Every Chinese New Year, Mom, Por Por (my grandmother) and Kam Mo (my aunt) will be dolled up in new cheongsams (a chinese traditional dress) made by the finest tailor in Ipoh (and some say Alor Star too!! Hahah)… ie. MY GRANDMOTHER! It’s not easy to find tailors who can sew cheongsams nowadays, what more make the pretty elaborate flower button thingy. Even if you found one, it definitely would NOT be cheap.
It’s an art really! I really can’t sew for nuts… but she did teach me how she sews down the flower thing onto the cheongsam. All I can say is that it’s a pretty tedious process. Not too diffcult but tedious. Plus… you need a good eye for design too. Each and every flower design on all the cheongsams she makes is a different one. No two alike. She has tonnes of pattern templates which she hand drew over the years.
In the past, my cheongsams were passed down from my Mumzie, altered to fit me. This round, Por Por decided to make one… no TWO… specially for me. So happily, I went to Kamdar and picked out the nicest piece of cloth it could find (not to mention a super expensive one!!) for the cheongsam. One pastel floral design, and a piece of batik from Terengganu (which so happens to be my Dad’s hometown). So yeah… 2 new cheongsams for me. Yaye. The pastel one is done I think… but the batik… no news.. 
But for now, just drool over my finished one. Hahahaha…. Don’t be jealous!
September 17, 2008
Por Por’s just incredible, yeah? And she wants to sew a few more for you & Sarah (while she still can, she says). Aren’t we all blessed?