Yelena Dressmaking & Accessories

  Hearts. These symbols of love can be produced in many ways depending on your skills, and time allotted.  If you are a crafter, use any materials at hand. I had natural wine corks, which I sliced thinly to frame a collage of red buttons and beads from my vast collection. In the center there is a framed silver coin with a heart on it.  If you are a baker, cut prebaked and cooled brownies with a heart-shaped cookie cutter; drip melted white chocolate over it; before the chocolate solidifies, crumble over it some freeze-dried strawberries. If you are a crocheter, hook up a heart. I used variegated cotton embroidery floss. I hang this 3” ornament on our Christmas tree.  If you like to give old things new life, make a pillow cover out of any used garment. Here, I up-cycled a cashmere scarf that was starting to show its age, and sleeves from a cashmere sweater that were left from a project, into this soft and pretty pillowcase. The existing lurex stripes reminiscent of a ...

 Sometimes, things come together in unexpected ways. The bag you see on the photos was a travel project from my 2023 trip to Europe. On long flights, in airport waiting rooms, and during numerous train rides my restless hands needed to stay busy. I had this cream Turkish cotton yarn in 2 similar shades because I couldn’t get the same exact one anymore from (now defunct) Joann Fabrics. I saw a picture of a Prada bag made of simple crochet stitched cotton, and I got inspired. I didn’t want to replicate it, however. So I got stuck with an unfinished bag. I just let it sit in my workroom as a reminder that I need to do something about it one day. Some time later, I was presented with a piece of beautiful silk crepe, cream with a crimson-ish berry print by a designer from Romania. The berries were rowan (рябина) — a favorite tree (bush?) from my childhood; about this tree (bush) my Mom and I used to sing an old folk song. So, I wanted to make a practical garment out of this silk, the on...