Next up……

It’s always great to finish a project that has been in development for a long time.  It was nice to complete the American Girl reproduction dress.  There was a tremendous feeling of satisfaction.  Funny though how that only lasts so long, and the next project starts infecting my mind!  I usually try to have a few projects in development while sewing/embroidering a current one.  When I am working with an associate for the embroidery portion of a project, I work even harder on development issues.  So here’s what has been percolating in the last few months…..

1st up….another American Girl dress.  This was ordered several months ago.  Right now the materials have been purchased, except for the black velvet.

I searched the NYC garment district for all of the fabrics in this dress and was quite successful, except for the black velvet.  It has a silver thread woven into the fabric vertically and I could find nothing even close to it.  The customer has agreed to go with regular velvet, and it will look great.    The digitizing and some of the embroidery will be done once again by Ann Donahue.   This is a new pattern for the doll dresses and will surely take some trial and error to get the placement of the designs just right.  Looking forward to the challenge.

Big project

This is a color sample card of fabrics for some new school dresses.  I have been working with a dance school down in Maryland to help develop their first school costumes.  This has been very exciting!  They have a very eye catching palette which will be fantastic on any stage they find themselves performing.  The costume is more traditional with a nice bit of modern style.  I’ve appreciated getting to know the owner and teacher of the school.  Ann Donahue of Feisdress is working very closely with us as she will be digitizing their designs.  The school owner designed the costume herself, and it is a well thought out effort.  I think she will be tickled pink when she sees her kids dancing in these costumes.

Sewing and construction of these dresses is still a few months off.  It’s been a great time to really pick the colors, fabrics, sources, and make the final design decisions.  Coming up with an affordable yet nice school dress really does need careful consideration.  It’s been great to give it the time it needs.  These dresses are meant to last a long time,  wear well, look good, and hold their value.   I think we are near the end of the development phase.  I’m sure there will still be a few surprises along the way….but that’s the fun part!

And just to keep my fingers happy while doing the development work……

This little bag was made from a free pattern from the Happy Zombie blog.  It’s called a poochie bag.  Only…I did not do the poochie part!  I just did not quite “get” the instructions for how to make them.  The author called them milk carton corners….which I could visualize,  but then could not transpose that onto the fabric.  It was a quick little Sunday night project, just something to fill the need of wanting to sew.  I’d had a neighbor on my mind all week, and while I was making this bag, the two seemed to come together.  So this bag became a little something for her to brighten her day, and I could write her a note and leave it inside the bag to let her know I’ve been thinking about her.