Austentatious Continued....So What??? Sew Buttons!

For real, a ruffled shirt is how much??? Well I never! .......... Lolol. (Straight Face) So seriously, how can I incorporate this Lolita business into my closet?

For example:























15,540.00 JPY = 202.018 USD

Umm....No. That is just a plain cotton shirt with some ruffles on it. Wait just a minute. So....how about I take a plain cotton shirt and sew some ruffles on it? Bingo!



There are sewing books for Goth Lolita versions but I really like English frills and roses and browns (even though I admittedly wear a lot of black. It goes with everything.) But there are tons and tons of resources for free sewing tutorials. Yay! FYI - I am all for altering store bought items. I don't know if I would have the patience to sew something from scratch. I really like the idea of trying something on, making sure it fits, and then adding on to it.

Here are some links I am pursuing.


Lolita Handbook: Scroll down to see how to make that same white cotton lace ruffle shirt!






















Ruffled Shirt Tutorial (Her website is Da Bomb)

Historic pattern collections also abound.



























The Ladies' Treasury of Costume and Fashion

If you are sewing from patterns, here is the motherload of pattern collections: The Costumer's Manifesto.














However, there is always the random item that is perfect but just can't be replicated at home. :)













On a serious note. There are many more reasons to sew your own Lolita outfit rather than buy one. Ironically, those $$$$$ outfits you can purchase are mostly made in China. And we all know where those come from. Remember that quote I referenced last post?

Hirooka said the escapism of Lolita is also a reaction against conformism and the expectations on young Japanese women to quietly assume their adult roles as wives or workers in this country's male-dominated society.




























Wouldn't it be EXTREMELY ironic and philosophically F'ed up to purchase one of THESE outfits from a woman enslaved in an Asian clothing factory???

Country Hourly Wage
United States $8.25-14.00
United Kingdom $7.58-9.11
Venezeula $2.73
Costa Rica $2.19
Guatemala $1.21
Colombia $1.20
Honduras $1.02
Philippines $0.94-1.00
China $0.93
Peru $0.92
El Salvador $0.92
Jordan $0.74
Malaysia $0.73
Nicaragua $0.65
Bahrain $0.57
Thailand $0.56
India $0.55-0.68
Mauritius $0.55-0.65
Vietnam $0.52
Egypt $0.50-0.87
Mexico $0.50-0.53
Sri Lanka $0.46
Pakistan $0.37
Indonesia $0.35
Cambodia $0.24
Bangladesh $0.21

High Tech for the Commoner.... I'm Lovin It.

As usual, I was poking around the web reading about something TOTALLY UNRELATED when I discovered the niftiest thing EvAR! Or at least, the niftiest thing of this five minutes. I'm sure everyone has seen 3D modeling utilized on TV in some way or another. I think I first watched a program about 3D carving or etching used to make accurate topographical maps or even architectural models. Very cool but its not like I'm ever going to be able to play around with that kind of technology. The things I would make. I say that and yet seriously, what would I make??? I'm not sure. It just the POWER of it all. I just want the option to snap my fingers and have my will done by a machine to make some awesome object of my imagination. Well apparently, even I could do that as long as the snapping was accompanied by some mouse clicking.

BEHOLD.....Shapeways et al.

The Basic Concept.... Whaaa??? That is Neat.


Oh the possibilities....and luckily there is some competition so perhaps with some shopping, a good deal can be found.

Another company is I.Materialize.

One chicky is using this technique on etsy (which is where I first discovered that a mere mortal had access to this kind of thing).

She makes pretty little planters so anyone who has a pet plant can take it with them anywhere. OR, someone like ME who likes to steal leaf cuttings to propagate plants for free can increase their success rate. Her shop can be found here.

Cold, Cold, Getting Warm, Warmer!

I can't take credit for this, but it is amazing No? I found it on the blog of J. Rothman.
My hold up is that I can't find a spider that I like. I can't draw worth a crap and I really prefer it to be metal. HMMMMMMm of AnNoYANce!


However, this image by Shane Waltener is pretty to look at and quite toasty.

Oh What a Tangled Web we Weave....

I have been thinking a lot lately (Nothing unusual there) and have been encouraged by a fellow Raveler to resurrect my blog. You see, I have lots and lots of projects going on all the time but have completely neglected writing about them.

On the topic of Itsy Knitsies, I have been recently inspired by the Spider. I sincerely hope not to knit a "tangled" web per-say and it will definitely be free of deception. Ironically, deception is exactly what spider webs are all about. Not really my cup of tea however and I think I have concluded a non-painful outlet for my tiny interest. Itsy Knitsies should be Itty Bitty! Duh?! I think I kinda screwed my ambition over the first time by making something relatively large for the scale I was working at. Yes, yes - it was for a MOST IMPORTANT contest but seriously, that was a bit much for a first go-round.

Second, what to do with an itty bitty FO? I am thinking in terms of abstract swatches which are good for nothing and are usually the ground work for larger works. All these ideas congealed quite nicely into a most literal translation of the aforementioned. TeeHee. If you haven't guessed - well I'm not telling. This idea is definitely a mole hill and suspense will at least slightly turn it into a mountain. ;)

P.S. Did you know aforementioned was one word? I typed afore by itself and was slapped on the wrist by spellcheck. The correct spelling seems to be very strange and long.

Picture: "Spider Woman" by Susan Seddon Boulet

New Project: Pysanky

I am on the hunt for an electric kistka. I found this video to be interesting. Although Pysanky is most often associated with Easter it was originally a pagan art. I have been researching patterns from many different cultures and hope to become proficient at pysanky.

Disgustingly Beautiful

I absolutely become repulsed by the killing of animals for fashion. Its just the epitome of frivolous massacre and torture. I am however, intrigued by the furniture below. My imagination is swept away to a land far far away in a time long ago. In my mind these creations were used by tribal royalty. However, they have actually been formed in the here and now and its just disgusting. The aligator skins are not attractive to me at all, even ignoring the cruelty factor. The tails thrown in here and there just look out of place. Creativity wise, these things are very extreme.





More can be seen here.

Tiny Bubbles.....or errrr Costumes?

In a random fit of googling through ancient costume images I found modern day miniature costume creator Serena Partridge. Too cool!