Fashionable Safety Vest

Safety vests are not the most fashionable items.  This project was inspired by an instructables tutorial. 

For running you need a high-vis vest with reflective elements, that will not rub or chafe while running.
I re-designed the vest to leave plenty of room on the sides where your arms naturally move while running and made it shorter so it would close at the natural waist.

Vest design in adobe illustrator

The fabric is high vis polyester from the utility fabrics section of joann's.  I cut the fabric on the laser cutter (Universal Laser cutter, fabric settings).  This has the benefit of quickly cutting a fairly intricate pattern, and sealing the edges of the polyester fabric.

Laser cut fabric

The original tutorial used circles of reflective material.  I was able to easily cut the reflective iron on strips with a papercrafting punch.  This allowed me to make them in all sorts or shapes, including stars.

papercrafting punch cutting reflective stars

Sewn on reflective tape on the front and back for extra visibility.

 

Test run.  Comfortable fit, however wearing a water bottle belt covers the reflective tape at the waist, and many of the iron-on stars are already coming off.  On to version 2....

Pirate dress for the Pirate festival

I found this fantastic cotton print in remnants, mostly less than a yard each. Pirate tiki? Retro pirate? Clearly it needed to be a vintage style dress. 

I used Simplicity 8051, view A, one of the more recent vintage inspired patterns. It took about 5-6 hours from opening the envelope to finished dress. The only alterations I made were to the paper pattern based solely on measurements.

The final result is cute and flattering. If I were to make it again I would cut a size smaller in the bodice and neck yoke. There is plenty of fabric in the gathered bodice for those with a c cup, I think friends with similar band measurements and larger cups would totally fit this dress. I also ended up with extra fabric at the bottom of the back triangle and in the yoke band. Those folks not in a time crunch should probably mock up the yoke and bodice to get the right size.

Also, the pattern instructions could use more info on finishing the yoke. I'm not sure if I missed the directions but I ended up top stitching some bits because I couldn't figure out what else to do.

Would make this pattern again with some fit alterations to the bodice.

Call For Models - May 21 and May 22

Ever wanted to try modeling? 

I'm looking for 5-10 models for a mini fashion show at the Bay Area Maker Faire on Saturday May 21 and Sunday May 22.  Pieces are mostly sizes 0 - 6 U.S. women’s sizing.

The time commitment would be approximately from 11am - 4pm for two shows at 1 pm and 3 pm on Saturday and more flexible on Sunday.

Contact at sahrye AT gmail DOT com if you are interested. 


Here are some more fantastic pieces from this year http://www.makefashion.ca/portfolio-item/makefashion-2016-gala-by-jeff-mcdonald/

And this year's dresses with 3D printed accents.

 

3D printing on Fabric

The first of my Make Fashion pieces is starting to come together!

This year I'm 3D printing directly on to fabric using a translucent PLA, which will be lit from behind with addressable LEDs. The fabrics are all nets with sequins. We tested several fabrics and were able to adhere PLA to net, tulle, and net with small sequins.

My Utilimaker 2 has a heated bed, which is really helping the pieces adhere.

And the pieces coming together.

Next, lots of LEDs.

Want to come see the show? Buy your tickets here https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/4th-annual-makefashion-wearable-tech-gala-runway-show-tickets-20446901232

Art Nouveau Chatelaines

The International Terminal at SFO has excellent exhibits. This time they had a fantastic one on Art Nouveau, with craft, art and everyday objects from 1890-1914. This included some fantastic chatelaine s. My favorite was this octopus. Would also be perfect for steampunk.

Win Tickets to the MakeFashion Gala April 2nd

I super excited about my new pieces for the MakeFashion Gala in Calgary on April 2!
We've been 3D printing on some really fabulous fabric and all out electronics have finally arrived!

Here's an updated sneak peak of my piece, Mimic (and there will be an extra piece with the same theme)

And here's the project page!

If you'd like to win free ticket to the event
Want to attend the 4th annual MakeFashion Wearable Tech Gala in Calgary for free? Enter to win two tickets to the event. All you have to do is tell us what project you’re most excited to see!
Mine of, course!

How to enter:
Check out our 2016 project previews here.
Tweet about which piece you’re most excited to see (either the project name or a link) and tag @makefashionCA.
We will randomly select a winner via draw on March 26th 2016.
Each tweet is eligible for one entry, one tweet permitted per day.

Basket Reticule

Finally used up all my ribbon flowers from years of Candace Kling classes.

Based on basket style and hard-bottom reticules from around 1810-1830s.

And here's my version, using a reticule base made by Catherine Scholar.