Fashion as Stephen sees it!

Suits You, Sir!

2012-01-27T22:09:00.000Z

I finished my suit a while ago. Yes, the one that took me ages. I never had to chance to wear it until I went out for dinner with my friends a few days ago to celebrate Chinese New Year.

The pattern was drafted from my own measurements and it is of a slim fitting type. The fabric is a blue fine merino wool that was woven in UK. In terms of the sewing technique, I mixed in hand sewing techniques with machine sewing. I tried to emulate the bespoke techniques such as the shaping of the collar and lapel.

Another shot of me in my suit at St Pancras Station, kindly shot by Kim Law Photography (www.kimlawphotography.com).

Overall, this suit fits me pretty well and I am very happy with my first attempt in making a bespoke suit. I am going to try making a second suit but this time with a more denser material. And with mistakes learnt from this suit, I hope that my second attempt will be more finer and incorporate bespoke techniques such as hand canvasing.

Liberty Print Trouser

2012-01-23T17:25:00.000Z

I'm ushering in the first day of the year of the Dragon with a huge BANG! Found this fabulous fabric on sale in Liberty a week ago and immediately fell in love with it. I was going through the fabrics and somehow laid this on my lap and I notice how this lovely print can be translated into a pair of trouser.

A close shot of the fabric. Luckily I have short legs so the metre remnant was just right for me. Although I did buy another piece just in case. Or if I needed another pair of shorts for summer (AGAIN!). However, the tana lawn from Liberty can be a bit thin so I backed it up with a black cotton fabric.

The pattern for this trousers is pretty simple as I didn't want to interrupt the flow of the print. So I used my slim fit trouser pattern but ommited the belt loops. I did sew in two straps at the each side so I can tie the waistband tighter in case if I lost inches from my waist (I highly doubt that).

I hope that I have not scared the dragon away with this print but saying that, I am mustering the courage to wear this loud; Liberty print trouser. Maybe summer, when I can pair this with a plain white T-shirt and sandals.

Anyway, Happy Chinese New Year to all my readers. Wishing you a prosperous new year!

It's Nearly Chinese New Year!

2012-01-14T12:34:00.001Z

I recently made for my friend's daughter a cute dress to wear using a floral fabric I bought over the internet. It's a simple dress with ties on the shoulder and a waist belt so there is enough room for her to grow with the dress.

My friend was so pleased with the dress that she commissioned me to make one with the same print. Something that both of them could wear for Chinese New Year. I set off drawing sketches and the first one I completed is shown below.

It's a nice shift dress, simple enough to compliment the print. I immediately show it to my friend and she loved the shoulder detail but wanted something she could wear over and over again. Even during maternity. Wow! That was a big challenge for me. Something to wear even during maternity. So I revised the design and altered it to a dress with pleats above the waist.

This design got her seal of approval and off I went again to draw her pattern block and dressa pattern. I was deciding whether to drape the shoulder detail or attempt flat pattern cutting. But as she was significantly smaller than my dress model, I had to resort to flat pattern cutting. I have to admit that this process was extremely fun and exciting as I was thinking of all the ways to create the pleats on the should (even in my sleep). Eventually my brainstorming lead to a technique which worked pretty well to create a pattern.

The results of the patterns were translated onto the fabric with the following outcome.

Quite successful if I do say so myself. The raglan sleeve worked wonders and the pleats managed to stay put as well.

I'm so happy with the outcome that I'm off to deliver this dress to my friend.

Last One Before The New Year!

2011-12-31T15:11:00.000Z

So it's 2012 tomorrow and I thought I'd post something after a long absence. Yes, Yes! I can hear my friends mumbling 'Finally'. So to wrap up this year, I made my mom a blouse for Chinese New Year. I've made her loads of dresses in the past but this time I thought of something elegant but easy to wear.

The pattern for this dress consist of a basic bodice with a shaped waist (but I removed the dart for a bit more ease), a puff sleeve (extended by a couple of inches to create the 'bellowing' effect) and a scarf for a collar that can be tied. I wanted to make something that is mature for my mom but also something I know my sister will steal to wear too. I'm sure mom had something like this in the past.

My initial fabric choice was a vintage cream cotton but the fabric shop I usually go to was closed so I ended up buying a wine red silk Habutai instead. It's light and comfortable enough to wear in hot weather (mom's in Malaysia) despite the long sleeve. I love how the lightness of the fabric wisps when the wind blows.

I also added lace as details on the collar and the cuff.

I tried playing with the collar and it also looks nice with just one knot and the rest dangling.

I really love the sleeve detail but had to hand stitch the lace to prevent it from moving away from the cuff.

I love the result and can't wait till mom wears it. The quality is good for a days work but I'm annoyed at the button holes. If I had more time, I would have done it by hand.

Anyway, to anyone who has been following my blog, have a great 2012. Leave the bad behind and bring the best of this year to 2012.

From Paper to Calico to Paper to Calico

2011-11-05T21:16:00.005Z

One good habit I have learnt from my pattern cutting course is to be a perfectionist. I can still hear my tutor's going, 'Get everything together before you start making the cake! Get the fit and proportion right before you even start on the style!' And that is exactly what I am doing.

I wanted to include a well made suit to my portfolio. After all, anyone can make a suit but not everyone can make one that is to die for. So I started with a block pattern, draped it on the stand and adjusted the fit. But alas, this has been going on for ages. I have forgotten how many times I have altered the pattern to make the fit absolutely perfect. And I'm not even there yet. My next toile will be my 3rd. I dare not even think about details such as the lapel style until I get my final toile done first.

I'm surprised why a coat only took me a couple of toile before I had the final pattern but a suit is taking me ages. Anyway, I shall persevere. After all, this pattern block will form the basis for any suit I intend to make in the future. Got to get everything ready before I make my cake!

Autumn in Holland Park

2011-10-23T10:54:00.000+01:00

Saturday was a great day to go out to London. And what made it even better was that I managed to complete my wool coat in time too. It took me ages to get the fit right on paper and calico before I even started the pattern cutting. I used the techniques I learnt from my Innovative Pattern Cutting course I did in Central St Martins a while back and suffice to say, the course was well worth it's weight in gold. All the techniques and tricks came rushing back into my head and I finally managed to used some of the methods taught. I can confidently say that my sewing has improved as well.

Anyway, back to the coat. I used a thick navy wool fabric I got from the remnant basket in Cloth House and topped it up with a red wool fabric to create the contrasting pattern. The inspiration was from Napoleon with his navy coloured military jacket with contrasting red sash. But the jacket also somewhat gave a 70s vibe to it too. I do have to say that I didn't warmed up to the results at first but after I sewed the buttons on, it took away all my uncertainties. It's funny how one small item can change the whole look in an instant.

Front shot of the coat in Holland Park. I'm also wearing my piano silk shirt and my slim fit pants.

This is another shot of my look for the day shot in Holland Park Mews. A big thanks goes to Kim Law for these amazing photographs. (To view Kim's website or commission him, click here)

I've also uploaded some pictures of my own (less artistic) showing how the coat looks like when buttoned up and how the back looks like as well.

The red wool fabric on the back to the collar is one piece, made so because I wanted to give some structure to the collar and allow it to stand upright. Useful for those cold windy days. I didn't have a shot of the lining but I used a quilted lining so that this coat can withstand any cold weather that's coming my way.

I can strike this coat of my to do list but am excited to move on to my next piece.

It's getting cold!

2011-10-19T16:10:00.000+01:00

So Autumn has finally arrived today bringing with it the spine tingling cold wind. So I reached into my wardrobe and pulled out my thick and warm bomber jacket I made last year. I've been itching to post pictures of this jacket but was waiting for the right time/weather.

I went a bit mad when I was sourcing the material for this jacket and this time, I followed my design sketch to the T (I'm notorious for taking short-cuts and changing the design while sewing but I controlled myself this time). I knew I wanted to use wool tartan off-set with leather patches. I also wanted to make it warm so opted for fake fur. When it was finally made, it felt and looked so luxurious. This jacket made me even happier when it was warm enough to survive the bitter winter of last year.

I'm amazed at how 'real' the fake fur looks! And so luxurious.

Looking at the weather forecast, I thing I have better get my bum of the seat and start cutting and sewing my Autumn/Winter coats and jacket for this year ASAP....

A Present To Myself!

2011-10-10T13:14:00.000+01:00

A couple of weeks ago, I went down to London to search for some remnant fabrics. There wasn't any that was nice but while browsing the fabrics on the shelves, I saw this ivory colour sateen fabric and just a shelve below, this dark blue cotton drill with a sheen to the surface. Both of these colours worked so well I immediately fell in love with the fabrics and bought it on the spot. And there it lay in the suitcase of fabric until I decide what I want to create.

A week later, my friends invited me down to London to celebrate my birthday and since there was an occasion to dress up, I decided to make a shirt, slim fit trouser and a portfolio case as a present to myself. Here's me modelling the look!

I played around with the details of the shirt and toyed around with the idea of a fold over section on the collar and cuff.

Back part of the collar

Front part of the collar

Cuff detail

For the portfolio case, I used a fake leather fabric but close up look like distressed PVC and also used the leftover fabric from my blue shirt to make the lining. I decided to put two zips on the top and side of the case just for the fun of it and it made it look different.

Plan view of the portfolio case

Zip detail

Blue lining peeping out of the case

I am quite happy with the results and even me happier as I made all of these in just a few days. Talk about rushing to get my look out of the door.

Spiral Trousers

2011-09-19T21:13:00.000+01:00

So. You have seen the pattern and wondered how it has turned out? Well, it turned out pretty well actually. Been wearing it the whole day (hence the creases on the garment). Took me ages to sew this together. My initial plan of using a faux red leather material was edited out as the material was too stiff and made the trousers look uncomfortable. But lessons learnt, I finished sewing it and it looks better than I thought.

The elasticated waist and cuffs makes the trousers look more sporty and relaxed. I didn't want to make it too formal.

Close up of the trousers showing the spiral and segments.

Lessons to learn for next time? Determine the location of the segments prior to splitting the pattern into a spiral and possibly using soft printed fabric mixed into solid colour fabric to highlight the spiral. Other than that, happy with the results (and my sewing).

Spiral Trousers Pattern!

2011-09-16T11:47:00.000+01:00

I'm going mad. The spiral trousers is literally driving me round in circles. But I can't wait to see the results (although sewing it will make me crazy too). The pattern is based on a technique I learnt in my course but I decided to give it a bit of my own twist. Usually spiral cutting works well with bias fabric but as I am working with cotton drill, I'm assuming that I don't have to be too accurate with the diagonal lines.

As you can see, I've chopped the pieces up as well. The initial pattern was about 3-4 metres long and the fabric was just not long enough (Yes....Remnant fabric). So I divided the pattern with a 'chevron' like pattern. I'm mixing in a red leather like material at the bottom of the trousers.

And yes. I'm doing elasticated waist and cuff. I thought zips might not be that nice and I wanted a sporty feel to the trousers.

Good Luck to me!!!!

The Blue Shirt

2011-09-07T10:19:00.001+01:00

So I had this blue Indian cotton in my fabric box that I bought earlier this year. I had a wonderful design for it. This and that, twist and twirls, drape and tuck but at the end I decided I just want a simple plain shirt that I could wear over and over again. But this time I concentrated on the fit and the finishing. So all the seams were French seamed and where top stitching was required, I would just stitch it by hand to conceal the thread. All I need now is an excuse to wear it out.

The Indian cotton blue shirt against a sunny window. (As I am typing this, the sun has disappeared!)

Cuff details without any top stitching.

I opted for a Mandarin collar. I didn't use any fusing as I wanted everything to be soft and relaxed.

French seams were used in the construction of this shirt. Makes it neat and tidy, especially when I roll up the sleeve.

My Erdem Dress

2011-08-24T19:02:00.000+01:00

You would have probably noticed the lack of posts on my blog in the past few months. This was because I was doing a course in Central St Martins called Innovative Pattern Cutting. Recommended to me by my pattern cutting tutor, I interviewed for this course and got in. The 10 weeks course teaches everything from flat pattern cutting to more innovative techniques such as modelling, cutting through shape to draping. For our final assessment, we were required to choose a piece of garment to reproduce. I came up with various options from the difficult to the plain boring. Luckily with the guidance of my lovely tutor, Toni, we decided that I should try the Erdem dress.

This dress captured my attention mostly due to the interesting sleeve. I finally finished my dress this week and the results are shown in the photographs below.

Front view of the dress. Whole dress made using the modelling technique and no flat pattern cutting was used. Thanks to my tutors Patrick and Hannah for guiding me through the process.

Side view of the dress. The length of the dress is above the knee.

Back view of the dress. Material consists of a heavy woven calico with netting in the skirt to retain the shape.

Detail of the sleeve. Shape created by modelling on a push up bra attached on the shoulder.

Hopefully I would be creating more interesting pieces of my own design in the future.

Remnants Galore!

2011-08-21T14:17:00.000+01:00

I love remnants! No doubt about that. Ask all my friends and they would say the same thing. I usually take a walk along Berwick Street in London during my lunch break (from my pattern making class in Central St Martins) to search for remnants in Cloth House. I'm sure the staff recognises me now and probably even have a nickname for me like the 'remnant guy' or something like that. But hey, the quality is good and the price is cheap too.

Recently I found this nice brown slate colour cotton fabric and my first thought was...trousers...Yes. Been making a lot of trousers and shorts recently. Probably because I made a trouser pattern recently and it fits so well I am considering making all my trousers and shorts and phasing out all the ill fitting ones that I have bought.

Anyway, I made trousers with an elasticated cuff and waistband. Something like a jogging pants but less sporty. I'm sure I can even pull off this trousers with a white shirt and espadrilles or some suede shoes.

Shot of me wearing my new trousers with a silk print shirt that I made a while ago (also a remnant) and my Liberty print espadrilles.

Summer is nearly over but Autumn will be here soon too. My mind is working overdrive in what I can make for Autumn and Winter this year....Maybe I'll find some wool remnants enough for a coat or jacket this week...Fingers crossed!!!

Liberty Print Shorts

2011-08-01T20:43:00.000+01:00

So it's been a while since I posted anything. Been busy lately with my Innovative Pattern Making course that I am currently taking at Central St Martins (last ever to be held at the famous Charing Cross Road branch before the big move to Kings Cross). Learning everything from block pattern cutting to the more innovative techniques. Suffice to say I am learning a lot and enjoying this 10 weeks course. Of the many surprising subjects I have learnt, bespoke trousers pattern making was my favourite. I have been searching high and low for the most perfect fitting trousers and can't really find one that is short enough or small enough etc, so to be able to draft my own pattern and to make a pair of trousers that fit you like a glove is amazing.

So I adapted the trouser pattern and made a short pattern instead and used my recently bought Liberty fabric and made a printed short. The Liberty fabric was kind of thin so I had to back it up with another brown cotton fabric. Turned out useful when I flipped the hem over to expose the brown fabric as a detail. I also did a very small waist band (about 1.5 cm). The narrow waist band looks nicer. Slimming in fact.

I have also tested this trouser making technique on a friend and it works!! Now everybody can have good fitting trouser/short......

The Annabel Clutch Bag

2011-06-13T11:45:00.001+01:00

Central St Martins does indeed produce some of the world's most talented fashion designers and I should know because I have been helping the BA Fashion Print final year students out with their projects recently. One of the students I have been helping is Annabel Luton, who does amazing prints of birds of prey gliding in the air or sweeping down in an attack position. Her techniques of making these wonderful prints are laborious but the outcome is like fine art. She was also kind enough to pass me a piece of the fabric she has designed and as a thank you and also as a birthday present, I made for her a clutch bag with her print on the bag.

FRONT: Annabel Luton's 'Bird of Prey' print on silk chiffon sewn onto a triangular clutch bag with centre parting zips.

BACK: Quilted triangular motif on faux leather (also part of her design in her final year collection). Lining of the bag is metallic silver silk dupion.

To see Annabel's final year collection, follow the attached link http://issuu.com/annabelluton/docs/annabel_luton_lookbook

Drawing is always the EASIEST!

2011-05-26T15:12:00.000+01:00

I was soooooo bored so I did a few sketches while listen to the new Lady Gaga album.

The first one is just a play around with looping fabric with fabric. Thinking of it as a jacket made out of wool. very structural stuff. Who would wear it? I would and I am thinking of making a male version of it.

This one started out with the sleeves. Then I added more and more and more. Then it became like an amour type design. So what would I make it out of? Was thinking about Silk satin and silk chiffon for the bottom bit (Red colour is nice). Then Black leather on the bodice with a brass plate. Sleeve would be silk Organza for a bit of structure. Colour. How about an ombre of red to black? I don't know. I would not even know where to start if I were making this.

Espadrilles

2011-05-07T09:57:00.000+01:00

I made my first SHOE! OK! So it more of a modification but still I took apart a boring pair of Espadrilles and sewn in a new body (using Liberty print fabric) but still, I had to construct the body! But alas, it's raining so I can't wear these babies out! (For now.)

Blues

2011-05-04T08:54:00.000+01:00

OK! So my hair cut was weird but enough about that. Anyways, made this draping waistcoat a few months back using an experimental and exploratative technique (as no block pattern was used) Also made the royal blue trousers to go with it. The royal blue colour must be in season as I have been seeing a lot of this blue in the street.

The Royal Wedding

2011-04-29T22:14:00.000+01:00

It's finally the day of the Royal Wedding and to celebrate this joyous occasion, I made an effort to dress the best I could (in my own style, of course) and headed to London early in the morning. I made this silk Habutai shirt a while ago playing with the idea of piano keyboards. Made the quilted bag as well out of Damask fabric.

The back of the shirt showing an inverse of the front. The bowler hat is a vintage that I bought from a charity shop ages ago and managed to restore it to a wearable state. The 3/4 tweed trousers was something I picked up a while back too. Hopefully I have managed to convey a Britishness look (in my own special way) to celebrate this happy day.

April is back.

2011-04-27T21:36:00.000+01:00

So after an abnormally nice and hot weekend, April has returned with mid-teens temperature; cool enough to be wearing an outer-layer. So off I went to London in my Rusty Brown Manx Tweed/Liberty print jacket and my skinny jeans. The only thing that I didn't make was the T-shirt (and shoes!) but mom got me the T-shirt so I guess style runs in the family.

A back shot of the Liberty print detail on the Tweed jacket (Tweed fabric was handwoven in Isle of Man) and zipper detail on the jeans. The pattern of the jeans is not that clear but generally it's cut in a diagonal pattern so the sew line meets at the bottom zipper (so no side seams.)

I love it when you create a garment where people stare at it from then front and when they turn to see your back, they are hit with more details at the back. So to say, details at the back is as important as details on the front. Turning their heads thrice is better than twice!

It's another shorts day!

2011-04-23T12:49:00.000+01:00

It's another great day outside! Legs are out! Again! Made this pair of shorts last week with an exaggerated hip detail. Loving the blue as well.

There is a nice summer feel in the air today.

2011-04-22T10:00:00.000+01:00

It's a nice and hot day today with such a nice summer feel so I am wearing my rose print shorts today. Made it a while back and the memories of scones, clotted cream, jam and tea somehow sticks to my mind.