Tag Archives: vintage

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FLUEVOG KINGDOM

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Fluevog Kingdom

Not only is Fluevog an excellent design line, they’re also a cool company to work for. My friend Tanaya runs their French Quarter store, and commissioned a dress for their company retreat costume party in Canada this summer. The theme for the party was Moonrise Kingdom, and Tanaya already had the perfect Fluevog saddle shoes for a Suzy look, as well as a designer friend who loves all Wes Anderson movies.

Fluevog saddle shoesRather than taking a cosplay approach to the retro Suzy look I decided to design a dress to compliment the shoes while still fitting into the film’s aesthetic. Why follow someone else’s design when I can make my own?

Fluevog Kingdom What a cutie! Another concern for this design was that the dress be versatile enough to fit into her regular wardrobe. Of course I drafted the simple pattern myself.Fluevog Kingdom dressThe fabrics are all from Joann. The blue polyester has great texture and a little bit of stretch. I layered ivory knit lace over black satin and obviously had fun playing with the pattern layout. The zipper is a vintage metal one from my stash for that authentic touch.

Fluevog Kingdom dress

We didn’t win the costume contest but I’m satisfied that my mission was accomplished!Fluevog Kingdom dressNow that I’ve broken the seal maybe I’ll do better about posting more projects. Happy New Year!

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ZIPPERPALOOZA

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My friends Maria and Patrick of Adorn and Conquer are finally opening their own store in New Orleans! They are also carrying pieces by many artists and makers, including yours truly. The first merchandise order I shipped out was all zipper bags – 27 of them!

zipper bags, made by Julianne

They are almost entirely scrap fabrics, lovingly saved for years. Every bag is lined, most have a loop for attaching a clip or wearing around the wrist.

zipper bags, made by Julianne

You know I’m usually about getting as many different colors onto one piece as possible, but I totally love these all-green bags. They each have both of the above fabrics (one on each side) and even the lining and zippers are green. I hope at least one of them gets used for some stylish stoner’s smoking kit.

zipper bags, made by Julianne

zipper bags, made by Julianne

These embroidered fabrics were saved by my step-sister-in-law Ilaan (who also provided the fabric for my sofa, psychedelic bathrobe, and Miimii dress). They were such tiny scraps! These bags are backed with solid fabrics.

zipper bags, made by Julianne

You’re never too old for a fabulous pencil case! zipper bags, made by Julianne

I totally gasped when I found this amazing blacklight sequin fabric. It’s just too perfect! I look forward to making a few fabulous pieces from this. Any suggestions?

zipper bags, made by Julianne

I made them in so many different shapes and sizes, which was dictated by the individual remnants. They’re each the perfect size for something! I envisioned the smaller bags as the perfect wrapping for a jewelry gift.

zipper bags, made by Julianne

Y’all know how I’m a sucker for projects that use up those wonderful little scraps. On one hand, I try to resist hanging on to “someday could be” materials. Sure, someday it could be used for whatever project I have in mind, but it’s more likely that stuff will just clutter up my life until eventually I get so frustrated that I just want it gone. On the other hand, I love using up every bit of possibility, and some fabrics are too special to let go, not matter how small the pieces are.

I’ll also have turbans and a special new shirt design in the store, but that’s for a special post. Congratulations to Adorn and Conquer on this exciting milestone!

 

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REPLACE Pfaff pedal

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Every once in a while I’d have an issue with my Pfaff 1222E. It usually happened when I was sewing curtains. Heavier fabric, long straight seams, pressing on the control pedal consistently for 10 foot hems. When I took my foot off the pedal the machine would keep sewing! Even more distressing, it would speed up like a little German devil. The only way to stop the madness was to hit the power button.

I’m not the only one who occasionally got a runaway sewing machine. It’s scary, and seemed like an expensive fix. The foot pedal and power outlet are on the same plug, and this part costs $80+ on Ebay! But my wiring was fine, it was just the pedal that was going nuts.

I tried to repair the pedal, but when I opened it up a tiny little resistor cracked and fell off. I confirmed with my electrical-genius friend that this was probably the problem, but we couldn’t really think of an easy way to fix this. The solution seemed to be replacement! (Another solution can be to clean lint out of the pedal, but that wasn’t my problem this time).

Inside the pedal

Inside the pedal

When you press on the pedal, this spring is what's moving.

When you press on the pedal, this spring is what’s moving.

There should be a tiny black bump on the left of the gold piece.

There should be a tiny black bump on the left of the gold piece…

I tried to find the same Pfaff pedal ($80+ online), or at least a white one, but in the end I bought a Singer from the 80s for $15 and just cut off the pedal. Stripped the wires on the Singer and Pfaff pedals, and spliced them together. It works great now! Brian has created a video documenting his process, but it really is as easy as that!

pfaff pedal

Next time we have the soldering iron out I’ll do a proper join of the wires with heat shrink, but for now the electrical tape is working super fine.

A perk of this is that I cut the Pfaff wire near the pedal, and the Singer wire near the plug, so the resulting spliced wire is really long! This means I can run both wires behind my table and still pull the pedal out as far as I want.

If you have any questions about this machine, check out the comments on my earlier post. You can read tips and feedback from people who have used this machine for decades, from people who know a lot more about it than I do, and people who have just acquired one of these machines. And it’s the #2 Google hit when you search the Pfaff 1222e – amazing!

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