Pink and Blue Lace Overlay Goodness

** Hi there. :)

Today I wish to take you on a bit of a journey from the start to finish of Ms. N’s Aso-Ebi for a wedding last Saturday (8/15). I had made a dress with overlay before (here) but not one that was fitted and then, bam!!, I had 2 lace overlay dresses in the span of a couple of weeks (see the other one here – yellow and pink). This was new territory as I had never done boning before but I decided this dress needed it.

There was a bit of crying involved but I won’t get ahead of myself. Just enjoy the journey.

Ms. N came by my place with 3 different fabrics for this dress (more on the gold one later; there was another blue fabric that she took back) and a bunch of ideas and Pinterest photos. We finally settled on a mermaid style dress with a sweetheart neckline underneath, cap sleeves and gathered ruffles.

Started with the sweetheart neckline bodice and boning.

Made the lace overlay bodice and attached to the front and back pieces of the main dress.

Started to work on the bottom ruffle and realized it might not be long enough so I sent Ms. N another option: adding the pink lace to the ruffle. She gave me the go-ahead.

Added the lace sleeves and the attached the ruffle (flounce?) to the bodice and it was ready for the first fitting.

After the first fitting, I had to make the following adjustments:

-          Remove the pink lace strip (Ms. N thought it was too much pink and the dress ended up too long; I overestimated her heel height for the day).

-          Add bias binding to all the lace seams (they were too itchy as is).

-          Take in the sides at the hip (the weight-gain plan wasn’t going as planned).

-          Use a longer zipper.

Here’s where the crying (figuratively) came in. I loved this version of the dress and it made me a bit sad to take it apart to make the changes. I wonder if other sewers feel this way sometimes …

We hit a bump when I couldn’t find a longer zipper than what I had used so I sent Ms. N a suggestion on how we could treat the back so that the zipper is lowered: something I used for the back of my lace and ankara peplum top (here).

I stayed up late to make all the alterations and dropped off the finished dress at her home. She wasn't in so I didn't get to see her try it on before the wedding.

Many thanks to Boss for getting a few pictures for me ...

I think she likes the dress :)

ZCD @ ACANA Festival

* Hi there :)
So far, August has been buuusssyyy. And not just with my sewing.
I was talking with my bestie and mentioned that I am so busy that I hope I won't be too tired to enjoy my birthday (yes, it my birth month!!!!!!!!) when it rolls around.
Bestie said I always get so excited about my birthday so this year most likely won't be an exception.
I love celebrating my birthday - no matter how big or small the celebration is - I will take myself to dinner if need be :). But yeah, presents are welcome (hint, hint, hint).

** Anyhoo, here are some pictures and videos from my table at the ACANA festival on August 2nd.
Nothing like starting the month with a bang, right?
I have some other work in progress that you can check out here (disclosure: I try but this Orders page is not always up to date)

*** Don't forget to check us out on Instagram @zichie_designs.

My Table

& Me - Wearing my Ankara Pants (also seen here)

it was hot out there ... thank God for the tents :)

The Stage

(Couldn't see the stage clearly from my table but during the last act, I packed up my 'store' and went to enjoy the dancers in the video)

Videos

2 Days to ACANA Festival

* It's been a year of showcases so far and I thank God for all these open doors.
For my church (Love Assembly), this year is our year of Open Doors and God has been faithful to His promise.

So far we've had:

• Fashion Show at Widener University (post)
• Showcase at 'YAPPIES Showing Thier Creative Side' event on (post)
• Vendor table at SAANE Networking Event on (post)
  and coming soon ...
• Vendor tent at ACANA Festival on Sunday, August 2nd.
  ACANA = African Cultural Alliance of North America

For this event, my plan is to have one-size-fits-all items as well as skirts with elastic waists (one-size fits-most?).

** Below are pictures of some things I either or have in store or plan to make more of.

     2 days to go ... wow, almost here.

*** Check us out on Instagram @zichie_designs.

Skirts 

(Elastic Waists = One-Size-Could-Fit-Most ...)

Bow Ties

Neck Ties (... maybe)

Jewelry - Button & Charm Earrings

Purses

T-Shirts

Belts

Glitz & Glamour at the RCCGNA YASM Convention

* Hi there. I missed last week's post and I'm sorry. I have a good reason though and I hope 2 posts this week will make up for it. :)

July 23rd to July 25th was the 7th annual RCCGNA YASM convention (Redeemed Christian Church of God, North America Young Adults and Singles Ministry). I decided I wanted to make my dress for the Black Tie dinner and I picked a pattern from McCall's that was described as 'Easy' because I wasn't sure how much time I would have. I started working on the dress and a week to the event, decided to go in a different direction. So I ended up with 1.75 outfits. My best friend and my sister picked this dress so I hurried to finish it with 1 day to go (that's why I missed my post-days: Wednesday/Thursday). :)

I like how it turned out but I wish I made it longer and maybe eliminated the waist seam. Hmm ...
Next time.

** Enjoy the video below.
(Zi also made her own dress ... I'll save that for next week perhaps. Or you can go to Facebook or Instagram at the end of this week to see it.)

*** Check us out on Instagram @zichie_designs and Facebook: Zichie Designs

Inspiration

* This week's post is about inspiration...

In the last few months, I have seen/heard of/read of at least 4 designers whose work were either re-posted as someone else's or re-created without giving a nod to the designer.

I totally am against the idea of re-posting someone's design as yours. That's just stealing: you take a picture from the person's site and put that on your site and tell folks you have that item available for sale and custom orders. Not cool.

On the other hand, I think it is OK to get inspired by other designers. There are very few completely new designs out there today. A lot of folks have peplum blouses, for instance, and what makes the blouses unique from one designer to the other might just be the peplum style (single vs. multiple layer, asymmetric hemline, ruffle vs. pleated), fabric choice, print vs. solid, structured vs. flowy, sleeve design, etc. But they are all peplum tops, right? I feel like if I took the bodice from one design, sleeves from another, neckline from another and peplum style from yet another, I would end up with something that someone already has thought of. Or maybe not.

I recall describing a style to Zi and making it only to see it in a catalog a day or so later (mine here). It was inspired by a doll's outfit that was a dress with a multi-tier skirt. The top in the catalog was the same concept as mine but the bottom half of the catalog piece was more flowy and the entire top was in African print and paired with shorts versus my brocade version.

Point is .. be inspired ... don't steal.

** Anyhoo, this week I thought I would share some pictures from the web that have given me ideas for pieces that I may make ... someday …

*** Check us out on Instagram @zichie_designs

Liking The Idea Of A Lace Skirt Suit

 

Not a Fan of Very Wide Waistbands but I Like The Black Trim

If I Decide To Go With a Fitted Wedding Dress (versus Full Skirt)

(Paula White's Wedding)

I Was Looking Up Traditional Igbo Wedding Attire for a Client

Liking the Basket Design by Tese Needlekraft

Cascades!!! Ruffles!!!

 

Some Others

Simple, Beautiful

* A few blog posts ago (here), I mentioned how I was hoping to design a new take on the popular tulip iro and buba sets. Well, Zi beat me to it :) and I'm so proud of her!!!! 

(This is Chidi by the way; I write most of the posts for ZiChiE. Zi takes most of the pictures. Yay, teamwork!!).

Anyway, I have never seen a rectangle piece of fabric look so beautiful.

**  Enjoy the pictures below - I know I certainly did.
(And an update from last post: I was named the Pretty Girl of the Month for June!!!! )

*** Check us out on Instagram @zichie_designs.