FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
The Crawling Chaos Nyarlathotep
(click images to to enlarge)
Outline the story …
Last winter I found myself immersed in H. P. Lovecraft's world of cosmic horror.
One character, or rather entity in particular, caught my attention immediately – Nyarlathotep, the crawling chaos.
It was around that time when a pupil of mine got a black kitty which, from the first moment, reminded me of it. The chaos, the crawling, Nyarlathotep – sounds like a great name for a cat.
I wanted to enter the blouse as a part of a whole outfit and under a totally different theme, but then I realized the blouse and its construction process itself reminded me of the black kitty and the crawling chaos as well.
It has been a very long and slow process, sometimes making me enthusiastic and excited, at other times overwhelmed or confused. A total chaos, as the design itself.
What started as a "rescue mission" for a little black dress I thrifted some 10 years ago (and which no longer fitted me), has evolved into an ever-going process of adding layers, embellishments, swapping parts.
I also sourced some of the fabric from an old skirt I used to wear for our high school choir's performances, and I used a velvet ribbon that used to be a part of my university graduation dress.
There are lots of memories, emotions and feelings buried in those pieces of fabric: excitement, friendships, longing, belonging, anticipation, but also stress, stage fright, confusion, disappointment. They are witnesses to another world, long time gone.
Outline the construction…
I decided to recycle materials from garments that no longer fitted me or I didn't have use for any more, and make something completely different.
I used fabric and buttons from a short sleeveless dress and some leftover fabric from a skirt.
First I made the bust area and added a wide waistband using the skirt fabric which is thicker and less stretchy – I wanted a sturdy waistline, and I embellished it with lace. Then I constructed the bottom part of the blouse. Using the only large piece of the fabric that was left, I made the yoke, and stitched on the buttons and loops. After finishing the neckline and the bottom hem, I started working on the sleeves, gradually adding stripes of fabric and lace, sculpting the sleeves from the shoulders to the wrists, where I finished them with cuffs.
Since the blouse still looked quite unfinished and the yoke too plain, I later added lace insertions on the yoke, and lace with velvet ribbon around the neckline.
It was a bit challenging to work with scraps of fabric, sculpting and adding pieces without any specific plan. I had to learn to add lace insertions, and it was hard to add those to an already finished garment and finish the edges neatly without taking the garment apart.
Stunning work, I have a big weak spot for anything upcycling and I love how the dress evolved.
Thank you Kitty 🙂
This is such lovely detailed work, and it looks so wearable for everyday which is amazing!
Jenny, thank you 🙂
Love the story and the end result, beautiful blouse
What a beautiful creation. I loved reading about how this piece evolved over time. It’s stunning!