Work Blog | Made By Julianne

NEW PANTIES

24 June 2014 by Julianne

If I’m going to navel gaze, at least I’ll do it in style.

Living in Los Angeles has been hard for me. Although I’ve made a few new friends here, and my sewing business has slowly but steadily grown, and the weather is almost always delightful, and can we talk about the avocados… I miss my home. Every day I think about New Orleans and wish I could be there. Without indulging in too much trendy self-diagnosis, I do think I’ve been dealing with some mild depression for a while now. And if I haven’t had a legitimate mood disorder, my underwear certainly has. We’re both trying to crawl out of it!

These panties replace my black set from 2010. Those were good undies, and have lasted me for four years, but they are starting to get threadbare! I’ve made a few supplemental panties since 2010, but this is my first bulk addition since the original post.

All the fabrics were from my stash, and most of the laces were bought new. Apparently I’ve run through my hoard of lingerie elastic! It feels good.

Remnant from leggings.

Tiny scrap from un-blogged shirt.

Remnant from this shirt.

Fabric from tiger leggings.

I do also have a couple pairs of plain tan panties to be worn with light unlined dresses. When I was buying elastic for them, Nhi scoffed at my boring selection (I think she may have even been slightly offended). But there can’t be a party in my pants all the time!

They’ve got a higher rise than bikini cut normally would, and that’s how I like it nowadays. The wide elastic keeps them up, and hides my butt crack. Granted, sometimes the lace peeks out from my lower-rise pants. But you know how people layer shirts, and let a camisole peek through? Why can’t I do that with these? I’m not walking around with a crop top and butt cleavage, but I’m also not worried about people getting occasional peeks at the top of my lingerie lace. High fashion or low standards?

I’ve always had a weakness for brass animals, especially if they are fixtures.

Although this is my website, I don’t really like to talk about my personal stuff. It’s not so much about privacy as it is about resisting self-indulgence, or maybe avoiding self-reflection. This post is an exception, because I was feeling introspective when I started writing (3 weeks before I finished writing), and I am trying to be more proactive about my life in general. I guess that means my underwear drawer is a metaphor?

FRIENDSHIP SOCKS

15 June 2014 by Julianne

As soon I saw these orange and fuchsia skeins of yarn, I knew they were destined for greatness and friendship. Coordinating socks, one pair for me, and the other for my truly lovely friend Gigi. Gigi and I once had coordinating purple pants, bought at H&M when we were living in rural France, so there is a precedent for these socks. The fuchsia pair is for my friend, and the orange pair is for me.

Here are Gigi’s footsies:

And mine:

Oh dear, they really do look tight. Perhaps I should re-knit the heel, working 3-4 rounds before starting the decreases.

These are my first worsted weight socks, which are obviously much faster than fingering weight! I used Cascade 220 superwash, one ball of each color to make both socks (and the tiniest bit left over). Cascade was easy to work with, the colors are deliciously vibrant, and affordable at $12 each, but there were about 4 snags in each skein.

Once again I used Liat Gatt’s tutorial for socks, but these socks were knit two at a time. I really loved this technique, and will be using it for all socks from now on! I remembered this tip on keeping simultaneous balls from getting tangled, which I added onto by lining the yarn opening with painter’s tape (this let the yarn slide smoothly across the zipper lip).

I tried short row heel, but after three attempts and increasing frustration I returned to the afterthought heel. My main reason for avoiding afterthought in the first place was Kitchener grafting. This stitch gets a lot of grief, and I’d struggled with it before. With a sigh, I threaded my tapestry needle and prepared for 20 minutes of annoyance. And then… I remembered all the steps without looking up a tutorial, and it turned out perfect. Kitchener and I are friends now.

So it looks like afterthought heels will be my go-to, as I simply love the contrasting heels. I still need to perfect my corners, but that will be an easy adjustment. Also, I think I should have created a wider opening for the heel (I did 5/9 opening, a little less than 2/3). Next time!

The twisted ribbing is knit 1 through the back loop, purl 1, which creates a very neat ribbing. I bound off with Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off, because it’s easy and works great, and I really don’t care about binding off in the rib pattern.

Gigi has tiny feet, so I hope these will fit! And they were only a few days late for her birthday.

Any readers have any tips or preferences for heels they’d like to share?

MAMI AFRIKA

11 June 2014 by Julianne

I’ve worked with Wawi Amasha for a few years, and now she’s starting to get really serious about her clothing design. These looks are all hers, but I sewed them for a gallery opening this past weekend. They were presented under the name Mami Afrika.

Sewer, designer, tech designer.Of course I made my purple miimii dress, as well as the blue halter dress on Inobe. Wawi is on the left.

Wawi was showing her paintings at Hamilton Gallery in Santa Monica, and it was a fun party! In our gallery was the artwork, models wearing dresses, wine of course, and African drummers who inspired some fancy dancing.

A neighboring gallery was also hosting an opening, where there was more wine, plus vodka, couscous, gift bags, and a hyper little German man who began our conversations with “I like the look you’re experimenting with on your outfit,” because that’s what you say in Santa Monica. I don’t remember your name, but you were kinda crazy, but also fun.

The fabrics were collected on Wawi’s recent trip to Kenya, and the patterns were drafted by Inobe Nicole, who also made the fabulous geometric necklaces.

I made ten pieces for the show in 4 days, and eventually developed a rhythm for the layout and construction. Sample patterns rarely come with instructions, so it’s up to be to figure out a smooth and efficient technique. Print matching! The finishing on this sleeveless jacket includes french seams, bias bound, double turned hem, and folding seams under.