So, I have finally finished my project for Bowie Sewalong.  The lovely and unique Tempest Devyne, from FanBloomingTastic has been the gracious host of a Bowie Sewalong, a sewing group dedicated to everything David Bowie.  She has been so great about posting music, information, movie clips, it’s been great fun following along!

I remember when I was young, single digits years old, and my brother and I went to camp in the summers.  And all the camp counselors listened to David Bowie and Supertramp.  At that age, there are really no cool cliques at school or with your friends yet, so, the camp counselors were the very first “Cool Kids” encounter for me. So, I took what they gave very seriously.

Is Bowie the best singer around?  Definitely not.  The best musician? Not really.  But, can Ziggy Play Guitar??? Oh Yes, you bet.  He is such a performer and free spirit and I love the personas he takes on and how unapologetic he is about them.  His creativity knows no bounds and the key underlying theme is to express himself, any way he sees fit.

My contribution for the sewalong is a wrap-around skirt, that I designed and sewed myself, with no patterns or instructions.  I really wanted to ‘wing it’ for this project, as it seemed the perfect time to try my hand at something unique and off the cuff.  I have no idea if it’s drafted, put together or sewn ‘correctly’ and, in fact, have never made a wrap skirt before.  But, that was the point of the exercise, to channel the Bowie Spirit and just let it roll!

The skirt references, not only the ’70’s, when they were so popular, but all things Space that David Bowie was interested in during that decade, including Space Oddity, Life on Mars, Starman, even Ziggy’s last name was Stardust.  It was definitely a huge theme in his art.

I found two scarves in my parent’s basement (we can call them vintage) that depict a map of the universe with the entire night sky, including stars, galaxies, planets and horoscope signs.  I used these scarves for the back panels of the skirt and then added a fabric that looked like the sky with stars and planets all over it for a smaller, front panel.  I added some tucks to front and back for shaping, a bit of a waistband, and, of course, embellished with bright red chevron and silver trims.

And, the best part?  The scarves glow in the dark!!!!  The whole night sky lights up in the dark and glows on my backside!  This just felt ‘right’ for a Bowie sewalong. 🙂 I wanted to offset the universe pattern on the scarf, so that the entire night sky was not centred perfectly on my backside.  Something about that thought, just didn’t quite jive.

I love this video, it really depicts Bowie’s inner geekdom.  Doesn’t he look like guys from your high school and not a ‘rock star’?

For his contribution, Kitty made a chevron choker and blinged it up with gold and pearl studs and gold and silver appliques, as well as a huge remove-able charm.  Kitty channels Bowie easily and is and always will be, proud to be a Charm School Reject.