Eve Ewing in conversation at The Strand on Monday evening. Later online, a fellow fan said she was “electric” and I can’t think of a better way to describe her! She is every superlative: the smartest, the most charming, the funniest, the most versatile. Plus I was there with my friend Elise, who *just* finished her dissertation for a PhD in education policy, which made the night even more exciting.
Here’s my favorite Eve advice from the event, in response to a work-life balance question: Say no so you can say yes. For example, NO I can’t make time to record an episode of your podcast, so that YES I now have time to play video games and talk to my husband. Self-care, baby!
Resistanceisfutile! 😍 (I told my sister I was going to buy only 1 skein at today’s indie-dyer Saturday at Knitty City [NYC], but these 3 came home with me.)
The fabric stores in the area are open to everyone! Just walk in and shop. The minimum is usually just a yard because not everyone does half yards. The only time there might be a big minimum purchase is if you need them to special order something for you or if you want a wholesale discount. If you’re buying say… 5 yards or something they may be able to take a little off the price and can do more the more you buy if you’re trying to stay on a budget.
I kinda run the gauntlet every time I go, but I love Miju on 37th for supplies because they’re the greatest people ever. Elegant Fabrics is great because they’re pre-swatched so if you need something you don’t hav to run around trying to flag someone down. TrimArt and Daytona are good for trims at good prices where as M&J is fantastic but also pricier. B&J is similar to Mood, both carry extremely expensive high end fabrics but you’ll see the most unique things there if that’s what your project calls for. As for budget friendly places, I’ve had luck with Ebad although they’re smaller, there’s a place at 258 39th st. that perpetually has a store closing sign but they have very cool brocades.
And I think that’s about everything! Most of the stores are clustered between 7th and 8th and on 37-39th st. Sometimes you’ll get great help, sometimes you’ll get a lot of men who just want to make the sale and will keep pushing something on you that you know isn’t what you’re looking for- just walk away if you feel like you’re talking to a wall. I’ve had to do it when I’m on limited time. You owe them nothing.
Hi! I’ve been sewing for about ten years now, I started just before high school but didn’t start doing anything really substantial until after I learned how to do most of the fundamentals there. It was a specialized program for fashion and design, and it taught us everything we needed to know, starting with basic handstitching to machine work to draping and constructing. Everything else that I’ve done along the way I’ve kinda just honed on my own and picked up from the costume shop and the shows I’ve worked on. I’ve never been a great classroom learner and I’ve been lucky enough that my jobs have been a huge wealth of information as far as costumes and advice from other expert stitchers.
Thank you so much for your kind words! I really love being a designer and the idea of being able to bring my own work to life has always been one of my favorite things as a kid!
It really depends on the complexity of the project. An argument could be made that this dress was five years in the making from the time I purchased a 2.5 yard remnant of the print on a whim one day till one Monday a few weeks ago when the idea for exactly what to do with it struck me and I patterned and completed it in two days:
A more “in-between” length of time would be my next upcoming project for NYCC, it took me a while to narrow down which character/costume I wanted to commit to but I ended up going with Margaery from GoT and that deadline is in about a month and change. The first few days usually involve me sketching out pattern lines and panels on paper before I translate those into style lines on a form, then I start draping in muslin. The fabric shopping portion of it tends to be a bit lengthy especially when I know exactly what I want to use for it, but can’t find the material I’m looking for.
As for original designs, I’d give it on average a few months, but I would need some kind of deadline to keep me on track otherwise I get distracted by other things. There often tends to be the initial rush of excitement where everything moves quickly, then it slows down a bit while I try to gather my bearings and figure out the best method of executing the idea and then when I know the deadline is coming up, it’s back to burning the candle at both ends. Both pieces in my Vintage Schuyler Collection are a really good example of that exact kind of timeline. Lots of that “I got time, I got time I got- WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT’S IN TWO DAYS AND I’M DRESSING FOUR SHOWS IN THAT TIME??”
Spitfire Alice A Gra 
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