Body Contour Mini Collection: Cape, Corset, & Top

For my draping class this past semester we had to do a 3 piece mini collection for our term project, with one of the pieces being the corset I updated on a few weeks ago. I knew right away since I did a below-the-bust corset that I would want to include a top in the collection that could be worn under the corset. I found a beautiful stretch lace and used the scalloped edge at the top. I had planned to use the lace for the entire thing, but it was so delicate that it lost a lot of shape putting it on and off the dress form, so I used a mesh for the back. I had to hand sew the hem and top edge of the whole top because it is soo fragile, but with the addition of a velvet bow, I really love the way it turned out.

Sooo, finishing this corset was INSANE. After I finished all the pinning, it took me a little over 25 hours to hand sew all of the ribbons down, and then about 10 more hours to hand sew the lining in and the metal hoops down the back. My pattern making teacher told me she would have glued the whole together. Tempting...

Finished corset over blouse!

For the back I just laced a skinny velvet ribbon through these really nice almost brass looking hooks i found. I wanted the bottom to kind of open up because I loved the curved line, but also to show off the back of the mesh top.

While fabric shopping for a project for another class, I came across this remnant of faux lambs wool that was totally gorgeous, and the guy gave me a great deal on it. Since there was a limited amount, I immediately thought of doing a kind of cape that would make a glamorous topper to the ensemble. This was tough fabric to work with, and also involved hours of hand sewing, but with the addition of some really decadent rhinestone buttons the finished garment is really lovely I think. I gave this to my mom for Christmas and it looks great on her!

Modeled by Joanne!!

I think what I was most proud of with this project is that every single piece was constructed and sewn perfectly when I turned them in. A lot of times, when it gets down to the wire some of the finishing gets compromised, which is understandable, but a little sad. By total miracle though, by Monday, December 21st at 1:30pm I was able to put everything on the form for grading! My Christmas miracle!!

Knitting a Cardigan!

Wow! I have seriously been slacking in updating, but the last two weeks of school were insaneeee, followed by a four day trip to Texas for Christmas, and then a week in Harbor Springs for New Years. Now I'm back in New York and have been at my new internship for 2 days. It's a great experience, but it is definitely keeping me very busy. Anyways, all of this has kept me away from my updating duties, but the good thing is, that it has also given me time to complete tons of projects that I can now share! Awesome.

So, to get the ball rolling:

This past semester was focused primarily on knits. One of the classes I took was machine knitting, where we worked on these Brother hand knitting machines. They are pretty awesome tools, although they can be pretty tough to get the hang of.

Confession: Angy and I went totally yarn crazy this semester, and in anticipation of doing loadsss of projects we will never have time to do we each stuffed our lockers with skeins and skeins of yarn. No, seriously, I currently cannot open my locker safely...

Knitting the fabric for my "creative" scarf, which ended up being a cardigan.

After I finished knitting the fabric, I sewed together the pieces, made armholes and draped the collar, made a velvet bow closure, and embroidered a Comme des Garçons inspired heart on the lapel...

Final Product!

Modeled by my fave young Korean, JoAnne!

Detail Shot of the heart embroidery I did, and the velvet bow!

I didn't get a back shot, but it is solid black and really drapey, almost a big cowl.

I really, really love this piece, I wore it over a plain black dress with black tights for Christmas Eve, and it was the perfect amount of festive.

more coming... (!!!)

A work in progress...

For my body contour class we have to make a three piece mini collection for our term project, and one of the pieces has to be a corset. I have no idea what inspired me to do this, but I decided to weave the entire thing out of ribbons. Crazy. Anyways, on Sunday I draped a base out of double faced silk satin and sewed in 9 pieces of boning for structure. Between the stiffness of the satin and all of the boning, this will definitely not be something to be worn for comfort! Thennnn, I started weaving. Since this is not a technique I have used before I am basically making it up as I go along. Last night I got as far as getting all of the vertical ribbons in place, and this morning I started weaving in the horizontal ones. Since this is a pretty intricate (and seriously time consuming) piece, I decided to post some progress pictures.

The double faced satin base.

Getting the vertical ribbons in place.

I am using black velvet, satin and grosgrain ribbons, and dark grey and green grosgrain ribbons.

After 12 hours of sewing and pinning, I had to pin all of those ribbons down so I could go home.

Inside look at boning and all those pins. ugh. I will hand sew in lining to cover up the boning when I am done with the weaving.

The pins have the same effect as a kitten that hasn't been de-clawed...

Once I have all of the ribbons in place, I have to hand sew the entire thing down... I'm really looking forward to that. I'll post more pictures once I've finished, along with the two other pieces in the collection. Which, since this is taking an eternity to complete, are getting more and more simple...

Time to coffee up and get back to work!

P.S. I got a design internship today!! Im super excited!!

High Tea at the St. Regis in NYC

On the day after Thanksgiving, Marissa and I slept in and relaxed, and then decided to brave the crowds uptown in order to check out some sales and, most importantly, go to a fancy high tea. I've been to several High Tea's in the city in the four years i've lived here, but so far the St. Regis is definitely my favorite. It has the most incredible atmosphere and the food is super delicious. I would like to live in the St. Regis...

The tea sandwiches.

The scones and pastries.

Beautiful tea pot.

Marissa and I in a lovely booth... soo cozy

Behind the Scenes: Thanksgiving Baking

I finally uploaded pics from my camera, and I had some pictures taken by Marissa and I from the Thanksgiving morning bake-a-thon...

First, to give you an idea of what i'm working with here... this is my entire kitchen- all of it!!

Rolling out pie crusts. I don't have a rolling pin, so I use a glass usually.

The real challenge is finding enough counter space!

Apple and cranberry pie filling. So easy to make. I cut all of the apples into slices so that when you cut the pie, it looks really pretty. The cranberries added awesome color!

Ready to bake.

Ready to eat!

After the chocolate cream set, I added a layer of raspberries before I put the whipped cream on top.

Hye working on the icing for the red velvet cake. Marissa popping open a bottle of sparkling apple cider (SO typical!) ...check out that glamour apron!

2nd Annual Korean American Thanksgiving Dinner!

Tonight we packed 20 people into my teeny, tiny baby apartment in Chelsea. It was SO much fun! I was so afraid we wouldn't have enough food, but at the end of the night I packed up to-go plates for 6 people! And there is still some left for Marissa and I's breakfast!

The Menu:

Turkey (delicious, amazing, perfectly cooked)- by Suji

Stuffing (so awesome-- am getting the recipe asap because everyone must make!)- by Angélique

Korean noodle dish (quite possibly my favorite korean food yet)- by Yeagi and Sookhyun

and Mashed potatoes and biscuits (yum yum yum)- by my fave sis, Marissa

Sookhyun, Suji, Hye, Marissa, me, Yaegi

Sue, Suji, Marissa, me, Angélique

Sue, Suji, Marissa

So, after we were all totally stuffed and comatose... we started on desserts.

I wanted to make all new and different pie recipes from last year, and I am pretty happy about the way they all turned out.

Clockwise from upper left: Cranberry Apple Crumble Pie, Brown Sugar-Buttermilk Pie, another Cranberry Apple Crumble, Red Velvet Cake, and a Black Bottom Raspberry Cream Pie

Yaegi's favorite was the Black Bottom Raspberry Cream Pie-- it was literally gone in 2 minutes, so I would call it a hit. So, so delicious. I made the chocolate cookie crust with Newman's chocolate ABC cookies because I couldn't find any chocolate wafer cookies. The texture wasn't super fine, but it still looked really good, and had great flavor.

I love buttermilk pies. This recipe was delicious and really, really easy to make.

Annnd, the red velvet cake. Made just for Hye. I only have 7" pie pans, so i used those instead of the 9", which made a really tall cake. It honestly turned out perfectly. The Southern tradition addition to the meal... I miss Texas food.

Recipes:

*Cranberry Apple Crumb Pie

*Brown Sugar Buttermilk Pie

*Black Bottom Raspberry Cream Pie

*Red Velvet Cake (I didn't use the raspberries and blueberries, waaay too expensive at this time of year...)

I used my mom's pie crust recipe for the apple pies and buttermilk:

2 cups flour

1/2 cup canola oil

1/4cup icy cold milk

And: all of these pics were taken by my girl, Angélique. Seriously, if you haven't checked it out already...

click HERE!

It was a really wonderful day. I'm so glad I have so many great friends (who all also happen to be fantastic cooks) that I could spend the day with.

Mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, and pie for breakfast?

UPDATED**Hooded Cardigan with Checkered Pleather Trim

This past weekend I made a couple of pieces for my patternmaking class. The skirt is a very slim pencil skirt that due to Pie Pop overloading I am not modeling... But! The top turned out really cool. The body of the cardigan is only three pieces- the two front panels extend all the way up to create the front part of the hood. The pleather trim was a little tricky to work with, particularly since I was sewing it to a jersey fabric, but it really does add a classy touch. My favorite parts are the hood, obviously, but even more I love the length in the front and the shortness in the back. It's a really cool oversized top to wear over anything.

Cutting out the cardigan...

Top and skirt on the form. The form has a way tinier waist than me, which is why it doesn't fit right.

Back view.

Back view

Hood!

My sister is coming today to visit and to be here for the 2nd Annual Korean/American Thanksgiving Day party at my place. The menu is starting to come together and I am super excited about it. I'm doing desserts and am currently deliberating on my recipes of choice.

So excited!!!