Sewing for Competition, Semi-Finalist: Eve Kovacs

This week's post will continue with the IPCA PLARS contest, and semi-finalist, Eve Kovacs.  First, you should know that Eve is no beginner when it comes to sewing for competition.

 She was a finalist in the 2011 Passion for Fashion design contest hosted by the American Sewing Expo (above).

This design with embroidery was created for the Bernina Fashion Show, one of the world's premiere wearable art shows. Eve titled it “Belladonna.”

 A quick "google" of her name, and you will come up with quite a design variety in competition creations

and incredible works of art.

Of course, many carry ribbons. She calls this one “Thai Tutti Frutti”

Her favorite things to sew are jackets, coats, and ensembles, so it's not a surprise that she did just that with the Sew Chic Beatrice pattern, #1310. As is common with wearable art, Eve added seams and plenty of details, mixing several fabric types for a successful "Rock and Roll" edgy and feminine look.

 Here is the pattern she used:

You can get yours here:
http://www.sewchicpatterns.com/beatrice.html

Sewing for Competition, Semi-Finalist: Karyn Heidenreich

Continuing with the IPCA PLARS garment entries, this week begins the Semi-Finalist. When sewing for competition, all other things being equal, the one thing that will set your project above all others will be adding in special details and the quality of sewing. With this group, as you will soon see, all were beyond average.  This weeks entry is a skirt made by Karyn Heidenreich using the Sew Chic Spin Skirt pattern, #LN1209. She has sewn for many years, learning the skill first in high school. She enjoys making ladies apparel and sewing for her family. The following is what she wanted to share with you about her entry:

Semi-Finalist: Karyn Heidenreich

I bought the fabric because of the colors and print pattern was something I know my daughter-in-law would like.

 There was just about 5 yds in the clearance area of the store.
The main scroll motif was not centered and side patterns did not match.
I had to do some creative piecing to get the motifs to be situated properly.
I had just enough fabric to center the motifs on each panel the way I wanted.

 I knew I wanted to make a gathered tiered skirt of some kind.
I'm glad I saw an ad for the various pattern companies in a sewing magazine.

Ideally, wanted to make the yoke with a coordinating fabric, but couldn't find any that worked.
I wanted to do the ribbon trim with two cotton twill tapes.
I couldn't find any in the colors I needed, so I had to use synthetic grosgrain and satin ribbon.
I used the satin ribbon shiny side down.
I wasn't happy with the texture of those two ribbons, but did the best I could.
I used the lines on the underskirt pattern as a guide for ribbon lengths.

 Believe it or not, I used 3 needles to make the skirt.  That ribbon was really hard on the needles.

 I made an attached petticoat modified from the underskirt pattern and modified the ruffle pattern for the tulle.

I added purchased gathered trim to one petticoat layer and a purchased flower trim to the other.

I went back and forth about entering the skirt in the contest, because of time issues.
I got the pattern the end of March and only had 2 weekends to work on it to make the deadline.

In general, I'm glad I did.
If I get judging comments back, those will be very useful for future projects.

I am going to make another skirt with the same pattern in an above the knee length for my daughter in an Alexander Henry fabric.  No deadline for it this time! I'm going to take the time to  get just the right yoke fabric and cotton twill for it.

__________________________________________

I'm glad she entered too! Here is the pattern she used:

Get your pattern here: http://www.sewchicpatterns.com/spin_skirt.html

Honorable Mention: Karen Emmons

Continuing with the IPCA garment entries begun last week, I want to share with you the inspiring work of Karen Emmons, also an "honorable mention." Karen has been sewing since childhood, and used the Sew Chic Fantasia, #LN9005 for her entry. She loves Halloween and is enamored with the "Gothic" look and lifestyle, which became her garment inspiration. The following is what she wanted to share with you about her entry:

Honorable Mention: Karen Emmons

"I decided to enter the contest for several reasons. 1) I love to sew. 2) I wanted to win the Baby Lock Serger, so I could give my best friend my old Baby Lock Serger. I’ve always been fascinated by the Gothic Lifestyle and looks. I actually got my inspiration from an ad I saw in a Goth Magazine. When I saw the Fantasia pattern, I knew that was the one I wanted to adapt for my contest entry. I already had the black crepe like fabric, the baby blue satin and tulle were purchased at Joann’s. I also purchased a few items on the internet. A lot if the bit and pieces were from my unbelievable stash of fabric and misc. sewing items. I didn’t want the blue satin to be bright, so I covered everything in black tulle to tone it down and give it a dusky effect. The ravens were stenciled on the fishtail with black matte fabric paint. The sleeves were made long. The back inset, sleeves and corset were covered in black ribbon in a crisscross pattern. I also made a matching choker for the dress using the same beads and braid I used on the bodice front."

Enjoy!

Her entry was based on this pattern:

Get your pattern here:

http://www.sewchicpatterns.com/fantasia.html


 

Honorable Mention: Stephanie Ghidossi

The "Party Like a Rock Star" was the name of the sewing and design challenge this year hosted by the Independent Pattern Company Alliance, sponsored by these nine pattern companies:

Voting through the IPCA facebook page for the "People's Choice" award for each company has just closed. Winners will be announced in just a few days, on June 10. Winners will receive $100 in product from their sponsoring company, and go on to compete for grand prizes donated by Coats, Reliable, and Babylock. 

I received a total of 5 entries for this contest. I was impressed with the quality and creativity of the entries, but only 2 photos were required, and that doesn't always tell the whole story. Because it was a very manageable number, I asked all contestants to send me their garments. Only 3 could become semi-finalists, but I knew that every entry deserved our attention, so I spent an afternoon taking photos so that I could show you the workmanship and detail in a uniform way. For the next month I'm going to share these entries with you, along with any comments that the contestant may have given me to share.  

Honorable Mention: Stephanie Ghidossi

Stephanie did a beautiful job re-inventing the Valentine Slip view B,  #LN1207. She said that "Burning Man" was her inspiration. Stephanie paired three different fabrics, pleather, charmeuse, and chiffon to create this completely reversible design. She did a great job of incorporating the peacock design of the fabric, and invented a really clever way of lacing the ribbon. I didn't dare untie it for fear I would not be able to put it back. Stephanie has been sewing for only 3 years! Enjoy!

 Her design was based on this pattern:

Get your pattern here: http://www.sewchicpatterns.com/valentine.html

Sewing Indie Month- Enter to Win!

Tomorrow (June 4) the last day to post your creations and enter to win a whole boat load of prizes. If you have completed a Sew Chic pattern (or from any of the sponsoring designers) this month (May 1-June 4), all you need do is post the project photo somewhere on the web- in a blog post (of your own, or even a friend!), on patternreview, or Kollabora (maybe pinterest and photobucket don't count?). Align it with one of these categories and link your project back to the post of the category leader:

Dressed to the Nines (Formal wear)
Laura of Lilacs and Lace

Everyday Casual (Casual wear)
Jenny of Cashmerette

An indie Love Affair (two or more patterns combined)
Wanett of Sown Brooklyn 


Patternhacking (reworking a single pattern)
Rhonda of Rhonda's Creative Life

Click the links above to see the entries so far. Dressed to the Nines and Indie Love Affair have the fewest entries (11 and 8). It's disappointing that there are no entries to represent Sew Chic, but I'll keep my fingers crossed. There is still time!

Ana Stepalica and Rhonda Buss

 This is my lucky week! Today I get attention from Ana of Stepalica Patterns; she has published an interview with me that we did some time ago, AND today, Rhonda begins her "hack" of the Myrtlewood pattern. Links following, but so as to not distract you just yet, let me tell you just a little about my experience with Ana.

For Sewing Indie, we all saw a list of participating designers and was asked to choose 3 or 4 companies that we wanted to work with. I did not know any of the designers personally, and some of them were so brand new they had just barely published their first pattern. We knew that we would not necessarily be paired with those on our list (they had to choose us too!), but lucky for me, the one designer that I chose that picked me also was Ana Stepalica of Stepalica patterns. Let me tell you why she was one of my picks.

 

Without knowing anything else, here is what this design (her first) told me about Ana:

• Jumping right in to the advanced sewing market (which is a small sector), we know she is brave and has no fear. Even I was not willing to do that!
• The complexity of the design tells us that she has skill and is detail oriented.
• This fabric is not easy to work with. She is patient and careful- even exacting.
• The tried and true classic silhouette is timeless and traditional yet...
• not boring. She is cleaver, creative, and innovative.
• The look is very international- it turns out she is from Serbia.

These are all the things that are important to me also, and immediately I feel a kinship with her. At that time, I did not know that she is also a writer for Sew News Magazine. She writes, she sews, she's creative. Sound like a winning combination for a pattern company to me! Now that I've had a chance to get to know Ana, I KNOW she is all of these things and so much more!

The prices of her downloadable patterns are very reasonable too. I love her Zlata skirt! Take a look at what Rhonda Buss of Rhonda's Creative Life did with this skirt:

Read more about her making of this skirt here:
http://rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2014/05/sewing-indie-month-pattern-hacking_23.html

This week Rhonda has begun her "hack" of the Myrtlewood pattern:

 It's proving to be VERY interesting. She's got my attention! 

http://rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2014/05/sewing-indie-month-pattern-hacking-part_28.html

And of course, you don't want to miss Ana's interview with me.

http://www.stepalica.blogspot.com/2014/05/sim-laura-sew-chic-patterns-interview.html

 

It's your reading list for the week.