Final Challenge: Inspired by Art - What They Made!

Well ladies, you're done! You've made it through 6 weeks of intensive sewing and a lot of hard work! The work you put into all of your garments really shows! Congrats to all three of you for making it this far!!

This week's challenge was to create a garment inspired by art. It could be an artwork, art movement, etc. Read details here. Everyone in this round wins something, but we have to come up with a Grand Prize winner! Here are the prizes:

- Grand Prize Winner will receive: $25 a month for one year to spend on fabric, plus be a Fabric Mart Fabricista for 6 months writing guest posts for the blog. (A $300 value with media exposure)

- Second place will receive: $100 gift certificate to spend at Fabric Mart, plus a Julie's Picks Membership to receive exclusive deals on select fabrics each month. 

- Third place will receive: $50 gift certificate to spend at Fabric Mart, plus a Julie's Picks Membership.

Guest Judges will be Angela Wolf and Sarah Bibb. Angela Wolf is known for her pattern line, Angela Wolf Designs and online classes on Pattern Review and Craftsy. Sarab Bibb is a designer/boutique owner in Portland, OR. You can check out her website HERE.

Left: Angela Wolf, Right: Sarah Bibb

Let's see what the contestants made!

Dina from My Superfluities

After reading what the last challenge was going to be, my brain *immediately* went to Jackson Pollock.  I own some Liberty tana lawn called Melly that is very reminiscent of his famous "splatter" paint technique and thought I would use that at first to create a design from one of my Japanese dress books.  But after doing some research on Jackson Pollock and reminding myself that the National Gallery of Art here in DC has one of his most famous works (that I also happen to LOVE) Number 1 Lavender Mist, I knew that I wanted to try painting the fabric myself, in colors I love, just like he did with his work.  To see how he did his splatter paint technique, check out this link. I explain how I created my vision of his work in my fabric below.  

But he alone did not inspire me in my creation. I also read up on his wife, Lee Krasner, who also was a very successful, if less well known artist, in her own right.  She was overshadowed by her husband, but her works also inspired me, as she, too, created works using a similar technique to Jackson Pollock.  

The garment I decided to make is from the era of both of these artists and based on the portraits I saw of Lee Krasner, I could easily have seen her in a similar piece.  

I was also inspired by this quote he made, which allowed me to fully release and let go during the process of painting my fabric: “When I am in my painting, I’m not aware of what I’m doing. It is only after a sort of ‘get acquainted’ period that I see what I have been about. I have no fear of making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through. It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give and take, and the painting comes out well.” 
Jackson Pollock:  Number 1 Lavender Mist (more amazing in real life, btw); Untitled 1951; Convergence

Lee Krasner: Shellflower -- an article, btw, which has a lot of info on Lee Krasner); Shattered Color

I chose handkerchief linen because I know linen is perfection for accepting paints and colors, so it was a no-brainer choice. I had *just* enough to make my garment with a little left over for experimenting before I began the big painting job.  After deciding how I wanted to apply the paints--yellow, green, and turquoise were all applied in drips and gentle waves, while navy blue was applied more aggressively, I proceeded and when pleased with the results, I left the pieces to dry.  It says four hours on the Tulip soft paint, but it took nearly twenty-four hours to get mine to dry fully.  

I found that once dry, the pieces were easy to sew together, but the pressing process was very interesting and took me a long time since I didn't want to ruin all my hard work.  :)  

I chose Simplicity 1590 which is a reprint of a blouse pattern from the 1940s.  It features a scoop neck, fitted waist, and a peplum hem.  There is also a five button closure.  I chose this pattern, as I mentioned above, because it looks to me like something a woman like Lee Krasner would have worn, and since I wanted to keep her as part of my inspiration, I was specifically looking for something from that era.  

I also felt like the painting method used by Pollock would look good on a garment like this.  I saw that other designers (recently, in fact) have used Pollock for inspiration in their collections (Dolce and Gabbana, 2008, amongst others, AND Sportmax 2014--Rosario Dawson is wearing one of the dresses here.  Armed with the knowledge that I wasn't alone in my love of his unique art, I forged ahead, willing to take the risk.   

I loved the idea of something so prim and ladylike being paired with something so messy and not prim.  The disconnect makes this garment exciting to me.

I find it very wearable, but do look forward to washing it.  You have to wait at least 72 hours before doing so, but based on how long it took to dry, I think I will wait a week and carefully handwash mine and line dry it.

I will be wearing it with jeans since it looks so cute that way, but maybe for a night out I will wear it as I did in my "editorial/magazine" photos.

Nakisha from Sew Crafty Chemist

I love art. But the artworks and art movements that I love aren't necessarily translatable to wearable clothes for me :) Some of my favorite movements are expressionist and graffiti art. I had some ideas but I knew that I wouldn't be 100% into it as wearable clothing.

Way back when, I wanted to become an architect and still love architecture. My absolute favorite architectural design style is Minimalism. I knew that was the right direction for me to take. 

Where some may see minimalist architecture as stark & cold, I see sleek & clean. To me, minimalist architecture involves a modern yet comfortable vibe; a sophisticated easiness that manages to be simple without being boring.

Translating that to fashion, I immediately wanted a chic palette of neutrals. I knew I wanted a look that had crisp lines, little adornment and an interesting simplicity. I decided I had to have a pants/top/jacket combo. I also decided I HAD to sew from stash! 

The jacket is Vogue 8932 made from a very cool jacketing fabric from Fabric Mart.This stuff handles like a champ. It sews and presses well and takes topstitching beautifully. The jacket was difficult and pivoting is HARD but I powered through and I love it! 

The back of the jacket makes me think of Japanese architecture and you know they are all about minimalism!

The top is Simplicity 1364 in a cotton blend fabric (unsure of its origin!). I love the bateau neck and dropped shoulder! The pants are Vogue 9032 in a suiting with lovely drape and weight that I got from Fabric Mart about a year and a half ago.

In a surprising turn of events, these pants only needed minimal fit alterations to work! The top received a few alterations too (details on the blog). Both were finished with grey & white serger thread for contrast (haha! Or because that’s what was threaded in my serger!)

The hem on my pants was catch-stitched by hand. The top has top-stitched hems.

I think my look captures that sleek feel of minimalist architecture and it is completely ME! 

Sue from I Love to Sew!

The final challenge's instructions were to create a garment based on art, an art movement, art period, etc.  Basically sort of wide open, no?  While I don't think of myself as an artist, I do love looking at and admiring art. My favorite period? That's hard to pin down but I really love the art deco period and how that depicts clothing styles for men and women.

More specifically, the art deco period reminds me of pop art and the bold, bright colors, clean lines and classy clothing.

Are you familiar with pop art? How about Lichenstein? See what I mean by bright, bold colors and classy clothing?

A reoccurring theme kept popping up for me and that was a yellow trench coat, just like Dick Tracy wore. I h-a-d to have one!

I couldn't just make it as is so I added the black piping on the storm flaps, both front and back. The black buttons also set it off.

Constructing this coat in a short time period was quite an undertaking!  I didn't start on it until Saturday and I had another idea in mind but my daughter said to me, "Mom, you are in the top three. It is time to put up or shut up." Well said! So, I decided to go for the trench.

This coat doesn't call for a lining, but I added one as it is much easier to get a lined coat on and off. I used a soft gray for the body and white lining for the sleeves.  

I love my new coat and I can't wait to wear it!

VOTE NOW!!