Kameez Draft - Tutorial

Salwar Kameez / Kurta Draft has been pending for quite sometime now, with the availability of scanner, i find it lot more easier to draft patterns by hand (yes i belong to old school of using paper, pencil, eraser & hand ofcourse to draw and prefer that to modern drawing s/w!!) , the draft is ready to be shared

Please note that this draft is for a loose fitting kameez without any darts , the tops which can be worn with Jean or leggings!

Also note that the neck depth affects the shoulder width and the deeper the neck, shoulder width should be reduced accordingly!




Please Note: The draft includes

• 1/2 inch seam allowance on shoulders
• 1 inch seam allowance on sides

Add Hem allowance as required

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Anniversary Outfits !

I guess the outfits i did manage to sew for my wedding anniversary do deserve a separate post, hence here it is

Kurta for my hubby : We forgot to take a solo snap of him  in this kurta !

Plain simple kurta in 50% cotton, 50% polyester ;
Chinese collar
French seams

Happy that it did fit him well. I would personally prefer the shoulder to be 1/2 inch less but he like it when they droop a bit, since he is the one is going to wear it, i made it suit his comfort zone.


Summer Dress for Darling Daughter.

Can we wear something new when our darling isn't ? so here it was a new dress for Adithi

Highlight of this dress is the braided straps (Remember the pink knit ruffle skirt - BTW it is still on sale - any takers?) using pink knit and dress fabric bias straps about 1/4 inch wide.

She sported 2 looks, one with a t-shirt worn underneath as Athibeedu was quite cool ! The other is the version she will wearing in sweltering Chennai !

Leopard Print + Flower Motifs Dress for self

I love animal prints and had been wanting to make an outfit in this one, but wasn't quite sure as to how to break the print up to make me look not so lean ! (Remember the same pink knit ruffle skirt on which i had ruffles using a shimmery fabric, i used the remaining shimmer fabric here), Shimmery fabric - bias strips strategically placed across the bodice till waist line by embracing my curves !

I like pleats and added one at the hemline; shortened the original hemline and added pleated portion to get the normal height.

Wanted to pair it with lace leggings, since it was too cold in Athibeedu, decided to pair with slim fit denim.

Simple Chic Salwar Kameez

My Sister's Friend had given 3 Salwar suit material sometime in January. Due to hectic schedule (he he) that i had (really i had been sewing like there is no tomorrow for sometime now; though it has been only for 3 musketeers - Darling Daughter , Dear Sister & Self!!!)

At last really felt bad that i had kept her waiting for long, so decided to finish her Salwar Suits off, and finished off the Cotton set in a day (the bottom material was very less and she is quite tall, hence had to do lot of patch bits to savor the bottom at the end)

Thought of finishing off her other set as well and as fate would have it, my DD's best friend's b'day is coming up and have to sew something up really fast, so my sister's friend would have to wait a little more for her next set. Hope to make it lot of designer to make up for the last time ;) Click here to view DD's Friend's B'day Gift - A Balloon Frock

Bleed Blue Hearts Kurta !

Looks like I am Bleeding Blue for a while now..still basking in Cricket World Cup euphoria i guess :)

I made this Kurta for my sister. I love the print and since it is a busy print decided to keep the silhouette plain and simple with a bust dart and waist dart at front and a waist dart at the back. The bucket neck kind of suits her isn't it. The blue trim was an act of improvisation and as i found the Kurta to be too plain and decided to jazz it up!

Earthy Tunic Top Kameez for Sister

I can't exactly call this kurta as is this more of A-Line Frock type. So calling this as Tunic top kind of kameez.

My Sister was supposed to go to Amsterdam the next weekend, but it got delayed until June. I had started preparing a wardrobe revamp for her during her stay in Netherlands. Hence tried bit of close neck ones. But i guess it was too close for comfort, as she leaves it unbuttonned to face the sweltering heat in chennai.

Features of the Dress are

• Princess Seam with elastic corded piping
• Embellished vent at sleeves
• Piped neckline
• Ruffled Hemline

CLICK READ MORE TO VIEW MORE PICTURES 

Valentine's Day Gifts!

Dress for my Sister

Simple yet chic cotton print, since it was close print all through, decided to separate it by manipulating darts which makes it fit along the bustline and the piping was added to differentiate the upper portion from lower half and the neck and sleeves have also been piped

New thing i have attempted in this is the use of extended sleeve cap. I have seen so many over the past 2 years in lot of fashion shows (on TV) and in Fashion magazines, when this extended shoulder trend was so much IN...

Decided to tweak the normal sleeve draft to make it work like extended sleeve cap, you can see the effect of it only in action shots (i shall post them soon), the shots which i have uploaded looks like they are just plain puff sleeves, which they are NOT.

Shirt for my Hubby 

For the whole of last year i did not manage to sew a single outfit for my hubby. I felt very guilty and decided to make amends this year, it has begun well hope it continues

Here is a formal shirt (Half slacks, as i did not have enough material to make full sleeves, this material was gifted during some function by his cousin)

New things i have tried in his shirt are collar on bias and chevron shirt pockets...(Chevron stripes were also a result of lack of enough fabric, i used left over pieces then cut them on bias, stitched them together to form chevron stripes and thank god it was just enough to fit in the pocket.

Did you notice something???...Due to the nervousness that i didn't have enough fabric i forgot to align the sleeve cap stripes with shirt shoulder slope stripes!!!!

This year i have been guilty of not managing to sew something for my sweet little cutie pie , Adithi. In fact i begun sewing today, thinking i shall finish it off become she comes back from school, when i was in the middle of it, i got a call from school saying she is vomiting, so rushed to pick her up, she has an upset stomach is sleeping right now. So i need to wind this post up as of now, will post her dress once i finish it. Hope she recovers soon...

So how was your VDay so far!!! Remember today is the last day for participating in the Saree Blouse e-Pattern giveaway . Leave your entries! Best of luck readers! I shall announce the winner tomorrow!

Blast from the Past

I am yet to get the scanned images of the Cowl Neck tutorial sheets i had given to my sister. Thanks to Sprouting flowers, Thendral,Poornima, Tika,Megha for those encouraging words.

Meantime I thought of posting all those dresses which did not make the cut to my blog somehow. Either the Client (Read my little sister or even busier little darling daughter) or the Designer (Read Myself) were busy with other things.

Yesterday she was on leave and we had a blast making this collection from the past. Some date back to as old as 3-4 years old as well... yes God has blessed us with bodies that stay in tact and shape for years together(albeit lean but we are quite OK with it as long as we are healthy and happy)

Without much adieu have a look

Cowl pants

Tiered Skirt

Salwar Kameez / Kurtas 

First effort at Pintuck 

Actually there are more .. few of MIL Blouses, Mother's blouses, DD's traditional Pattu Paavadai (Silk Skirt &Top) will post them someday....

Kurtas - one for sister one for me!!!!

Drafted Basic Torso pattern and trying test fit outfits for Shift fit, Sheath fit etc.

2 new kurtas (both of them sheath fit, if i find it too close for comfort, then shall remove one dart)

Having severe cold and feeling feverish hence just the pics... bear with me.

P.S. The fabric embellished buttons (they took an hour to make almost half the stitching time itself... Handmade items are costly, wonder why, then here is the reason Labour and time spent on it buddies...)

Sleeve Detail

Shabby button and its transformation ... Magic..

Simple Red Kurta which will do justice only in action shots....hope to post them 2moro

Black Kurta with Frog Button

Frog Button ! Oh i love them. Wish i could perfect them. This is my third attempt (earlier ones where done about a year ago!)

Simple Kurta with V- style Placket (Inspiration was Sonali Bendre in Pril Ad, though her placket was embellished, i opted to go with embellishment as i wanted to wear casually and not to be overwhelmed. But it looked TOO Plain hence decided to jazz it up a bit and added Frog buttons.

The following link was the one i followed, just google Chinese frog button and there are plenty of tutorials, choose the one you understand the most
http://www.ez-fit.com/how_to_sew_a_chinese_frog.cfm

Left Over Magic

Normally leftover fabrics are patched up to create chic outfits for my darling daughter. this one the left over material was more than a yard. Hence decided to use it for self :) After quite sometime sew something for self, so i am excused to do so, ain't I?

Short kurti.....with mock ankrakha style wrap embellished with zari border

Thinking of making 'Salwar Pant' which are a rage these days to pair up with this kurti... need to get right fabric though for the pant.... lets see....

Paisley motif silk cotton kurta

This one is for my sister. This fabric has been long in my stash and today was its day.

I gave my daughter company when she took her noon nap and guess what my sewing time got converted as sleeping time.... hmm... had a good sleep, so can't complain.

Got up and hurried her to singing class, only to know the class got cancelled...she was happy, so was I , obviously for different reasons... she had more time to play, i could squeeze in some time to sew

This kurta was made in record time of 2.5 hours from cutting to sewing. Happy with the result. Color and print are eye catchy! Fabric feels good on skin.

As of Features : Simple Kurta so simple features: 

• V Neck embellished (Front & Back); 
• 3/4 sleeve with embellished slit

Back and Sleeves