Meow Wolf Snurtle Slippers

At Meow Wolf's Convergence Station in Denver, there is a truck called Snurtle that is covered in lights and you can sit in the front our enter the back and go on a trippy journey. I was tasked with turning that large vehicle into house slippers!

The truck is very angular with lots of triangles and lights, as well a various intricate images painted on the sides. I started with a sketch to figure how a foot would fit into and how to break down those hard metal shapes into soft fabric that could make up a slipper.

 

I use my sketch to draft the pattern shape. First building it out of muslin, then making a sample version in finish fabrics. I had worked with long chenille fabrics making some pet toys so I though that material would work well to replicate the feel of the cleaning fringe on the truck.

I used a combination of machine embroidery and appliqué to define the different sections on the truck. In my first sample I didn't have the intricate image that would later be screen printed on. I also added some rhinestones to mimic the lights.

The real truck has a light up antenna so I tried to replicate that with a removable light. This way you could snap off the light to wash the slippers.

 

 

Once the in house design team at Meow Wolf is happy with the pattern and sample I've created that is usually the end of my involvement. So what comes back as the final factory piece is often a surprise to me. There are a lot of design and cost decisions that come in to play working with the factory to get to a point where everyone is happy with the product. For the Snurtle slippers, they dropped the light feature, switching it out for a sequin ball that is no doubt simpler to construct. They switched out multiple panel piecing for a simpler construction with fewer pieces and a full back instead of the slide in slipper. They also printed all the images and dropped the front mirror pieces. Even with changes it's always cool to see the final result.

Factory Finals

Available in the Meow Wolf Store

Summer Wedding Party Dress

Along with the invitations, I designed and made a new dress for my wedding celebration. It was during Fiestas de Santa Fe so I looked to traditional fiesta dresses for inspiration. I found the cream colored lace fabric first and let that dictate a color that would pop out well. I've worked with gold lamé in the past and it frays so easily I wanted to find a gold with a little more body. The fabric I found is still very metallic but it has a shantung feel, so there are some more fibers running through it to give it more weight and it doesn't just fall apart when you cut it.

I did my best to incorporate special things in the day of the celebration. The buttons are from a Lilly Pulitzer mens jacket that belonged to Alec's grandfather, which I remade to fit me. The thicker bracelet belonged to my grandmother and my mom gave me the thinner bracelet. The locket was a high school graduation gift from my dad and brother. My wedding ring is from Alec's grandmother so I think I got a lot of family covered.

 I know we don't look super excited in this photo, but it shows the dress the best and we were very happy but we had a lot of photos to take.

Fiesta Dress Sketches

I'm going to make a new dress for my wedding party this September and I'm currently inspired by 1950's Fiesta Dresses. Here's the first couple of sketches, I'm sure I'll be doing more before I decide on a final design.



Collage image credits (clockwise from left to right): Turquoise Dress, Pattern 1, Red Top, Brown Dress, Cream & Black Top, Pattern 2

My Wedding Dress

Alec and I got married last month! Luckily I had enough time to make my own wedding dress. I used a variation of the the dia de los muertos dress pattern that I made a couple years ago because I knew it fit me well. Since I was married in the winter I added long sleeves. I also really wanted a collar, so I added a peter pan style flat collar.

I'm a non-traditional lady who loves color, so making a white wedding dress wasn't really considered. I had been thinking about making it in a rich purple velvet, but I ended up finding this great printed fabric at the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse.

I picked out a cranberry velveteen for the trim details. Finding a good color match for the trim to fit with the print was a challenge (the materials photo doesn't show it well, but it does match) and I ended up with a pretty thick velveteen. To make sure the collar and cuffs weren't too bulky I found a cranberry polyester shantung to create a lighter facing. I also made Alec a matching tie using the same shantung fabric, the velveteen was just too thick.  The pink petticoat I made was created to give this dress a little more lift in the skirt, and to coordinate withe the pink flowers in the dress.

There are two pockets hidden in the side seams, because I like to be able to carry my own things even without a purse. I know that it's very non-traditional and doesn't give off much of a wedding vibe but it's very special to me. Plus since I'm so practical I can wear it again in the future for other special occasions.

Making a Petticoat

I love a big full skirt and it really helps to built a foundation layer to create the right look. A couple weeks ago, I made my first petticoat!
 It took longer than I anticipated mostly because of all the gathering that goes into creating a lot of fullness. Plus when sewing tulle layers together it helps to put a bias strip in between the seams so the stitches have something to grab hold of and that takes some extra time.

I made my petticoat with a built in slip underlay that matches the fullness of the tulle overlay. Since it's not transparent I could also wear this as a skirt if I wanted to.

There are a lot of different types of tulle out there, I went with stiff and cheap to get the fullness I was imagining. The dress I made to go over the petticoat has a full skirt, but I was looking for a specific amount of lift. Usually a slip or underlay is made out of polyester that won't cling as you walk, but I wasn't worried about that so I just used a simple lightweight woven cotton.


 
Materials:

1 3/4  yards lightweight Cotton (for the slip/underskirt)
2  yards Tulle
4 - 6  yards bias strips ~1 1/2 inches wide  (I used pre-made but you could match the slip/underskirt material and make your own)
1/2"  wide elastic



 
Creating the skirt is all about gathering ratios. The cotton I bought was 44" wide and I used the full width as my basis for creating the skirt. There are 4 tiers for the underlay, and my fullness rations worked out like this:

First tier is the full width of the fabric: 44"
2nd tier: width plus 1/2    44" + 22" = 66"
3rd tier: 2 widths of fabric   44" + 44" = 88"
4th tier: 2 1/2 widths of fabric  44" + 44" + 22" = 108"





Since plain weave cotton tears so nicely,  I just measured, snipped and tore 7 strips each 7" high. I then tore one of the widths in half to create the extra 22" I would need for tier 2 and 4. I used a french seam to connect the strips so there aren't loose fabric ends. Each tier is gathered into the next. I ran a loose shirring stitch on the top of each tier once it was sewn together in a loop.

The tulle overlay only has 3 tiers, since the 4th tier is where it's combined with the underskirt. The nice thing about the underskirt is that you don't get any of the itchiness of having tulle in direct contact with your skin. The tulle that I got was wider than the cotton, but I used the same ratio as I gathered the layers. Tulle doesn't tear, so I cut 7" strips the full width.






The extra step in combining the tulle layers is that you need to sew a strip of bias between the layers of tulle. Since tulle is a net it doesn't really have enough material for the machine stitches to hold on to, by adding the bias strip you give the stitches somewhere to go and grab on.

On the top tier I just folded it over to create a channel for the elastic to do the gathering for me. The underskirt has a basic folded over hem while the tulle has a extra layer of bias as the hem.

I could easily see adding twice the amount of fabric into the petticoat as I did for a much fuller look, but I'm very happy with how this pink petticoat turned out. I hope I have time in the future to make more in lots of different colors.

Samples for Fashion Club

I started a new job last month teaching an after school fashion design club for high school students.  I haven't done any fashion rendering in awhile and to show the students some marker rendering techniques I had to get back in the habit.  Here are a couple of my examples of combining markers and colored pencils.

Soft Doll Project

This summer is just flying by and I've been slacking off on posts.  I'm in the process of making a soft doll with a full wardrobe of outfits. The doll is already in progress so she should be done soon, in the meantime,  here are some of the first illustrations for outfits.  I'm sure once I make them and get the fabric swatches, the colors and prints will change,  but this is what I'm starting with.

Wizard Robe

 Halloween is approaching fast, and it's my favorite holiday.  Last year,  due to a recent move and being sick, I didn't participate.  This year I'm trying to make up for it.  Alec is going to be Dumbledore,  because it's the last year he will have his epic beard.  I'm going to go as Hermione,  so we compliment each other.  I'm going to go as polyjuice mix up  cat Hermione so it's extra fun.

When Alec and I went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter last January,  they had all the house robes,  but they were over-priced and cheaply made.  Instead I picked up an official Hogwarts crest patch so I could make my own custom robe.

I created the robe pattern by expanding a tent sloper to full length and adding bishop style sleeves and a hood. This is not a replica of the movie robes by any means.  I didn't fully line this robe,  it just has facing pieces to finish the opening.  It is a generic Hogwarts robe, as it doesn't have any of the house colors for the lining. This way it can be any character's robe.

 To make it, I was trying to use material I already had around the house.  I didn't have the right kind of buttons in black, so I just found the right size in my button collection and covered them in the same fabric as the robe.  I used a lightweight woven cotton that I had found at a fabric re-use place in Portland.  I would recommend a heavier weight synthetic that resists wrinkling if I was going to make it again.  There are in seam pockets on the sides for wands and chocolate frogs.

If you would like to make a robe similar to the one I made,  here is the rough pattern.  Print this out and blow it up until it is the size of the measurements stated.  This is a very roomy robe that could fit a large range of sizes.

*Addition April 18, 2013*
Here are the really rough instructions on how to put the pattern pieces together. If you've never sewn before this isn't enough information for you to put the robe together correctly, it's just a loose guide for people who've sewn from patterns before.

click images to view larger

Lilly Pulitzer Jacket Re-mix

I recently took this awesome, bold printed Lilly Pulitzer Mens Stuff jacket and cut it down so that it would fit me.  I used the same pattern set that I used for the color swatch dress, this time following the jacket pattern.  The choice of pattern was determined by whether it used the same or less fabric than the original.  The original jacket is classic men's single breasted style with a two-part sleeve.  The new jacket style is a loose, boxy shape with a low yoke that shapes the bust.  I made a point to keep as many of the original's details including the flap pockets and the awesome gold lion buttons.  The original jacket was only partially lined,  so I did have to purchase new fabric for the lining. Amazingly, even though the new jacket is a lot smaller, I used almost all of the original fabric.

History of the jacket:
Last year,  Alec's grandfather,  E. Howard Goodwin passed away.  He was a very sharp and classy dresser during his life.  Alec inherited his grandfather's amazing tie collection along with a couple bright suits from Lilly Pulitzer's Mens Stuff collection dating from the late 1960's to early 1970's.  Since Alec is not one to wear bright, bold prints he gave the pieces to me to do whatever I wanted.  I only met Howard through video chat before he passed,  but now I have something to continually remind me of him.

 

Inside the jacket was this neat, old tag from the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America union.
A nice touch from times past.

Dia de los Muertos skeleton dress

Just one more summer dress for the month of June,  then I'll move on to some different things.  I made this dress for Fiestas de Santa Fe, the yearly celebration of the founding of Santa Fe, NM.

The inspiration was the celebratory skeleton fabric more than anything. The look of the dress has nothing to do with traditional fiesta attire,  I went with with a fitted princess line bodice that flares into a full skirt.  I made the pattern by hand,  as it's nice to have something fit just right.  I included in-seam side pockets because so many dresses don't have them, and I don't always carry a purse.

Fiesta Dress fix

Original Tunic

 My friend Dana is getting married at the end of July and I'm one of her many bridesmaids. Dana is from New Mexico like myself,  so the wedding theme is Mexican fiesta,  even though it will be taking place in Seattle.  All the bridesmaids will be wearing embroidered Mexican dresses in a rainbow of colors. I ordered mine here.  Even though it was a pueblo style blouse,  I checked the measurements and the one I ordered seemed long enough to be a dress.
 It arrived with none of the stated measurements accurate,  so it was too short to be dress.  I didn't want to deal with sending it back, so I altered it.  I knew I wouldn't be able to match the purple fabric perfectly,  so I chose a lighter shade of purple to accent the embroidered yoke and skirt.  Elastic in the back waistband gathers in the fabric and lets me still get it on by pulling it over my head.  I added a sash because I really like sashes.

Sea Life Dress

With summer in full swing, I've unpacked a lot of seasonal clothes that I haven't been able to wear in awhile. So here is another dress that I've made, and there are more coming.

I made this dress from my own pattern, it's basically a tent dress that I added an elastic waist to gather it in. My inspiration was 1950's kids beach play clothes and I wear it mainly as a beach cover up. The fabric is from Ikea children's sheets. If you haven't checked out Ikea Hackers, you should, it's awesome to see all the things that people have manipulated Ikea pieces into. I wouldn't call this dress a hack, fabric is fabric whether used in sheets or dresses.

 

 I'm a reluctant model that's why I keep fading myself into the background. At least I'm having some photoshop fun. One day I'll have a dress form that will do all the modelling for me.

Color Swatch Dress

I picked up this awesome fabric at the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse in Oakland awhile back and I knew it needed to be made into a dress. I think it was a color test sample for a printing company, as there were a bunch of fabric banners in the bin too.

I was looking for a design that had minimal pieces to preserve as much of the color swatch pattern but still give some shape. I don't have too many patterns in my vintage collection, I've pared down a lot since moving, but this one seemed like it would do the trick. While the lovely model on the pattern cover makes the dress appear form fitting, once I made mine the a-line was a little loose around the waist. I guess I have more hips than the model, so I added some waist darts in the front and back to bring it in a little more.

I love wearing this dress because it removes any need to make a decision of what color to wear,  I get to wear them all.