Showing posts with label Frida Kahlo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frida Kahlo. Show all posts

Sunday, February 24, 2019

DIY: Applique Frida Kahlo Dress

 It has been a long time since I forced myself out of my sewing comfort zone. Like, a really long time. In fact, it's been a long time since I've even sewn anything (I blame the writing of this book for that!). Some months ago, while shopping at the fabric store, the idea to make a Frida dress came to me. I immediately pulled up the image of Frida with the green floral background and purchased all of the fabric I could in that color palette. I thought "this idea seems beyond my capabilities but if I scoop up all the supplies, I just might try it." And so I did. 
 And, hold on to your pearls, THIS BABY HAS POCKETS!
 While shopping, I also scooped up a 1960's style shift dress pattern. I knew that a simple front with no waistline would have to be the "canvas" for this kind of creation. Now, y'all know that I'm all about the needle felting...and that's normally how I while away my winter days...but something about the look I was going for said applique. So I started sketching.
 I cut out and laid the front panel of the dress out on some wrapping paper. After tracing around the pattern, I started sketching Frida. If this Frida looks familiar to you, that might be because I was referencing my Frida latch hook design. After sketching her out, the REAL fun of cutting out all of the pieces and adding the iron on backing began. 
 I have done A LOT of applique but I've never used Heat and Bond...like, what?! I guess I just didn't know it was a thing! When I found it at the craft store and used it, I was like WHERE HAS THIS BEEN MY ENTIRE LIFE ON PLANET EARTH? It's that amazing. BUT a lot of work to add to each piece. 
 Once the backing was added, then I simply laid it out and ironed in place. I thought I was doing okay...until I started the HOURS of stitching. Applique is not for the wimps, kids. 
 I went through a lot of back and forth decision making with this dress. First up: to use a floral print for the flowers or stitch flower shapes. I'm happy I went with the floral print. I did something similar with her shawl. 

Then I had to reach out to my IG fam about thread color. Initially, her face was outlined in peach...but you just couldn't see her jaw line. So I outlined just the jawline in brown...and it looked like a beard. Eventually, I seam ripped the crapola outta the thing and used dark brown for her ears, jaw and neck. And I'm happy with that. Thanks, IG fam!
 By the way, ANY machine can do this stitch. And look, the back is as pretty as the front!

 Because the stitching took so long, I totally dragged my feet on finishing! The dress pattern had a couple options for sleeves. In the end, I wanted the dress to have a fun, tropical and retro feel so I went with the sleeves with a ruffle at the bottom.
 What do I hate most about sewing? Basically everything. Is that crazy? I'm not a detail person, I'm not a perfectionist when it comes to sewing ... and these are traits a good sewist has! But what do I REALLY hate? SLEEVES, y'all. Stitching in sleeves. 
 While in sleeve denial, I strolled down applique dress lane. My first applique dress was The Great Wave. Then I did my Warhol dress, the Lichtenstein pop art number and my sweets number
 Other than the HOURS of applique, this dress was a snap to make! I love this pattern and have plans for so many more. We'll see how far I get. 

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Wednesday, January 2, 2019

DIY: Latch Hook and Needlepoint Frida!

This pattern is now available! Get you one right here!

Y'all. I had so many artsy-craftsy-teachery goals for my break. And then I went and designed a Frida Kahol latch hook pattern and completely forgot about my other ideas! So, I present to you Frida two ways: Plastic Canvas Frida (left) and Latch Hook Frida (right).
I rediscovered latch hook at year when I bought a kit on a whim at Joann's. Y'all might recall from this blog post. Once complete, I stitched it onto what has become the most petted jacket by my students EVER (saying "please don't pet me" isn't something I thought I'd have to say...but such is the life of an elementary art teacher). I was "hooked" after completing this jacket. When I returned this winter to buy another design I was pretty disappointed by my choices. It seems that latch hook patterns have not been updated since I was a kid...in the 80's. 

That's when I got the idea over break to design my own. I got some graph paper and went to work...then I decided to hook it, not knowing if my design would work or not.
 But she did! I present to you Furry Faced Frida!
 Personally, I LOVE the look of latch hook because it's a multitude of things: tacky, vintage, bizarre, retro, kitsch, you name it. Now, since this design was my own, I did have to cut all of my own yarn. If you are not familiar with latch hook, it is the process of taking a 3" piece of yarn, folding it over a latch hook tool (found in all craft stores for a couple of bucks) and "latching" it to one of the openings in the latch hook canvas (I'm not sure what the stuff is called but you can also buy it blank at the craft stores). It's pretty easy! To cut my own yarn into the correct lengths, I just wrapped it around a 3" piece of cardboard and cut it. I kept the colors organized with this jewelry hanger I found at Five Below:
I have one of these for storing my embroidery floss also...they so handy!
 Since I was bringing back latch hook in all of it's retro glory, I decided to try my Frida design out on plastic canvas too. Y'all...I think I may like her a bit better that way!

 Even if the back looks like Zombie Frida (according to my husband). If you've never used plastic canvas, it's also available in the craft stores for CHEAP. I used the same yarn as I did my latch hook. When using plastic canvas, you'll need a tapestry needle. It can be a touch confusing because of the diagonal line the stitch creates. When counting out the stitches and figuring out your design, simply count the top of the diagonal, not the bottom left, if that makes any sense. 
I think at one point, every grandma was required by law to create a plastic canvas tissue box. So...y'all know that I'm gonna have to create one full of artists! I've already finished my Andy Warhol latch hook...I can't wait to share that with you.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED...this pattern is now available to you! You can buy the pattern here. I'll be creating some how-to videos on plastic canvas and latch hook soon. Also, stay tuned for my Warhol pattern!
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Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Hearts with Wings Sculptures

GOING LIVE TONIGHT, JANUARY 4TH AT 8PM CST RIGHT HERE. We'll be chatting about What We Wish We Knew our first year(s) teaching. Chat soon! Until then...

How about a fun heart sculpture project where kids discover an artist and use them as their inspiration? That's exactly what I had in mind when I came up with this simple and effective project using papier mache pulp and plaster! My buddy Natalie Waggenspack over at smART Class (one of my favorite art teacherin' blogs!) inspired this lesson. Here is the process video with an introduction to the artists I found inspiring:
Originally I was calling this project the Jim Dine Hearts Sculpture...but I didn't want my artists to feel limited to one artist. Shoot, they don't even have to use an artist's style as their inspo, they can come up with their own. But if you are looking for a project where your students do a little bit of artist investigation, I think this would be super fun.
I think this project would best be suited for students from third grade on up. I'll be doing the Candy Heart Sculpture with my fourth graders so I might either reserve this lesson for next your or try it with my younger kids. Here are the supplies needed:

* Aluminum foil. I really liked using the sheets of foil as they were precut and just the right size.

* Activa Product's Celluclay or Fast Mache. Both are very similar and work great. If I were doing this with my kids, I would definitely premix the clay. 

* Activa Product's Rigid Wrap Plaster. Used for the wings.

* Tempra or acrylic paint.
 I love the work of contemporary artist Chris Uphues (I know my students will as well...check out his street art, so fun!) and he inspired this heart. 
And I had Frida in mind when I painted this heart. I really loved creating these hearts and see so much potential with this project. 
Love to hear from you if you give this project a try! Don't feel limited to the sculpture supplies I used. I really think a variety of mediums could be used to create these fun hearts.

Full disclosure: Activa Products and I are working together to create fun projects with their products. I received these sculpture supplies from them. Thank you, Activa Products! 

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Wednesday, June 25, 2014

DIY: Rambo Meets Frida Kahlo Dress

 Hola, cats and kittens! Whatcha see here is one unibrowed lady that has finished her Rambo dress! What in tarnation is a Rambo dress, you ask? (FYI, no one says "tarnation" anymore, you might wanna update your vocab. You sound like Yosemite Sam and not in a good way.) Well, lemme tell ya. It all started a lil while back when SeamstressErin asked me, ME, if I'd like to participate in a sew-a-long. 

Ya'll. In case you didn't know this, sew-a-longs are for people who can actually sew. But I digress.
 According to Erin, she'd managed to get her kitten mittens on all of the turbans worn in the movie Rambo III. You can see 'em on the dudes below. Look, turban-ie!
 Her idea? To send a buncha bloggers a turban and see just what they would stitch up. It's been super fun (and totes intimidating!) to see what those sewers created. I've added a linky-loo to each at the bottom of this post so you can see for yo'self.
 When my turban arrived in the mail, it was magical. KIDS, this turban has been in the presence of Sylvester Stallone. He probably, like, looked at it! He mighta even, I dunno, stood near the dude wearing it. In fact, I'm willing to say he was all, "Man, that is a super sweet turban. The best outta all of them. Can I just, you know, wipe my brow on it?" 

AH! My turban has sweet Stallone sweat all over it! That would explain the smell. Actually, it smelled like camels when I ironed it. Which could only mean one thing: When Stallone sweats, he sweats camels, ya'll. Like a boss.
Now, as some of ya'll know, I love to create clothing inspired by either works of art or the artist themselves (check out my Campbell's Soup Can Dress, The Great Wave Frock, my light up Starry Night Dress,  The Scream Dress, a Jackson Pollock-y Number and my tribute to the surrealist Rene Magritte). So when I started thinking of ideas for this dress, I happened to be working on that stenciled and embroidered piece below. It totally reminded me of the artist Frida Kahlo (who has been in my mind a lot thanks to Natalie Friedl!). When I happened to lay the embroidery on top of the turban I was all "EUREKA! I love them together!" and my Rambo meets Frida Kahlo dress was born (still workin' name: Fr-rambo Frock? Frida Kahlo-ambo? It's a work in progress). 

By the way, don't you love how it looks like Frida is givin' ole Sly the side-eye. She's all, "Ummm-hmmm. I bet he sweats camels."
Oh, Frida, you so crazy.


Since this turban was based on Rambo the third, I decided to use three patterns. Actually, that's a lie. I decided to use three patterns because I'm an idiot. But I really liked the bodice of Simplicity 0320, the midriff of Simplicity 8087 and the flounce -n- skirt of Butterick 5880. Now, some of you know how deep my hatred of Butterick runs. Deep. It was about this time last summer that we battled it out during the making of this dress. Once again, like last time, I relied heavily on my pretend BFF Professor Pincushion. For any of you sewers out there that don't have a clue (like myself), this lady's youtube tutorials are a sewing-lifesaver. 
Putting this number together was not without it's share of seam ripping and swearing. Can you really do one without the other? First of all, getting that bodice and midriff of two different patterns to play nice wasn't easy. And, let's chat about the elephant in the room, shall we? The stripes on the flounce. ARGH! They no matchy! Some of the stripes lined up but others didn't. That's because they were on opposite ends of the scarf and apparently weren't woven exactly the same. So the flounce has a few flubs. Whatcha gonna do.


 A lil side and back view. For the back midriff band, I used some minty green cotton that was just a touch lighter than the embroidered piece on the front. One of the reasons I always return to that vintage Simplicity pattern is I love that stinkin' band. Not only is it flattering (says me) but it also allows me to play with more fabric patterns an color. 
Outfit details: Well, you know I made the dress...I also created those floral hair clips for the occasion by hot gluing some fake flowers to some hair clips; hand painted necklace: DIY here; bangles: gifts/thrifted; wedge sandals with fabric design: DIY here

Now, let us talk about the wonderment that is the Frida Kahlo, shall we? I've always admired Frida's surrealist artwork for it's honesty. This woman's life was a tough one and each one of her paintings exposes so much raw anguish that it's impossible not to feel her pain. Do ya'll know her story? It goes like this: When Frida was 6 years old, she had polio so her right leg was shorter than the other. For ease of walking, she would wear several pairs of socks at at time. As a child, in order to hid this, she took to wearing long skirts.
 When she was 18, she was riding a bus that was in an accident. One of the metal handrails went completely through her body, leaving her nearly dead. She had over 22 surgeries due to this accident. In the end, those surgeries resulted in the amputation of her leg. For the rest of her life, she wore a series of plaster and leather corsets to help her sustain her body. It was during that first bedridden year after the accident, that Frida took to painting (sometimes on those plaster corsets) and an artist was born. 
 "I am not sick. I am broken.

But I am happy as long as I can paint."

I've always loved Frida's sense of style. But it turns out that there was much more to her look that I ever imagined. You see, in the 1930s- 40s, fashion in Mexico was very European. However, there was a national pride movement that both Frida and her super famous hubs Diego Rivera were apart of. To showcase that pride, Frida started to dress in a style called Tehuana after it's place of origin. In this culture, a women's ensemble had three key parts: a headdress (Frida adopted the flowers), a short square and ornately designed blouse (this easily hid Frida's corset), piles of jewelry and a long flowing skirt (which also hid her prosthetic leg). Her signature look, which hid her imperfections, remains stylish today.


 Oh! I forgot to point out, I used some of my scraps to make a Rambo-esque floral headband. 
 And there you have it! A dress that was once a sweaty turban now lives a new life as a Frida Kahlo-inspired frock!
 A very special thank you to Erin for inviting me to participate in this Rambo Sew-a-long! I had so much fun and was truly challenged by the task (but really, when am I NOT sewing-challenged). Now, follow these links to check out more Turban-tasticness!
















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