it is december already!

it has been a while since my last post.

i have done a few garment sewing but couldn't find the time to post them.  will try to do that soon. and there's photos from the trip to seoul too.

just to let you guys know that i am still blogging :)


cheers,
YunY

happy to be back home

the whole family has just come back from seoul.  touched down at 4pm today.  oh, what a great feeling.  it is so good to be back :)

thank you so much darling hubby for this trip :)

will share with you about this trip later.



cheers,
YunY

my thoughts for today

what's the use of having a beautifully made piece of garment if it doesn't fit?

it will stay in the closet forever until you have the heart to throw or give it away.

or if you insist of wearing it, you will not feel or look good in it.

so, what will you do?


",)

YunY

our rabbits

culeypatra on 1june2013.
we took this photo the day before we flew to seoul.
look at the cute little foot.

this post however, has got nothing to do with sewing.

our rabbits...yes... rabbits just gave birth.  one gave birth to 5 little rabbits (all survive so far) at midnite (9may2013) and this morning at 8am....the 2nd rabbit gave birth to 4 little ones (but one of them was a still born).  so now we have 8 little rabbits.  plus the parents.....it is 11 altogether.

i learnt somewhere that introverts love cats while extroverts love dogs.  so which group do i belong as i prefer rabbits?


UPDATE: 1 JUNE 2013

our baby rabbits are now 3 weeks old.  from the total of 8, only 4 survive : (

it is hard not to fall in love with them.  here they are.  cute and cuddly : )

the name is elijabet

the name is culeypatra

elijabet n culeypatra.  almost can't tell them apart.
culeypatra's brown patches are lighter....almost pinkish.

this one could be louie or ha ni pun.
can't tell them apart at this angle.

culeypatra and that could be louie or ha ni pun

elijabet

elijabet

UPDATE: 8 JUNE 2013

we came back from seoul yesterday.  while we were in seoul, our rabbits were left with a friend.  today we went to fetch them and we found that culeypatra has escaped and was no were to be found.  we feel so sad.  hope you are safe baby...wherever you are.

tomorrow they will be a month old.  my hope is that they stay safe, well and healthy.




YunY

alya's sewing project

lisa's favourite cardigan has been stained with fabric softener residue from the washer.  she asked me if i can camouflage the stains with some something nice.  so i asked alya to help me with this project.  she cut out some shapes from her old jeans and arranged them so that they look like petals of flowers.

this would be an interesting project.

cheers,
YunY

lisa at the dinner

i have only three photo of lisa at the dinner party.  unfortunately, none shows the full view of the outfit.  this was the clearest photo of her with the dress.  nonetheless, i like what i see :)

click here for more photos of the dress.

my lisa and the dress i made for her.
she loves it.

i love it too :)

cheers,
YunY

my inspiration for lisa's dinner outfit

the long panel skirt by carolina herera.
lovely isn't it?

this simple clean black top by dkny.
it is just fabulous.
love the simple lines.

cheers,
YunY

a dress and a long skirt for my daughter lisa

recently, i made a dress and a skirt for my daughter lisa.  the outfit was for her graduation dinner party.  i made it from scratch.  it took me about 2 weeks plus.  here is the photo for the outfit....almost ready.

the fabric for the scarf was really nice.
my favourite colour, charcoal grey.
the colour combination makes the outfit looks classy,
if i may say so myself :)

first i have to draft her a new sloper (she told me that she has gained weight).  then i used this new sloper to make a pattern for the dress and the skirt. then i made a muslin for the dress and the skirt.  then i went out to shop for the fabric to make the dress and the skirt and the long scarf.  one has to be in black and the other one has to be in a striking colour.  at that time she was busy with her final exam and i have to pick her up at her college to do the fitting.  i didn't even have time to take any photos of the finished outfit on her.  it was really hectic.  i wish i could work on it continuously without interruption.  but that would be nearly impossible with the kids and the house and the rabbits...ha ha.   the deadline was yesterday, 9 april, her graduation dinner party.  and she happily told me that everyone loved her outfit.  here are the photos of the snapshot of the w.i.ps

the long skirt.

the facing on the waist of the longskirt.
i used cotton so that it is comfortable
the fabric for the skirt is from synthetic fiber, not so comfortable against the skin.

the zipper and the facings of the neck of the dress.

a close up of the outfit

front view of the dress

i love making this outfit.  and i love how it turned out......just like how i want it to be.

cheers,
YunY

my final sloper - tested and it fits :)

as promised.  i am going to share some of the photos that i have taken myself.  i tried to take some photos with the sloper on, but it was hard to get a clear view of the shoulder and the sleeve.  so, i improvised some props.  i used a mini bolster for the close-up photos.  and here they are:-

one of the shoulders.
and the neckline.

frontal side view of one of the sleeves.

front view.
 and there's the mini bolster.

another angle showing the shoulder seam.
and the neckline.
i think i nailed this :))

side view of one of the sleeves.

yet another view if the shoulder seam.
and the neckline.

side view of one of the sleeves.

frontal side view.

the sloper on a hanger.
it hangs pretty well.
and the sleeves hang pretty well too.
i am so pleased.

one of the sleeves.
love the way it hangs :)

the other sleeve.

that's my arm holding the camera to take this photo.
yep...no strain across the arm.  no more pinching-my-arm-sleeves...yeay!!

that's my arm at rest.
the sleeve head looks pretty good.
and no shoulder pads used.

some of my references for forward thrust shoulder adjustment are,
here
and
here
and
here
and here too.

and that's the end of one chapter.  and there was another daunting issue of a perfect set-in sleeve.... how to stitch it onto the armhole of the bodice.  that's another pain that i had to go through for the past one month.  but i nailed that one too.

oh what a feeling :)
YunY

why am i so obsessed with the perfect sleeve

i have been tweaking my own dress sloper and a month has passed by (it was not easy....with the kids and the house and the rabbits).  it was like trying to solve a huge and complicated puzzle in the middle of a busy road.

why...do you ask..has the shoulder seam and sleeve become an obsession of mine?  it is because i believe they are the key to perfect fit and comfort.

i have been studying pictures of the fashion runway and i can see that well known designers labels have this ONE thing in common....perfect shoulder seams to set the sleeves.  look at these photos (Elie Saab, Valentino)....focus on their sleeves.

my sloper needs tweaking to adjust for the forward thrust shoulders.  i have used the sloper system from the lucia's book.  the rest works like a charm....but i was stuck when it comes to the shoulders and sleeve.

lucia's sloper system works very well for standard body. my daughter alya, fits in this category.   hers was no problem at all.  everything fits.

will share the photos of my dress sloper in my next post.


cheers,
YunY

i love dresses and i am making them

i've been busy making these dresses for the past few weeks.

i am using the book by lucia and also the one by amstrong as my reference.

i have been having some challenges with the set it sleeves.  since i have forward thrust shoulders, i need to make a series of adjustments to get the sleeve to sit properly while maintaining good fit.

i'm playing with some slash and spread techniques to obtain a nice slimming drape of the fabric. once i am happy with the result i will try to create an empire waist dress with bishop sleeves.

these are the four wips...all of them are made from the cotton yardage that my lil sis brought from india.

just need to finish the necklines and hems.  they are super comfy and cooling.

fyi, i prefer tops and dresses without shoulder pads.  for my case, adjusting the shoulder seams produces better fit than using any commercially available shoulder pads.

cheers,
YunY

i am sewing clothes for myself

my lil sis came back from india last month.  she usually comes back during her semester break.  and this time she brought me about 10 pieces of cotton yardage.

i need a couple of tops to wear with my skirts and those fabrics that she brought were just perfect....lightweight, breathable, 100% cotton.

i made these two simple loose fitting tops and i couldn't stop myself from making a skirt too.  i took these photos last nite with my mobile phone.  i used the sloper system from lucia's book.  

completed...just to tidy up loose threads. 

completed...just to tidy up loose threads.

this is a basic long skirt.
i need to install the waistband,
and then hemming.
and still contemplating to line this skirt.

status: tops COMPLETED but still having some issues with the sleeves:( the sleeves hang ok....but a wee bit too tight when i cross my arms.  i'd prefer a bit more room.  the top of the sleeve cap, i.e about 1" around the joint at shoulder seams, has some excess fabrics. i suppose this has got something  to do with the fact that i have forward thrust shoulders.  i need to tweak the sleeve cap and the shoulder seam.  wish me luck.

status @ 21mac2013:  it has been a very long and painful one month of finding the perfect fit for the set-in sleeve.  it was done in series of 10-minute-in-between-sessions daily (with the kids and the house and the rabbits) for the past one month.  i almost give up.  and i think i'm almost there.  but i'm keeping my fingers crossed.  will be posting more photos of the sleeve later.

cheers
YunY

a short break from bag making

i like the way bluemarine combine colours and prints in this outfit.  this is going to be my next project (ha ha, i don't  know when i am going to start).  i still have a number of bags, wallets, belts, watch straps and phone sleeve to complete.  but i think i need to take a short break from bag making and maybe make a long dress that looks something like this.  maybe that's a bit too ambitious, don't you think?

blumarine

love this look too,

ysl

and this one,

valentino

this one too,

anna sui

this too,

anna sui

this too,

anna sui

love the crisp white shirt and the no-fuss skirt,

dkny

and this one,

dkny

i just want to keep these pics here....in my blog, so that i can locate them whenever i need some inspiration when drafting pattern for my next garment sewing project. 

cheers,

YunY