Judo Chop! Do NOT anger the Samurai.

Judo Chop! Do NOT anger the Samurai.

That's "Ms. Roper" if You're Nasty!

Photography by Victor Ciccarelli for Erynz.com

Autumn Magic!

Photography by Victor Ciccarelli for Erynz.com

That's "Ms. Roper" if You're Nasty!

Photography by Victor Ciccarelli for Erynz.com

Autumn Magic!

Photography by Victor Ciccarelli for Erynz.com

One Night at the Disco: Hot Nights of Wonder and Obscurity!

Photography by jStemmerphotography.com

Okay, so very obscure Television reference time!

When I was a kid, my parents exposed me to the wonders that were the Lynda Carter TV Specials.  I don't think they even realize how much watching her TV variety show specials almost every day on BETA(!) affected me.  She sang and danced and wore designer clothes was utterly fabulous. 

If you didn't ever know that Wonder Woman could sing, and tell cheesy stories, you owe yourself the favor of watching all of the clips online, starting with this one:

One Night at the Disco: Hot Nights of Wonder and Obscurity!

Photography by jStemmerphotography.com

Okay, so very obscure Television reference time!

When I was a kid, my parents exposed me to the wonders that were the Lynda Carter TV Specials.  I don't think they even realize how much watching her TV variety show specials almost every day on BETA(!) affected me.  She sang and danced and wore designer clothes was utterly fabulous. 

If you didn't ever know that Wonder Woman could sing, and tell cheesy stories, you owe yourself the favor of watching all of the clips online, starting with this one:

CTW, Ready to Romp: Not-So-Juvenille Hipster

I hesitate to say, "Romper Room," because in the service industry, that is the term used when there are too many families with children in the restaurant.  So I'm just going to bundle any juvenile educational programming inspirations into "Children's Television Workshop."


I wanted to make a dress quick quick quick.  I have a record of making a lot of separate pieces.  Even the gown that I did most recently was a two-piece, and wanted to challenge myself to do something speedy and easily constructed without being too simple-looking or boring.

So sleeves and pants were out, and a halter neckline and a skirt was in.   I can't say that this romper dress is Simple.  I can't just put out a potato sack with a belt!  But the whole thing, including designing, drafting, and mocking, took less than 12 hours, which is really fast even considering I also re-drafted and mocked the skirt after a first failed attempt.

I have learned in the past that adding too many extras, like pockets and buttons, to a garment made with fabric that has a busy print on it, the details disappear, so I found a way to make this busy print work for me rather than against me.  See how the pleating has made the stripes look like they are changing direction?  That's because I used my new fascination with drafted pleating to give the printed pattern a new dynamic without having to cut and sew on a new piece of fabric.

CTW, Ready to Romp: Not-So-Juvenille Hipster

I hesitate to say, "Romper Room," because in the service industry, that is the term used when there are too many families with children in the restaurant.  So I'm just going to bundle any juvenile educational programming inspirations into "Children's Television Workshop."


I wanted to make a dress quick quick quick.  I have a record of making a lot of separate pieces.  Even the gown that I did most recently was a two-piece, and wanted to challenge myself to do something speedy and easily constructed without being too simple-looking or boring.

So sleeves and pants were out, and a halter neckline and a skirt was in.   I can't say that this romper dress is Simple.  I can't just put out a potato sack with a belt!  But the whole thing, including designing, drafting, and mocking, took less than 12 hours, which is really fast even considering I also re-drafted and mocked the skirt after a first failed attempt.

I have learned in the past that adding too many extras, like pockets and buttons, to a garment made with fabric that has a busy print on it, the details disappear, so I found a way to make this busy print work for me rather than against me.  See how the pleating has made the stripes look like they are changing direction?  That's because I used my new fascination with drafted pleating to give the printed pattern a new dynamic without having to cut and sew on a new piece of fabric.

The Bionic Woman: Activewear for the Retro Modern Futuristic 70's Partially Mechanical Woman In Us All.

Actually, I've been wanting to make a "Bionic Woman" outfit for a while now (the first version didn't turn out the way I would have liked). I really should point out that this is a "THE Bionic Woman" inspired outfit. The insulting, updated version that aired not too long ago dropped the "THE" in the title, but that is all that I'm going to say about that...

Anyway, the image I recall of Jaime Sommers when thinking of the series is one in which she running in the woods in a kind of jogging suit, and as my friend Mike showed me (who, by the way, is totally buddies with Lindsay Wagner, who is the also the aunt of a girl that was in my 8th grade class), the outfit that I am recalling is most likely the one she is seen wearing in the opening credits. See the running? The woods? The Prell bouncy hair?

I struggled a little about how fitted I wanted to make the top, and in the end, decided to go with just tight enough and a little space-age-y, After all, although I would consider the Bionic Woman a superhero, the TV genre was considered Sci-Fi. I took the horizontal stripes on the original jacket and made curves stripes in blue and black, and made the bodice out of a stretchy cotton jersey. I wanted to make the shoulders a little more heavy to make them look "stronger" so I used what I had left of a stiffer white corduroy.

I considered making a one-sleeved jacket with metal inserts because it was actually only her right arm that was bionic (along with both her legs and one ear), but knew that would be too "artsy" for this outfit, so I went with the more everyday wearable path.

The Bionic Woman: Activewear for the Retro Modern Futuristic 70's Partially Mechanical Woman In Us All.

Actually, I've been wanting to make a "Bionic Woman" outfit for a while now (the first version didn't turn out the way I would have liked). I really should point out that this is a "THE Bionic Woman" inspired outfit. The insulting, updated version that aired not too long ago dropped the "THE" in the title, but that is all that I'm going to say about that...

Anyway, the image I recall of Jaime Sommers when thinking of the series is one in which she running in the woods in a kind of jogging suit, and as my friend Mike showed me (who, by the way, is totally buddies with Lindsay Wagner, who is the also the aunt of a girl that was in my 8th grade class), the outfit that I am recalling is most likely the one she is seen wearing in the opening credits. See the running? The woods? The Prell bouncy hair?

I struggled a little about how fitted I wanted to make the top, and in the end, decided to go with just tight enough and a little space-age-y, After all, although I would consider the Bionic Woman a superhero, the TV genre was considered Sci-Fi. I took the horizontal stripes on the original jacket and made curves stripes in blue and black, and made the bodice out of a stretchy cotton jersey. I wanted to make the shoulders a little more heavy to make them look "stronger" so I used what I had left of a stiffer white corduroy.

I considered making a one-sleeved jacket with metal inserts because it was actually only her right arm that was bionic (along with both her legs and one ear), but knew that would be too "artsy" for this outfit, so I went with the more everyday wearable path.