E for Embellishment #5

Sometime last year, my sister requested my help to do an inventory of her unused clothings, leftover from her former tailoring business.

As I was going through the stock, a few interesting pieces caught my eyes. The idea of using them for my projects came to mind instantly and I simply could not resist the temptation that I just had to have them. So, I quickly grabbed them and asked my sister to name her price.

One of the pieces was a plain peach-coloured traditional Malay outfit or baju kurung pesak (the top only), which was like a piece of blank canvas to a painter, ready for me to start on my embellishment project.

It did not take me long to decide on the concept and idea for the design. Since it was made of satin, I was not confident enough to choose an elaborate design. Therefore, I settled for a much simpler one.

For this embellishment project, I have chosen coloured beads that matched very well with the colour of the baju kurung.

Unfortunately, after completing the front of the baju kurung, I ran out of beads. Arh well! Guess I just had to contend with what I have already achieved thus far.

bodice (left and right)

end of sleeve (left and right)

bottom of baju kurung (left and right)

F for Fashion reconstruction #13

Of all the fashion reconstruction projects, I think this one deserves an award for the most detailed design, because it comprised of gathers, pleats, puffs, cuffs, trimmings and bias bindings.


All of the above details are time consuming which even my masterful sister would not have the patience to work on. But because I am one who is particular about details, this kind of project is something I enjoy doing because at the end of the day, I know that the satisfaction is always guaranteed.

My initial idea was to just make a simple dress out of a sleeveless top and long skirt linen suit to add to my casual collection.

This suit was bought in mid 1990s and was still in very good condition. Unfortunately, I no longer wear them because I have outgrown the skirt.

In order to achieve a comfy fit, I realised that the new dress would require more fabric. So, instead of rushing to the textile centre, I decided to look through my closet first. There, I found a pair of khaki pants that matched. Since I seldom wear this pants, I thought that it could not be more apt for me to sacrifice it for this project.

After setting aside the material needed for the dress, I still had excess fabric from the pants. So, I decided to challenge myself further by adding sleeves to the picture.


This crafty monkey was working hard on this project, particularly, on the minute details and finishings that she sometimes forgot to break for lunch.


Nevertheless, perseverance always pays in the end. On the second week, the dress was finally ready for unveiling.


To complete the look, I did eventually go to the textiles centre to get the buttons that I want.

Who could tell that this was a cut-and-paste project, if I had not disclosed the facts?


I can proudly say that you cannot find this item anywhere. 💃🐒👌🙋

E for Embellishment #4

Besides beads and sequins, there are other materials we can use to embellish our clothes e.g. stones, lace and embroidery.

So, for my next embellishment project, I have chosen coloured stones which my sister gave me. The stones resemble green emerald, red ruby, yellow sapphire and white diamond.

And the dress to be embellished was a floral number bought together with the previous red-fuschia dress.

Even though the concept was simple, I am pleased by the result because the stones gave more character to the floral motifs and made them look life-like.

bodice

middle of dress

bottom of skirt

F for Fashion reconstruction #12

The previous fashion reconstruction projects have been sourced either from my own pre-loved clothes or from my masterful sister's collection.


However, this fashion reconstruction project differs from the usual stuff in the sense that the item I have chosen is something which I bought recently from a flea market.

It was a pre-loved 2-piece baju kurung moden or modern Malay outfit which was still in good condition and cost me only $5.

When I first put it on, it looked rather old on me and made me look short. So I thought I should give it a fresh new look. With some adjustments, I believe I should be able to turn this dreadful thing into something cheerful for me to wear on the next festive season.

I had an idea of how the new dress would look like and made a rough sketch of it.

But after examining the pieces of material available, I realised that I could do more. So I made a slight modification to the design.

Because I was down with flu, it took me a week and half to complete this project and another couple of days to complete the embellishments. 

I am very pleased that the new dress turned out to be better than I had expected. When I put on this dress, it made me look slim and taller.


Even my mom was impressed. She even said that a dress like this would fetch at least $100 at one of our local boutiques. hmmm Coming from her, an experienced dressmaker, I took that as a compliment, because a feedback such as this, rarely comes my way.

Who could tell that this was a cut-and-paste project, if I had not disclosed the facts?


I can proudly say that you cannot find this item anywhere. 💃🐒👌🙋

E for Embellishment #3

Embellishing clothes can be a tricky process especially if the material to be embellished is not tightly woven.


This is the case for my next embellishment project.


When I bought this dress, I was only attracted by the design and motifs and did not realise that the material is loosely woven.

So when I decided to embellish this dress, it was rather difficult for me to conceal the knots of the thread. Fortunately, I found a way to solve this issue by double looping the thread instead. By doing so, I didn't need to make knots at the beginning or ending.


Also when I bought the beads, I did not realise that they were spray painted beads because after only 1 wash, the gold on some of the beads disappeared. What's left was a clear plastic bead. Boy, don't I feel cheated? I guess that was the reason they sold the beads cheap.


Ah well, I could always change the beads when all of the paint have worn out. Until then, I am happy with the outcome of my efforts.

beads around motif

end of sleeve (left and right)

bottom of skirt

bottom of skirt (back)

E for Embellishment #2

While I was embellishing my clothes, I began to wonder where I got this passion or talent from because although both my parents were dressmakers, I have never seen them work on embellishments before.


So, one day, I casually asked my mom if she knew anyone in her family who shared the same passion as I. It turned out that my grandmother, her mother, used to earn extra income by embellishing clothes and souvenirs for weddings. I also found out that my grandmother also liked making paper flowers.


So, the saying "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" is false because when it comes to my family, it skipped one generation.


Now that the mystery is solved, I am grateful that I have been given this crafty gift of art.


For this episode, I will showcase an item I bought on the same day as my first embellished dress and the concept is the same ~ I used sequins and beads.

bodice

middle of skirt

bottom of skirt (front & back)

F for Fashion reconstruction #11

Ten fashion reconstruction projects have been completed with much success but I am sad to say that my one and only masterful sister, who has been helping me put the pieces of materials together, has decided to quit.


There is nothing I could do to change that because her decision is final but fret not because as the saying goes "the show must go on" and so will I.

So, this project makes it my first lone project, without help from anyone.


I still have countless projects in the pipeline and since "time waits for no man (or woman)", so do I.

Without further ado, I will showcase my creation which took me about 1 week to complete.

It all came about when I was rummaging through my closet and saw some short blouses which were still in very good condition but just needed an updated look because I was bored pairing them with jeans.

This idea also came at an opportuned time because I wanted more long dresses that I can wear for my casual outings.

After mixing and matching, I found the perfect items for the look that I was after. The whole process was a work-in-progress, all the way from start to finish. I even used up every piece of the material except for a few unusable remnants which I had to cut off anyway.

Mind you, these pieces are really old. The cap-sleeved cotton blouse I bought in early 2000s and the cotton jumpsuit in mid 1990s but because I take good care of my clothes, they still look as good as new.

And the outcome was simply amazing. Even my sister was impressed.

When I wore it to dinner on the eve of National Day, a lady who sat next to our table did not stop looking at my dress once but twice. She even looked me top to toe when I stood to leave my table.

Who could tell that this was a cut-and-paste project, if I had not disclosed the facts?


I can proudly say that you cannot find this item anywhere. 💃🐒👌🙋

F for Fashion reconstruction #10

Ever wondered what you could do with those hockey or tennis skirts which you no longer wear?

Well, I have a few of those and perhaps this fashion reconstruction project might give you an idea.


So for this project, I decided to follow up on my previous Audrey Hepburn's "Breakfast at Tiffany's" couture by pairing the pleated black hockey skirt with a black cocktail dress, my second black dress bought in Sydney in 2012.

It was a simple yet tricky number to put together and took my masterful sister and I, 4 days to complete. However, the embellishments took me longer to complete because I could not decide on the design.


After about a month or so, I finally found the design I wanted and went to work.

The result is yet another elegant dress.

Just like the previous black dress, I could not decide if I should fix a pair of sleeves on this one so I left it as it is for now.


On a formal occasion, I could always put on the shrug which I made for an instant pair of sleeves.

Who could tell that this was a cut-and-paste project, if I had not disclosed the facts?


I can proudly say that you cannot find this item anywhere. 💃🐒👌🙋

F for Fashion reconstruction #9

This fashion reconstruction project is probably the first and the last of its kind which I will ever create because it took me forever to complete.


When I decided to put 3 pieces of items together to make a full length dress, I never thought that it would be so much work.


The idea of combining a black cotton blouse (bought in Hong Kong in 2011) and 2 tiered skirts (a plain black cotton one bought in Sydney in 2012 and another, a printed polyester one, bought in Hong Kong in 2011) was so appealing that I just went ahead with it. Little did I know that this project would take the longest time for my masterful sister and I to complete.

But because of my persistence and perseverance, I finally finished this project after taking 2 months' break. So, it actually took us 3 months to complete this mission impossible project.


I could not be happier as I pulled the last tacking thread off the dress and took a long sigh of relief. The nightmare is finally over!


And after looking at the outcome of this project, it makes all that time and effort spent worth our while.

Who could tell that this was a cut-and-paste project, if I had not disclosed the facts?


I can proudly say that you cannot find this item anywhere. 💃🐒👌🙋