Maeva - Our new pareu design

Let's take a look at what we are getting ready to release. It's taken awhile (almost 6 months!!!). It wasn't exactly what we planned on doing. Actually we wanted to continue with our Tehani design but we had some supply problems. Last year, when we had planned on making a reorder of fabric, our manufacturer rep. here in Hawaii told us that they wouldn't be able to print our fabric any more. To say the least, this put a crimp on our plans. What were we going to do?

We have been printing our fabric in Japan because we preferred the quality, feel and the reputation. China was out of the question. We never considered it. Indonesia and Malaysia were suggested but we just didn't feel it was right. Where to print? My first choice was the US. But did you know that there just doesn't seem to be any large scale fabric manufacturers left in the country. It's very sad if you think about it.

So after being very disappointed by my finding, I remember being contacted several years ago by an Indian company, that's the country of India. I tried to contact them and lo and behold they were still there. It's a good sign as they are still in business after all these years. India, for those of you who don't know, is a leader in the textile industry. Their fabrics are known for their softness and exotic prints.


Well to make things simple, we've been progressing through the design and manufacturing process. We've got the design finalized and received strike offs. The first set of strike offs weren't exactly what we wanted so we sent for a second. We will be receiving those shortly. Typically, it is not uncommon to get 2 or 3 sets of strike offs to make sure the design and print is as it is supposed to be printed.

We're on the home stretch and we expect to receive the fabric within the next couple of months. Next steps are for receiving and passing through customs (hopefully without a hitch). We'll keep you posted.
The new fabric design is being printed on 100% cotton. Just like our other design - Tehani. We'll explain about the design on our next blog entry.

New print - Maeva

Tahitian Pareus, fabric and fashion. If you follow us on Facebook, you might have seen our announcement about our introducing a new print this Spring - Maeva. This welcome news is an exciting addition to our fabric offerings. We'll be writing about the development, how and why we moved to a new design. In the meantime, take a look at our teaser ad featuring one of our favorite models - Kamalei.

Lining and Zipper

I attached the lining first and then the zipper.

The seam is graded and understitched and then the lining was hand sewn into the waist.

I did a lapped zipper style. It was basted in first using a contrasting thread color and then machine sewn in following the basting. Then the basting stitches were removed. The top ends of the zipper were folded down and hand sewn into the inside of the dress. Then the hem was done. I havenʼt figured out how I would like to do shoulder straps so the two dresses that have been made do not have shoulder straps.

Here are two completed dresses. The one on the left was constructed by my sister using the wool yarn with full cross stitch and the one on the right is acrylic yarn with the seeding stitch. Both dresses are made to fit Bust 33, Waist 26, Hip 35, and skirt length 22. Anyone want to buy them? I want to make another one for myself but in different colors. : ) Angela

Skirt construction and Attaching bodice

Not much to say about constructing the skirt. It is very basic. The second picture shows the vent detail. Attaching the bodice to the skirt was difficult due to the thickness again. The lining is attached next if you donʼt mind the zipper showing on the inside of the dress. Otherwise the zipper should be put in next so the lining can in case it as well.