Why Frida?
Frida Kahlo is a Mexican artist and icon. She is such a powerful presence for so many female artist. The love for Frida goes beyond her wonderful art, her style and the emotion she portrays. There is a romance and power around her ageless story. In a time where women had little rights Frida lived her life however she wanted. She was independent, strong and outspoken. Artist have to put themselves out on display for the world to judge and Frida owned that courage despite being physically disabled and heartbroken!
Inspiration is monumental.
To be like Frida I am filling my life with people who motivate, mentor and have positive perspectives. My friends and family have helped get me to this point in my life. I can now truly say that I love who I have become.
The power of belief is unmeasurable.
The verbiage of setbacks such as, “I am not XYZ and I can’t,” have been discarded from my vocabulary. Today I say, “If Frida can do it then I can do it too.” I can be whomever I want to be just like Frida. I know I just have to work harder and not give up or lose confidence. In the last 4 years I have become so much more. I am a writer, artist, photographer, designer, athlete, and a business owner!
The Dress.
My dress looks simple although it took me about 30 hours from start to finish in the design process. Here I share just a few of my design photos.
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- Inspiration style photo and fabric, 4 yards of nice black linen and Alexander Henry Fabric cotton print.
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- Lace table cloth from the thrift store complete with cigarette burns because Frida loved to smoke.
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- Spray adhesive to save me time even though everything is well stitched down.
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- Skirt panels
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- The bodice I used Wonder Under also known as Heat and Bond to adhere the print to the linen and then serged, flipped and topstitched it all down.
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- I cut a heart out of the back and front of the bodice print.
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- I wanted to add a little embroidery to the dress.
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- Hours and hours of sewing time.
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- These were my skirt panel pieces.
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- The pink flowers were really fun to embroider.
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- Little things I collect that remind me of her.
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- SECRET~To make the flowers easy to embroider I bought fabric with flowers printed on them and used it as my template.
Don’t be afraid to experiment!
I have been studying how to make a garment I can wear that will also fit multiple sizes. By making side panels under the arms and ties I have achieved multiple sizing with my current Frida Kahlo inspired dress. This dress will fit a 32″ – 42″ bust and a 30″ – 40″ waist.The Show.
I’m honored to be a part of the Finding Frida art exhibit.
Finding Frida Dates
Opening Gallery Date: First Friday, June 1Final Date of Exhibit July 14Located at Pendleton Art Center in Middletown, Ohio.
Other Frida inspired art pieces I have made over the years.
New Frida Class
This summer I have a Frida Dress Day Retreat, July 21st. We will making Frida inspired wrap dresses at the Habitat Community Center in Kettering.
Thank you for reading,
Tracy McElfresh
Dream it! Sew it!
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