Men's Woollen Jumper Finished!!!

had a call from my Nana!! the hand knitted jumper is fully finished now..

she was saying that it is very heavy!! so heavy infact that when she was finishing off the neck line she had to place the jumper on the table and stand up to knit it as it became too much to hold up all day..

so i did some investigating!!! just how much wool was used to make this jumper??

We bought 23 balls of wool!! as i researched the inca wool range i found out exactly how much in each ball...

Ummmmmm............. kilometers of wool was used!!



The colour I used for my range is the Blue # 7026..

here is a bit of info about each ball of Inca wool....

Inca is an Fashion Yarn Blend with NO ply rating as it does match any ply.
It is comprised of 50% Wool, 30% Acrylic and 20% Alpaca.
The tension is 13 Stitches and 18 Rows to 10 X 10 cm over stocking stitch on 7.00mm needles.
Ball size is 50gms with 58 metres per ball.
This is a classic fingering yarn. Constructed with 2 spun strands of complimenting colours and has good stitch definition.
The Alpaca helps to proved a luxury feel and due to the tension of 13 stitches is a Quick Knit while being surprisingly light in weight.

Yarn is Hand wash and cannot be Spun Dry or Tumble Dried.
May be warm ironed
Can also be Dry Cleaned.

sooooo 58meters per ball of wool... X 23 balls used to make the jumper!! thats a hell of alot of wool.. approx 1.3kilometers...

no wonder it was so heavy!!

First Ever Photoshoot!!

we have been teamed up with TAFE SA Photography students and also TAFE SA Hair and Make Up Studends to help with out photoshoot..

I think we have all been so very lucky this year to have this opportunity to work with Tafe students to create a professional and original photo for our graduation parade..

I teamed up with Courtney Prettejohn.. She did amazing work and im very happy with the final photo..

we held our shoot at Osteria De Mese on Glen Osmond road.. its a funky little bar with alot of character.

here are a few little snap shots of the photoshoot so u get some idea of what the final shot will look like..

again.... thank you so much to Courtney! TAFE SA hair and make up.. Sarah & Alex from Finesse and Osteria De Mesa for all your time and work!!

Men's Coat #1.......... Final....

Im pretty excited with how my first ever mens coat has turned out.. As I had said before, I was a little nervous about how this was going to turn out.. especially because the fabric was extremely expensive and I really wanted to make sure it was all perfect before cutting..

I am very happy with how its all turned out.. its how I imagined and i think it looks good..

Hope guys like this coat!!

Men's Coat #1..........

I've completed my first ever mens design!! its been a bit of a concern for me as I have never designed for mens and i wanted to make something that was individual, interesting but still very wearable and masculine!

my first mens coat its made from 40% Cashmere / 60% Wool.. it is so warm and soft..

I had a lot of trouble with the collar and lapels on the front of the jacket as it wanted them to sit along the front of the jacket nicely..

Ive imagined this coat to be worn open with a scarf.. i can picture a hot guy with attitude walking down the street with his hands in his pocked looking like he doesnt care.......

I was quite nervous to make this coat out of the final fabric as it was hard to imagine when looking at it made out of calico...

here are a few images of it in my toiles..

Ohhh.... Models...

we had a whole bunch of profiles of Finesse models for us all the choose what models we would like for our photoshoot...

it was really hard to decide who I thought would suit my clothes.. and because I am also including male and females I wanted to find 2 people who looked good together.. I wanted a guy and a girl who looked like they had chemistry...

I think these 2 looked quite "Gossip Girl"

Its a Girl!!!

sorry... couldnt help myself... a BIG congratulations to my bestfriends.. Sam and Mark for the arrival of their new baby girl Michala!!

Womens Coat #1 done!!!

my first Women's coat is made and ready to go... considering its the 2nd fully lined coat I've ever made I am quite happy with the way it has all turned out... Its looking exactly the way I had pictured in my head...

the fabric I used is 100% wool. It has an amazing soft, almot like furr texture to it.. it has made the coat look very warm and interesting..


here are a few snap shots of what to expect!!!

First Ladies Jacket!

one of my designs is a ladies winter jacket with a high neck..

we ended spending alot of time trying to get the neck line correct.

because the is so high and I wanted to create it all in 1 without it looking like a collar.. we managed to put in a few darts and and pull the neck line out a bit so it sits flush.

Nana is the Greatest!!

im so excited!! as part of my collection I wanted a nice warm knitted jumper for one of the mens outfits.

knowing you cannot buy knitted fabrics. i asked my Nana to knit one for me by hand.

I met up with my nana the other day and the jumper looks AMAZING!! its made from 100% wool and its so heavy and warm.
i cannot wait to see it on someone!!

All she needs to knit now is the back, the front and sleeves are all done..

so far it has taken 23 balls of wool.... :)

womens short toile.

its been 9-10 weeks now and I feel I am on track to have everything finished in time.

I have managed to do all the basic patterns for all the mens and womens outfits.

its been a great few weeks, while still quite intense, very satisfying when you complete a pattern and toile.

Besides 3 jacket patterns I now just need to sit down and sew everything together.

The mens pants are a classic fit pant.. they will be made out of 100% wool suiting..
here is a pic of my toile showing jet pocket at the back..

Early Stages! But going well!

My collection is consisting of 3 Women's outfits and 3 Men's outfits.

I want the women's outfits to be sophisticated, classic, yet with a younger sexy edge to them and the Men's to be interesting, detailed and yet still very masculine.

I am using alot of Wool / Cashmere coating with contrasting silks.

I have spent the last 3 weeks focusing on the basic garments that will complete the outfits so the mens pants, womens tops and dress.

The dress I have created will be worn under a jacket and will be shown on the catwalk. it will be made from a soft silk charmeuse in Royal Blue.
I want it to be floaty and soft with a soft feminine drape across the chest.
The dress will be worn with a thin black belt around the waist to give shape.

Here are a few pictures of my toile.

Upper East Side!!

The TV Show - Gossip Girl

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEnL_HJHWmg&feature=fvst

If you want to watch a short YouTube clip.. Cut and paste this URL..

You Know You Love Me XOXO GG!

I have based my final end of year range on the well known TV show Gossip Girl. Its a show about a group of young, elite, NYC Upper East Siders. With money and power they do what they want, when they want!
They focus lot on fashion in the show with each episode showcasing some of the "it" styles of the season from the latest and greatest labels.

I wanted to create a range that was suitable for a New York Winter. So with this and Gossip Girl in mind I plan to create a range that is luxurious, classical yet with a bit of an edge.

Ideas, Ideas, Ideas!!

We are now in to the last 6 months of TAFE.. the last 2.5 years have been amazing but now it all comes together with us designing and making our final end of year range to be paraded at the Norwood Fashion Festival in November 2010.

There is alot to do, but its very exciting and I cannot wait to start designing and getting my ideas down on paper!!