Intro to Fashion 1010 Assignment #3

Since I missed the class presentation of Assignment #3, I decided to explain the process I went through. Bare with me…
For my project of making an accessory without sewing it, I tried several ideas.
First I had the brilliant thought of lashing a suede purse together. How hard could it be, right? I found the material, soft dark brown with a matching leather lashing string. I started by cutting out two large circles (patterned after a large metal popcorn bowl-I never use unless I need to trace large circles or in January for my husband’s awesome caramel corn which he makes for every New Year’s Eve) and a circular band to lash together the sides, the front, the back and the bottom. I bought double-sided infusible web which I used to iron a shiny silver Lame’ to the wrong side of both the back and front circles. I then proceeded to stab the thick suede with my scissors to make holes big enough for the leather lashing to fit through (my hole-punch wasn’t strong enough to make more than a dent). I began dragging the lashing from one side, through the bottom and ending on, of course, the other side. The round bag began to take shape, kind of. Because there were huge gaping holes in between the bound parts, I again took leather binding and crisscrossed back making an X over my seam. I did this the remaining of the purse. Once it was complete it didn’t resemble a circular bag, more like a monstrous gaping mouth with a silver Lame’ throat.
I then got the brilliant idea that grommets were the answer. I had stabbed the holes too large and had to sutcher the bottom and sides too tightly making my simple suede purse look more like a poorly assembled toe of a moccasin.
I dragged my six-year-old son back to the craft store with me under the strict instructions of finding the section with grommets and then the area that sold candy bars (stress-eating, and child bribery are key to any craft project). I found the grommets; I also located the eyelets directly next to them. What’s the difference? They were exactly the same size; they were exactly the same price. We bought a bag of each hoping that the weird gadget my mother-in-law loaned me would work with either. The gadget didn’t push the grommets or the eyelets through the suede. Instead it just mashed them up into tiny metal Cheerio’s. I took out my scissors and began to stab the new model of a square-ish purse. I stabbed a gash and then place the little grommets into the hole. I positioned the gadget around the grommet and squished it down. Sometimes it worked. Most times the eyelet fell back through. I tried to balance the grommet and laced the lashing through it to secure it. It ended up looking like a failed project.
My eleven-year-old daughter has taken up knitting with a loom. She has a plastic round loom and is working on a bright yellow yarn hat for her friend. What a great idea! I decided to make gloves. I bought many different spools of yarn, each brighter, and more expensive than the other. I read the instructions that came with the loom, ”for more information visit us on the web”. I did. I couldn’t find out how to make anything other than a scarf. What about gloves? Don’t people make knitted gloves any more? One of the five different sized looms featured a girl on the front sporting a Berry colored pair of fingerless gloves. I want to make fingerless gloves… I began to loom. Wrapping the yarn around each spindle and rewrapping another strand over the first, over and under, pull and repeat. I got better and quicker the more I practiced.
I ended up making more than seven pairs of fingerless gloves; only mine resemble colorful yarn and ribbon corsages. I have decided to call them Glovelets or Glorsages, anyway, I like how these three turned out and I will totally wear them, even if they aren’t really practical (when I pull them on I feel like Madonna circa 1980).
I spent approximately 40 hours and around one hundred dollars figuring out this creative endeavor. I’ll admit I was very frustrated with this assignment but have learned an invaluable lesson: It doesn’t matter how great the vision is, if it can’t be executed.