Washington State designer, Kristeen Griffin-Grimes, now residing in Seattle, creates French Girls hallmark style what the designer calls handmade couture, in a bevy of ethereal, draped garments superbly fit to the feminine form, while, as the name implies, infusing them with a fresh, fanciful outlook.
French Girl patterns are constructed in a unique manner: it has been the designers personal challenge to almost completely eliminate the need for sewing up seams by fashioning the patterns in one piece from start to finish. These techniques involve constructing the garment in a more organic way either from the top down, from the hem up, from the back out, and picking up and using live stitches when possible. It is then possible to try on the work while in progress to see if any adjustments are necessary as well as solving the irksome problems of sleeves or body of the garment being too long or short. In a non-traditional manner, Kristeen approaches the construction of each pattern as if she were a rank beginner and looks at her designs almost architecturally, using her seamstress and costume background to deconstruct her envisioned garment and re-construct it again.
