Faux fur faux pas...

Aaacck! All this mess is from cutting one small pattern piece from my faux fur! 

Someone out there must have been laughing when I wrote about my plans to sew it - someone who has had this experience!

I could not get the pattern off the fur and the fur in a bag fast enough! My skin was crawling and itchy, and I'm still sneezing. Guess this was not a good project for me :-)

Left the vacuum with Emile (who is modelling a knit cardigan that is almost finished...) and ran for a cup of coffee!

Back soon with a new November project for 'Make a Garment a Month' - Bye for now! Coco

A garment a month - November plans!

Going boho in November! I'm loving the look of this long, unbuttoned faux fur coat from Burda (10/2011 #131 Long Hippie Coat). 

I started thinking about a faux fur jacket way back in June. I have an ivory Mongolian fur jacket that I bought in 1979, and still love to wear. And decided a deep brown faux fur would be fun with jeans and skirts. 

I had no idea how varied faux furs can be! Looked online in lots of fabric shops - wow, expensive and no clue how they really look or feel. So I went over to JoAnns, which usually has lots of fleece and fur, 40% off coupon in hand. 

Lucky me...I found a light weight, deep chocolate, short-piled fur that's just what I had in mind. The fur is patterned in rosettes and is so soft, not at all stiff or sticky like some of the furs on the shelf.

The Burda pattern calls for a light jersey lining - if I decide to line the coat, I have some Ariel rayon jersey that will be perfect. 

Even luckier...I already have a great pattern that looks just like the Burda. This is the Loes Hinse classic coat that I made in Alova faux suede back in 2012. Alova is also a knit and feels a lot like my fur - should work really well. 


My other plan for November is to finish this project before the end of the month!

Bye for now...Coco

Burda Style 7297 - A long wrap robe for October

Oops - it's November! Oh, well. I love my long wrap robe. My 'Garment a Month' for October and for every month until I wear it out! It came out just as I hoped when I wrote about my plans for it back on Oct. 8.

I found a pattern from Burda Style that has almost everything that I needed. It's long, wraps, has pockets, and, can you believe it, has a belt that is attached at the back waist. The last detail is one I've always hoped to find - it's so pretty and 40's-looking.

When I studied the pattern pieces, the only issue I anticipated was the depth of the wrap, which was about 4 or 5 inches. I like a robe to really wrap in the front. No peek-a-boo and lots of cozy.

So I spent about 3 hours working with the pattern and my much-loved-soon-to-be-gone cotton robe that's being replaced by this new one. Turns out the best starting place was the size 16 (I usually sew a size 14). And my only 'major' adjustment was for the front wrap.

I added 1.5" at the shoulder (which it needed anyway to match up with my old robe), and then drafted a new front line, easing out a total of 3.5" just past the neckline curve. The same 1.5" were added to the back shoulder all the way to the waist (I was glad to have more room across the back).

The other change was a simple addition of 3" to the length. In the end, 1.5" would have been enough - but I think that is very fabric-dependent and will keep the addition for my next robe as well. Just in case!

My robe wraps all the way across and goes to the floor!

It's really hard to photograph black! But here are some pics I lightened up to show some of the features of the pattern and robe:

Nice big patch pockets! My fabric is a very light weight poly-rayon-spandex jersey knit from
Fabric.com. To guard against pulling at the pocket corners, I boxed the side edge topstitching.

An easy add, not in the pattern - a hanging loop on the inside back neckline!

The back waistband. So pretty. It is actually quilted, I used low-loft poly batting.
Great place for all kinds of fun - monogramming, embroidery...

The inside of the back waistband. Very smooth and comfy.

Edited Nov. 5 to add a note about interfacing for the long neckline/front band and pocket cuff: I used Pellon EK130 easy knit fusible interfacing. Sometimes I just use lightweight nonwoven interfacing with knits, but it would have been too structured for this fabric and garment.

I can hardly believe I actually finished something. Between the re-roof, the slab leak, the water damage and mold, and the rebuild of my garage - not to mention 18 days without hot water and my washer & dryer - I've been kind of  unable to settle down to anything for very long. I am very grateful for silence and the complete absence of any workmen at my house! End of whinge ...

And I really love my new robe. 

Ciao! Coco

The Pattern Review Lined Jacket Contest - Muslin is complete!

No secrets here! I've been working on my muslin for the PR lined jacket contest, and I'm officially ready to move on to my final version. I found a really cute jacket and coat pattern, Burda 7020 - and it comes with pieces for the lining, oh, so much easier...

For the muslin, which I'm only doing in the main fabric, I've used a fleece that's been in my stash since fall of 2012 - I really forgot it was there! The check pattern isn't something I would usually wear -  in fact, I bought it with someone else in mind. But it looks great in this jacket. 

How's this for helpful fabric? I've never seen this before, a nap arrow on the selvage!

The muslin version seems long on Emile, but the final will be about 33", just enough to cover my tunics, which are usually around 30" long.

Great details, beautiful slash pockets and collar stand...

(The pictures on the wall are usually straight...all the banging on the roof for the last 12 days has left every picture in the house looking pretty funky!)

The pattern, which I drafted in size 14, fits so well, only a couple changes were necessary.

• The shoulder is about 3/4" too long for me at the sleeve head, I will redraft the front and back for the final.
• The original sleeve is quite narrow in the midsection, which IMO spells disaster once the piece is lined...it's a somewhat narrow sleeve anyway. I redrafted the pattern to be the same width from shoulder to wrist, before I cut my muslin.

What happens to the muslin? I love it! Since it's fleece and quite warm with no lining, I'll fix the shoulder and finish it. It only lacks hems and buttons. And when it's on me, not on Emile, the check fabric doesn't droop :-)

Parting roof update! It's done...

Hope everyone has a nice week...Ciao! Coco

Sewing a garment a month...my kind of challenge!

Just the idea of this sewing challenge makes me relax...a garment a month, just for me - well, OK, I mostly sew for myself anyway. But there's something so inviting about making it official and special.

Sarah Liz (SarahLizSewStyle) is hosting this year-long challenge, starting this month. Only a few simple guidelines (here's a link to the 'rules' page):

- The garment has to be for you and not for someone else...
- Choose a pattern at the beginning of the month and post about it with background on
  how/why you choose that pattern, fabric, etc.
- Blog about the finished garment with pics, etc.

And the button is on my sidebar, has a link to the challenge as well.

I've already chosen my pattern for October, it's something I need badly! A long knit robe. My white one is 5 years old and just worn out.

Burda Style 7297

I plan to make view C, and mine will be all the way to the floor and then some, as I'm using a cotton jersey that will shrink a bit over time. Love the back belt treatment, so forties!

Holly Lobby 100% cotton jersey knit

Lots of inspiration for this robe. I've always loved the iconic Calvin Klein wrap robe. 

But I have to admit that with all the work being done around the house - the roof, the slab leak, the mold remediation - my energy and resource reserves are really stretched. 

So I'm also inspired by other great wrap robes...

Ciao! Coco

Virginia Leggings - absolute fun!

I'm loving this leggings pattern from Megan Nielsen! 

There are only two pattern pieces - a waistband and a leg - with a choice of a regular rise or a 'maternity' low rise (which I think is pretty neat).

And they don't need much fabric, a little less than 1.5 yd of a 60" stretch knit.

I made just a couple tweaks to the pattern:

• I'm 5/7", 40" hip, 30" waist, and sewed a size Large. 
• Cut the length at the hem line for the XL, which gave me another 1/2" or so. It's hard to see on my leggings, because of the print, but they really do scrunch up at the ankle - so cute!
• Added 2" at the top of the leg pattern piece - the rise was too short to be comfortable, sides, front and back. Since this pair is my muslin, I actually added a strip of fabric at the 'top' once the leg seams were sewn and fitted. I like my leggings (and pantyhose, for that matter) to come up a bit above my natural waist and not be crawling down as soon as I start walking around :-)

OK, this is moi thinking I saw something on the floor, most likely something that got tracked in from all the stuff going on outside. 

Maybe I'm just losing it...

I'm back - composed once again. I even put my shoes on.

Parting roof update:

Two days ago - supplies for the next layer...

Yesterday - rain delay!

Today - the hot asphalt crew

 

Tonight - the 3rd layer is complete 

The new tile comes tomorrow on the biggest truck of all.  All smiles - Coco