Hello there!

Here's a sewing project of a different kind I did which is to create a mascot! It's a refreshing change to clothe "Pao", instead of people, and obviously he doesn't have much of a say and turned out pretty cute!

​It took me about 3 or 4 days to complete Pao from fabric hunting to hand stitching. I guess the photos above are self-explanatory as to how I went about softening the angular body edges of the mascot by using layers of batting. Nylon fleece is the perfect material for soft-toys and mascots as it is a bit furry and stretchy. The fabrics were from Brighton at People's Park Centre and we were in luck as they were having a good 40% off sale. All the parts were covered in a thick layer of batting and hot-glued to the cardboard skeleton. After a couple of burnt fingers and pinkies later, this provided a good strong base for me to pin on the nylon fleece onto, smoothening out any wrinkles, and hand stitched the nylon fleece onto the batting. After all the parts were covered in fabulous furry fleece, they were inserted into the body, and hand-stitched together around the joints to secure it.

Pao's inner skeleton is made up of different separated body parts of double layered cardboard mapped out in 3D software and then hand cut by @reality_crafts. Hence that's how you get a real, life-sized, 1.4metre tall proportionate Pao.

It was such a privilege to finally be at XPC.sg in person as I was recommended it before while researching for craftsmen workspaces in Singapore. They provide all kinds of DIY heavy duty woodworking tools and the people there are working on really interesting crafts ranging from carpentry and metalworks to the finer jewellery making art. It's an interesting shared space community comprising of craftsmen with amazing skills.

Pao is @aheeoee's mascot for an exhibition, HYPERDIMENSION, organised by @assemblysite team for Liang Court shopping mall in conjunction with Singapore Design Week 2016. The exhibit will be on til 20 March 2016 with contests running so go participate if you are in the area!

Pao would love for you to visit him.

Love,
Sarah Zainal

Hi and Happy 2016!

​I's been ages since I've blogged and I missed doing updating this space so much pretty much because I was occupied with work and, well, any spare time left was spent with loved ones. Things have progressed so much since my last post- from getting a new job at a bridal boutique to finally meeting that special person who means so much to me now and is now my fiance.

So I'll start off with sharing one major life event recently, well not really about the event, but about the outfit I made for my engagement recently in December 2015.
​
I used a light turquoise Duchess/Bridal Satin to make a multi-layered peplum top and I wore it with a turquoise skirt which I already have. It was a good coincidence because I was working and probably could only spare one day per week to work on this piece.

This piece probably took me less than 2-3 whole days from scratch including pattern drafting, and hand sewing of the embellishments such as the lace along the boatneck neckline, wrist beadings, pearl buttons and attaching the Swarovski crystals.

The multi-layered peplum bottom came about because I wanted to fully utilise the remaining fabrics and give it fullness and structure at the bottom.

It was a small and intimate event between our families and so thankful it went well. Alhamdullilah.

My makeup was done by my quirky and talented MUA friend, @vainbrained, and I'm so glad I engaged her to doll me up that day.

​Makes the day feel even more special to have someone around you can entrust to make you look good.

More updates on upcoming works to come, In Syaa Allah.

Love,
Sarah Zainal

Hey there :)

Working on this one was really quite a journey- initially the doubts were there but it became clearer yesterday and today on how I wanted this to be. 

This piece means so much to me in so many ways, to be in line with my goals and the values I believe in.

I wanted it to be modest, all covered up, but still look stunning for a special occasion. 

Eventually, I'll be responsible for the modesty of the wearer. It is easy to fall into creating something revealing which will turn heads and get the attention but I don't want to be held responsible for the wrong kind of gazes.

I'd just like to keep working on in this direction- to come up with creations that are sophisticated, classy, elegant, respectable- and it can easily be worn with a headscarf or hijab if the wearer wants to :)

Pretty much had put my heart and soul into this one.

And I'm still going to add more Swarovski crystals to the gown! Love how it sparkles and have a rainbow effect.

Love,
Sarah Zainal

Edit (16/2/15):

Below are the latest result with added Swarovski on the sleeves and back as well!

Hi everyone!

This is what turned out when I was experimenting with draping the chiffon. A little bit of Grecian feel because of the draping and played around with the translucence of the sleeves.

Technique wise, it's very different from how I worked on other dresses. Just tried to drape a flow around the mannequin itself rather than drafting a paper pattern first because it just turns out so differently in this case.

I love how the satin fabric falls nicely so I kept the skirt simple and flared and it just cascades naturally.

To be honest, it was really hard to work on something which I don't know how it will turn out in the end because it's unlike anything out there and in the process there were lots of times I doubted myself and considered starting over with a safer design because I have no idea if it was going to work out or not. But thankfully, I just told myself to at least finish it so to the point where it can be worn for a formal event. It took longer than expected but I think it does work in the end! So persevering through the challenges paid off eventually.

Below are some of the shots.

That's all for now! Thanks for dropping by! :)

Love,
Sarah Zainal

Good day everyone!

Wanted to plan all my designs first before actually making them in real life, but there is this floral fabric stashed in my closet for a really long time that I should make use of, so I got distracted by it. I remembered it because of the red rose prints that will match my plan red fabrics I've been working on.

I did a watercolour sketch of the intended design to incorporate both fabrics. The front bow section is inspired by one of Zuhair Murad designs which I love.

I'm still contemplating whether to use the floral fabric or just make the entire dress in plain red? What do you think?

I should just go for it, shouldn't I?

Just to get it over and done with quick!

Love,
Sarah Zainal

Hi Lovelies!

This is a full-length dress with a twisted neckline, a commissioned piece, made to measure for the client. When she first showed me the reference photo I just loved the design of the front. It uses a draping method to create the folds and I wanted to try and achieve the same effect. It's something I've never attempted before.

I figured there are two ways to achieve the same effect- either by using a real twist connection in the front or a "faux" twist i.e. by creating separate pieces gathered at the edges to get the same effect. I used the real twist method instead. It does need drafting of pattern pieces even though it looks as though you could just take two pieces of cloth and just wind it about at the front. But as you can see the waist line is smooth without any darts, so that's where the exact measurements will be needed so that it merges smoothly with the skirt.

Basically the front bodice is broken to 3 main sections- the neck attachment, left bodice and right bodice. So these 3 will make up the front.

Just my luck that the amount of allowance I estimated for the 'twist' was just about right and it falls nicely on the mannequin.

What I found tricky was figuring out the length, width and shape of the 'neck ribbon'. That was done last after all the other pieces were attached together and I used a long piece of fabric to just drape it and pin it on the mannequin before sewing it onto the garment.

I'm pretty much inspired by this draping technique and thankful that someone requested for it so that I could take up the challenge to try creating it.

If you have any draped dress designs that you think might inspire me, do let me know :)

Love,
Sarah Zainal

Hello there!

This is another commissioned dress I just did.

But first... I think I'll need to cut down on the number of trips I take to get my supplies such as zippers and threads that match the fabrics commissioned to me. It takes up a lot of time and energy so I'll limit it to one trip per week which means I'll have to plan my shopping list more effectively and I sometimes over-used things which was reserved for other projects and I'll have to go down to replenish them again. I'll usually need to go to at least 2 separate locations per trip to get everything needed for a project.

I was commissioned to make an off-shoulder dress from a grey tweed fabric 2 metres in length and probably 60 inches width. She requested for a flared skirt knowing that there is not much fabric to create a full circle skirt. It was a bit risky but I decided to create a full circle skirt by carefully laying out ALL of the paper patterns on the fabric before cutting them out, ensuring everything was sufficient. And it was just about enough, with only scraps of tiny pieces of leftovers you can't do much with. So basically there was no room for mistakes thereafter since there are no more extra fabric to redo any sections.

Sometimes people will leave their circle skirts to hang and set overnight but I've read somewhere that 2.5hrs is probably enough. 

With regards to the measurements for the circle skirt and to calculate the amount of fabric needed, if you're making a maxi, midi or mini length skirt for varying fullness, this CIRCLE SKIRT APP is extremely useful as it calculates the radius for the pattern, leaving out the need for doing some math calculations. It's such a useful resource I use frequently. 

Next I worked on cutting out and preparing the lining. Used a lightweight black fabric since the tweed is quite heavy and moderately thick.

The reason of letting the circle skirt hang and set is because some parts will definitely stretch and become longer. So I use a height marking, in this case a thread and tape on a chair to mark the height of the hemline I want. Then I proceeded to trim away any excess so that the bottom are all nicely even.

I guess this dress took a lot of effort to incorporate everything to make it an exceptionally good quality piece of garment that can be worn comfortably and will last a long time. It's one of those dresses you'll feel and look great in.

Hope you enjoyed this post!

Love,
Sarah Zainal

This was inspired by the mermaid shape bridal silhouette. I wanted something elegant, timeless and suitable for evening wear. Something well-fitted and with clean lines. Perhaps my entire collection will be based on this as a guideline. I love the off-shoulder look. And to play around with circular elements such as ruffles as well.

But first... can you believe this scissors costs $25.90? Bought it anyway cos mine broke at the handle and the other one was losing its sharpness. They didn't even cost beyond $5 I suppose.

I took about a week of break before completing this dress due to my commissioned works of the wedding gown and 7 sets of costumes. Still have a few commissions in queue so I'm going to get back on completing those first before starting on my next dress!

Love,
Sarah Zainal

Just a day after moving in to my very own 'sewing studio', I'd received a request from a friend's friend who needed to get her wedding dress altered and her big day was just 2 weeks away! It was a pretty exciting project for me and I'm appreciative of the trust given to alter the dress as desired. It was such an honor for me!

Let's begin with the background of the wedding dress. It was purchased from an online website which appears to be more on the reputable and trustworthy side and the dress was very close to the pictures online. Quality was good in terms of the Chantilly lace they used, good chiffon, lined well, neat sewing, French seams and some nice beadwork. So I'd say it delivered what was promised.

Probably a few minor alterations needed and it'll fit much better for her. The sleeves were a little to wide and not long enough for her. And the placement of the belt looked a little off because it positioned a little too high in the front. So it was an issue with proportions and measurements. I also noticed a missing hook closure for the back and I found it odd that they have the material tag label sewn at the side where u can see it from outside since its sheer netting- the kind of label that says like 100% polyester, hand wash, etc. Also noticed that the button hoops stretches a lot revealing gaps at the back when worn.

I tackled the main issue first- the I'll fitting sleeve that is too wide and wrinkles a lot! The reason it appeared so wrinkled was because the entire sleeve was made up of two layers of netting so they did not seem to sit well together or was not flushed well to each other, hence, the wrinkly appearance. I removed one of the layers, and it look much better when the lace is placed on a single layer base so that the lace will stand out a bit more. I also shortened it to become 3/4 sleeves which is more flattering for her and finished the edges with lace borders instead of the usual straight hem.

I'm sure the bride will look ethereally beautiful on her big day. My buddy Dan Yao (http://www.daniellezhao.com) will be her makeup artist! Thanks to her for getting me connected with the bride-to-be as well. Can't wait to see the photos of the actual wedding! 

Love,

Sarah Zainal

This is a really fun piece to wear! The skirt is really fluffy and big and moves about with each step in a dreamy way.

It's a pretty striking dress, best worn for special occasions, photoshoots and could fit a day and night event.

Once I bedazzle it with some Swarovski crystals, it'll be fit for an unconventional bride. But I'll probably reserve those for now since they are real Swarovski (read: very expensive) I'll reserve them until the need to use them arises.

I used a lot of 'hidden' structures that I know of such as boning along the seams of the upper bodice, horsehair braid (really makes a lot of difference!) and paddings so there is no need to wear a bra underneath, which gives it so much more freedom for movements. It's also fully lined with satin so it's pretty much tidy-looking on the underside too.

Tulle seems to be the 'in' fabric this season as opposed to lace especially seen in the prevalence of ballerina-inspired skirts recently. I'm imagining a mix of both lace and tulle could have a lovely effect too.

I had a look around at Arab Street for fabrics for my next project and the choices were overwhelming! I already had a design in mind prior to going there but there were so many lovely fabrics that could easily sway me to changing my ideas. 

I'd rather follow through with my vision though.

It's passed by 3 days, but, have a happy new year everyone! 


Love,
Sarah Zainal