Tessuti Awards 2010

About my Linen and Lace

• Pattern Used: My own design
• Fabrics Used: Stunning french made Tessuti 'Corded Bianca Griege' and a generous amount of Tessuti 'Ivory Zin Linen'
• Time To Create: The better part of two weeks
• Dress Influenced By: I'm influenced by shapes that emphasise the female form, with a dash of vintage sweetness. Most of the time my creations begin with the fabric. When I first read about this competition, ideas starting bubbling in my mind. The moment I saw this french lace in the Tessuti store my designs took shape and it became all about creating a frame for the fabric.
• Additional Information: I interlined the lace bodice front with Ivory zin linen for extra structure and modesty. I lined the skirt of the dress and finished the hem of the lining with a lace trim; a nice little something to make the dress feel pretty on the inside as well as the outside. The seams on the inside of the bodice have been finished with a Hong-Kong binding technique, and the dress is closed together with an invisible zip. Each row of individually machine sewn pleats on this dress is 4 meters in length, and took over 2 ½ hours each to complete. With five rows of pleats, that ends up being over 12 ½ hours and 20 metres of Ivory zin linen! I joined the fabric with French seams, and edged the pleats with bias binding for a subtle accent.

About Me

• Name: Julia Diamente
• State: VIC
• Sewing Since: 2009
• My Experience: On August 29, 2011 it will be exactly two years since I first slouched over a sewing machine and sewed two pieces of calico together with a straight stitch! It all started with a two hour sewing class every saturday morning with a very talented teacher, and grew into an obsession. Since starting that group class I have become hungry to learn more. I read as many sewing books as I can get my mitts on, I'm constantly reading blogs and watching 'how-to's' on youtube. It seems the more I learn, the more I realise there is to learn and it excites me to no end. I have gained more and more experience by trying new techniques and new patterns. I've made plenty of mistakes by pushing myself to try new things, but the reward of finally getting it right gives me such a rush.
• My Sewing Goals: There is so much to learn in the sewing world and I've only just touched the surface on what there is to know. I daydream about being fluent in pattern drafting and I aspire to reach and understand the detailed skills of couture.
• Additional Information: I have always been interested in the arts and creative bits and bobs, but never has anything commanded my attention so successfully and as completely as sewing has. It seems the more I sew, the more intense my desire is to make that needle go up and down. I get an indecent amount of pleasure looking at fabrics and their many textures, prints and properties. My ‘sewing room’ is starting to resemble a shrine to fabric and the Tessuti store is well represented. When I’m not consumed by my sewing, or working my 9-5 (well 8:30-4:30 actually) I love to salsa dance and to read.