So this weekend I worked on a dress for a client, a wet look black dress with a very low back and diamante buckles.  Very pretty I must say...I will put a picture up now now.  Today I've been busy on my 6 samples that have to be in Friday.  These 6 samples have to all be refabricated in some way, and we must use at least one of them in our third year range.  I'm doing dip dye, tye dye, pintucks, smocking, coffee dying and beading.  I'm using at least three of them in my range.  The pintucks I'm doing will have top stitching running over them in parallel lines going in opposite directions to create the look of waves.  Most of my designs consist of beading in some way, especially the neck lines of the dresses, I love little pearls and glass beads.  Smocking is also one of my favourite techniques to make a simple dress.  I'm actually wearing one of my smocking dresses now while I write this, I will also put a picture up now now .  Smocking is so simple, you take a piece of rectangle fabric, and with the grain you will start smocking horizontal lines across the fabric.  You will do this to about the waist line, and I will then round the dress off by doing a french seam, this will also secure the smocking ends.  And there you have a simple boobtube dress.  So now go try it out yourself!
K*