Tag Archives: skirt

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MAMI AFRIKA

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I’ve worked with Wawi Amasha for a few years, and now she’s starting to get really serious about her clothing design. These looks are all hers, but I sewed them for a gallery opening this past weekend. They were presented under the name Mami Afrika.

Wawi dresses, made by Julianne

Sewer, designer, tech designer.Wawi dresses, made by JulianneOf course I made my purple miimii dress, as well as the blue halter dress on Inobe. Wawi is on the left. Wawi dresses, made by Julianne

Wawi was showing her paintings at Hamilton Gallery in Santa Monica, and it was a fun party! In our gallery was the artwork, models wearing dresses, wine of course, and African drummers who inspired some fancy dancing.

A neighboring gallery was also hosting an opening, where there was more wine, plus vodka, couscous, gift bags, and a hyper little German man who began our conversations with “I like the look you’re experimenting with on your outfit,” because that’s what you say in Santa Monica. I don’t remember your name, but you were kinda crazy, but also fun.

Wawi dresses, made by Julianne

The fabrics were collected on Wawi’s recent trip to Kenya, and the patterns were drafted by Inobe Nicole, who also made the fabulous geometric necklaces.

I made ten pieces for the show in 4 days, and eventually developed a rhythm for the layout and construction. Sample patterns rarely come with instructions, so it’s up to be to figure out a smooth and efficient technique.   Wawi dresses, made by JuliannePrint matching! The finishing on this sleeveless jacket includes french seams, bias bound, double turned hem, and folding seams under.

Wawi dresses, made by Julianne Wawi dresses, made by Julianne

This purple skirt was my favorite piece, and that amethyst necklace Inobe made is insane!  IMG_2349

Mami Afrika designs, made by Julianne

This dress was another personal favorite.

Wawi dresses, made by Julianne

It was a week of marathon sewing, but the team was very pleased at the outcome. I’ll be doing more work with Wawi soon (like tomorrow!).

Thanks to Sam / Docta Sez for the additional photos!

 

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RAINBOW WEDDING DRESS

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You’ve already seen the boots I wore for our wedding at Burning Man 2012, and now here’s more of my outfit.

rainbow Burning Man wedding, Made by Julianne, Photos by Blake Gardner

When we got engaged in 2011, I really had no idea what I wanted my wedding clothes to look like. I’ve never worn white, and we have no traditions to honor, so I was free to wear whatever I wanted! The main idea was to dress as more fabulous versions of ourselves.

First the skirt:

The body of the skirt is a dupioni silk. On the bolt it was gold with a red tone, but once I threw it in the washing machine to get that gorgeous drape it turned into a pumpkin. Go with the flow, right?

rainbow Burning Man wedding, Made by Julianne, photo by Alex Finseth

photo by Alex Finseth

Instead of just one circle, this skirt has 1.5 circles to it. It’s divided into three panels (each a half-circle), with a center seam at the back and pockets in the front/side seams. It has such beautiful fullness when I twirl in it, and is delightfully extravagant. In order to get an even hem, I let the cut skirt hang for about 4 days, and then had my friend Danielle mark the hem line while I stood on a table. I usually try to do this myself, but I was not cutting corners with this outfit!

The waist is an elastic band in modal jersey–comfortable against bare skin, stays up fine without pinching into my belly. And no zippers to break! [The playa dust at Burning Man can be very harsh to fine devices like zippers]

rainbow Burning Man wedding, Made by Julianne, photo by Blake Gardner

photo by Blake Gardner

The stripes at the bottom are finished with a rolled hem on my serger. Most of the fabrics were random remnants, and my favorite band is the gold stripey fabric that matches Jason’s pants.

The mirrored shisha trim is from India. Anticipating the hanging mirrors to not hang for very long, I restitched every single one of them. It was a nice little project that I could pick up for 5 minutes at a time, and it took about 6 weeks of very casual work. And then… the green and blue dyes bled all over the skirt! I actually don’t mind, although I was kinda stressed when I first discovered it.

rainbow Burning Man wedding, Made by Julianne, photo by Alex Finseth

photo by Alex Finseth

It wasn’t really necessary, but I added a silk charmeuse lining. It does feel so fabulous against my skin! Since it isn’t visible, I made the slip as just a single circle. As a wink to traditional bridal white, I added the lacy fringe that can only be seen when I pull up my skirt.

BODICE:

rainbow Burning Man wedding, Made by Julianne, photo by Blake Gardner

photo by Blake Gardner

The original concept for the top was “rainbow bustier,” except it had to be a comfortable bustier! I had to be able to sit, and dance, and breathe all day and all night. The main fabric for the bodice is a metallic lycra, and I don’t mind admitting that I never thought I’d wear lycra at my own wedding. The torso is lined with purple modal jersey, and the bust is lined with black and white striped jersey.

To give some structure to the top I inserted plastic boning, which also prevented the chunky zipper from getting wavy.

rainbow Burning Man wedding, Made by Julianne, photo by Blake GardnerPink Lion cameo!

The bust appliques were all sewn by hand after I completed the basic construction. I pinned each piece while I was wearing it, then stitched them, then pinned on some more. There’s no way to convey how time-consuming this was, but I had so much fun. I worked on this in private, so Jason didn’t see the top until it was mostly complete. Flashy rainbow boobs, I never would have planned on this but it was so perfect and made me so happy!

Burning Man rainbow wedding, made by Julianne Burning Man rainbow wedding, made by Julianne

ACCESSORIES:

rainbow Burning Man wedding, Made by Julianne, Photos by Aleck Gandel Burning Man rainbow wedding, Made by Julianne

I went back and forth on a veil. Traditional bridal white was never a thought, but I like the drama of a gorgeous headpiece. I wound up adapting one of my recycled Mardi Gras necklaces into a headband, adorned with charms I made. The fringe bead is just that: fringe wrapped around a bead! I’ve since worn the headpiece as a necklace, which happens to be irresistible to babies.

Burning Man henna Burning Man henna

Jewelry was simple: glass stud earrings Jason bought me earlier in the year, and a pearl necklace that my grandma gave me (and my lady cousins) for high school graduation. I also had my right hand covered in henna by a lovely lady who was camping next to us (while I was swinging in a hammock sipping juice from a coconut, no less!).

During the parade, I wore a rainbow vest. You can see the front and back in these photos, but I think I’ll do a separate post on it, since I didn’t make it specifically for the wedding.

rainbow wedding dress, Made by Julianne rainbow wedding dress, Made by Julianne

I also wore sparkly silver hotpants, which I have since worn as bikini bottoms. No pictures from the wedding though!

This hasn’t happened yet, but my idea was that I’d be able to wear each component after the wedding. Someone’s got a birthday coming up and might wear her wedding dress to her own party!

rainbow Burning Man wedding, Made by Julianne, Photos by Dan Hamilton

photo by Dan Hamilton

If you’d like to read more and see more pictures from the day, we have a whole post about getting married at Burning Man.

You can also check out pictures of Jason’s groom outfit.

Most of these gorgeous pictures were taken by Blake Gardner and Aleck Gandel – many thanks to these talented photographers as well as all the friends who both captured and contributed to our wonderful day! K Alexander took the pictures in front of the glass wall at the Abita Mystery House.

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REMAINS OF THE OUTFIT

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I made this whole outfit in the last week, and all of the fabrics were remnants! Even the cardigan was thrifted from Out of the Closet, bringing the total price of this outfit to $9. I didn’t intentionally wear all my new clothes together, but that just shows how satisfied I am with the recent sewing.

made by Julianne made by Julianne

I made this skirt as an alternative to my purple skirt, which I’ve been wearing about 5 times a week all winter. I love that I can be working in our apartment in my leggings, and then just throw on either of these skirts and drive to dinner or do errands on my bike.

denim skirt, made by Julianne denim skirt, made by Julianne

I used the wrong side of a denim remnant (about 1/2 yd, $.50) with a tiny bit of stretch. The waistband was pieced together from denim scraps. The silver linen waistband was a long, narrow strip left over from a friend’s painting. And the back pockets are from my husband’s button-up shirt. The zipper and button were also from my stash.

tank top, made by Julianne lycra leggings, made by Julianne

The tank top also came from Fabric Planet’s remnant bin (1/2 yd, $.50!), and is copied from a tank that my mom sent a few years ago. It’s a slinky cotton jersey, and seems to go with everything I own. The striped straps are scraps from leggings. I also made a pair of panties using the leftover fabric and some elastic from my sewing cabinet.

I made the leggings using two remnants of medium-weight lycra ($1). They’re stretchy, neutral, and have been keeping me warmer than I expected. I’ve been very discriminating against synthetics, but now I’m trying to expand my mind.

It’s a completely new outfit, and while I certainly didn’t need more clothes, each piece is very versatile. Although I bought new fabrics, I also used up a few pieces in my stash. I think this outfit was $9 well spent!

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