The Most Comfortable And Flattering Piece Of Clothing

This is by far the most comfortable piece of clothing that I have ever made- the design is so flattering and suits a lot of different body shapes too. The fabrics I used (both medium weight cotton jersey) in salmon orange and light grey are so soft and are great for printing. I hand printed geometric shapes in black, yellow and orange. And added ribbed cuffs, neckline and hem and I have to say it's a very nice and neat looking finish.

Again looks totally different when worn with a belt which gives it more of a shaped waist dress look. 

This time however, I think I prefer it without any belts, just loose and comfy. 

Malgosia

Waist Pleats High Waist And Prints

Skirt and dress season is finally here and I will be making more of those for sure!

This orange high waisted skirt has been hand printed (no surprise there since I love to print so much!^_^) and has front and back waist pleats - that's my favourite detail!

My hair looks so wild, it was quite windy up on that roof! ^_^

Malgosia

Simple Tunic Dress

Simple straight line tunic is a very versatile shape as it give a lot of room to play around. I love my tunics with belts or elastics to shape the waist.
 The first one was made from a light red fabric with elastic stitched around the waist and a big bow stitched on the side ( I love the bow^_^) :

The red on is from last summer. 

My newest one is made from grey colour lightweight wool blend fabric with tight elastic casing as well as printed fabric side inserts:

  Playing around with details/ fabric choice when using the same simple pattern totally changes the outcome.

Sewing from Drape Drape 2

I love books so much that I often treat myself with them^_^
And when my new Drape Drape 2 book arrived I couldn't wait to start sewing! I chose something simple to start- my first piece of clothing is a vest.

It's a lovely 3 piece draped vest with oversized pockets. It's very comfortable and the fabric I used (heavy weight cotton jersey) it's so soft and warm too.

Pictures from the book itself:

And here is my vest:

I'm standing on top of the roof  where the lighting is great to take pictures. But although the sun was shining so brightly that evening it was quite windy and I was very cold.. Just putting a brave face, am acting as if it was hot cause the vest looks much better with bare arms^_^

Finding my path..

Finding my path...

I love being creative and there is noting as relaxing and therapeutic as an expressive form of art, right?^_^

Recently I started working with mixed media again and there is no other feeling this good!
I found  my long forgotten box of magic-as I call it. It was hidden under the bed amongst other things for so long that I forgot it existed! My magic box filled with colourful, messy arty stuff-  acrylics, watercolour, paint brushes, gesso, charcoal, inks,pencils,oil pastels..
My hand printing materials seemed to fit right in this new field too.
I use my ink pads, hand carved lino and rubber block as well as Mylar stencils to make marks, my Gelli plate plays an important role too in creating backgrounds.
I draw- well learn to draw faces too and incorporate them with my mixed media backgrounds. I LOVE it!

And at the end of the day after having sat at my desk for a while- working, creating, experimenting I find satisfaction by looking at my stained fingers, black nails, palms covered in paint, inks, and smudges of pencil or charcoal on my face. I feel fulfilled in a way.. It's crazy!

I haven't touched my sewing machine in a while and I feel bad about it sometimes but as much as I love sewing, creating fashion garments, dolls, home decor- they don't give me the same kind of fulfilment, satisfaction and freedom. With expressive art there are no rules to follow, no plan of action needed, no boundaries, there is only that need to create that drives you far outside of your comfort zone.

I am trying to find my path in all of these. I learn. I express. I experiment. And I hope I am improving with each piece of paper that gets splashed with paint or sprayed with ink.

These are just my experiments. We shall see where they take me!^_^

We Should Wear Dresses All year Round

Hello,

Lately I became a big fan of dresses. I want to wear them all the time, even in colder seasons.
How to wear dresses all year round? Choose them made from slightly warmer fabrics!
My newly sewn dresses have been made from warmer fabrics such as cotton drill and wool blend. On top of that both dresses have been lined.

They look great with cardigans and jackets. I like to wear them with belts too.
Depending on kind of accessories, shoes etc used- these dresses can be easily styled into either day or evening look.
I used the same pattern for the bodice with panels mixing in black drill with red tartan and blue cobalt.
Skirts have slightly different shapes though.
Cobalt blue skirt only has two pleats in the front and two in the back that have been stitched in place along the hem line, this creates slightly round/ oval shape.

Red tartan skirt has been evenly gathered/ pleated around the waist creating a very flattering A-line shape. Adding a belt here really emphasizes a slim looking waist.

What do you think?

Malgosia

xxx