Categotry Archives: sewing

Two months until the wedding and I’ve been super busy trying to finish the million little projects that surround me.

My grandma’s coma also had me paralyzed, and her peaceful death also released me. I woke up at 3AM to take the phone call from my dad, and between the sadness and logistics of that day managed to also make this blouse.

My grandma gave me (and each of my cousins) a string of pearls and set of studs as a high school graduation gift. Most of us had our strands at the funeral, and the two cousins who didn’t have them wore my grandma’s own pearls. It was a beautiful symbol of our connection to her and to each other.

All the fabrics are washed silk dupioni remnants. I’m so pleased with the colors; they remind me of a circus while still complimenting the milky pearls.

I drafted the pattern myself; it’s a woven tee shirt (inspired by Jen at Grainline of course). I’m really pleased with the fit, via bust darts and a center back seam, and that I’m able to easily pull the shirt over my head without needing a zipper. I’ve used the same pattern (with a zipper) to make a radically different top, but you’ll have to be patient for that.

Contrast bias binding is always so luscious. And I do love the teal and chartreuse threads. You can’t quite see them in these photos, but trust me, they’re there.

It was extremely powerful to transform my grief into action, to embody all the feelings I had into a beautiful object that paid tribute to my grandmother’s life and her role in mine.

As Jason pointed out, classy ladiness is hereditary. I’d never seen this photograph before arriving at the wake, and I absolutely love it.