Kwik Sew 3504--- Men's "Star Trek Costume Pants Replication Done!!!

You might recall this POST where I mentioned how I finished up a pair of pants for a male client/friend to where to Dragon con later this month. The pants are a replication of those worn by Kirk/Spock in the latest Star Trek movie. So here's my wonderful friend/client John modeling his new pants. He looks great and the fit is spot on. Not too worry I'll get a full pic of the pants again when he has his full costume on. I have to admit that I LOVED this pants pattern. I will definitely use it to make pants for my Hubby in the future. It is WELL drafted. I had to only make minor adjustments for John. I did a muslin of course to test and tweak the fit. Then I found the most perfect stretch dark gray denim to make them in. I think they were 9oz and sorry I forgot the stretch percentage. They were just the right weight for pants. I purchased it from Fabric.com.  Here's a few pics before I give construction details.

 Kwik Sew 3504

 (Here's John modeling his pants:)

(John's pants and my shadow- LOL)

(Better view of pants front. The fit was great and the knee patch hit at the right place. The pants are a little long since he will be wearing them with boots.)

(Here he is testing his mobility in them)

(Side profile---a little wrinkled after the mobility test. Don't know why I forgot to get picture of back of pants. You can see the welt pocket on the side.)

(I love it when things match up. Note how the knee patch matched perfectly!!! Those were added on top of the pants)

(Closer view)

(Even closer. You can see the topstitching on the knee details)

(These are the pattern pieces used to create the knee panel. I did lots of pintucks in the first piece and then connected to all the rest in that order. I was most nervous about this part of the pants but it ended up being pretty easy to draft and construct)

(Remember these were the pants I set out to create. It's not an exact replication but close. I think I did a good job!)

(And his final costume will look like one of these guys. I can't wait to see the finished look!)

These were my first pair of real men's pants. I mean I've made boxer and sleep pants but this right here was the real deal! I LEARNED a TON from this experience. These pants weren't 100% perfect but they came out extremely well.

 I have to admit as far as construction goes I nixed the directions for the pattern and completely followed what I learned from taking Gentleman Jim's Tailored Pants Construction Workshop!!! You have to take one of his workshops it will change your life and your sewing!!! As you know he's my favorite tailor and mentor and a teacher to many!!! Most of what I did can be seen on his Tailored Pants DVD which he sells on his site HERE (look on left hand side). I'll share just a few details:
- I inserted the zipper per his instructions
-I actually ditched the pockets and re-drafted them to look like the costume pants.
-I drafted my own waistband (2 piece waistband with seam at center back) and used 1 1/4 ban-roll to give the waistband stability.
The back of the pants have functional double welt pockets or what is termed as "besom pockets" in the tailoring world.

So I LOVE these pants and so does John! I love the idea of making men's pants and plan to make more in the future! Ok enough about that. I'm pretty excited, next week I'll be taking Gentleman Jim's Coat workshop. I'm planning to make Winter coats for the whole family!!!! But before I can get to that I've got lots of other sewing stuff to get through.  Enjoy your weekend and happy sewing!!!

I'm in LOVE with Armani Prive'!!!

I ran across this Armani Prive' 2013 collection on Style.com and I think I drooled through the entire slideshow. And no wonder with looks as stunning as these! This collection had some Middle Eastern culture nods! It was incredible. You can find the link to the slideshow HERE and collection details HERE. The photos are courtesy of the Style.com site. You don't have to thank me. Just enjoy (wink)!

DVD Review: Eleven Minutes

Hey this week has been "über exhausting"---my most exhausting in weeks. Work has been zapping my energy and I've been struggling to keep up with it all. I did manage to quickly sew up my Butterick dress (mentioned in the last post) and just have to hem it so I can post a review. But thank God it's the weekend and I'm feeling more like myself again! The sewing must and sewing related activities must continue (for the sake of my sanity alone)!!!
So it's time to catch up on my posts and catch up with some of my sewing. I don't like being away too long:)

Ok, I watched this DVD about a week or so ago but hadn't got around to reviewing it. I have to admit I enjoyed Eleven Minutes, which detailed the first runway show of the Project Runway First Season Winner, Jay McCarroll.
 
Most of you might remember Jay, and probably a few pieces from his Project Runway collection. Here he is and here's one of his memorable pieces.

Well after his Project Runway debut it appeared that Jay disappeared from the face of the earth. Everyone had such high hopes for him and awaited his collection. It took a few years for him to resurface and he did so in this movie. What I personally liked about this movie is that it detailed the process of bringing a collection to Bryant Park's Fashion Week. From the need to have financial backing (which in his case was the Humane Society), to developing a concept, outsourcing to have fashions created, to picking models, and finally to taking the looks to the runway---this movie captures it all. There's so much work, stress, and drama that goes into a runway show that only takes "eleven minutes" (hence the title of the movie). And on top of all this Jay is definitely a "character". He's sarcastic, funny, unfortunately at times has a "potty mouth" but despite it all he has and "air of brilliance". I loved the theme of his fashion line and how he brought it to life. He has such creativity and imagination. I'm surprised he didn't buckle under all the pressure and stress of his endeavor. As a result of his hard work and perserverance, he was able to sell his line to stores. Check out the movie website here http://www.elevenminutes-jaymccarroll.com/

So if you have the time and interest, while you're sewing up one of your little cute numbers, I recommend you check out this dvd. At the very least I think it gives a raw and edgy perspective into the world of fashion design and production, different then what you've experienced watching reality TV.

I give this movie a B+

Designer Profile: Emilio Pucci

Since seeing Kate Hudson in this Spring 2010 Emilio Pucci number for the SAG awards this year, I've had this designer on my brain.

  There is just something sooooo stunning and striking about this dress.  It's described as a long-sleeved backless evening gown with embellished cut out.  Although this dress shows a tremendous amount of backside , in some way it seems balanced out by the long sleeves and high neckline of the dress front. There's just an old-school glamorous feel to this look. I don't know exactly why I'm so captivated by this dress but I just am.

  Check out some of their other Spring looks here (sorry the site wouldn't allow me to copy/paste pics on my site). Although alot of their clothes are a little skimpy for my taste, I truly appreciate the bright, colorful and lush fabrics being used. The name Emilio Pucci, is synonymous with abstract prints and bold colors.

 Years ago I ran across some Pucci fabric for sale at a yard sale (it had  an abstract print in beautiful jewel toned colors). Stupid me didn't even know who Pucci was, but the fabric was colorfully stunning. I was more concerned with the $40 price tag on the 2 yards of fabric. The next time I see a stunning Pucci print I'll be sure not to pass it up.

 Emilio Pucci (1914-1992)

   For some background information on this great designer feel free to read this article http://www.lifeinitaly.com/fashion/emilio-pucci.asp

Designer Profile: Viktor & Rolf

In an effort to immerse myself into all things sewing (and accumulate my 3 hours of sewing time a day) I've recently became intrigued with learning more about popular fashion designers. Maybe this stems from watching Valentino's "The Last Emperor" a few months ago (BTW: I soooooo loved that DVD). Even if you don't totally like a designer's designs, as a seamstress you appreciate the work that goes into them. So I've decided to take up doing occasional (maybe weekly or biweekly) Designer Profiles to get a better picture of what's being released into the World of Fashion to broaden my awareness of worldwide fashion. Besides what's going on out there influences the seasonal sewing patterns available to us.

A couple of day's ago I rented Viktor and Rolf's "Because We're Worth It" DVD from netflix. It was pretty interesting. Before seeing the DVD I'd never even heard of the two of them. Although the DVD was 4 or 5 years old it was pretty interesting to see them put their  line together and at the same time develop a perfume line. There's just so much work involved in the process.  Here's a little info about them and some pics from their current Spring 2010 line.

Viktor & Rolf (sorry, I really can't remember which is which)

A Few Facts (According to Wikipedia that is)

·         Viktor & Rolf is an Amsterdam-based Fashion house

·         Founded In 1993 by designers Viktor Horsting & Rolf Snoeren who met while studying fashion at the Arnhem Academy of Art and Design in the Netherlands.

·         Their work is considered “very conceptual & technically brilliant”. Characteristics of their clothes include exaggerated volumes and sculptural shapes, ribbons, bows, etc.

·         They showed their first Haute Couture collection in 1998.

·         Besides designing clothes for the Runway they also have a RTW line which you can check out here. http://www.thecorner.com/VIKTOR___ROLF/search/tskay/7B4C1203/gender/D/season/main/c/cat_157/collection_id/7878/viewall/1/tp/18715&?gclid=CMDB8K6wk58CFRmfnAodqlyu_w  They also make men's clothes.

·         They also have several popular fragrances along with a luggage, fake eyelashes and shoe line.

·         One of their famous quotes “For us, fashion is an antidote to reality”.

 2010 Spring Line

(What a perplexing design. Interesting, eh?)

(I'm loving that bodice. I'll pass on the layered chiffon skirt with the cutout).

(What in the world?---that's alot of fluffed fabric. I'm trying to figure out how they did this.)

Aren't these outrageous!!! Designs like this will definitely insure a show that's definitely not boring. If you want to see more of their work please visit http://www.viktor-rolf.com/_en/_ww/fashion.htm.



Here are some of their perfume ads you might be familiar with. I have seen the Antidote ad before although I didn't even know about the designers. Out of curiosity I'll have to go smell them next time I'm in the mall.

 

Well Viktor & Rolf are pretty interesting. It's kinda neat to try (emphasizing the word "try") to wrap my mind around how they construct some of their designs. They've definitely provided me with some mental exercise in that department. Anywho...it's cool to see what these guys are doing and actually be familiar with their design aesthetic.