Embellishing Clothing

One of my favorite things to do is to embellish clothing. Kids clothes are especially fun to embellish because children really do appreciate the little things. I once made a dress with 2 little pockets and added woven european ribbon to them. The pockets caught the eye of a 3 year old girl and she had to have the dress. She and her mother had a really cute conversation about how pretty the dress was, but the 3 year old kept referring to how much she loved the pockets. Funny. I almost didn't put them on the dress because I thought they would be more trouble than they were worth. Had I not put them on the dress, I may or may not have sold that dress that day. One thing I know for sure, I sold that dress then because of those pockets. Little girls like added "things" to their clothing. Recently, I have been appliqueing hearts to dresses, shorts, tops, anything I make I try to add that special touch. The results have really been successful. I have found out from the consignment store owner that the garments with the appliques have been selling well. Up to now, I was using an older Viking sewing machine. I have really beat that machine to hell, but it keeps on. I decided it was time to upgrade. I bought a Babylock Tempo plus tax, plus 3 year warranty, in the ballpark of $875.00,on the recommendation of the manager at the local sewing machine/fabric store. The result? LOVEIITTTTTTT! Usually, I don't really feel comfortable with computerized sewing machines. My thought is if it malfunctions, it's big bucks to fix. The manager assured me that Babylock machines don't have too many problems and that I would love the machine. The one feature I have been experimenting with is the embroidery stitch. Here's a picture of the first applique I sewed using this stitch. I am really excited about the results! I happened to be in the consignment shop Crush Boutique, when this little girl was trying on this dress! I added a black and white polka dot fine mesh as trim to the dress, along with the applique, and the results were darling! Hope you like the dress. For sale in my etsy store. etsy.com/shop/ginafern1. Happy stitching!

Meeting a Model at Crush Boutique

Today, I walked into Crush Boutique. This is where I sell my children's clothing wholesale, and my women's on consignment. I brought new inventory in to show the owner. I dropped off the box, told her I would be right back. Desperate for coffee! When I came back, I found the cutest little girl trying on my clothes straight from the box! I thought my skirt was cute before, but after this little girl put it on, it was magical for me. I have only seen one other little girl in a local grocery store wearing a dress I made. I felt a little flutter in my belly. Exciting. I can't wait to see more little girls wearing my dresses. I smile and giggle to myself just like I did when I was a little girl wearing my favorite dress. ;)

A Wedding Dress

I was asked in March to do a wedding dress for a cousin of a client of mine. The client is the mother of a 1 year old that I have done a ton of baby clothes for. Some for a baby pageant, others for her first birthday, and some just to be adorable in. I have been drafting baby clothing patterns for about 3 years. This will be only the second time I have drafted a custom pattern for a wedding dress. To tell you the truth, I'm terrified and excited. I took on the project because "If I don't take up the challenge, I won't become a better patternmaker and seamstress." The drawback? I could mess up someone's special day. At this moment, I'm in the middle of redrafting some parts of the pattern and I needed to think. I started making baby clothes because it's not as complicated. Basically, the front is much the same as the back. Not too difficult. I think I'm pretty good, almost masterful.... Almost. I'm actually very scared and grateful. Grateful that these two women have enough confidence in me to take on such an important task and scared for the obvious reason, ruining her wedding. The fear is what really holds me back. I can sew a straight line, invisible zipper, put in boning like no one's business, so what's the problem? Technically I'm capable. I've been told that I'm a creative person. My hope is this dress will give me the confidence to say that I can design and sew women's wear. For now, it's back to the pattern and redraft. I think this dress is going to be awesome ;)

Creative Ways to Share your Wares

I've been busy making baby and kids' clothes. I also just started to design women's wear. A friend of mine opened a boutique called Crush Boutique that's located on Kapa'a. And I've been neglecting my blog. I just started selling clothing wholesale and on consignment. It's really hard to let the things that I have spent a lot of time on for half my usual asking price. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it. I had a small fashion show with a fellow designer, Sew Maid in Hawaii, and Crush Boutique at the local bar/restaurant, Trees. My hope was that women would come to the show, love everything they saw and buy. Well, the show was very successful. Standing room only. The place was packed and we had nothing but positive reviews. The bummer... I didn't sell a thing. We each spent around $500.00 and there is no price tag for the amount of time and effort. I made 60 small gift bags made of scrap fabric and filled them up with handmade things from each of the participants. The show was in May and since then business has picked up. People are becoming familiar with my brands, pintsized and KosaKosa. My plan now is to have a stronger "presence" online. I just bought a new fancy camera with a back drop, have willing models and more ideas for building this business into something great. The next event will happen in July. I recently went to a grand opening of a cup cakery, (I made that up, I think) Sugar Mill Cupcakes. The owner is bubbly and energtic. I felt totally comfortable asking her if she'd be interested in a boutique event. We invite girls ages 2 to 6 to come on July 28th to the bakery and enjoy cupcakes and crafts, while parents shop. We have a table for girls to design their own cupcakes, bracelets and necklaces, and skirts. I'm going to make plain skirts in advance for sale. The girls can add an applique that I will sew on the spot. They'll have fabric pens and iron ons to use to decorate their skirts! I think this event will be a ton of fun, how could it not?