Hand Dyed Mattress Top

I saw a torn, stained mattress pad in the trash and admired the quilted pattern, which I thought I could turn into a warm winter top with a wavy wabi-sabi feel on the front (similar to a Fair Isle pattern on the front of a sweater). I washed and hand-dyed the mattress pad with denim blue dye. Once it dried, I cut out a shape I thought accentuated the torn portions of the fabric - placing them in the center of the front torso. I placed some blue batik scraps behind the torn sections and hand quilted them into the garment, repairing the tears along the way, and then sewed batik into the front collar so it would peak out in a moto-jacket shape. I added bell sleeves to enhance the pillowy soft warm aesthetic of the padded, quilted fabric. This garment melds the old and new, and Western and Indonesian textiles.

Ruched Bed Sheet Shirt

I made this shirt out of an old, ripped bed sheet my mom was about to throw out. Seeing the frayed edges around a hole in the sheet inspired me to create a dress shirt with a deconstructed look. I took inspiration from classic vintage denim trucker jackets and recreated the long-pointed faux chest pockets with machine embroidery, but with a thin line of contrasting top stitching to give it a more delicate twist. I ruched the fabric at the shoulders and at asymmetrical points on both sides of the front to give the shirt a “just out of bed” feeling.

French Postal Pants

I discovered a lot of 1960s French linen postal bags on a local auction site and thought the yellow “La Poste” label would look great running down a pant leg. I decided to use the material to design a pair of pants, with a lean leg and a low slung waist to create a relaxed look. To go with the 60s theme, I added a button fly to mimic vintage 501 Levi’s. I lined part of the interior with heavier canvas fabric to make them more comfortable and durable. To further highlight the details of the bag, I cut out a piece with the number “9” boldly stenciled onto it and sewed that on the back of the pants as a pocket.

Military Uniform Pants

When I inspected a military jacket at the thrift store, I flipped it inside-out and was immediately intrigued by the stitching and pocket details that could only be seen from the inside of the jacket. I see this as reflective of an America that often overlooks the hard work of everyday people that goes into each piece of clothing, and wanted to show how pieces of clothing come to be, how each stitch is intentional and purposeful and takes time. When I cut out the main torso panel of the jacket, it reminded me of a pant leg so I cut out all of the other sections of the jacket, along with a second military-style jacket, and pieced it all together like a puzzle, but as a pair of pants instead of a jacket. I sewed it inverted to show off the intricacies and details required to stitch pockets and surplus patches. In creating the new shape, I wanted the buttons on the exterior, the crotch dropped, and the hems shorter resulting in a more modern and casual, less militaristic aesthetic.

Western Quilt Cardigan

I wanted to make something to honor both my grandmother, who had been an extremely talented quilter since she was young, and my grandfather, whose family came out West to Oklahoma in a covered wagon. I found an old, tattered quilt at a flea market for $3 which I thought could be used to make a jacket. I patched some holes, added some reinforcement stitches to make it more durable, and then patterned the jacket to make it boxy and kimono-like. I am enamored of the hidden layers that are revealed when an item becomes more and more distressed, so I emphasized the natural wear and tear of the textile. To make sure the original quilt pattern lined up, I took extra care to cut the pattern in a way that the front two panels were made out of a single piece cut in half.

Batik Selvedge Denim

I wanted to create something with Indonesian textiles and a Western silhouette to symbolize my dual heritage. Selvedge denim has always reminded me of Indonesia, where my grandmother is from, as the red-and-white stripes of the selvedge identification line mirror the red-and-white Indonesian flag, and the dark blue color reminds me of the indigo dye process of Indonesian batik fabric. I opted for a wide leg reminiscent of ‘70s sailor pants, added a small Indonesian flag in the coin pocket, and a deep patchwork back pocket made out of batik that I lined for durability. The batik patchwork detail contains an oval cutaway, a Western technique historically used to patch old denim.

Flag Jersey

I love participating in sports almost as much as I love fashion and enjoy the intersection between the two. I noticed this wide-striped jersey material at a thrift store, reminiscent of the stripes of the American flag, and was I inspired to think of ways to blend my two passions together. To emphasize the stripes as I made the Jersey, I used a seam ripper to split some of them apart, then resewed them together to create thinner and thicker stripes. I juxtaposed the upside-down numbers from another project I had been working on and sewed them onto the front to highlight the bold contrast of the direction and size of the numbers.

Fashion Design Work