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In the Woods | Bridal Photo Session with Nounou

June 27, 2015 By Chie

Recently, I was involved with a stunning inspiration shoot, featuring a Vivat Veritas butterfly back gown! The photography team “Nounou” has captured the moments of this lovely couple flawlessly. Regular readers of this site will know my appreciation for dreamy/spirity (is that a word?) backgrounds. The whitewashed woods scene is my go to wedding theme.

The photography teams was great to work with. Very professional and very capable of capturing both my and the clients’ desires.

Photography by Nounou (facebook, instagram)
Dress by Vivat Veritas

徳島県のフォトチーム、nounou（ヌーヌー)さんと撮影をご一緒しました。
徳島の自然いっぱいのロケーションで、素敵にとっていただいて嬉しいです★

ウェディングフォトの前撮りとマタニティフォトを得意としているそうですので、ご興味がある方は是非facebookでコンタクトしてみてください。
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Dot Sweatpants | 1 Hour Sewing

June 24, 2015 By Chie

I wrote in the past how much I love making handmade gifts. I think it feels special and you can tailor the things you make depending on the person you are giving the gift to. I made these sweatpants for my friend who is leaving to go overseas for the next two years. She asked if I can make sweatpants that don’t scream out “sweatpants”. She sent me a few pictures of images and they were floral print but I had no luck finding pretty floral stretch material that cwould work for adults in my recent shopping trip to Nippori. Because the time was running out, I picked out this dot print.

Again, I used the patterns from a Japanese pattern book, called Otona no pants to skirt (Pants and Skirts for Adults (大人のパンツとスカート). You can see my previous version here. I made the E-2 long version last time. This time I made the E-1 version which is cropped. It might go to right above ankle for my friend since she is a bit shorter.

It was really a quick sew and the whole cutting and sewing took about an hour. No new modification this time. You can see what I changed from the original patterns in my previous post.

I made this off-the-shoulder top as well, using the remaining rib fabric I used for the sweatpant’s ankle cuffs and waist band. I cut out the bra cup from my old cami that got stretched out and added inside the top, so I can wear this without worrying about the bra line.

Speaking of bra’s, I finally purchased the Watson bra pattern from Cloth Habit! I know I’m so late on this sew-along, but I’m excited nonetheless! This will be my first bra sewing attempt. It’s fabulous how sewing communities evolved and influence each other. Without it, I wouldn’t have taken the plunge to sew my first jeans, let alone a bra.

もうすぐ海外に行ってしまうお友達へ。
外でも着られる楽ちんスエットを作ってプレゼントしました。
海外はカジュアルだから、東京よりスエットで外出易いし、重宝されるといいなー。
私はアメリカに学生で住んでいたときは、常にスエットだった気がします。
どこでもスエットのセット（笑）で行ってた。。。

型紙は「大人のパンツとスカート」から。
作ったのは４回目です。
結構サイズ小さくしました。特に腰回り。
そうでないとかなりゆるゆるな出来上がりなので注意。
デフォルトで作ったものはゆるすぎてお尻が象のように見えたので主人にあげちゃいました。

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Tips on Quickly Refashioning Clothes

June 15, 2015 By Chie

Refashioning clothes is one of my favorite things to do in between projects. It’s fast and I like giving old clothes new second life. I’ve salvaged an old pleather leggings to make a baseball cap, turned an old cardigan into a cropped sweater, and gave a cocktail dress new life. (Check out more for DIY archive) Because my friends know that I like to sew, I get clothes donated often. Through out my refashioning journey, I’ve learned a few tips to speed up the process.

1. Don’t unpick seams, but cut along the seam line.

This is the biggest time savor. I used to unpick seams and it took hours. I hate the fuzz it makes after I unpick seams. Now instead of unpicking the seams, I cut along the seam line, or cut as close as possible to the seam line. This won’t work if you are making a very minor adjustment, like taking in the waist 1cm, but if you are changing up the design entirely or taking in more than 3cm, it works.

2. Spend time on salvaging notions

You can save unpicking time for salvaging zippers, hook and eye, bones, ribbons.

3. Think of a design to preserve the good original details

This can be pretty hemlines, necklines, sleeve cuffs or pocket details. For this white halter top, I kept the design as is, and just hem it short to make it into a top and took in 10cm all around to fit myself better.

Added a bra cup so I don’t have to wear a bra. Wearing it with DIY distressed jeans.