The Making of The Slip Dress and the Lights in the Sky Necklace

As everyone I’m sure remembers, back in the Spring TR put out a new record (and then another one) and tour dates. All that can only mean one thing – I got to make dress.

So – I had to make a slip dress. No, like actually. It’s The Slip, so it had to be Slip Dress… I’m silly.

Thing is, I really didn’t know how to get that image onto a dress. (I’ve gotten made fun of online ‘cuz once I used an iron-on image to put the moths on my Downward Spiral Dress. So, I don’t use iron-ons. And also it does feel like cheating…)

The red stripe was easy to figure out – embroider it. But the image of his face… I either embroider part – but that wouldn’t look right – or paint it. Painting that big of an area makes the fabric stiff, and plus I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to do it. It’s also a weird image in that – its white on black – so to do it, I’d be drawing in reverse, if that makes sense. So, I was really afraid I wouldn’t be able to do it.


So here is The Slip in its early stage.


I was just about to do more work – when I got the e-mail from Amazon.com saying that I would finally be able to pre-order The Slip! Perfect timing – cuz the Jpeg on Amazon was much better then the one I had! So I printed that out (after I preordered of course!) and was fortunate enough to have that to work from!


I ended up doing most of the work with a paint marker. That was easier since I’m a terrible painter, and I do better drawing.


So here’s after I’d gotten more done. Look you can see my lil Amazon print out!


This is the dress MANY hours later. Sadly, 90% of it had been done, but I kept screwing up his mouth and his nose, and I really really wanted to get that right. I love that image so much, its perfect as it is. That last thing I would want to do is fuck it up and not get his cute wittle button nose in right.

But yeah, I kept re-doing the face, and it was one of those – OK, last time, I’m going to stop in ten minutes – and an hour goes by. Kept hitting re-peat on the DVD I was watching since I couldn’t be stopped for even a second to change it… Then OK, I’m finally going to stop and eat squash, and then I’m not going to touch it after that. Then I drew it for another two hours. Then I swore I was done, and I went back to it again later that night for five minutes. Its still not right, but….


Ok, so then I pinned the stripe down. The straight parts I could do on the machine, but the rest had to be done by hand…which is kinda a funny/sad story. The day tickets for one of the shows was to go on Pre-Sale, I was, understandably nervous. So, really all I could concentrate on all day was to embroider the thing by hand.


All that way up until almost go time. So, since it was so ridiculous a thing, I took a pic so we can all laugh at me. You all know that screen I’m sure.

“Left the Porch, left the Porch!” shhhhhh!

(I was successful by the way, thank the Gods!)


So this is me a few nights later, finishing the stripe on the sewing machine. OK. Now I am going to tell you a funny little secret. I don’t know how to sew. Never learned – still barely know what I’m doing. I mentioned earlier I’ve been made fun of for The Downward Spiral Dress having had iron-ons… same person kept saying my dress looked bad and had threads hanging off and that it looked like a home-ec thing gone wrong or something. Well, I didn’t even learn how to sew in home ec so – yeah… its true. But contrary to what was said TR did not tell me to “Get a new dress!” Can you imagine!? I’d die and never show up again!!! If you must know - TR was kind enough not to make fun of the dress to my face…

I donno if he likes my dresses…what he specifically said was-

-Oh wow it’s getting late – better hurry and finish this post. I gotta be on a plane AGAIN. Can you believe I’m Actually going to travel and there will be NO band involved!? Terrible!!!


OK so this is how my Lights in the Sky Necklace got its start. I made it from a piece of molding left over from the base to a sculpture I am working on. I chose that wood because it would remind me of the piece and of the day I made it when I was so happy. I was so happy that day – because that was the day TR posted that Robin was back in the band. The other reason I wanted to use that wood, is because I knew I’d have to wear the thing into mosh pits and I wanted it to hold up.

So, I sanded down the molding until it was small enough. And then I traced the logo.


I drilled a hole, and then I cut out the inside.


Then I filed out the rest of the middle part.


I cut out the rest of it with the saw and then it came down to cutting out the details with an exacto knife.


That was a little tricky. I kept fucking it up. I’d be cutting, I’d worry I would crack it something inside me would say stop and I would be all – no I won’t break it. Yeah, I cracked it a few times. It almost broke in the end, and I was really upset – but, wood glue works wonders!!!

When it was done I painted it, slightly grayish blue/purple and then I put string…since drilling a hole wasn’t an option.


Then the big day came – The Slip was released on the same day I was to leave for Seattle for the first show for the tour (if you don’t count that one festival). Of course I ran out to buy it (even though, as previously mentioned I’d pre-ordered it on Amazon). I wasn’t getting on the plane with out it. I got to open it on the plane it was really exciting and I watched all the videos too! The funniest part being this was the first time I’d made a dress of an album, with out even having the thing first! I had to guess as to what the back would look like – and thank god – I actually guessed right! (Well, OK, I didn’t guess the numbers – or what mine would be – that would be scary!!)


I wore the dress to the first show. I wore it waiting on line and found out, I could only stand in it or lay down, if I moved too much, the image would crack. At one point, Abby went home to drop things off and had to bring me some extra paint to repair it just before the show! This pic I took after the Seattle Show. I was SO afraid the dress would get ruined in the pit but it didn’t. As you can see – the dress held up better than I did – I look terrible as usual and I’m crying as usual. (He closed with In This Twilight. I didn’t even have a warning as most of you did – how could I not cry!?)


Then I got home. Thing with my dresses, I can’t really throw them in the washing machine, but – after wearing it through a pit – not washing my dresses is not an option. So, laundry day after shows is always fun. So here’s The Slip taking a bath. The paint didn’t run or anything I was happy. It only needed a few repairs and then…


I got to wear it again to Red Rocks! Yay!

I used to say I wouldn’t wear the same dresses twice when I was younger and much more of a diva. I’ve been to too many shows now…I have somewhere around 15 dresses I think so… I just have to re-wear things. OK, that’s my story about the making of The Slip Dress. One day I will have to post how I got started with these things and I’ll see if I can get a pic of all my dresses online. Even the ones I don’t like! Thanks for reading if you read this far – I sure can babble!