Sheer Panel Skirt

Hello friends!!!

Heads up: this week's post is going to have more pictures than I usually have.
No special reason except that I was unable to decide which pictures to cut from the ones we took on Sunday.
So ... on with the post!!!

The first time I saw a skirt with a sheer panel, I knew I wanted one and that I was going to make one for myself. That was probably a year and a half ago but better late than never, right?
I bought the brocade fabric at the same time as the gold and black one in this post so it's been about a year since I've had it.
We picked red as the main color for my choir at RCCG Love Assembly for last Sunday (10/25) and to be honest, I hadn't thought much about what I was going to wear. Red is one of my favorite colors so I knew I had at least one red dress, pair of pants, blouse, skirt, sweater and pair of shoes.
I recently made up my mind (again!) to work on using what I have in my fabric stash - mainly because I just moved and couldn't believe how many boxes of fabric were loaded in the truck. While designing a dress to use up some white lace, I took a detour and drew up the skirt. I didn't get to work on it immediately as I had a custom order to finish but I got the skirt done just in time to wear it on Sunday!!!!

Enjoy the pictures below (see if you notice the photobomber).

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

You see her, right?

Crop Top, Maxi Skirt and Petticoat

Hello friends!!!

Today’s post is a throwback (Throwback Thursday?) but not waaay back.

This is a custom order that Ms. Ju requested for a fashion show put on by her school’s African Students Association earlier this year.

She sent me a picture of a pink and white outfit and wanted it replicated in African Print (Ankara). The white top was off-shoulder and I think it was made with knit fabric. The pink skirt was really puffy and looked like chiffon. I made a petticoat to achieve this and so that she could wear the skirt as a regular maxi skirt another time if needed.

I don't know about other sew-sisters and sew-brothers but replication is not exactly my favorite thing. I comes with the added pressure to get every nuance of the original design right without the benefit of talking to the designer or having the original fabric. But, I had a client to cater to so I rolled up my sleeves and got to it :).

Ms. Ju liked it so Mission Accomplished!!!!

I used a lot of netting for the petticoat and had to fashion a temporary hand guard as the cut edges of the netting were rough on my skin. I serged the seams and made sure all seams were either hidden or facing the outside so that my client wouldn't feel any rough edges.

Next up was the top. This was my first off-shoulder top so I had a couple of muslin runs. Believe it or not, I prayed and asked God for help which He sent to me via Ms. Bike of CocoZini while I was browsing one night.

And then the maxi skirt ...

All Done!!!!

Lacy Goodness Continued

As promised in the August post of Ms. N's blue and pink dress (here), here's more on the gold fabric that she dropped off.

It was the Aso-Ebi fabric for a friend's wedding on 9/12 which is also my dad's birthday :).
She sent me a picture of a gold midi dress and asked for the same thing and I'm so happy she was pleased with what I delivered.

Stay tuned ... I'll show you what I make with the remnant and some red crepe fabric.

Enjoy the pictures and video below.

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

Lady in Gold

I got matching silk lining fabric

It's got a slit and the inside seams were covered in bias tape to prevent any itching from the sequins on the lace.

Ready for a fitting

I took it in after the fitting and it no longer fit on my dress form but here's the final dress.

Took a video while she was posing for pictures. :)

I didn't have an Aso-Ebi outfit but I wanted to join in and show my support so I made a fold-over clutch.

Perhaps I will write a tutorial on that ...

Pattern Review: New Look 6342; Sheath Dress with Overbodice

The Story

The story behind the first dress I made with this pattern is detailed here. I really liked the ease and fit of it that I used it to make another dress (the purple one below) for a friend's wedding when my first design wasn't turning out so great and I did not have a lot of time left (I finished the armhole facings, ironed the dress, put it on, added accessories and left for the wedding).

Pattern Description
Misses' Dress with or without Overbodice
Pattern includes sleeveless or short sleeve dress, sleeveless dress with overbodice and trim option, and short sleeve dress with overbodice.

Pattern Sizing

I cut a 10-14 because I am smaller on top than below. :p
I used gift tissue paper to trace out a 10 from the shoulders to the waistline and then a 14 from the waistline to the hem. Around the waistline, I used curved lines to join both halves for the dress bodice.
I cut a size 10 for the facings and the pieces for the overbodice.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing it?

Yes (with consideration for the alterations I made).

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Very easy and straightforward.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

I liked how easy it was to make and all the possible variations available.
It's a basic sheath dress and gives the user room to try out various ideas.

I think a variation with a slit or kick pleat on the back bodice would have been a nice addition.

Fabric Used
African print fabric - 100% cotton.
Organza

Pattern alteration or any design changes you made

For the first dress, I made View C but with the sleeves for View D. I replaced the armhole facings with bias tape (I thought it would reduce bulk but in hindsight, the facings would have been better).

For the second dress, I made View D and I added about 5 inches to the length, 3 inches to the length of the front darts (lesson learned from the first one), 2 layers of gathered ruffles and a strip of ribbon. I also lined it this time.

Would you sew it again?

Yes!!!

Would you recommend it to others?

Yes, it would be great even for a beginner and could serve as a good foundation to try various design ideas.

 

Dress A Girl Around The World

* Hi there.
So yesterday, at my other job (my 9-to-5), 23 co-workers and 1 converted 2 conference rooms into a sewing hub and made 15+ dresses for the Dress A Girl Around The World initiative (DAGATW). 15+ because we finished 15 dresses and had bits of 4 more in progress ... to be finished on Day 2 of our effort.

I'll tell you how this came to be ...

Every year, my employer (PJM Interconnection, LLC), holds a United Way campaign for a couple of months. This starts off with a kick-off event where we can meet various charity and volunteer organizations. We then can donate to the organization of our choice online. PJM also gives us all a paid day to go and volunteer in our communities (awesome, right?). 

This year, I emailed the coordinators and said that I like sewing and would be interested in any volunteer opportunities like DAGATW that come up. We didn't have any but they were in support of the idea and said we would start one. One of the coordinators, 2 other ladies and myself created a committee to plan the event, do a test run (we made 0.8 of a dress in 3 hours because we were figuring things out as we went along) and guide and support on the d-day. The plan was to start with a half-day event on campus, see how the response is and then decide if we want to do a second one. 

Well, the turn out and support was incredible and we're having the second one on 10/16.
Yep, I love my job.

Moments that made me smile:

• Hearing a man talking about soldering something over the weekend while he hand-stitched a label to a dress.

• Seeing one of our Senior Vice Presidents take charge of one of the ironing boards and prep strap after strap after strap then join the hand-stitching crew.

• The applause when a lady held up a dress and said we just completed our first dress.

• Our MVP was a man and his sewing machine. We just let him work and kept feeding him pinned dresses, pockets, hearts and the like to sew.

• Seeing all our dresses taped up as they were completed.

If you want to do something similar or learn more about DAGATW, click here.
You won't regret it.

Stappy Cage Top

* Hi there.
I think I've mentioned that August was a very, very busy month. All in all, I think I made 11 pieces of clothing ... I don't know how I did that with everything else that was going on.
Thank God for grace!!!! and strength!!!!
Maybe in a couple of weeks, I'll have all the pieces in one post as a reminder to me that "I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

This week's post is about my first cage style top for a wedding on August 29th. The sister of the bride wanted this style which she had seen online and a pencil skirt. It took a bit of thinking before execution to figure out how to make the style but I think I did well.

** Enjoy the pictures below.

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

Finished Look

Inside the pencil skirt (I cut the dart threads later).
It was to be very fitted so I added a slit for ease of walking.

Finished the main bodice (except for closure) with 3 straps on the front and 2 on the back as part of the bodice. I made them longer than needed with plans to trim them after the fitting.

Made the armhole and neckline straps and pinned everything in place; ready for the first fitting.

Adjusted the straps during the fitting then sewed them down. Also added the zipper to the top and took in the skirt a wee bit at the hips.

Voila!