-
This week the Good Eye attended a fashion show for Stitch Lab graduates at the Griffin School. Stitch Lab owner Leslie Bonnell spoke glowingly of the “sense of freedom” that designing and making your own clothes brings, and gestured to her own retro frock: “I’m not going to be in a bad mood in a dress with pink and blue scissors on it!” The event was attended by bevies of home sewers who all seemed to be in a pretty great mood.Back to column. -
Instructor and author Tina Sparkles, who teaches the Stitch Lab Fashion Design Semester Intensive, hasn’t bought new clothing in years. She makes many of her own garments from vintage and recycled materials, including this flutter-sleeved dress with pockets and contrast piping. Her students recently gave her these cat tights to match her cat tattoo.Back to column. -
Sparkles designed this dress fit for a fairy from recycled cardboard, flowers, weeds, and dead bees she found in her backyard. Now that’s local!Back to column. -
Stitch Lab instructor Channy Hiersche designed these dresses based on candy for her Porcelain Prim line.Back to column. -
Krug herself wore a simple sundress made from a novelty vocabulary print down the runway.Back to column. -
Vanessa Villalva of Ronkita.biz prefers mod prints and cuts with practical details. As an avid bike-rider, she loves designing culottes and split skirts.Back to column. -
Cynthia Wilcox drew her inspiration for this meticulously pattern-matched garden party dress from Sixties Marimekko maxis. Her other designs for the show included a two-piece linen overall for women and a lavender tunic set inspired by an artichoke blossom in her community garden.Back to column. -
Design intensive graduate Emily Ingram chose a simple A-line style to showcase this vibrant Italian print, which she picked up at the famous Moods fabric store in New York.Back to column. -
Ingram, pictured here in another of her designs, hopes to debut a line of modern separates for women soon.Back to column. -
Stitch Lab instructor Liz McCabe created this hand-painted silk velvet evening gown as a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.Back to column. -
Stitch Lab instructor Niku Arbabi wears a puppy-print frock of her own design (fetching!) with a velveteen collar and hand-stitched pompom trim. According to Arbabi, Stitch Lab is all about “empowering people to design for themselves, express themselves, and feel confident in clothes that fit them.”Back to column. -
Updos and ombre at the after party, where stylist Tierney Marie (R) took a break after doing the hair for the runway show.Back to column. -
Austin Review editor Tatyana Ryckman taught herself to sew, but recently learned advanced finishing techniques in a Tina Sparkles class. She designed and made this funnel-necked shirt from vintage fabric.Back to column. -
Krug with Stitch Lab staff Channy Hiersche (R), who has a clothing line called Porcelain Prim. Both wear their own designs.Back to column. -
Another gorgeous home-sewn masterpiece, recreated from a Forties pattern in a vintage print and perfectly accessorized with a statement necklace.Back to column. -
Textile artist Kat McTee teaches screenprinting classes at Stitch Lab. She designed this personalize-able circle skirt to showcase printing and hand-painting techniques, and covered hers with references to French New Wave cinema, including text from vintage issues of the film journal Cahiers du Cinema.Back to column. -
Several of McTee’s personalized circle skirts were on display at the kid-friendly reception.Back to column. -
Whitney Coyle designed these printed harem pants with hidden pockets as a prototype for her travel line, Abroad. For production, she hopes to partner with women in the Honduran village where she lived for four years.Back to column. -
A hand-sewn skirt, thrifted outfit, and modern earrings for a put-together look.Back to column. -
A maternity wrap dress from Stitch Lab’s Curvy Dress of the Month Series (L) accessorized with a crocheted bib necklace; gorgeous hand-sewn panel dress (R) with Frida-Kahlo-and-Day-of-the-Dead-themed fabric purchased from Stitch Lab.Back to column. -
Crayola-fueled, interactive DIY design for the masses – aka butcher paper.Back to column.
The Good Eye: Stitch Lab
