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Happy New Year

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Fort Worth Show and Parts & Labour

I have been so busy getting the S/S 2009 collection ready that I have forgot to update my blog.

What's happened in the past month
-Was featured in a collage for Etsy on CBS morning news.
-New Spring/Summer 2009 collection premiered
-We went to a show in Fort Worth and did well
-You can now find us at Parts & Labour (1117 S. Congress Ave.) in Austin
- The website has been updated
-I am in the process of making a video with interviews and footage of the new styles for this Summer.
-I will also update my Etsy store with the new styles.
I will go into more detail soon about everything that has been going on.


CHeers

'80s and '60s Clash Fashion Sketches

Here's some of my Spring/Summer 2009 sketches. It's 1980s meets 1960s.
Take at look at my Spring/Summer Fashions blog entry for more details.

Ten Sewing Tips

I thought I would share some basic sewing tips.

1. Scissors
Have a nice pair of scissors for fabric cutting and one for paper cutting; you may even want one for thread cutting while sewing. I use Gingher 8" Spring-loaded Dressmaker shears. They are fantastic and run about $50 a pair. However, you can find them for as little as $25 on eBay. Another trick is to keep them sharp with scissor sharpeners which you can find at craft stores.





2. Iron, iron, iron!
Have an iron ready and one that is preferably powerful and can press steam through quickly. I bought mine for around $30. It works great and speeds up the ironing process. I also keep a spray bottle with water in it and a pressing cloth. Another nice thing to have on hand is a sleeve ironing board. It can also double as a tailor's ham and facilitates ironing sleeves and darts.

3. Serger
Finish all seams with a serger. You don't need a fancy one just a three thread will do. This will make sure that the fabric will not fray.

4. No stress hems and sleeves.
Have a sewing machine where you can take off its arm for sleeves and hems.

Perfection
5. Perfection is the golden rule. If it is not something you are proud of then don't wear it.

Newspaper
6. Use newspaper print paper when making patterns.

The "Golden Book"
7. Have a sewing book on hand so you can refer to it often. I also use burdastyle.com

8. Needle
Make sure you are using the right needle for your machine and project. Also change your needle often, as they dull very quickly.

9. Clean machine
Keep your machines clean and make sure that they are turned off and unlugged after each use.

10. Don't stress the small stuff and throw your machine out the window. Make sure the needle is correct, the threading has been done properly and the tension has been set correctly.

Summer Shoes For Men

There is always the question of what shoe to
 wear for men during the summer. Flipflops, orginally used as shower shoes and for use on the beach are too casual. 

I suggest wearing a white-colored loafer($75 at asos.com) or light brown boat shoes ($135 at asos.com)

Another shoe I like and own are Toms (gray canvas), an upcoming shoemaker will donate a pair of shoes to a child in need with every purchase. 

Visit their website. 

Things to note:

• I like the idea of sandals but keep it simple and leather with not too wide of straps. 
  
• No flip-flops
• No Birkenstocks, leave them for the hippies
• Wear tennis shoes only when doing sports, such as jogging and playing tennis. 
• Don't be afraid to dress up during the summer. 

Spring/ Summer Fashions

This is going to be a good post. 

What is your Spring/Summer 2009 collection going to look like?

Emphasis is on fit and color. It's like the 1960s collide with the 1980s. I love the fit from the 1960s. It's form-fitting to the body however, I love the pastel and bright colors of the 1980s. Houndstooth,stripes bright colors ( blue, yellow, pink), black, royal blue and white. 

What inspired you to do this?

I have always loved the 1960s but it's not exactly what is in fashion right now, on the other hand, the 1980s are. That is why I drew my influence from both.

What kind of clothes shall we expect?

I am mostly going to focus on women this season. 

• Little black dresses, 
• Houndstooth Chamray Shorts (Which you catch a preview at my etsy shop.) 
  
• Jumpers
• Mini Pencil Skirts
• Faux Jackets with Peter Pan Collar similar to the Jackie O Jacket
• Black Leggings
• Long T-shirt dress with Preist collar
• Long, Over sized Hoodies
• Boat Neck Dresses in Aqua and Blue
• 1960's Inspired Casual Dresses

Any big things opening up for you?

Well we have a huge handmade show in Fort Worth in April (mor details later) and the best news is that we will start offering our clothes in handmade boutiques in New York City, Austin and possibly London. 

Cheers!

Serger

Sorry It's been a while. I have been so busy with school, work and looking for a new serger. 

Mine has been acting funny latlely, so I decided to take in to have it serviced. The only thing is that the shop is so backed up that it will take about a month to fix it. I decided that with the fashion business expanding, I did not want to be left hanging, so I did the best thing I could do, I bought a new one. It's a little fancier the old Bernina one I have. It's a Pfaff Coverlock 4852. That's right it has a coverlock feature so I can do that now. A coverlock stitch is generally  used in garments and it is marked by a tight overlock stitch on the back and a straight stich on the front. It is seen a lot in t-shirts and jeans. It's taking a lot of time to get used to the threading, adjusting the tension, stitch length, stitch width, changing the needles etc. But it is produces a more professional stitch compared to my old serger. 

So that is what I have been up to for the past week. I also redesigned the website. I will try not to wait so long for the next post. Here's the new Diana Ross dress.