Kimono-Dress or house-dress ‘Purple Shimmers’

Purple and print patchworks

Back view

One pocket at front

Shape is cut for fitted bodice front and back with bat-wing (kimono – like) sleeves extending from shoulders to high waist.

Front lacing over gusset, adjusts bust size from 36″ to 40″

Sleeves have cuffs which will turn back at the seam for tasking.

Notice collar, although a proper one, is caught down into high waist seaming at front, which could be thinner if copying idea, and stitch down to a point where it meets gusset (which I would do for a smaller summer dress)

Gorgeous patchwork colours form treasure trove arrangement.  Generous fit up to 40 bust:  Sleeves are kimono style loose, starting from below bust line.  Lace ties ensure fit under bust.  Back bodice top is already fitted to body, with gathers below

To buy ‘Purple Shimmers’or to commission similar, visit ETSY shop

Purple Patchwork Kimono-Dress – Creation Journey

Purples ‘collection’ as garments from charity shops.  Plus bottom right hand plant-dyed silk

Three or four plains and three to four prints, with maybe another contrasting plain works well.  At least 7 different fabrics are needed for a good patchwork result.  I used all these fabrics except for the hand dyed silk 3rd from right.  (It will go into a similar one)

Charity shop finds to match existing purple fabrics.  The shiny dress will become lining.

When cutting up garments for patchwork, cut up along the sides of all seams.  Sometimes cotton and linen seams can be ripped undone, and more fabric saved.  Overall, unpicking is not worth the time it takes.

Sometimes there is fabric strain near darts or side seams as there were in this blouse.  In such case, don’t undo the seam where stitches have pulled.  This blouse had strain around the front dart seams.  Due to inherent weakness in the loose weave, this fabric will be quilt-machined onto a thin cotton backing, to ensure it stays firm.

Many parts of a garment can be recycled into a different new garment, such as this lace-styled neck.  It won’t be included in the kimono, but it will form the start of another dress, likely to be with navy, if only the lace is used, or navy and pink if the print is kept.

This top is from a stretch cotton fabric, so will be quilt machined onto a cotton, for firmness, to be similar in weight to the linen and taffeta.  If used only in its stretch state, it may cause a slight ‘baggyness’ in parts of the patchwork.

Cutting of patchwork pieces to follow soon  ……….

Welcome to the Shamanic Nights BLOG.

My Mission:  To make beautiful casual and luxurious clothes and quilts from recycled fabrics.

Stop Landfills.   Stop Water Pollution.   Stop ‘Made in China’.   Working Ethos.

Fast fashion has encouraged the spendthrift and waste of textile materials.  So many cast-offs! I’ve noticed year on year, the plethora of higher quality fabrics donated to the ubiquitous high street charity shops.  Clothes from quality brand names or clothes hardly worn at all, make it essential that the best quality dresses, skirts and T-Shirts be given an extended life.

Linens are wonderful to work with: one pair of trousers provides large pieces, as does a flared skirt. Dresses and blouses provide prints and lace.  I choose good quality cotton, viscose and silk mostly, for summer dresses: with just a little polyester if a print inspires me, and for most linings.

Penny’s Pinafore in blue linen, black embroidery Anglais, and vintage print of French cafe life.  (Sold)

SUSTAINABLE CLOTHING is becoming more mainstream, with increasing numbers of inspired fashion designers making clothes from UP-CYCLED and VINTAGE fabrics and sharing their ideas on Pinterest.  See many creative upcyclers, along with some of mine, here: –

Recycled fashion on Pinterest

There has been a ground swell of interest in organic cotton; grown without pesticide use, leaving no watercourse contamination.  Fertilizers are expensive for farmers in poorer countries, making crops less profitable.  The Aral Sea has dried up due to the over use of its water for Uzbekistan cotton growing.

Whilst organic cotton is all the rage, cotton itself requires so much water to grow and process, that in the long run it’s not sustainable. It takes 8,500 litres to make enough cotton for a pair of jeans. This is clearly unsustainable,  even immoral, when many areas of the world suffer drought.

Hemp is the next ‘cotton’.

http://buff.ly/2ihsXJP  ‘A brief note on Natural Fibres and Climate Change’

with many links.

Synthetic fibres for clothes are one of the worst inventions ever! They eventually leach their chemicals out of landfill. #Recycle #Upcycle https://t.co/PKjdakbd3c

— Amelia Jane Hoskins (@ShamanicNights) January 13, 2017

FABRICS from high street store fashions have an incredibly long shelf life, but are sometimes discarded after one season’s wear or if the garment no longer fits. Even household fabrics are renewed more often than years ago. These fabrics and clothes are still here. Piling up in landfills. Rather than throwing away, we need to recycle all textiles as much as possible.

Patchwork joining for Cherry Fluzzie B, January 2017

Finished dress: Cherry Fluzzie B

For this reason I believe more businesses will take on this challenge; to produce textile products that customers will want just as much as they want to buy new textiles.

http://fashionrevolution.org/  #WhoMadeMyclothes

One of the best things everyone can do is to stop buying more new stuff.

Take a fresh look at what we already have.  Look in your wardrobe; if you don’t wear something, but love the fabric, cut it up and make something new; add another recycled fabric to it.

I take commissions using your fabrics or I will research for a specific colourway or themed garments from the charity shops.

‘The True cost of Cotton’  shows children working in the cotton fields.

Links to ethical fashion concerns will be added progressively…..