May Day 2015--Queen's Dress

I love building dream gowns and this was one of those kinds of dresses.  Edyn came to me with a basic idea of what she wanted: something that looked like Queen Emma with dramatic hemlines and wide necklines with lots of embellishment. Edyn's Kumu wanted the dress to be form fitting so her dance would have more expression and would be emphasized. Edyn's mom wanted drama and rich colors.

Here are some of the inspiration images:

And here are some of the original design sketches:

And some of the first fabric options:

But this is what we finally came up with, the final design sketch:

The final fabric choices.  Gold for the body and Raspberry, Vanilla and Olive accents for the floral embellishments:

And the dress:


Back view but she is holding her train up.  The train is 8 ft long and is removeable so she can dance without it.

In action:

After the show:

Edyn on the right and me on the left

May Day 2015--Ladies in Waiting

My daughter watches me make dresses year round for other people and I rarely have an opportunity to make one for her. When she made May Day Court this spring the thing foremost on her mind was the dress that I would make for her.

My daughter (left) and her friend.

My daughter and the other representatives for Molokai.

 I made the satin dresses for the Island Ladies in waiting with the exception of the yellow and red dresses.

Lace Wedding Gown

Here is the wedding dress I made last month on the lovely Mrs. Rachel Watkins Toone.  Best wishes to the new couple!

May Day Queen 2014

My sewing project this week was this beautiful dress for May Day Queen Jordyn Tuliloa, a near replica of the dress worn by the actress portraying Princess Kaiulani in the movie of the same name.

Queen Jordyn as she walks onto stage

Back view after being crowned and receiving her lei's

 The skirt was changed to mermaid style to accentuate her hula and fabric was changed for the same reason. The dress was made of Ivory taffeta and gold lame contrast and lace trim. It is fully lined with a built in corset and petticoat and an invisible zipper down the back. The double poofed, off-shoulder sleeves are supported with a net interior lining. The large rosette at the front and 3 mini rosettes at the back are hand made. The front rosette is made from one 45" long bias strip. All rosettes have silver beads at the center.

Back view of dress in movie

A little over a month ago Jordyn's mom brought me these two pictures, clips from the movie, and asked if I could replicate it. I looked for a pattern that was similar but found nothing so I set out to make it from scratch. The entire pattern was hand drafted and fit to Jordyn. Due to other engagements I was unable to do the bulk of the work until the week before May Day. I was grateful that the Tuliloa's were understanding of my schedule restrictions and trusted me when I said I could get it done.

Front view of dress in movie

When all was said and done I spent over 50 hours on the dress. This includes the time I spent researching, shopping for fabric and notions, making patterns and mock ups, constructing the dress, conducting fittings and hand finishing the whole thing.

I loved working on this challenging project and was so pleased that it was received with rave reviews by her parents, extended family and community.

I love my job!

A Dress for Me

It has been a LONG time since I made something for myself. Last night I stayed up all night (no sleep) to make this white dress for choir this morning. I made the pattern and sewed it all together. I haven't sewn for myself since I lost weight 2 years ago so had to make a new sloper too. Since it was the middle of the night I had no one to help me with fitting so I'll be making a few minor fit changes this week but it worked for choir. Thanks Amy Gold for keeping me awake through (most of) the meeting.

More Muu'muu

These two loved their white Muu'muu so much that they came back for more. 

Enjoyed working with these beauties!

Children's Hawaiian Dresses

These lovely little ladies had a special part in their ward's Primary program this year. To honor them their mom and dad ordered them custom dresses to match. They looked lovely and I have heard through the grapevine that their performance was flawless. It was such a pleasure working with these talented and adorable girls.

Custom Wedding Dress

Dalys knew what she wanted when she showed up for her fitting. She had a binder with pictures, some swatches of fabric and a clear vision of what styles flattered her figure. There was only one problem: she had less than a month to her wedding date. Lucky for her I am a sucker for a beautiful wedding dress and clients with a clear vision of what they want. This past month has been a whirlwind of fittings and shopping and sewing and beading and pressing mixed in with my steady stream of regular projects.


Here's the time breakdown:

• 4 hours of pattern making: I was unable to find a pre-made pattern that matched her design so I created one to her specifications. She wanted a two piece dress. The skirt needed a thick 2.5"-3" waistband and a tight fitted skirt to just below her hip. The bottom of the skirt needed to flare out and have a simple, smooth and short train of about 18". The top would be a hip length princess  seamed bodice with a square neck and cap sleeves covered in beaded lace overlay. The overlay would have a higher boat neck and 3/4 length sleeves and have scallop edge beaded trim all the way around. We decided to make the top so it could be worn tucked in or left out.
• 3 hours of cutting out fabric: Yes, it takes that long to arrange the pattern pieces on the yardage and cut out the satin, lace and two layers of lining for a wedding dress.
• 14 hours sewing. This includes basting, pressing, alterations after fittings, installing zippers and closures, linings and hemming.
• 2.5 hours of fittings/consultations
• 3 hours of handstitching-beading, buttons and finish work. Oh My!

This morning, after 26 hours of work spread out over the course of 3 weeks, I delivered Dalys' dress to her.

Custom Dress for PCC 50th

This morning Shonna picked up her beautiful blue dress to wear for tonight's PCC celebrations. I am so excited to see her perform and very happy with how the dress turned out. She brought me a pattern and fabric several weeks ago and I've been squeezing it in here and there between other projects.

The original pattern was a sleeveless design with a short A-line skirt. She asked me to add some short sleeves, lengthen the skirt and make the skirt more fitted. The end result was a dress she looks fabulous in and can wear on and off stage. Good luck tonight Shonna!

Shaka Steel Aloha Shirts

I'm back in the studio again after a month on the mainland and a week adjusting to real life and getting kids ready for school. I'll be working hard for the next few weeks on a large order of Aloha shirts for the Shaka Steel Band. I am using a traditional Aloha Shirt pattern but have added a few inches of extra length to the hem  to insure the shirts don't show bellys when mallets are swinging overhead.

For large orders like this I offer a bulk quantity discount. I sew through each size in an assembly line method cutting everything, then applying interfacing to everything, then sewing all the collars, etc. It helps to keep each item more uniform but it also takes a lot of organization.

For this project I will be going through about 50 yards of fabric, 20 yards of interfacing, 6 spools of thread and 120 wood buttons. I estimate it will take me 10 days to complete. 

The Shaka Steel Bands' first concert is the 27th of August. I can't wait to see the shirts in action.

Update:

Here's one of the finished shirts. Not a great picture--there's a reason I'm a professional seamstress not photographer. I'll post pictures from the concert after it happens.

Hems, Vests and a Formal

I am taking it slow this week as I am coming off of Girls Camp and getting ready to leave for a month on the mainland. I am altering several pairs of slacks changing hem length and taking in the waists. I am making a custom vest for Elder Henderson to wear to a Chinese wedding. And I am altering a formal dress for Miss Hea who will be a last minute bridesmaid for her cousin's wedding this weekend. The dress was ordered for someone else but they will not be able to make it. I will be taking up the shoulders and taking in the side seams.

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Do you have clothes that don't fit you quite right? Consider getting them altered. Check out my price lists for more information.

Patterns and Sample Sewing for Manufacturers

I am on a super secret mission this week. I am working on a project for a small manufacturer. They have some designs that they need patterns and samples made for and have asked me to do the work for them. I wish I could tell you more but then I'd have to kill you.  ;-)

Custom Formal Aloha wear

What a doll! This young lady is fantastic! I enjoyed getting to know her better and for the opportunity to make her this custom dress. I sure hope everything went well for you Jaz.

This dress is made from a Satin print and is fully lined. The pattern was simple and went together very quickly. No alterations to design or fit were necessary.

Custom Handstitched Ties

One of my favorite things to do is to make Men's ties and there's nothing better to make it with than beautiful tie silk. While in New York last December I had the opportunity to walk the Garment District and visit so many incredible fabric stores. I found this silk at Mood Fabrics (of Project Runway fame) and fell in love.

Because it is difficult to find the proper interfacing and linings for a fine tie I resort to other options. I hunt for ties at thrift stores and bum them off my dad and others who are donating ties because the fabric is outdated. Then I strip the tie and scavenge the interfacing from it. (In the past I have used the old fabric for "tie" dying  Easter eggs.) For the lining I usually just use the tie material. This does make it slightly bulkier and slightly more expensive (tie silk is $25 per yard and lining is $8-12) but I like the look and, as I said before, it can be difficult to find a suitable lining.

It is possible to make ties out of materials other than tie silk. I have made them from Aloha fabrics, cottons, taffetas and satins. I am often asked to make ties to match prom and wedding dresses. These ties were a special gift for my Father. He is a collector of ties and was so excited to receive these beautiful one of kind neckpieces.

If you are interested in ordering a custom tie give me a call. I charge $35 which includes the (recycled) interfacing.

Prom Alterations and a Custom Dress

I've been very busy this week spitting out Prom dress alterations and a custom dress. I have sure enjoyed working with these girls and hope they enjoy their special night.

Miss Kaitoku had modesty sleevelets added and the hem adjusted.

A Young Man's First Suit

This should really be titled My Young Man's First Suit. This is my son Heath. Last week he purchased his first suit to wear to prom. He decided he'd rather spend his hard earned $250 on a new suit rather than waste $100 on a one night tux rental. Smart kid. He plans to wear his new suit to church on a regular basis and he's hoping that he'll be able to wear it on his mission. He will be heading out for that in about a year.

This is him at home before alterations. We intentionally bought this suit just slightly too big so he had room to grow into it a bit. We measured him for a 40, which would have fit him like a glove. We bought him a 42 Regular, which still fit him beautifully. The length was perfect, the sleeves were perfect, only the body of the suit needed to come in. I took that in through the center back seam.The slacks didn't need much work either. I took in the waist 4 inches and tapered that through the seat. I hemmed the slacks with a basic, handstitched tapered hem.

The suit was purchased from Nordstrom's Rack and was on clearance. It is a Steel Grey Calvin Klein.

The details: He purchased the shirt and tie also from Nordstroms Rack. I made him this beautiful vest  to match his date's dark pink sequined dress. The vest has a full back, is fully lined and has hand made covered buttons. His very favorite part of the whole ensemble though was his pink pocket square, also made by me.

Custom Temple Dress

Working on a custom Temple Dress for my friend Hailey. She wanted a white Hawaiian Print dress with a basic design. We had fun making sketches and discussing details. Can't wait for her final fitting tomorrow. Will post pictures here :-)

Backstage Pass: Little Women

Just a few of the pictures I took from backstage. I'm hoping to get some better on-stage shots from the director soon.

The Hag. Costume designed by my student Shannon. Repurposed materials from other costumes.

Meg's Ballgown. Sewn by me and embellished by students.

Professor Bhaer. Rented costume

Chorus member Tiffaney for the ball scene. All items were found in our costume closet and altered to fit.

Aunt March. Costume items found in closet and altered to fit. Added dark trim to bottom and around hood. Students made the feather headpiece.

Chorus members Ben and Jacob ready for the ball scene. Suits from closet. They were in bad condition and we had to fix them up a bit using a lot of Sharpie and a little thread.

Chorus Member Preston ready for the ice skating scene. All costume items from "the closet".

Mrs. Kirk. Items taken from closet and altered to make her look twice her size. Pocket added on apron to hold Jo's telegram from home!

The troll (not yet in full makeup) Costume Designed by student Rebecca.

Meg's daydress. This dress was designed to be worn before Meg is married (skinny) to when Meg is married and pregnant (pictured above), and she wears it after giving birth as well (when she looks a bit plumper than in the beginning. A fun dress to design and build. Students embellished it.

Aunt March when she comes back from Paris. I designed and built this one too. The actress is giving me her best disdainful Aunt March pout in this pic but just after I shot it she twirled around, smiled, and said this is my favorite costume I've ever worn in a play.

Clarissa. Costume was from the closet but was dramatically altered for her onstage stunts. She has two tear away sleeves and a tear away bustled train. She also has some alterations to make it easier for her to sword fight and we tore out  several underlayers of the dress so she wouldn't trip and stumble.

Jo is a very difficult person to get a picture of backstage because she is usually not there. She is onstage the majority of the play. This dress is her opening costume and was from the closet and then embellished by students. She also had a ballgown and another daydress that were both made new (by me) for this play.

Amy (with Aunt March in the background) wearing her "back from Paris" dress. You can't see it in this picture but this dress sparkles under the lights. It is trimmed in pearled and sequined lace and looks so fancy on stage. It also has a big bustled butt and has such a nice silhouette from the side in her scene with Laurie.This is one of five costumes that Amy wore in the play and the actress said this is her favorite. Because she changes so often none of her costumes have real buttons they are instead velcro'd shut.