The Next Swim Suit

Swim Suit, originally uploaded by fmirela.

The limited swim suit edition continues as does the endless summer here in Florida.
Some of our friends have moved in a gorgeous apartment building right on the beach. I can just imagine that lifestyle for now, and dream that my husband would agree to move there also maybe in October. Imagine coming home from work and taking a swim in the pool downstairs, or a walk in the sand on the beach! Imagine doing this in the bikini swim suit I made for my friend!
The bikini pattern is from La Mia Boutique, issued in July 2005 (Italian pattern magazine).

The swimsuit is made out of Nylon Lycra swimwear fabric, with the paisley floral motif. I have lined it all over with smooth thin, comfortable white Lycra and finished off the edges with folded elastic tape.
Here’s a closeup:

The traps are made out of the same fabric. The bias tape is cut, folded in two, seamed mode closely to the folded edge and turned inside out.
In order to make long bias straps, the bias tapes of fabric have to be sewn together. This can be easily made following the next steps:
1. Place the tapes one over another, at a 90 degree angle, right sides together.
2. Make a cut at a 45 degree angle.

3. Sew the edges.

4. Unfold and you get a straight piece of fabric to work with.

Here’s another way to sunbath in it:

Bring on the heat!

PMC Pendant Blade

I made this Blade pendant out of a PMC+ lump as a present for a dear friend of mine, aka the Blade.

Happy Birthday!

I wanted to experiment again with a different type of bail, a hidden one this time.
First I have rolled out a snake out of the PMC lump, made it narrow on one end and a little larger at the other. The larger end will support my bail. I have pressed down the lateral edges of the blade with my fingers, creating a third edge in the center of the blade. This process took a while, to get the edge lines as straight as possible. Because PMC dries out quickly and you need to work fast with it, I added a little water every once in a while with my index finger to the surface of the PMC to prevent it from drying and cracking. This also helped smoothing the surfaces.
I left the blade to dry before attaching the bail.
I have made the bail this time out of a thin snake of PMC+ about 2 or 3 mm wide), turned it around a wooden tooth pick (treated with olive oil first to prevent sticking). The ends of the snake that overlapped have been pressed together downward. This needs to be made a little larger to fit a chain or leather thread through, take into consideration the shrinkage of PMC+ during firing. To glue together the bail and the pendant, I added just a little water with a paint brush to the larger end of the blade, to make it stickier. While still moist, I placed the bail onto the larger end of the blade, and over just a little PMC+ paste. The paste also acts as a glue. I used the blender tool to make the seams disappear and let everything dry again.
First the pendant looked kinda boring and needed something else to make it a little more interesting. A small round ball of silver like a tear drop on one side gave the piece asymmetry.
The ball was created by melting about 1mm of .950 silver wire. Silver naturally turns itself into a ball when it melts.
To place the ball onto the blade I added just a tinny spot of paste and placed the ball over it. I used the blender tool to smooth the surface around the little ball some more. I have made a small hole just above the ball. Dried everything and then fired it.

Here it is before the firing:

PMC Pendant Blade, originally uploaded by fmirela.

After firing, one surface of the blade has been brought to a high shine, while the other has been left with a smooth satin finish.

It has been fun making this, I hope my friend enjoys it as much as I have enjoyed making it…

PMC Pendant

PMC Pendant, originally uploaded by fmirela.

With this Precious Metal Clay pendant I have learned to make the bail, instead of drilling a hole for a loop.
First I created a mold into FIMO polymer clay, from a button I loved so much on my faux suede jacket. Then I baked the mold and molded the lump form of PMC+, a bump a little larger then a pea. After drying the pendant I sanded the edges and burned it with the torch.
The oxidized look was achieved by placing it into a plastic bowl with boiled egg yolks Then all the high surfaces have been brought to a mirror finish.

Here’s a back view with a little texture:

I have made this next pendant out of PMC in the same button mold, but this time I have placed a round loop made out of .950 silver wire and burned them together. This is a present for my mother in law, since the design represents her zodiac sign, the Lion!

In this picture you can see the white PMC look before the burning process.

The back view with a similar texture then before, just a little larger:

The finished product:

I am still thinking of creating a bracelet out of multiple molded circles linked together with silver loop rings.

Plaid Dress

Plaid Dress, originally uploaded by fmirela.

I made this dress for a friend of mine in Timisoara, Romania.
I hope it fits…it has a bias cut, which allows for more room and makes the fabric adjust to different bodies, following every curve.
Although plaid fabrics are considered to make one look bigger, the bias cut actually does create a slimmer figure.

This comfortable cotton plaid bias dress is threaded like a corset with a satin ribbon in the back, and around the waist line. The same olive green satin ribbon is used for the straps, gathering the top, ending with a knot in the front.
Triangular insertions of fabric at the bottom add amplitude to the dress, creating an uneven hem, as well as an interesting game of plaid lines.

I really like it so I plan on sewing another in the same fabric, but in a turquoise color.

Daniela, I hope this fits you!