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!  

Decades of Style Arches Skirt Sew Along Week 2

The second week of the Decades of Style Arches Skirt sew along is up on the Sew News blog. You can find the post HERE. This week is all about underlining, pattern marking, and how to match up the front of the skirt and obtain that flawless center point.
For the blog post, I added a little something more. I found this lovely piece of piping that works perfectly with my fabric.

 In the post, I show you how to add the piping to the arch,

 and then obtain that perfect center point.

 A preview of my new skirt! I am in love with this skirt!!!

I've included the video here for you to take a look at. In the video, I talk quite a bit about the underlining and marking of the pattern and I also show you how to lay the pieces together to create the front of the skirt. Take note that I didn't have the piping when I did the video. The piping really makes the front of the skirt pop.


I'm so happy that I found the piping as it really gives the front of the skirt that special touch that it needed. So as you think about putting your skirt together, you may want to think about adding a special trim or piping and accenting the interesting arch detail on the skirt.
Happy Sewing!!!
Rhonda

The Sew Stylish Cover, The Inside Story

I'm still pinching myself as it just doesn't seem like it can really be! But it is!! It's just so incredible that a little top and skirt that I made would actually make the cover.

When Thread's sent the pattern, this was my instruction sheet. When I received the pattern, it had not been printed and released to the public, so I got it in a rather raw state. From this sketch and the pattern pieces, I had to figure out how it all went together and also decide what I would do with the pattern. 

As I shared with you in when I first found out that my outfit would be on the cover, I didn't have a lot of time to get this completed, so I needed to keep it some what simple. Also, I only had 2 pages in the magazine, so I couldn't do anything too involved. So I added to the tie closure to the shoulder, shortened the skirt and added the flounce.  

 The skirt and pants both have pockets.

 The waistband has a piece of elastic sewn to the interior.

 Because of the loose weave of my fabric, I underlined the skirt.I also cut bias strips and used them to bind the edge of the waistband as well as my hem.

 I sewed the flounce to the lining. The lining pattern is not included in the pattern.

 Since my fabric for the top is very light and gauzey, I faced it with the lining fabric and sewed the seams with a French seam finish. I also cut bias strips from the lining fabric and used it to finish off the hem.

 The neckline of the blouse.

I did not sew to ties to the shoulder as it is printed in the magazine. They couldn't figure out a way to explain what I did in an easy manner, so it was changed and made a little easier. What I actually did was I completely finished the top, but left the shoulder seam open on the side where the ties were to be inserted.

 Then I reached inside and sewed the seam, encasing everything very neatly inside the facing of the blouse.

I ordered 2 copies of the magazine because I was so excited when I heard the news that my garment would be on the cover. Threads gave me an issue, so I now have 3. I'm sure you know where this is going!! I really don't need 3 copies, so I would like to give 1 away. If you would like a chance to win a copy of the magazine, just leave a comment on this post. I will announce the winner on Tuesday, March 4th. So you have an entire week to enter.
Thanks so much for dropping by!
Rhonda