted denim pinafore?
ReplyDeleteThese are some amazing ideas hehe! I might have to steal the inverted bear one - that would be SOO cute! :D
DeleteI totally think you could do this with a denim pinafore, though. WITH LACE TRIM. Yes. DO IT. :O it will look amazing!
Go for it and good luck!!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI actually really love the placement of the heart, I think it really gives the overall pinafore a unique look! I love everything you have been doing and am astounded that you have managed to learn so much and so fast! You are amazing! :D
ReplyDeleteAs for some suggestions and just kind words,
Just by looking at the photos and judging them based on what I think I see, it looks like you sew the apron front completely together and then sew the suspenders on afterwards and the top stitching shows. You could always sew the suspenders in when you sew the two aprons fronts together so when you flip them, they are enclosed inside and no top stitching need be done! I realize that was probably confusing, as I as TERRIBLE at explaining things so I made this, LINK to hopefully try to further explain what I meant. HOPEFULLY IT DOESN'T FURTHER CONFUSE YOU! :D also maybe you intentionally sewed yours that way, I am not trying to tell you what to do, only trying to help by showing what I would do!
Also I agree with the above comment about the overlock machine! They are truly amazing and definitely make all your garments look clean and professional! I hope you do get one from Santa! HEHE :D
Circle skirts are a troublesome thing to hem, even more advanced sewers in my sewing classes lament about the trouble of properly and neatly hemming a perfect circle! So I agree that getting the hem just right will also help boost the quality of your future projects! I hope things go well for you! You are such an inspiration to everyone who reads your blog it seems and your DIYS are really helping a ton of different people! I am majoring in Costume Design but take a lot of fashion and sewing courses and you know so much already and you are self taught! I am amazed at what you can do! :D Keep up the amazing work Annika! I love reading your blog :3
SORRY FOR THE LONG COMMENT
Oh my goodness, no, please don't apologise!! That was so SO helpful.
DeleteI did understand what you meant, but thank you all the more for making that image!!! It did really help! You are amazing :D It's definitely little things like that, being self-taught, that take me AGES to realise and start doing, but make all the difference!
Ugh, yes, hemming circle skirts. I feel like I'm getting better at it, but do you have any tips to do it better?? Haha
You are wonderful, thank you so much for the lovely words and all of the help!! ^_^
Awe! Thank you so much! :3 I am just the worst at explaining things, I usually end up confusing people with my words which is why I usually just try to show them instead! I guess it's because I am a visual learner that explaining in only written or spoken words is so difficult for me! :p
DeleteI was self taught for a LONG time before I started taking classes at college! I thought I was pretty okay but classes have definitely helped me! But even sometimes I feel like my teachers don't know everything there is to know and there are always little tips and techniques you pick up from other places along the way. Keep up the great work though! You are doing things in your DIYS I wish I knew how to do before having to pay money for classes! :D I always look forward to your new projects!
And in terms of tips on hemming, I have this one technique that I learned. When I was down in the costume shop one day, our shop manager was showing my friend and I how to hem circles. He told us to sew a line of basting 1/4inch from the edge of the circle. After that we had to turn that stitching up on the wrong side of the fabric and PRESS LIKE CRAZY. Using a ton of steam is really helpful, but it all depends on your fabric type! But we would press, going up and down (not side to side like regular ironing) all the way around. Then we turned the stitch up once more (at about another 1/4 inch) and pressed some more! After you are practically burned from iron steam at this point, we edge stitched the whole thing down! It takes a lot of time but it's really worth it! :D
I hope that helped! :D
It's such a cute dress! I love the fabric and the design. Though the heart does seem a little long.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if anyone's mentioned this, but in one of your tutorials I noticed you hemmed/turned in the cut out around the edge, I can't tell whether you've done the same here because I can only see the outside of the dress but facing (or lining) it would be much easier to get a nice finish on :)
There are a few methods you can use for hemming circle skirts that you might like to check out, such as a faced hem (I swear I'm not obsessed with facings!) or use bias tape or for extra flippy voluminous skirts horsehair braid.
I would also add either a waistband or (guess what?) a facing! understiched to the seam allowance (so there's no visible line on the outside) to the top edge of the skirt, for stability.
I'm sure your store will be a great success as you always design such adorable things!
PS. That blazer is amazing!
Actually, the top is lined here :) So it actually looks pretty good both inside & outside, haha. That's really super helpful, thankyou :) Hahaha I will have to look up how to do a faced hem!! I have no idea how to do that - thanks for suggesting it though! I'm sure I can find something helpful on the internet now I have a name for it :)
Deletex
Pleaseeeee do sell clothes! I love your designs but just wouldn't be able to make them myself so well! I love this pinafore, personally I'd prefer it without the heart but that's just my personal preference and I think keep the heart anyway cos it's different and cute :) you look gorgeous xo
ReplyDeleteI hope you do sell some of your stuff! I've loved all your pieces I've seen so far so I think you should go for it!
ReplyDeletePersonally I think that the pinafore would be a little cuter with a different fabric under the heart, but that's just me. :)
x
this is amazing and looks beautiful with your hair!
ReplyDeleteWell, that is great news and such a great idea!
ReplyDeleteI love this dress and I'm confident in your taste for fashion, so I can't wait to see what you'll come up with!
I wish you the best for this project!
You are an inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI am planning on buying a sewing machine so I
can be able to make clothes like yours.
if you make pinafores for chubby girls i will buy them all omg
ReplyDelete