Cotton kurta in bright print

I stitched this kurta for my neighbour. It is part of a set of 3 pieces; kurta, salwar / churidar, and dupatta. As it so often happens, the dupatta is very pretty, churidar is so-so and the print and colours on the kurta fabric are rather too bright and garish. There were more border designs and different colours on it believe me. She was discouraged by the profusion of designs and colours on the kurta. We tried draping a few different ways, and finally decided to leave out some of those borders and thereby reducing the colour palate to manageable extent! 
Then I got work on the pattern, and suggested taking the border vertically, instead of a hortizontal border as it was intended I guess. She was ok with this idea. Gave it an asymmetrical neckline by keeping the vertical border straight. Cap sleeves were what she wanted, so there they are. Also gave side slits for a comfortable feel.

 There were tiny mirrors stitched on to the front, as can be seen in the photo, rather a pretty feature!

My friend was pleasantly surprised at the outcome and since the fit was also good, she was happy! That is one more happy customer!

Kurta in 3 different Block prints

 My friend recommended me to a close friend of hers. She was more than happy to find someone (me) who suggests designs, and also makes clothes to their specifications. that said, I am particular who I make clothes for. I cannot pin point the exact reasons, but I know who I want to dress. Sometimes I do take on the wrong customer (for me), but overall, get it right. This friend's friend turned out to be the perfect person!!!

he does most of her fabric shopping in New Delhi, and picks up a load of any and all fabrics she likes. She saw a kurta on a mannequin which used 3 different prints; all block prints. She liked it so much, that she went ahead and bought similar prints in similar colour.

The above photo did not do justice to the lovely block prints on mustard colour handloom fabric. Total cloth - 3.5 m

It was a knee length kurta / tunic, having three fourth length sleeves, to be worn over a loose olive green salwar. Depending on the length of the cloth, I used them, larger print in the center and fine print on either side, medium sized print for the sleeves, as it was the smallest piece. Instead of taking darts at the back, I did the adjustment in the seams itself.

The small print became the facing around the round neck, though I would have liked to have had the sleeve print for the facing. 
Beautiful fabric makes for a great fit, and this kurta did come out well.

Cowl neck Cotton Dress

This friend of mine brought his lovely hand-loom cotton fabric in tie and dye design, which she had lying around for ages. There was around 3.5 m. of it. She wanted a dress in summer and which she can wear it as tunic when necessary to wear leggings.
Since the fabric was so soft and fine, I didnot want to spoil the effect of it by adding sleeves. Cowl neck also gives that airy feeling...
used only about 2.5 m. of the fabric.

I took the measurements and based on those drew the pattern (rough sketch) and and did the cutting and sewing myself. Did not use any ready made pattern. 
It fit so well and looked so good on my friend that, I planned to make one myself.

Blue tunic with golden yellow border

A friend of mine came to me with a few of her mom's sarees and she wanted to make new clothes for herself. This blue tunic is one of them. The saree was a midnight blue saree with a tiny paisley print and golden border in silk thread. The fabric is strong and dense for a saree, but ideal for a tunic. I had to line the tunic and used polyester fabric for it, since the colour won't run and fabric does not shrink after washes.

It is a long tunic reaching calf length, sleeveless and stand up collar. I used facing for both sleeve opening and neck. The golden yellow border was attached at the hem.

Collar was made out of the same yellow border. I got the buttons made out of the same border. It is a front open tunic. Below the collar, I gave a slit opening for ease of wearing. To avoid the hassle of popping buttons, gap in between the buttons and difficulty in replacing the buttons (they were made out of the border fabric), I attached the two flaps of the front till the naval. 
I am quite happy with the outcome. It fit well and my friend is looking great in it.

Saree

Grey tunic from a saree

This tunic is a kind of refashion too. Made out of a synthetic Saree. Belonged to her mother, my friend's niece wanted a tunic out of it. Saree showed much wear but had neutral grey colours. it was not particularly transparent but she wanted to line only the bodice and not the sleeves. The only lining fabric I found in the market was polyester, it was thick and a bit stiff. Hopefully after a few washes, it will soften!

Mid thigh length, round neck and full sleeves, the tunic has the pallu (the end of the saree which hangs loose) print (horizontal lines) for the middle part as a wide band. Left over pallu material was used as a border for the sleeves. 
The lining was stitched separately and attached to the front only around the neck and arm hole opening. It was a first for me. Overall, the tunic turned quite well fitting and looks good too.

The original Saree with border

Front open printed Kurta

I loved making this kurta / tunic. The fabric was artificial crepe, quite sturdy kind. The print was summery and bright. This friend of mine wanted a simple A line, sleeve less, round neck, front open kurta with cloth buttons in orange from the print.

 The buttons stop mid thigh level. The kurta fit perfectly and can be worn as a dress or a tunic or as a second layer over t shirt and jeans or shorts.

Chocolate brown Tunic

I had to make a tunic out of this Chiffon kind of saree. The young lady for whom I made the tunic did not want to use the border. So we used only the fabric from the top.There were satin like ribbons running horizontally through the length of the saree. One good thing is that they came vertical in the tunic. Believe me, my sewing machine didnot like at all stitching that smooth satin ribbon part; gave me so much trouble!!!

New Tunic 

It is a straight tunic with full lining in polyester fabric. In between the satin ribbons, the fabric is quite transparent. There are side slits. 

Original saree

Neck and sleeve design

The half sleeves are gathered up to the shoulder in a band and pinned with a button on the shoulder. It should be front open with buttons, but I cheated and attached the plain brown strip of the lining and wooden buttons on to it. That is because the neck is wide enough and deep enough for the wear and why bother with front opening...

Blue cotton Kurta

Though fine beautiful cotton fabric having block printing on it, didnot look very fetching on its own. It came with an orange cut work border with a white cotton lace edging. The border was the width of the kurta, approxi. 30".  

 I had to do something to brighten the neck and should area. So, removed the orange border from the edge, cut it into two pieces and made a trim / yoke below the neckline. Rest of the border was too short to go round the sleeve hem. Iserted it into the should seam, thus making it interesting.
Orange cotton fabric came in the set fro churidar or salwar. part of it is used as 1" edging at the hem of kurta and sleeves. I made an orange piping around the neck.

Cowl neck sleeveless Tunic

Linen striped Summer Dress

This dress is part of a summer wardrobe for a friend. She just picked up fabric at random; it was only 2m in length, thought across it was 44". 
The bodice of the dress has dropped waist in a V shape,  because of which the when the skirt was attached the hemline looks uneven. Took darts through the armhole for a better fit for the bust. Since there was shortage of fabric, I had to use plain white cotton fabric for the neck and armhole facings.
Simple summer dress which fits excellently. 

Red kurta with Applique on it

The fabric is like spun, but synthetic and dull red shade. A friend of mine just dropped it in my lap and told me to do whatever I thought was suitable for her. Since given a free hand, I decided to jazz it up a bit. I had this piece of chiffon printed fabric lying around (almost threw it out a couple times), and felt if I add this in some form, it would lift up the dress. 

As for the form of the kurta, I made a knee length, half sleeve pattern with side slits, about 9" long. There are two uneven panels on the front; narrow one on the left and broad panel to the right. I gave a slit near the hemline and attached the printed chiffon as a facing. It turned out to be a cute detail. Asymmetrical neckline added interest to the kurta.

I cut the chiffon fabric in the shape I wanted (more out of the availability of size and shape), and tacked it in place. Then I stitched blanket stitch / Button hole stitch around the edge, making sure the applique sat flat on the kurta.I used an embroidery frame about 8" dia., to hold the cloth in place. Once done, it was time to add some jazz! I had a few coloureed stones from past project, and tacked them on in clusters. Not visible in the attached photos, alas!

My friend cam around yesterday and tried it on. It fit her well, but she wanted a sleevless kurta, so the sleeves will have to go. May be I will use them on some other piece! how is that?

Linen Summer Dress

A friend of mine wanted a few new summer clothes this summer. It turned out to be a new wardrobe. This Linen dress is part of the new lot. She just bought 2m. of the Linen fabric in Beige colour, not having decided what to do with it. Another half meter more and the dress would have looked luxurious. fabric felt great and stitched even better.

I used the left over fabric from another summer top I made for her in paisley print, for piping around the neck and arm holes, also as facing / border on the hem of the skirt.

The bodice is long, sitting on the hips. Skirt is expanding panels. A cute detail on the pocket made it very interesting. Inside of the pocket is also paisley print fabric.

Took darts from the armhole for a better fit for the bust.

Overall, it turned out to be a nice fitting and modern dress for summer.

 

 

Sleeveless Shirt in Hakoba

I am into refashioning clothes these days. My neighbour brought this lovely hakoba fabric in white, one day and asked me if I can make a shirt for her. It used to be a Salwar. She was no longer wearing it, and since the design was so pretty, she did not want to discard it. The pattern for the shirt was also from her. The sample shirt she showed me had a regular shirt collar. I found it a bit too masculine for this very pretty fabric, so, I changed the collar to a Peter pan. To add some zing to the shirt we chose brown metal buttons. Hemline at the back is longer than the front.

Fit her perfectly. We reused the fabric. Both of us are happy!

Re-size Lucknow kurta

Re-fashion, Lucknow Salwar to Top

Strappy Summer Top

Summer Dress in Pastels

A summer dress with a difference:
Can be worn for a semi formal affair or a beach party, this pastel coloured summer dress is modern yet comfortable. A drop waist, cap sleeve and uneven hemline make it a trendy and contemporary dress. 
The dress needed 2.5m of cloth having a width of 44".
8" wide boat neck, sleeves going only half the way to form cap sleeves; both finished with facing. 
The skirt is cut in bias so that an umbrella shape is achieved. In the process a very smart uneven look came to the hem.

 Summer dress - front

Bodice

Paisley print Cotton Summer Top

A cotton top to beat summer heat: Nothing like a sleeveless, soft cotton, paisley print top to feel cool and comfortable in. Add to it a roomy and wide neck to let in the breeze. The top part is a yoke, both front and back, and I took double layer for the front yoke to hold the form better.

After the yoke, for the balance of the top, the fabric is taken on bias, because I wanted a flared look. Finished the neck and armhole opening in the same material.

The top used approxi. 1.5 m. of material. 

 

Front

 Back

Cowl neck Uneven hemline Dress

Made dress for a neighbour and friend a month or so back. Cowl neck and cross back flops over the shoulder point, fitting on the bust with uneven hemline. Front hem grazing the knees and back is below the calves. this dress is ideal for summer day wear.

Material:
Rayon multi couloured splashy print. 2m length with  44" across.

Cowl neck cotton Dress

Material: Fine cotton Tie and Dye material from Rajasthan. 2.5m. length and 44" across.

The lady wanted a dress which she can wear with leggings as well as by itself. So avoided the slits on the sides, like we do for kurtas. The neck is cowl and gathered on the shoulders. Magyar sleeves and double layered 3" wide band for the hem.

Straight fit cotton dress

This is a favourite one of mine. Lovely cotton printed material in monochrome. the lady is petite, and the dress fit her perfectly. The dress has Round neck and without sleeves; Calf length, with a separate belt and a rhine stone buckle. The neckline and armhole are finished in piping in same fabric. 2 wooden buttons to close the short front opening.

  

Material:
100% cotton printed fabric - 2.5 m.