Crochet Cowl with Sewn Button Band

For Christmas I received Crocheting for Dummies.  As I wrote about recently, I love to knit and I have always wanted to learn how to crochet as well.  That's why I'm proud to share a picture of the first crochet cowl I've ever made.  To incorporate some sewing, I used some scrap fabric I had to make a band that holds the layers of the cowl together when it is wrapped once around the neck.  I also used a couple of buttons from my button stash that accented the wool and the fabric band.

 

 

Inspired by Project Runway

When Project Runway first debuted as a reality television series ten years ago, my mother and I never missed an episode.  I think that getting an inside look at the fashion design process is what inspired me to pursue a career in the fashion arts.

Since then, I have enjoyed many more seasons of the show, including a Canadian version that ran for two seasons.  I still like to go back and watch some of the older episodes for inspiration and I own several season's of the show on DVD, which I purchased through Amazon.

My First Skirt Design

A little while ago, I wrote about the first skirt I ever made from a store-bought sewing pattern (click here to read the First Skirt I Ever Made post).  Now, I would like to share a picture of the first skirt I ever designed and made from start to finish.

In a November blog post, called 5 Figures a Day, I talked about how my fashion design professor in college used to make us sketch at least 5 figures per day in our sketch books (he would check too, so we had to do it).  The first semester was dedicated to skirt designs, so at that time we focused all of our efforts designing different styles of skirts.  Then, near the end of the semester, we were asked to pick our favorite skirt design to pattern draft and then to sew.

My design was a 8-gore skirt with a colour-blocked waist band and wide, colour-blocked hem.  After drafting the pattern and making a muslin to ensure good fit, I was then able to shop for my fabric.  I picked out a beautiful grey wool fabric with black flecks, and a black wool for the waistband and hem.  I decided to add some plain black cording in between the gores and when the entire skirt was complete, I added the wide lace trim as a final touch.