Outfit Of The Day/An Embroidered Lining Finds a New Life

It's no secret that I love resale shops, antique stores, basically anywhere that I might find some treasure that another threw away. Or gave away as the case may be.

I came across a fur that had truly disintegrated, but inside was a beautiful little treasure, a fabulous lining. The picture below really does not do it justice.

Here you can see the embroidery and the red inner lining. I think more work was put into the lining than was put into the coat. The fabric is silk, behind the embroidery is the red silk, and the entire piece was backed with a lighter weight silk.   

And the best part of all, the name of the original owner. 

I had initially thought of making the piece into a dress, but decided a skirt was better. If I had made the piece from start to finish, there would not be a center front seam,or some of the other issues. But truth be told, I really don't care, there are imperfections, but I love it anyway. 

The red inner lining is not super obvious but when it catches the light, it shines.

I was able to save the embroidered name. Almost has the feel of a tattoo. Rather fun :)

The label was still in the coat. I have to do something with it. I thought of making it into a tiny little pocket.

Moral to the story...

If you find an old coat, be sure to look inside as you just might find a beautiful treasure.

I decided to wear this today since I am giving the talk on working with fur. Pairing it with a simple top. Although, I may be making a mistake as everyone will now be on the lookout for a special lining!  

OOTD and Thoughts On Me Made May

I can't wait to get dressed this morning! I've been waiting to wear this skirt and today is the day. The skirt is made from a beautiful piece of vintage jacquard that's also a border print.  

It has big hip pockets.

Front pleats that radiate from the base of the darts.

I underlined the fabric with cotton batiste, and finished off the hem with a piece of yellow bias tape.

The skirt is lined in an off white silk charmuese, which, needs to be pressed :/ 

I'm wearing a pair of black and white striped pumps. I like the unexpected combination.

I have decided to participate in Me Made May this year. I won't be doing daily posts here. If you would like to follow along, I'll be posting on Instagram. You can find me by searching Sewbussted. At the end of the month, I'll do a recap here on the blog and share my discoveries.

MeMadeMay began as a way for sewists to shout to the world, "I"m sewing!" And also to celebrate the incredible work that goes into a made by you wardrobe. For some, I think the experience is still the same, for others, it has morphed into something more, and that's me. 

Now, I've been sewing since Adam and Eve walked the face of the earth, maybe even longer ;), so a sewn wardrobe is nothing new. What I am looking forward to is scrutinizing my wardrobe, asking myself questions about what I have, and what I really need. I am also looking forward to discovering why there are pieces that I love, but just don't wear, at least not too often. And then too, being honest and getting rid of what I really don't like.

For many of us, May is a wonderful time of the year to do this. The weather is changing and we're looking forward to getting into lighter and brighter clothes. But, if you live in a climate like Chicago, there are days when you have to pull on something warm. Believe it or not, we actually had a freeze warning last night! So this time of year gives me the chance to actually look at my entire wardrobe rather than just a season. I think there is something to be said for doing this over an entire month. Our moods change, one day is not the same as the last, so it gives us time to really delve a little deeper than just taking a day to go through your wardrobe. 

I'm looking forward to a fun and informative month!

Monday Morning Inspiration/Great Ideas

To start off the new week, I thought I would share a few pieces that I've found which I think are quite inspirational. Of course, I dream of doing them all, but even if I just adopt one into a garment, then that's a good thing too :)

I absolutely adore this skirt and how easy it would be to do. The skirt is just an a-line skirt with an added pleat, and of course a zipper. 

The pleated detail on this skirt is so pretty.

I tried to find the website that this jacket came from, but no luck. This is just amazing!

 Here's another raglan sleeve with great seam details. 

                        

The next time I make a raglan sleeved garment, I want to give this a try. What a fun peek-a-boo treatment.

The neckline on this jacket is wonderful. Look closely, the princess line develops into a notched collar.

Now for a little draping inspiration.

Love how the drape folds into a pleat.

From Haider Ackermann.

Such a pretty back.

Another interesting piece from Haider Ackermann.

A subtle, but incredible pocket detail. Would be great color blocked.

Another amazing pocket detail. I think I have to figure this one out!

And finally, just because it is just-so-pretty.

 Isn't this the most incredible jacket?!!!

I hope this has made for an awe inspiring start to the week!
Happy Monday :)
Rhonda

Monday Morning Inspiration/Pattern Drafting Skirts

Welcome to November! Where did October go?!! Before we know it, Christmas will be here. 
Okay, skirt drafting! This is always fun and exciting for me. 
Since we are looking at a flat, one-dimensional picture, it leaves a few questions. But, I think I finally figured it out. 
Let's take a closer look at the skirt. Look closely at the waistline and you'll see darts. For such a full skirt, it's really quite fitted through the upper part of the hips. 
When I initially looked at the skirt, I thought that it may have pleats on either side of center front.  

I was able to pull up the picture below, and on closer inspection, the fullness radiates from the darts. So, no pleats. As for fullness, there are 2 big folds at the hem of the skirt which shows where the fullness radiates from. We can also see that the front of the skirt hangs very flat, but thanks to the fact that the skirt is made out of a plaid fabric, we can see that the lower portion of the side seam hangs on the bias.   

So with all of that in mind, let's begin with a 2-dart straight skirt.  

From the darts, square 2 lines down to the hem of the skirt. The description of the skirt indicates that it is a midi length. So if you would like a longer skirt, now is the the time to add length to the bottom of your skirt. 

Cut each panel apart.
(Please forgive my drawings. I didn't realize that they were as wonky as they are, but I think you'll still be able to understand what I did.)
Determine how full you would like the bottom of your skirt to be. I would suggest adding 3" to 5" to the hem of each panel. If you would like a fuller skirt, you can add more. 
Since we want the skirt to be flat below the waist, draw an angled line out from the bottom of the dart to the hem. At the hem, the amount should be the 3" to 5". The side panel, which is the panel on the far left in the picture below, begin the angled line at the hip line and then radiate the angled line to the hem.
The grainline will remain straight in the middle of each panel.

Now for the pocket.

Once again, let's take a look at the skirt.

We see that the pocket sits away from the skirt. I can also see that the pocket is a patch pocket, so it is sewn on top of the skirt.

A closer view of the pocket.

Determine how deep you would like your pocket to be. The pocket on this skirt is quite deep, so more of a fashion statement than a usable pocket. 

Next, determine about how wide you would like your pocket to be. It should be at least a few inches wider than your hand.

The bottom of the pocket will be your determined width.

From the bottom of the pocket, angle a line out about 2" on either side. Remember, you can always cut it down. Just pin it to the skirt and make adjustments. 

Between now and next week, I will either have a muslin, or a fashion fabric skirt made up for you to see.
And then next week, we will also draft out the skirt pictured below. I think this was the second runner up in the voting. I think I will be hemming mine ;)

If you have any questions, be sure to ask. Just leave them in the comment section.
Rhonda

Monday Morning Inspiration

I hope your Monday is off to a great start!
Well, I have to say that you all surprised me. Last week's inspiration post was all about skirts, and I gave you the chance to vote on the skirt that you would most like to see drafted out. I initially had only 4 up for the vote, but it quickly became obvious that I needed to include number 5, the red skirt. Not only did I need to include it, it was the hands down winner! I think it will be a fun skirt to draft out and make. 

But so many of you really liked the other 4 skirts, so I have decided to draft them out for you as well. 

The skirt pictured below has already been drafted out by Studio Farro and you can find it HERE.

So starting next Monday, in loo of our normal Monday Morning Inspiration post, I will begin drafting out the skirts, starting with the red skirt. but,who knows, I may still try and sneak in a little inspiration  too:)

So often with the Monday Morning Inspiration posts, the pictures are great, but the question is....how do I make what I see?

I posted this coat a while back and it has been repinned so many times. Great coat!

Here's a pattern that is similar in feel. It's McCall's 7025. The inspiration coat has a notched collar and the skirt is tiered, but the McCall's pattern makes for a great jumping off pattern. Combine it with Vogue 8346 and you'll have the exact same coat.

This sleek trench would be easy to copy using....

 Simplicity 2311. Just eliminate the buttons and add a zipper.

How about making a much prettier version of the Prada coat pictured in the middle below

 with Vogue 9040

Sometimes, it takes a little more drafting knowledge to get the design that you would like, and sometimes, it just takes a little bit of looking at the patterns we have available. 

Be sure to stop by tomorrow, I had a bit of a hectic weekend and I didn't get my sleeve draft posted on Saturday, but I will tomorrow. 

Have a wonderful week!!! 

Rhonda

Monday Morning Inspiration/Skirts and a Chance To Vote

Welcome to Monday!!!

Last week I shared a story about my favorite childhood outfit, a pair of orange corduroy pants and a little cashmere sweater that I wore until it was fit for nothing more than the garbage. I was a true tomboy. In fact, my mother says that she never knew that a little girl could smell so bad after a day of playing. I played hard! 

As much of a tomboy as I was as a child, I have turned into such a girl ;) During the summer, I live in dresses and come fall and winter, I love nothing more than a nice warm pair of tights and a skirt. 

Over the weekend, I was on the Pinterest website trying to find some innovative quilting ideas, when I just happened upon THIS website. The two aren't related, but that's how the internet goes! The clothes are high end designer pieces, and lots of fun to look at. The skirts really caught my attention. I was able to pull out a few that I liked, so I thought I would share them with you this morning.

1.A color blocked a-line skirt with an asymmetrical hem.   

2.A pencil skirt with a lovely over drape.

. 

3.I especially like this skirt. The pleats radiate out of the darts. For most of us, the drape would need to be a bit wider as this skirt is a little difficult to sit in without most of your leg, or other things ;), showing.

4.This skirt has the large drape in the front and back. Talk about great movement when you walk!

I have been asked a number of times what to do with a very large print. I thought that this skirt was a great use of a very large print.

5. This is a 6-gore skirt with side panel pockets. Notice how the pockets stand away from the skirt. Believe it or not, this is a very slimming look.

Such a pretty drape.

I included this skirt as I loved how the print was used. It's from Isabel Marant and is a cool, $1,360.00! The waistband is elasticized.

This skirt is a bit of a throw back to the 70's, but I found it rather fun. Maybe it's the lacing that I liked so much. 

An interesting way to break up a pattern. Grosgrain ribbon would work well for this.

A lovely take on Mondarin art.

What a fun skirt this would be to wear! A simple way to duplicate this would be to buy your fabric and then buy yarn to match. My creative juices are flowing!!! Stay tuned as this might get done sooner than later. The skirt is nothing more than a 1/4 circular skirt with a hip yoke. You can see how to draft a 1/4 circular skirt HERE.

Did you notice that the first 4 skirts are numbered? (A fifth skirt has been added to the mix, the red skirt with the side pockets, so place your vote for 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5) Well, here's your chance to vote. Which one would you like to see me draft? The one that gets the most votes will win. To vote, just leave a message! 
You may remember that I drafted out this skirt last year.

A number of you actually made up the skirt and did a fabulous job. You can find the tutorial and all the lovely makes HERE.
Happy Monday Everyone!!!