10.26.2015

The Science Of Sui

oonaballoona | a sewing blog by marcy harriell | anna sui linen mini dress

If I were a dog, I would be one of those mutts that sniffs out truffles. DESIGNER TRUFFLES.

Guess who ran into some more Anna Sui at Mood. I hunt around, I pull out a bolt, BOOM, it's The Sui. It’s not like she has a specific named shelf or anything. Sure, I find her in the “Designer” section…but this yardage was lounging on the bottom floor, in a colorful little bin of medium weight cotton & linen bolts. Next to shirting. NEXT. TO. SHIRTING.

oonaballoona | a sewing blog by marcy harriell | anna sui linen mini dress

No offense, Shirting. You’re just not my cup of tea.

But this craziness was right up my alley! My first thought was a maxi skirt, like my last dance with Sui, yet in the end, it wanted to be short. It told me so, in very loud tones. And luckily (tragically?) the weather is playing nice… I had zero problems wearing this out on the street last week. Ladies and Gentlemen, I think we have arrived at that period in humanity’s history where the closet needs to be All Seasons All The Time. Like an All Skate for temperatures!

(Just imagine Fall and Summer, clumsily careening hand in hand, a couple of awkward teenagers…makes it way less apocalyptic, no?)

oonaballoona | a sewing blog by marcy harriell | anna sui linen mini dress

Oh, would you like to know about the dress? ME TOO. Let’s just get full armageddon here, and talk about how fast time is flying. Time is literally fleeting at a hopped up rate! Something about the earth's rotation slowing down, and hertzs, and Einstein's calculations of the speed of light and whatnot. SCIENCE! PHYSICS! THINGS I CANNOT COMPREHEND! Go on, google it. Like Climate Change, this is an Actual Thing Happening Now. (Sewing Scientists, I invite you to holler, elaborate and/or refute in the comments.)

Too much fleeting time has passed for total recall. My brain has just enough space for the twelve things I’m working on at any given moment. When something is completed, GET OUT. NO VACANCY!

oonaballoona | a sewing blog by marcy harriell | anna sui linen mini dress

I do recall using the By Hand London Polly Top, and the bottom portion of the Salme Yoke Dress. It was intended to be a playset, but I didn’t like the proportions. I ripped off the skirt waistband, and used the box pleats as a guide to cinch in the top, attaching it to the dress. With 8, 5 inch long pleats spanning my waistline, it feels as if I’m wearing a super comfortable belt– which, actually, I probably would do, when wearing in “real life.” Do you find that you don’t accessorize as much when taking blog shots? Gotta see the sewing!

oonaballoona | a sewing blog by marcy harriell | anna sui linen mini dress

GOTTA SEE THE CRAZY TOO. Changing the playset up on the fly meant adding a side zipper in the eleventh hour. It's lucky that I have a penchant for off-the-wall zippers, because I was inserting this weirdo plastic job about ten minutes before I needed to get pictures and post to MSN. October was half over and I full on forgot to have this month's post ready! Time flying for real, yo.

I did a semi-exposed, upside-down zipper insertion, which I like to employ when the zipper head is some gigantic piece of machinery that would feel uncomfortable under the arm.

oonaballoona | a sewing blog by marcy harriell | anna sui linen mini dress

My favorite part of this dress is also the part that gave me the most headache: the hem. 

It started out well. Banging out that decorative stitching in neon thread was super fun! On both this skirt and my Dad's Guayabera, I used wash away stabilizer under the stitching, to support the fabric as the wing needle made its merry holes. Mrs Mole, whose blog is chock full of detailed examples and techniques, asked for some sample shots on the decorative stitching, which I was on my way to happily providing. BUT HEY GUESS WHAT. Incorrectly done, yo! I used the plasticky, slicker wash-away stabilizer, rather than the more papery vilene wash-away. It still worked out, but I'll be hitting pause on those detail shots in favor of getting you correct information :)

Still, it worked out. The real problem with the hem came when I fringed the edges of the linen. It hung so stiffly, I looked more vintage Cher than trendy Bohemian. So I cut off the fringe, turned the (unseen) third row of diamonds under, and added two more rows of stitching. The hem stands out now, almost as if I had inserted horsehair. I love it!


Also loving: 80s remakes of Dionne Warwick songs. Ruggy & I were at a hipster coffee shop, and all these 60s girl groups were crooning hits that we only recognized from the 80s counterparts. Check it out! Ruggy DJ'ed breakfast, and I shimmied to the tunes in my head, to feel a little less odd in front of this parking garage. 

oonaballoona | a sewing blog by marcy harriell | anna sui linen mini dress

Because odd on top of odd equals normal. Mathematical fact. WHOAH. I've got science, physics, and math, all in one post! Truly, the world is as upside-down as my zipper.

this dress was made using my monthly fabric "allowance" as part of the mood sewing network. no actual scientific, mathematical, or physics-type (physical?) facts included. 

30 comments:

  1. Now that's a creative zipper installation! Me likey A LOT. And, as per usual...your attention to the little details make the garment sing. I mean...that hem! In the initial photos, I assumed it was part of the fabric pattern. Brillliant!

    So the world really is moving at a faster pace? GAH! Hopefully crooning to the oldies will slow things down just enough.

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    1. thanks sue! and when you have a really pretty zipper pull, inserting upside down showcases it well. which reminds me, i must find more pretty zipper pulls....

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  2. I love it!! That hem, that zipper - it's gorgeous!!

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  3. Wow your dress is really beautiful:)) Especially the hem! Have a nice day, Sophia
    www.littlesewingmachine.blogspot.de

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  4. Beautiful. I love your amazing ability at using extra touches like that zipper and hem stitching to take your projects to a whole new level!

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    1. thanks katryna! i often side-eye my extra touches with seam ripper hovering, so that's really nice to hear ;)

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  5. Now you know that is the BOMB dress. The coloring of the fabric is on point & fleek. And it is apparent that you have award winning legs to boot. Per usual - excellent pictures. I appreciate how you are the only visual with your monochromatic background. Musta been warm in NYC - I tell you I LOVE the place, but I am too tired to show up to work at 8 during a nor'easter....

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    1. fleek! what a great word!

      it was super warm-- in fact, i'm STILL running around in short sleeves and a cotton scarf!

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  6. This is fab. And you know what you need now, if you don't already have one, to make this dress completely all seasons and wearable when it's cold? A bright orange 1950s-style swing jacket!

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  7. Boom! You've nailed it. How I'd love to get my hands on some Sui!

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  8. I love how you combined the two different patterns to make this lovely dress. The fabric and colors are gorgeous and the hem detail is so cool!

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  9. Those shoes are awesome. Oh, sorry, I'm here to look at the dress. It's awesome too. Seriously. Great job on the decorative stitching. I really need to do stuff like that more often myself.

    I like your image of summer and fall as a couple of awkward teenagers. A couple of brats, they are.

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    1. that's okay, those shoes always steal the show. even when i'm editing my own photos i can barely take my eyes off them ;)))

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  10. GORGEOUS! I love the hem...love it...

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  11. Another damn fine dress - how do you find these fabrics!!! :-)

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  12. Brilliant dress, what a fabulous find - when I finally get to Ny I'll just have to visit Mood.

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  13. I <3 it all!! And all in the climate of Western Australia (ok, it changes a bit - it will bake you from Christmas to Easter, you'll need an extra jumper and possibly a raincoat for June/July, other than that it's all a bit same-same).

    Getting back to the outfit. Neon decorative topstitching?? My mind is blown and I must do it NOW. Well, at least in the next week or two.

    And THOSE SHOES are freakin' fabulous!

    Thank you for making the beginning of my return to work after holidays not-suck XO

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    1. you are quite welcome! i hope you've got your hands on some neon thread...

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  14. God dammit, Oona!!
    You make me wanna sew up a dress for a function, which is next Friday!!!!
    I love this fun dress so much!!
    I think I need to start all the way from the beginning cos my body has changed so much since I last sewed.

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    1. you can do it! just don't go crazy on the perfect fit! (oh who am i kidding.....:)

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  15. You're a freaking superstar!! I love it all.

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  16. Ah loving your decorative stitching, those shoes, that zip.. amazing fabric! What is the cool thing to say these days? I die...

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  17. Wow that border. You did this??!!! At first glance I thought it was a border print. The dress and fabric are both boootiful.

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  18. My dearest Oona, what do I need to do to be the recipient of your material scraps?? *lol* You have such an amazing eye for material...

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  19. I contemplated leaving a comment because all that I could see were THOSE shoes. I mean I did notice that the dress was purple and there was some neon or something like that but everything else is a little foggy.

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  20. This is SO gorgeous - the fabric, the shape, the upside down zip (so simple, but so genius, why did I never think of it?!), but what's really winning me over is that embroidered hem - amazing, and another idea I'll be stealing now!
    Sian xx Rebel Angel

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  21. Oonaballoona, am really loving what am seeing on your blog. I wish you you can enlighten some of us a bit about your tutorials

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  22. Love the zipper and the hem and I won't even start about the fabric! Great fit (as always)

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i thankya truly for taking the time to comment, i love a good conversation-- and hope you know my thanks are always implied, if not always written!