Yelena Dressmaking & Accessories

  This depiction of my front door in style of Henri Rousseau’s paintings  https://www.nga.gov/features/slideshows/henri-rousseau.html#slide_9   is about a yard at its widest part. The flowers and plants are inspired by lavender, black-eyed Susans, Japanese maple, juniper, lambs ears, and sedum that grow in my garden. Materials: acrylic yarn, cotton embroidery floss, cotton corduroy and percale for the base, wooden and metal buttons. Bonus point: find hidden cats 😸

 Crochet is a great therapy: repetitive motions and counting can clear one’s mind and channel jumping thoughts into productivity. Another benefit of crochet is that it requires minimal skill for many great projects and the only tool you really need is the properly sized crochet hook. You would, of course, need yarn - but that’s a given. The final benefit I found for myself, that when I’m stressed and use crochet as a calming activity, it leaves me afterwards with a nice unique handmade item that I can either keep, sale, or give away.  The range of crocheted items is wide: from everyday clothes and accessories (vests, scarfs, hats) to toys and Christmas/decor ornaments; from wearable art (jabots, collars, elaborate shawls) to home accents (pillow cases, plant holders); from bags and purses to key chains; and don’t forget the pet accessories and toys.

  These “feathered friends” were made amass (10?) as presents to graduating university students — participants of a music ensemble. Since most music they performed was either Russian or played on traditionally Russian instruments (like balalaika), I picked a fabric pattern that resembled Russian traditional designs of Khohloma (painted and lacquered wooden dishes and figurines). This fabric came from JoAnn Fabrics as Premium cotton Folk Floral, lately discontinued. The stuffing is cotton balls. The pattern was adapted and modified from a quilting book bought at Barnes&Noble. The practical use of these birds might surprise you: beside making a colourful Christmas tree or home decor ornament, they could become a cat toy, a worry relief (if squeezed in one’s hand), a purse adornment, or a good addition to a baby mobile. These birds were created from the same piece of cloth, but it’s not a rule set in stone. Each part of a bird could be made of various fabrics and patterns, similar...

 Growing up, I didn’t know Christmas. A holiday with a decorated tree and presents under it was New Year. Even the tree was called "New Year's fir". The jolly old elf who brought presents was not Santa Claus or St. Nicholas. He was (still is) called Дед Мороз, Grandfather Frost. My vision of Grandfather Frost, made of silk, reclaimed fur purchased from Alaska indigenous people, beads, wire, and cotton yarn was created for a Christmas ornament contest in the Town of Herndon. After the exhibition, the ornament returned to me and now decorates my Christmas tree year after year.

Today the calendar states November, the leaves are falling, the days are shorter and the flowers are gone. But just three short months ago, the summer was at its most vibrant and I wanted to channel the “coastal grandma” trend, even though I’m not really near to neither a coast nor being a grandmother. I had chosen the yarn first: the “Lion brand” 100% bamboo in blue and silver shades I bought at Joann Fabrics. There was no set pattern or style in my mind, so I decided to try the “perforated argyle” crochet for a vest/tank. The collar was added for more complexity.  As I tried on the finished top, my son commented that the puffy sleeves of the shirt I had under the new vest enhanced the look. So, I fished out of my fabric stash a striped cotton blend from G Street Fabrics’ discounted table, and made it into a kimono-puffy sleeved v-neck popover shirt with a little floral hand embroidery at the neck. Together or separately, the tops fit the “coastal grandmother” style. The silky and...

  I had a creative idea for this black up cycled saddle leather. A boho-style bag that fits a laptop. I hand stitched the bag in sky-blue, added a pocket lining of blue suede, and lined the bag itself with blue polyester. It seemed that the bag needed something else and I painted abstract florals on the lid. I made it for sale, it wasn’t my style. Then, I showed it to my clients— no one cared to buy it. Although, some asked for a bag that size before. I took it to fairs, with the same outcome. The bag then was forgotten on a seldom-used shelf in my studio, until years later, I looked at it as a material as opposed to an item.  That happened, after a large store-bought leather tote that I loved taking on trips ripped in multiple places. It literally RIPped. I needed a new one and I was not going to shop for it. So, I took off the shelf this abandoned bag and decided to make it work for me this time. I removed all that blue stitching, added animal-print leather panels and accent...

The sachet is made out of an old embroidered towel (from the same set as the uncut one pictured above) and lavender from my garden. These napkins, somewhat yellowed with time, inspired me to repurpose them and other lace materials. See the reworked product on photos 4 and 6. This photo and one below are of the same top, made with the lace from an heirloom doily, identical to the one pictured next to the top on a wooden surface. The buttons on this top are actually beads from a vintage plastic necklace. The fabric is a vintage cotton from Russia.  The lace on the sleeve is hand crochet by my great-grandmother. She intended it as a part of a bed skirt. It served its time in the original purpose, but I decided to actually wear it as a part of a linen shirt. The piece I’m wearing on my neck is of my making. The lace appliqué on this silk shantung jacket is from my mom’s wedding gown. It started off in this shade of blue, but white lace can be dyed if there is excessive discolouration c...