Dovetail Hoodie

I created this top with the idea of a funky, warm and comfortable coat with a hoodie, as a top layer over my other clothes.  At first it was so long that it touched the ground.  After one day of wearing it, I realised that I had to change the style.   Even though I did not mind the 'Muslim' inspired look, as that was where I got the idea to begin with, this one was not warm enough and I kept stepping on the seam.

Personalized caps

Call me crazy, but I just love being creative.  My latest adventure is personalizing caps for my family for Christmas and birthdays.

Our German nieces and nephews calls my sister Coca-Colla!  They absolutely love both my sister and Coca-Cola.
Voila!!  Her gift...

My brother is a chef and master in almost everything in and around the house, he also loves Carling Black Label beer...
This is what I came up with for him.

I made a few more, but I can not publish them before Christmas, because the kids spend time online and I do not want them to see their pressies before the time.

24 Dresses

Recently, I have been given the opportunity to make 24 dresses for a new restaurant in High Street, near Tygervalley. 

The dresses were made, the embroidery added and the job was complete.

'For everything comes from Him; everything exists by His power and is intended for His glory.'  Romans11:36

MAMS Expo

At the MAMS expo this year my mum's bridesmaid's dress from approximately 50 years ago was my main attraction.  I took it along for decorative purposes, but it stole the show.  Now I know where I got my fashion sense from. Selah...

 

Lace is very trendy at the moment, and a few of my dresses included a lace facet.

La Femme Joline's men's fashion also includes lace this season.  The front of the men's waistcoat is a tan colour which is covered with a more masculine type black lace.

The main focus of La femme Joline marketing is 'Yesteryear'.  My old patterns comes in handy along with some suitcases from time gone by, an old hat case and my mum's golden oldie Pfaff sewing machine.

 

 

 

This expo would not have been possible without my golden oldie friends who allowed me to use the dresses I have made for them.  My mum and brother was a great influence in the decor and display.  Another golden oldie, Theresa, donated the amazing mannequins to be used for the event.  Thank you to everyone involved, I could not have done it without you.

Upcoming event - Matriek afskeid modeskou/ Matric dance fashion show and Expo

When:   18 September 2013
Where:  DF Malan High School
Time:    18:30pm
Who:     Various artists will be displaying their products including La Femme Joline
What:    Fashion, Hair,  Make-up, Beauty products, Flowers, Jewellery
Entrance Fee:  R60 for scholars, and R100 for adults

a touch of grace

I recently attended a wedding as a bridesmaid. The dress I made to wear to the wedding was part of the inspiration for this blog, but it was the wedding itself that ended up consuming my thoughts whilst writing it.  It was different to so many weddings I have attended before, but the blisters on my feet were kind of similar to before.  Even though I have been a bridesmaid several times, I keep forgetting that stilettos are not the shoe of choice for running around and organising last minute things. 

 

The wedding took place on a farm not far from a small South African town called Riebeeck Kasteel.  Some memories of the day were very significant.  When the girls were getting ready in the morning we asked the bride what the groom was doing, and she said that he and the groomsmen were having a prayer meeting to prepare for the day.   The pastor included Jesus in every aspect of the ceremony; it was breathtakingly beautiful to hear him describe the link between Jesus and love.  I was just praying that my mascara would not run from all the tears rolling down my face while the ceremony took place.  Later while the groom was removing the garter, the bride and groom giggled in turns.  It was so sweet to see such innocence still exists.  The 'normal' in today's society were totally contradicted. Today people test-drive partners like cars to see if they will be good enough before they make the decision to get married.  Who would include Jesus in their wedding in this century?  Really?

Try something new every now and again

Every once in a while you have to try something new in life.  That is just what I did.  I decided to join a craft group for an evening.  The project they were going to work on was painting mugs for themselves.  At first I was very nervous and did not know what to paint, or even if I could, but after about half an hour of just looking at what all the other ladies were doing I got around to painting my mug.  Some girls were going dotty, painting lovely bright dots all over their mugs and others even brought stencils to do their mugs.  One could easily feel intimidated by all the creativity in the room.  I soon realised that it was not a test, and that I could not fail.  I thought it would be a great idea to have a ‘La Femme Joline’ mug, with a bit of a twist.

What do you think?  A bit crazy, I know, just like me.  Choosing colours was not hard, but the actual painting was a bit more stressful, because you have to do each line you paint four times if I remember correctly.  Then the lady who gave the lesson took all our mugs and about two weeks later I returned to the craft group to collect my mug, which has now been through the proper process of glazing and firing in the kiln (oven, furnace).

Everything is just peachy!

A little peach number, created for a specific order for one of my customers.

It is the one on the far left in the store.

Coco Chanel

'In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.' 

Coco Chanel



For more information on Coco, please see link below
Coco Chanel Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com

Its 2013!!

 I am believing for a fresh, fantastic and favoured year for all of us;

with lots of fabulous, fresh and fecund ideas. 

 

This floral and fun dress is one of many produced for a shop

on their request, in various prints of their choice.

Little Green Dress

About a year ago a friend asked me whether I had a dress for her to wear to a function. 

I pulled out this one, which I actually made for myself for an upcoming trip to Mauritius.

She fell in love with it…

It was as if it was made specifically for her. So then what was supposed to be my dress became hers instead. That solved our problem, as she needed a dress quite urgently due to unforeseen circumstances.

 

 

The following picture is from a shoot, by Collective Dream Studios.

 

 

“Behind the scenes” of Vaughan Gardiner’s new music video, taken at Welbedacht, Schalk Burger and sons.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that she wore the dress to the music video, and I can't wait to see the video.  

For some more photos please see their link below. 
Collective Dream Studios.

Catching the essence of someone

A couple of months ago I made a few items for a client.  As I was browsing Facebook a couple of days ago, I saw her new photo album.

The photographer caught the essence of my friend on these photographs, and I also recognized the striped dress.

Here they are for your enjoyment.

Please visit this website to see more of her photography

www.fernevans.com
fernevans@telkomsa.net
Cell number: +27 (0) 83289 2971

Animals, prints and golden oldies

The last couple of weeks have been hectic.

Between sewing and taking photos, I do some Au Pairing as well. This week I looked after a dear friend's dog, and house sat for them.  Wow, and I almost forgot about the blogging.  It is a full life indeed.

I sometimes buy a couple of meters fabric and think 'I could use it later...'
There are a few crates full already.

So I got to use some of them at last.
This animal print I made for a friend in Australia, and was sent it last week.  Hope it got there safely. I won't tell who its for and spoil the Christmas surprise.

The red printed top I made as a sample to show some shops, turns out I needed a red top for a Latino night.  Bonus.  Now I get to wear it.

The upside down cows and horses on this top was bought specially for my niece.  It took me a few months before I got to making it, but voila, its done at last.

Funny thing is that even though I make all these interesting things, it is rarely for myself.  I have inflammation in my ankle from all the sewing (which I honestly never thought could happen).  How ridiculous is that.  I will endeavor to make some for myself for Christmas and will blog about it.  Ha, no pressure....

My comfy golden oldies (almost like a second skin), take note that the ripped effect is not bought like that (like the ones you get in the shops these days), but it is well worn in.  Mail me some of your golden oldies, would love to see them.

Sewing threads, tools and machines

In the blog post, ‘A sneak peak at making clothing’, I shared the basic steps of sewing clothes.  Today I will continue the process by introducing you to the basic instruments used in sewing.

1.   Thread

Thread is a basic part of sewing.  Even without sewing machines you could fix some of your socks or tops with a hand needle and thread.  It is also used with the sewing machines.  For the Plain sewing machine you only need one reel and for the overlocker you will need 4 reels.

The first threads were made from twine, animal tendons, thin leather or sinew, and later materials were twisted into thread like cotton and silk.  Today we also use synthetic materials, nylon and polyester as well as 

the natural fibers.

2.   Needles

When starting to make or mend your clothes you will need hand sewing needles and needles for the machine.  You will learn to master both as we go along.

The first needles were made from wood or animal bones and later bronze and steel were used to make perfectly sharp needles.

 
3.   Sewing machines   

•  Your hands

Your hands could be used as a sewing machine, so to speak.  With the correct needle and thread you can mend holes, attach two pieces of fabric and do some basic sewing.

The plain machine

• Plain sewing machine

See the single row of stitches made by Plain Machine

The plain sewing machine is used for most sewing for beginners.

It makes one row of straight stitches, to attach one piece of material to the other, which a bit more professional than hand sewing.  It can also make a zigzag stitch that could be used to keep the material from fraying on the edges. 

• Overlocker

An overlocker is used to make a more secure stitch when attaching two pieces of fabric, and it keeps the material from fraying on the edges by oversewing it.

An Overlocker

An overlocker using two needles to overlock seams

See the overlock stitch on the inside of the garment

    

  

4.   Pins

     Pins will definitely be used when starting the hobby, and I still use them today.  It keeps the pieces together until it is sewn or cut. (when cutting out the pattern on the material).

5.   Iron

     I love my Iron, and I do not like to use someone else’s because I know that mine will not burn anything that I iron.  Be careful not to set it too high, else it might.

   6.   Scissors

   You will need a big, sharp pair of scissors to do the cutting out of the material, and one to cut out the pattern paper, else the material scissor will get blunt very quickly.  Another useful item is a small scissor to keep with your machines, as handling a big one while sewing can become heavy and uncomfortable. 

Currently in the Willowbridge shop

 As per request of a few of my clients for some more pictures of things that I do, here are two more items that I made during this month.  I promise I will take more photos of the different orders I get in the future.

The grey top was a nice new challenge to get the lines to match perfectly in the front, but I was quite happy with the outcome.

The turquoise dress is one of many different prints and colours that was ordered, and I am currently busy with a few more.  With this one the challenge was making the pattern, but the clients are definitely loving it.

You are welcome to go view and fit these in store.

A sneak peak at how to make clothing for yourself

Placing pattern pieces on fabric

Making clothing is a very satisfying hobby, and it can grow to be a lucrative business, if that were the route you would like to follow.  I started making some clothes for a few friends, and myself.  Then later I went to college to acquire more skills.  Now I supply a couple of stores in the Cape Town area.
I also do once off garments for personal clients, and I still make some items for myself. I know a few girlfriends that are interested in making their own clothing, so I thought I would start something for them.

The basic steps are:

1.  Getting an idea. 
When making an item, the outfit should best suit your shape and colouring.   When making for someone else, keep in mind that in this job the customer is NOT always right.
Eg.  People believe that the clothing should be loose fitting, the bigger the size, but the truth is that tighter fitting clothing actually could accentuate the right features making a person appear sexier and more stylish.

Cutting out the pieces

2.  Buying the pattern or making one yourself
when you have acquired the skills

3.  Finding the best fabric. 

4.  Placing the pattern on the fabric

5.  Cutting out the fabric pieces
 
6.  Sewing the correct pieces to each other,
with the correct machine (We can go into that another time as there are many different types of sewing machines which are used for various different stitches.)

7. And finally ironing the garment before you wear it.

Please leave a comment or any questions.  I would love to hear how I could help you make your first outfit without having it look like a homemade item.

 

Displaying the garment in a shop

Finally, completing the process, 

you wearing the garment.

Twighlight shoot

How do you make a formal dress for a very unique redhead? 

No, its not the one from Twilight, this one is naturally red.

She is a teenager, skateboarder chick, with a lot of spirit (spunk).  See her creative skateboard below...

Craft market day - September 2012

About a month ago I had the opportunity to display my items at a craft market in the Cape Town area, South Africa.

Grecian tops, comfortable jackets, and vintage picture frames

I thought I would share some pics of market day with you.  There are still some items available, so please contact me if you are interested in anything.

Stretch dresses and tops

The items ranged from clothing, to vintage tennis racket picture frames and other items.

Fabric hearts to decorate your door or wall.

Have fun going through them, and pop me an email if you are interested in anything...

Animal print off shoulder tops, and linen pants