Monthly Archives: May 2011

a new cover for the chair

I got my hands on a sewing machine, and this is what I made!


I have tons of stuff in progress; already made, about to be finished, tutorials, some patterns… but I’ve also wrapped up a BFA and graduated, so time to sort through pictures and projects and write posts has been really limited lately, at best. However! When I get to borrow my super-lovely neighbours sewing machine while mine is in deep pre-cross-Atlantic-move-storage, I certainly have to work on some projects, and this is one that required minimal time and effort.

I recovered the seat, oh, something like two years ago, but possibly scarred by the trauma of the downstairs (chough-crazy-chough) neighbour in my past apartment pounding on the ceiling while I was recovering it, it has just sat unfinished ever since.

This is what it looked like before, by the way:

I finally got around to drape the rest of the pieces on there, mark and cut, and stitch it up quickly. The fabric covering the seat is staple-gunned on top of the previous cover, and the back-rest is a slipcover with the underside just whipstitched in place.


I think with the light-colored fabric, it would have been fun to stain or paint the woodwork a dramatic, dark color. I never got around to it – perhaps whoever has it next will!

It’s so satisfying to get stuff out of the to-do pile, even if it’s just in time to sell it before we move!

Émilien for dad

I’ve finally finished my big, striped, kind of secret project for my dad!


I started right before Christmas last year, thinking I’d get it done sometime in February to send to my dad as a late Christmas-present. Other things and  time-consuming knitting projects came in the way, May rolled around and my parents came to visit, and still no finished cardigan.

Luckily, my mom stepped in, and knitted through the stockinette stripes with speed and consistency, while I was running around graduating and putting on fashion shows. And now, of course on the last day they are in town, the cardigan is finished (thank you mom!), and dad can finally wear it time of chilly Norwegian summer nights. I hope it gets worn to shreds!

(raverly project page with my notes on the pattern)

the big reveal: my collection

Finally, pictures of the collection I’ve been working on for the past 8 months or so! (See here and here for the work in progress – especially the second picture in the first link). I’ve called it “Traces of Thread”, and the pieces were inspired by Norwegian folk costumes, with a dash of Victorian era and some nostalgia thrown in for good measure. I think that shows!

*      *      *

The key piece of the collection – the wool melton coat. Between the wool fabric, and the magenta silk charmeuse lining, facings, and interfacing  – there are a ton of pattern-pieces! The most time-consuming feature is in the back – cartridge pleating, with the lining fabric showing on the edge. This is definitely strongly inspired by the “bunad”; the skirt of mine has this kind of pleating all around the waist. Just imagine how heavy that skirt gets!


The seamlines in the front and the back are also inspired by the seamlines of my particular regional version of the “bunad” (click the image to see it larger!). The wool was an absolute dream to work with, like sewing in butter! This was by far my most tailored piece, and I have a post coming up about what sort of techniques I used on the coat.

(Wool from B. Black and Sons, silk charmeuse from C & J Textiles, cotton sateen from Mood Fabrics)

*      *      *


The lace top was also quite an undertaking! I knit the top from a lace-weight yarn, and I think there must be multiple thousands of stitches in this thing! This will also get a post of its own I think – I guess I like to talk about stuff I’ve made, and how I made it! The skirt is made in cotton sateen, which has a wonderful feel and weightyness to it, but can be a little difficult to sew with since pins and needles leave marks in the fabric. The draping on the side is a nod to Victorian bustles, but also the hiking up of heavy skirts when climbing  stairs or such.

(Ravelry page here, yarn from Loopy Yarns, buttons from ages ago from Panduro, cotton sateen from Mood Fabrics)

*      *      *

The cartridge pleating strikes again! This was actually also a bit of a technical challenge  – and I have pictures, but that’s for another day and another post. The fabric is a silk gauze, and it was my first time working with that. It frays, it’s really shifty, but it’s all worth it for the fantastic way it drapes, and for the richness the gauze weave. Because of how it’s woven there is a subtle pattern, as well as some dimension to the fabric. Beautiful!

The fabric for the belt is screenprinted, with a design I composed. It’s been a lot of fun to be the creator of the fabric, from designing, to prepping the screen, to actually printing the fabric. Hmm, I smell another separate post coming…! The skirt is in a lovely wool flannel. I just love working with wool – it  does exactly what you want it to do, especially with  steam and gentle prodding!

(Silk gauze from Vogue, cotton sateen twill from my stash, screen from Atlas, wool flannel from Fishman’s Fabrics)

*      *      *

And lastly, my knit jacket ensemble. The jacket pattern is based on traditional folk wear, with largely geometric pieces. For example, the shoulder has a couple of rectangles inserted, and then gathered into the collar just like the “bunad”-shirts I studied (don’t worry, there are more details coming up in a separate post!). The vest underneath is bound with bias silk dupioni, and has a front panel that attaches with snaps. And the leather belt cinches in the waist in good Victorian fashion, while the clasps bring back the folk and traditional feel.

(Ravelry page here, yarn from BrooklynTweed, Cotton twill from my stash,
silk dupioni from Vogue, wool flannel from Fishman’s Fabrics, leather from Tandy Leather Factory)

*      *      *

Well, there it is! It has, not surprisingly, been a lot of work these last months, but a tremendous learning process. I’m more sure than ever that I *love* making things, and making them in the most beautiful and well-constructed way possible. I’m also really glad to have been able to include knit-wear, and textile manipulation, like some dyed fabrics for the linings, and the screenprinting – to be part of the making of the fabric itself! The next step I guess, is to go further down into the hierarchy of making – spin my own yarn, weave my own fabric? Regardless, now it’s time to step back, pat myself on the back, and be proud.

Photos – John M. Burnham
Hair/Make-up – Ingrid Feder
Model – Sally Freeman

(If you’re in the Chicago-area, do come check out the upcoming fashion show I’ll be in! May 17th, Garfield Park Conservatory, great collections, nice people? Good combination!)