#pfmystyle

My tried and true sewing styles for summer, for #PFMyStyle . This dress I purchased in Lansing, Michigan. It is a fabric called Ankara, popular in much of Africa. The store had no idea which country this came from. It’s a “pancake” pattern, just a front and back, and l some kind of neck finishing. I traced the dress and made a pattern from it. I have made four more dresses from that pattern. The first three fabrics were from JoAnn (one a cotton home decor fabric). The purple linen is deadstock from @seamsfabric in #EastLansing - a locally-owned garment fabric store. Then another tried-and-true pattern; the Dress No. 1 from @100actsofsewing . It is another pancake pattern. I have made this one four times, once for someone else. The first one is quilting cotton. I wear it lots. It’s like the 1960s toddler dresses I wore. Love! The second one I made with two contrasting but similar dot fabrics (one a Christmas fabric, one Halloween, LOL) for my beloved sister-in-law. It was a test garment. Love it. P buttons at the straps to make a jumper/pinafore, also reminiscent of my childhood. I pressed the whole wool fabric thoroughly, which made it drape much more beautifully. The wool jumper is what I wear most that I have made. I love wool so much! It can be hard to find, especially in the bright colors I prefer. However, there is nothing like the comfort of wool in winter. Here I am even wearing it with a long sleeved wool T-shirt. It was a gift, not something I sewed. The last Dress No. 1 I made was again some quilting fabric from the days I worked at JoAnn. I made a higher neckline with some vintage buttons, which looks really cute but I just don’t like the higher neckline and won’t do it again. I do like the fabric. I really enjoy circles and diagonal lines. Diagonals become zigzags and triangles. I love the energy of a diagonal line or a zigzag. I guess I just don’t like squares. I’m not into plaid or gingham. Ironically, the houndstooth on my wool dress was so huge that it ended up needing to be pattern matched like plaid. https://www.instagram.com/p/CZbvWmTroD3/?utm_medium=tumblr

A late set of entries for #PFMyStyle, run by @PunkFrockers Podcast. My dearest and best friend took me back to Ethiopia (where she was born/raised/Educated), in 2004-05. We also visited Kenya and Egypt. That trip changed me inside, and it also changed my summer clothes. I live in African dresses of all sorts now, all summer long. I came home with 5 dresses and many tops. y. I am surprised at how quickly these dresses changed my style. They are loose and comfy, don’t wrap around my legs on misty days, and literally can get tossed on in a minute. They also provide shade outside, and usually the sleeves of my “caftan-style” dresses have big armholes which allow a breeze to blow through and cool me off. Despite my basic colors for separates, I adore most colors here. They are self-contained, so there is less need to coordinate. As a textile artist, i love inspecting these garments for hints on how they were made. The Ethiopian white dresses are made with hand-spun, hand-woven, and hand-embroidered materials. Sometimes they are hand seamed, and most times they were stitched by machine. I show 3 views of my best Ethiopian dress here, a gift from my friend. Sometimes fabric is hand-tie dyed or batiked. Sometimes embroidery is made with a hand—controlled chainstitch machine. One dress had computerized embroidery sometimes Ankara wax print fabrics are used. I have been gifted more since the trip. That comes to at least 7 countries represented in my closet at present. The last dress I bought here in Lansing, Michigan. The seller didn’t know where it was fro i got so many compliments wearing it that I traced a pattern from it. I have made this pattern 3 more times. I will do a separate post on that. https://www.instagram.com/p/CZbkHzmrpRk/?utm_medium=tumblr

A late set of entries for #PFMyStyle, run by @PunkFrockers Podcast. No matter what, my basic colors are turquoise, purple, hot pink/magenta, and hot green/chartreuse. Anything else must work with those basics (black shoes, sometimes bright emerald or cobalt). 1st Post: my winter go to look is a bit of 80’s retro/Flashdance. Huge sweaters at tunic length with leggings and legwarmers. Sometimes I add a short skirt. I get really cold in Michigan winters, and I am a knitter/handknitting pattern designer (socks and accessories). I did not knit any of these sweaters... all were thrifted. I did design/knit all the legwarmers. The solid green ones in image 5, I spun the yarn on my spinning wheel. Cool, huh? I am still amazed. The only things I sewed in this series are the skirts. The purple and black check I altered by giving it a new yoga-type waistband. The purple batik one is a circle skirt I made from scratch. #sewistsofinstagram #knittersofinstagram #yarnspinnersofinstagram #80sSweater #IKnowMyStyle #sewover50 #sewover60 https://www.instagram.com/p/CZbbkFVu0E9/?utm_medium=tumblr