Dress 1 till 10

Foreword

“Without fruit” is my way.

The creation of the skirts as well as the short story give a first impression of the project. The whole collection will be presented in full glory at the final fashion show together with the book.

The project started long before the first skirt.

I needed several practice skirts until I finally found the right cut and design. I decided on the shape of a diamond. This is the unifying and recognizable element of the skirts and extends throughout the collection. The diamond changes in size, color, material, composition and direction, like the thoughts, feelings and emotions.

Buttons are another noticeable element. I play with the composition and the quantity. Initially recognizable is the number three for father, mother and child, then the two for man and woman and finally still the one for me.

In addition, I deal with the attitude towards life, the desires (top) and the circumstances (skirt). What I want and what I have are often far apart.

Ready for the road?

 

Dress 1 – Alegria

Everything started with “Alegria” joy.

My husband announced to me on our second date that he would like to push a baby carriage one day as a proud father, and that’s how I noticed that we both have the same attitudes and values about family and lifestyle. Thus began a deep love affair. I traded my countless suitcases for a house key to a great apartment and changed my adventurous lifestyle.

We got married and nothing stood in the way of wanting a child!

So it all started with the wedding dress!

 

  • sewing technique

    sewing technique

    tiered skirt as underskirt, seam allowances on the outside
    diamond quilt pieces are sewn to it,
    these are sewn together, pieced, quilted with 3 lines
    simple top without sleeves, fabric quilted with meander stitch
    61 diamond quilt pieces
    5 hexagon
  • fabric

    fabric

    7 m cotton fabric for top and diamond quilt pieces
    7 m lining fabric for top and the diamond quilt pieces
    7 m batting for top and diamond quilt pieces
    8 m tulle and organza
    Total 29 m
  • colors

    colors

    white for fabrics, organza, tulle, threads, wool and beads
    light green for some beads
  • buttons

    buttons

    15 beads top (8 green and 7 white)
    174 beads skirt (159 white and 15 green)
    Total 195 beads
  • material

    material

    velcro fasteners
    bows made of organza and wool
    hoop skirt under the skirt with the diamond quilt pieces

 

Dress 2 – Joy

Our lives could not have been better. Happiness shone in both our faces. Professionally, everything was in order. I sewed my first children’s quilt full of love. I gave the quilt the name “Alegria” (joy). Our life and circumstances were balanced. A wonderful happy time. We were looking forward to having children soon.

Hope, joy of life, contentment and balance radiates from this skirt. For the lightness I used feathers (feather stole) as a connection between life attitude (top) and life circumstances (skirt).

Joy and happiness!

 

  • sewing technique

    sewing technique

    tiered skirt as underskirt, seam allowances on the outside
    diamond quilt pieces are sewn to it,
    these are sewn together, pieced, quilted with 3 lines on the side
    and wavy lines in the middle of the quilt
    simple top without sleeves, fabric quilted with meander stitch
    62 diamond quilt pieces
    5 hexagon
  • fabric

    fabric

    6 m cotton fabric for top and diamond quilt pieces
    6 m lining fabric for top and diamond quilt pieces
    8 m tulle and organza
    5 m batting for top and diamond quilt pieces
    Total 25 m
  • colors

    colors

    bright and delicate light green for
    fabrics, tulle, organza, feather stole, threads
    white for organza
  • buttons

    buttons

    17 buttons top
    59 buttons skirt
    121 green bows top + skirt
    Total 73 buttons and 121 bows
  • material

    material

    2,5 m bright green feather stole on skirt
    0,75 m bright green feather stole as belt
    5-6 m ribbon for the tiered skirt
    velcro fasteners
    hoop skirt supports the skirt with the diamond quilt pieces

 

Dress 3 – Paticence

Slowly, impatience crept into the family planning. The longed-for pregnancy failed to materialize. We were both around 30 years old, so there was no need to panic in this respect. The lightness and informality gradually crumbled away. We both didn’t let on and practiced patience. Soon the longed-for offspring will surely appear!

The attitude of life and wishes (top) are still full of hope and ease, but the circumstances of life (skirt) looks a little different. On the back of the skirt, barely visible, some diamond quilt pieces are missing and others are only embroidered with two buttons.

Everything in the green!

 

  • sewing technique

    sewing technique

    tiered skirt as petticoat, seam allowances on the outside.
    sewn to the diamond quilt piece, these are
    sewn together, tucked and quilted with 3 lines at the
    side and quilted around the buttons
    simple top without sleeves, fabric quilted freehand like stones
    58 diamond quilt pieces
    5 hexagon
  • fabric

    fabric

    6 m cotton fabric for top and diamond quilt pieces
    6 m lining fabric for top and diamond quilt pieces
    5 m batting for top and diamond quilt pieces
    10 m organza
    Total 27 m
  • colors

    colors

    light, matt and dark green for
    fabrics, tulle, organza, threads
    green, orange, red for lining fabric
  • buttons

    buttons

    8 buttons top
    189 buttons skirt
    Total 197 buttons
  • material

    material

    Velcro fasteners
    5-6 m ribbon for the tiered skirt
    hoop skirt supports the skirt with the diamond quilt pieces

 

Dress 4 – Doubt

The first doubts made themselves felt. The casual life slowly changed into a monthly pressure. First visits to the doctor, examinations and tests were scheduled. Everything was in order. Hormone stimulants were used so that success could be achieved quickly. A slight, almost imperceptible doggedness crept in. A thousand reasons and doubts why it is not possible accompanied me constantly.

A dress that combines lightness, doubt and heaviness all in one, sky-high to devastated, like the monthly cycles.

I saw around me only pregnant happy women.

And me?

 

  • sewing technique

    sewing technique

    tiered skirt as underskirt, seam allowances on the outside
    sewn to it diamond quilt piece, these are
    sewn together, tucked and all free-motion quilted with a
    freehand quilted with an inward running triangle
    simple top without sleeves,
    fabric free-motion quilted with bias strips
    63 diamond quilt pieces
    5 hexagon
  • fabric

    fabric

    1 m cotton fabric for top and 3 diamond quilt pieces
    5 m cotton fabric diamond quilt pieces
    6 m lining fabric top and diamond quilt pieces
    8 m organza (incl. belt)
    6 m batting for top and diamond quilt pieces
    Total 26 m
  • colors

    colors

    matte green light brownish top and diamond quilt pieces
    green, orange, red for lining
    different shades of green for the diamond quilt pieces
    green grayish for bottom and back diamond quilt pieces
    light green to dark green organza
    different shades of green and brownish for the threads
    chaotic color scheme
  • buttons

    buttons

    14 buttons top
    84 buttons skirt
    12 green buttons on belt
    199 green buttons in the belt
    62 crocheted tassels
    total 309 buttons and 62 tassels
  • material

    material

    velcro fasteners
    green wool for the crocheted tassels
    5-6 m ribbon for the tiered skirt
    hoop skirt supports the skirt with the diamond quilt pieces

 

Dress 5 – Difficult

Doctor’s visits, tests and hormone therapies were part of everyday life. Everything revolved around just one thing. Doggedness slowly turned into bitterness. The first tensions in the relationship, at work and in the environment became noticeable. It was an irritable mood. We had to get through this now, next time it could have worked out. Tunnel vision set in. It was difficult!

The skirt changes from green, like hope to light brown. The inner doggedness and bitterness is externally concealed with a soft brown. The emphasis is on the belt, the connection between attitude to life (top) and the circumstances of life (skirt). With all means I tried to keep my world in balance.

Outwardly, everything was fine after all!

 

  • sewing technique

    sewing technique

    tiered skirt as underskirt, seam allowances on the outside
    sewn to it diamond quilt piece, these are
    stitched together, tucked and all rounded with 3 distinctive
    lines around, seams attached lengthwise,
    one of them with an emphasizing zigzag stitch
    simple top without sleeves, fabric with vertical stripes
    freehand quilted
    71 diamond quilt pieces
    5 hexagon
  • fabric

    fabric

    1 m cotton fabric for top and 3 diamond quilt pieces
    5 m cotton fabric for diamond quilt pieces
    6 m lining fabric for top and diamond quilt pieces
    6 m organza (incl. belt)
    1 m batting for top
    4 m thin batting for the diamond quilt pieces
    Total 23 m
  • colors

    colors

    light brown for the top and 3 diamond quilt pieces
    matte light brown for the diamond quilt pieces
    light brown lining fabric
    light brown to dark brown organza
    different brown and dark green threads
  • buttons

    buttons

    15 buttons top
    114 buttons skirt
    70 half loops wool top + skirt
    7 buttons belt
    total 129 buttons and 70 half loops
  • material

    material

    velcro fasteners
    green wool for the half loops
    5-6 m ribbon for the tiered skirt
    hoop skirt supports the skirt with the diamond quilt pieces

 

Dress 6 – Questionmark

It was an up and down of emotions. The hormone therapies were intensified once again, various options were tried out. A break was out of the question. It could have been exactly then that the hoped-for success set in. We must not miss this moment. The strain on the body, mind and relationship were enormous. Our social contacts were reduced to a minimum.

With every disappointment I fell deeper and deeper into an endless black hole. Nevertheless, I had reached the point of no return, not after all the efforts, examinations, tests, expenditures, renunciations and ordeals. A kind of dependence set in. By hook or by crook, it had to finally work out for us.

The whole situation was messed up, now the brown color dominates. The skirt is bogged down, so you can’t see that parts and buttons are missing and the workmanship is very poor. By all means, success was sought, on the outside a lot was hidden and only when you look closer you saw the crumbled facade.

I questioned the whole situation!

 

  • sewing technique

    sewing technique

    tiered skirt as underskirt, seam allowance on the outside
    sewn to it diamond quilt piece, these are sewn together with a
    sewn together with a zigzag stitch, all quilted with a free-motion pattern
    quilted in square shape
    simple top without sleeves, fabric with a freehand pattern
    quilted in zigzag shape and emphasized corners
    64 diamond quilt pieces
    5 hexagon
  • fabric

    fabric

    1 m cotton fabric for top and 3 diamond quilt pieces
    5 m linen fabric for diamond quilt pieces
    6 m lining fabric for diamond quilt pieces
    8 m organza and tulle (incl. belt)
    1 m batting for the top
    4 m thin fleece the diamond quilt pieces
    Total 25 m
  • colors

    colors

    strong brown for top and 3 diamond quilt pieces
    dark brown for the diamond quilt pieces
    dark brown, dark blue lining fabric
    different brown, black, green for organza tulle
    brown to black threads
  • buttons

    buttons

    10 buttons top
    59 buttons skirt
    63 bows organza, tulle and pompom skirt + top
    21 pompoms belt
    total 69 buttons - 63 bows - 21 pompoms
  • material

    material

    velcro fasteners
    5-6 m ribbon for the tiered skirt
    hoop skirt supports the skirt with the diamond quilt pieces

 

Dress 7 – Trail of tears

After a seemingly endless time living between hope and disappointment, I took the decision to stop hormone therapies. My body and my mind were at the end. The endless examinations and monthly ordeals left their mark. The relationship was under a great test of endurance. My decision did us both good.

The skirt consists thousands of buttons and is a symbol for the endless suffering, the deep sadness, the many disappointments and bitterness. Each button represents a tear.

Although I have not shed a single tear to this day!

 

  • sewing technique

    sewing technique

    diamond quilt pieces all decorated with buttons
    so that the dress can wear the many buttons
    the underskirt is reinforced with suspenders
    75 diamond quilt pieces
  • fabric

    fabric

    5 m cotton fabric
    5 m fleece (adhesive on one side)
    5 m lining fabric for the backs
    Total 15 m
  • colors

    colors

    Diamond quilt pieces in light, medium and dark blue
  • buttons

    buttons

    3032 buttons
  • material

    material

    Velcro fasteners
    ribbons for reinforcing the waistband of the skirt
    suspenders

 

Dress 8 – still hope

I started a new job, which I liked very much. The focus of life was put on something else.

But the many hormone therapies had left their mark. My body was worn out and sick. I got breast cancer and had to undergo surgeries and radiation treatments. I recovered and the years went by without any major problems, life just flowed by.

The question of why always stuck somehow. I began to search for answers from acupuncture to Reiki to visits to mediums. I did many things without questioning. Everywhere hope was proclaimed, which I eagerly accepted. These “false” hopes to possibly still become pregnant, awakened forces in me that I had not thought possible. This gave my life, which was flowing along, a meaning. Inwardly I had not yet given up. I never communicated this to the outside world.

The skirt is all in gray for the years of the life flowing away. The small “false” hope that gave me the daily energy to get up is sewn in pink and almost invisible in the diamond quilt pieces.

Even the smallest hope can move mountains!

 

  • sewing technique

    sewing technique

    tiered skirt as underskirt, seam allowances on the outside.
    sewn to the diamond quilt piece, these are sewn with 2
    seams next to each other and one
    vertical seam sewn together
    tops are quilted with an almost invisible thread
    simple top without sleeves, fabric quilted with an almost invisible
    freehand quilted meander pattern
    61 Diamond quilt pieces
    62 Hexagon with button
    5 Hexagon
  • fabric

    fabric

    1 m cotton fabric for top and 3 diamond quilt pieces
    5 m cotton fabric for diamond quilt pieces
    6 m lining fabric for backs of top and diamond quilt pieces
    1 m felt for the hexagon with button
    6 m organza and tulle (incl. belt)
    1 m batting for the top
    4 m thin fleece the diamond quilt pieces (adhesive on one side)
    Total 24 m
  • colors

    colors

    gray for the top and 3 diamond quilt pieces
    dark grey, different shades of blue for diamond quilt pieces
    grey for lining and organza
    white felt for the small hexagon
    gray and pink threads
  • buttons

    buttons

    9 buttons top
    59 buttons skirt
    12 buttons belt
    total 80 buttons
  • material

    material

    velcro fasteners
    5-6 m ribbon for the belt and the tiered skirt
    a hoop skirt supports the skirt with the diamond quilt pieces

 

Dress 9 – Empty

I went slowly towards 40. But I still had hope in my heart, even though it was smaller than the smallest unit of measurement, but this gave me the strength to get up and master the gray everyday life.

My cycle became very irregular and every time I was over the time, an indescribable joy ignited in me. I secretly bought countless pregnancy tests – all of them were negative. I kept the disappointment and the deep fall afterwards to myself. Over the years I built up a good protective shield that I cherished and cared for very well.

The skirt is sewn in light gray and almost falls apart. Buttons are becoming hooks. The extremely small hope is now sewn almost invisibly into the diamond quilt pieces with an almost invisible pink thread.

I existed and that was all!

 

  • sewing technique

    sewing technique

    tiered skirt as underskirt, seam allowances on the outside.
    sewn to the diamond quilt piece, these are sewn with 2
    seams next to each other and one
    vertical seam sewn together
    laces are quilted with an almost invisible thread
    badly sewn together
    simple top without sleeves, fabric quilted with an almost invisible
    meander pattern freehand quilted,
    fine vertical zigzag stitch attached
    65 diamond quilt pieces
    5 hexagon
  • fabric

    fabric

    1 m cotton fabric for top and 3 diamond quilt pieces
    5 m synthetic fabric for diamond quilt pieces
    6 m lining fabric for top and diamond quilt pieces
    6 m fishnet-like curtain fabric
    1 m batting for the top
    4 m thin fleece the diamond quilt pieces
    Total 23 m
  • colors

    colors

    light gray almost white for top and 3 diamond quilt pieces
    brown, blue and white colors for the diamond quilt pieces
    light grey for lining
    white fishnet like curtain fabric
    gray, white threads, for the tops an almost transparent pink
  • buttons

    buttons

    2 metal hooks top
    62 metal hooks skirt
    total 64 metal hooks
  • material

    material

    Velcro fasteners
    5-6 m ribbon for the belt and the tiered skirt
    a hoop skirt supports the skirt with the diamond quilt pieces

 

Dress 10 – Final

I was again over time, this time already a few weeks. All pregnancy tests were negative. Still, I had hope. We visited a doctor. The result was devastating, I was in menopause and that at 39 years!!! Now it was final, there was no child! That day my world collapsed. Nobody noticed this from the outside. I kept my composure. The bitter disappointment in life and the bottomless sadness I hid deep inside me.

It is a sad black skirt with many big and heavy buttons. These stand for the heaviness of the situation. I did not shed a tear even at this moment. The whole skirt is covered with a white coat made of organza. From the outside everything looks beautiful, almost enchanting.

What was below that, I kept to myself!

 

  • sewing technique

    sewing technique

    tiered skirt as underskirt, seam allowance on the outside
    sewn to it diamond quilt piece, these are bordered with a
    black ribbon, quilted with a zigzag pattern
    simple top without sleeves, fabric quilted with
    freehand quilt pattern quilted
    56 diamond quilt pieces
    5 hexagon
  • fabric

    fabric

    1 m cotton fabric for top and 3 diamond quilt pieces
    5 m synthetic fabric for diamond quilt pieces
    6 m lining fabric tops and diamond quilt pieces
    6 m organza
    1 m batting for the top
    4 m thin fleece the diamond quilt pieces
    Total 23 m
  • colors

    colors

    black and white for top and 3 diamond quilt pieces
    gray fabric with black ribbon for diamond quilt pieces
    black lining fabric
    black organza for the tiered skirt
    white organza for the cape
    black threads
  • buttons

    buttons

    16 buttons top
    324 buttons skirt
    143 pearls
    total 340 buttons and 143 pearls
  • material

    material

    velcro fasteners
    30 m black ribbon for the tiered skirt,
    the diamond quilt pieces and embellishment
    hoop skirt supports the skirt with the diamond quilt pieces