Kuchis Wedding Dress

I'm having a hard time figuring out exactly what this is.  I suspect it's a wedding dress worn by women of the Kuchis people of Afghanistan.  

The Kuchis are Pashtun-speaking nomads, who heavily embroider their wedding dresses.  And we've got one.  The Roommate gave it to me for xmas a few years back.  It was easy to get Afghan goods when we lived in Abu Dhabi.  Unfortunately we never got to Afghanistan, so the souq in Abu Dhabi was the best we could do.

I have been scouring the web for information about this type of garment, and would love to show you a photo of a bride wearing one.  Though I have found plenty of dresses, modern & vintage that look similar, I'm finding very little about who would have worn these dresses, why and where.  That they're worn by Kuchis women is about the closest I've gotten, and because weddings are a big deal the world over, I'm making an educated guess about the purpose of this garment.  I feel sure that though this is a longer dress, it would probably be worn over a pair of loose pants.  

Waistband detail + 3 medallions

The top is heavily embroidered with glass beads and metallic thread.  Round medallions of varying diameter are at the waist, the shoulders and on the sleeves.  The sleeves have the finger loop (also beaded) that would go over the middle finger to keep the sleeves down.  Although the dress itself doesn't seem that big (for an average sized woman), the sleeves are very long (and we had to fold them a bit to get them to fit on this 5' wide rod).  

Sleeve detail: mirrorwork &
metallic thread embroidery

This dress is heavy...the bodice is so thoroughly embroidered that it is stiff and the glass beads, mirror-work (shisha), and metallic thread bring it in at just over 9 lbs!  These are all common textile-decoration techniques from the NW of India, Pakistan & Afghanistan. Remember by common I don't mean simple!  Just that they're from a time period where most women had amazing hand-work skills and plenty of hours to learn these skills & to show them off. 

Skirt embroidery detail

If you're interested in a great book about textile techniques around the world (including many "how-to" instructions, such as adorning your latest creation with some mirrorwork), check out A Visual Guide to World Textiles by John Gillow & Bryan Sentance from Thames & Hudson.  And one online store, Tribal Bazaar, has all sorts of amazing photos; I've never purchased from them, so don't know if they are reputable; but it's fun to look at their photos!  

The Roommate & I took many photos trying to get all the details showing to share with you.  Enjoy!  (Remember, clicking on a photo will take you to the full-size version of that photo.)  Thanks for visiting & I'd love some comments if you know a bit more about this type of dress!  

3.5" medallion detail; one at each cuff

Surf's Up! Simplicity 2847 (again)

I really love this pattern (you may remember it from my first post, as my Route 66 dress). 

You may also remember that the Roommate has a large collection of what we call "fun shirts."  Which he had made by his tailor when we lived in Abu Dhabi.  The fabric was so cheap & tailoring was so cheap that he has about 30 of them now.  Well, I bought myself some fun fabric, while we were there & finally decided to turn it into a fun dress.  When he saw the fabric in my sewing room, the Roommate said, "Oh, am I getting another shirt?"  No, dear, this one is for me!  I'm lucky he doesn't hold a grudge!
And I decided this is the time to learn about lining, too (I usually wear silk slips--also from my tailor, but they don't work so well for underarms).  So last Friday I took another open studio class at Bits of Thread so that Allison could help me put in an off-white cotton-poly lining.  

Cannot wait to wear it!  Summer is definitely headed our way here inside the Beltway...

Oh, regarding Zac Posen vs. Michael Kors as judges on Project Runway?  Zac is great, but I miss Michael!

What Do You Do While Sewing? Oh, and I'm Back!

Exhibition changed today in the house;
indigo tie-dye (adire) from Burkina Faso.

Thanks to my follower in France for noticing I haven't been posting much (over a month according to her!). I haven't felt very inspired, family health issues have arisen and the Roommate & I are taking country swing dancing classes 2 nites/week...so it just seems like I don't have much time for blogging. Never fear: I do continue to have time for sewing!

I thought I'd post about what I do while sewing and I'd be curious to know what you do, too!

I am a huge Firefly & Serenity fan (SERENITY NOW!), so I have seen the series & the movies many times. I started watching them with Spanish dubbing to improve my listening, so I've seen them many more times that way.

I also listen to podcasts.  Slate's Gabfest and Double X podcast, along with the Audio Book Club, the Culturefest and Lexicon Valley, all available on Slate's Podcast page.  I also enjoy the Friday News Roundup (domestic & international) from Diane Rehm.  

I have a few TV shows I watch, rather irregularly, too:  The Mindy Project and Parks & Rec. But the one I'm hooked on now is Project Runway; certainly appropriate. And PR is now in Season 11...and I've only seen a bit of Season 10 & 11, so I have plenty to catch up on.  Which is good because I'm definitely not a speedy sewer & can't even begin to imagine how they complete some of those challenges in less than a day.  

So what about you?  Are you completely focused while sewing and sound & video distract?  Or do you have even more going on?  

What do you blog about when there's nothing to blog about?!

Bella likes the 3994 fabric

I ended up back in NM recently due to an illness in the family, and just haven't felt much like doing anything creative. Also, work has been quite busy (same for the Roommate); I had 2 all-day conferences last week, one of which I presented at, and that stuff takes more time than you think it will. We've also had freezing cold weather, and I do a lot of walking outside. Sometimes I get home & really can't bear to do much other than sit on the couch & get warm! I'm not complaining...I love winter & the chance to wear my turtlenecks & woolen suits & eat hearty soups, but I do believe the cold takes it out of you.  The snow has been fun--haven't seen any in a long time; it was the first time in our house!  

Right now I'm fixing again a too-strong magnet snap on the front of a lovely green leather purse.  It tore through the lining about the 4th day I used it.  I repaired it once, but sort of over-repaired it: in trying to weaken the magnet a bit, I over-weakened it & it wouldn't stay shut at all.  Now I think I've got the magnet just the right amount of weakened, and am hand-sewing it in via an interfacing-lined contrasting patch.  I hope it works because I really like the purse...lots of pockets & shiny green leather.  Yum!

While sewing, I usually watch stuff on hulu as we don't have a TV.  Right now I'm thrilled that Project Runway 11 is on, and especially excited because there's a Native American woman (from Taos Pueblo) on this year & she's good.  Patricia Michaels, has great turquoise jewelry, too, which I envy.  I don't really want to be a designer, I really just wish I  could zoom back to Abu Dhabi & get Mohammed to copy some stuff for me!  

Some exciting news:  My friend Tilly has just released her first pattern.  I know she's been dreaming about this for a while, so it's exciting to see a friend's dream come to fruition.  She runs most days, sews a lot, has a full-time job & travels for work, so I don't see how she does it.  Check out the new pattern, the Mathilde blouse!  Not only do you get a cool pattern, you get all sorts of helpful info, such as using contrasting fabric, how to deal with digital patterns & what the heck to do if your measurements don't fit into one size or another.  Tilly is an excellent teacher, so check out the blouse & her blog to get learning.  

I also just discovered, via a tweet from DIYCouture, The People's Print.  I love the idea of designing my own fabric (Spoonflower is another place, too).  This is The People's Print's manifesto: The People's Print pioneers new concepts for textile design combining traditional and digital technologies, open source, participatory and co-design, aiming to create a community of like minded people with a passion for designing their own textiles.

Work continues anon on Simplicity 3994, from 1941, when Bella isn't assisting.  But it's slow (I had to seriously re-design the princess seams & even add a dart; all thanks to Allison @ BitsofThread.com). That type of fix/re-fix/fix again really takes it out of me & I end up getting quite sick of the project & want to never look at it again. So 3994 & I have been avoiding each other the last few weeks. 

My Xmas vacation

My Xmas Vacation - Mountain photos!

I wanted to respond to Winnie's post about her lovely mountain vacation.  Problem was that the mountains were mostly covered with clouds when we were in Albuquerque...

So, I asked my brother-in-law, George, who is quite the expert photographer, and has great access to this view, to send a few of his favorites of the Sandia mountain range, which is just to the east of my parents house.

Nothing about textiles or sewing or knitting...sorry.  Just pretty views!

This is what they mostly looked like at xmastime...

New Quilted Cover for My Tablet

I've mentioned before that I'm trying to use up fat quarters, since I really don't quilt anymore.  I have a ton of Japanese-inspired prints (and some Chinese, too), and decided I needed a new quilted cover for my Samsung Galaxy 10.1 tablet...mostly so I could wash the old one! Both the outside & the inside green are crane-heavy fabrics (the bird, not the construction equipment) because I got it in Nebraska at the International Quilting Museum during Sandhill Crane season. (Roommate & I were there visiting cranes, friends & family.)  

Simplicity 3994 Update

You can see the lovely pattern, from 1941, for a coat-dress here.  You can also see the fabric.  And you might be able to figure out why I didn't get it cut out today, after all.  Actually, I can't blame it all on the perfect kitty cat...I tried on the muslin again this morning & realized that I really needed to move the bust down (similar adjustment I had to make to the princess seam on the Starlet Suit). So I spent a long time making a duplicate on tracing paper, and then adjusting it and then attaching it to the original pattern (which I didn't want to modify, since it is from 1941 & in great shape).  In the middle of that I also made a holly spray & homemade ribbon for our front door...because I needed to stop thinking about patterns for a bit.    

I did take Allison's advice & iron interfacing to all the yardage of the fabric.  It's woven & rather light.  She thought it would be easier to cut out & work w/ if I put on the interfacing to give it a bit of body.  Fortunately I bought some stretchy interfacing (without even trying).  I also bought a package of 10 open studio classes @ Bits of Thread, and used the first one trying to get the pattern modified.  Then spent a few hours on it before we left for xmas.  The pattern modification is getting there...meaning I haven't cut out the fabric yet!  

I am tired now, though, of this pattern, so will find another small project (maybe another cover for my tablet?) where I don't have to read instructions and it will be finished quickly...instant gratification, anyone? 

Music?  How about a song for i partigiani, Bella Ciao?