Sew What?! wacky tacky Gets Ric-ky Rac-ky

We've made no secret of it around here that our two very-favorite trims in all of fabric land are ric rac and pom poms.  If there is ever a way to include them both in a wacky tacky "Sew What?!" project, Mr. Tiny will find it!

Mary is only pretending that she doesn't know what to wear to the wedding of ric rac and pom pom.
Don't be fooled; she's wearing the answer.

I don't know that I'll ever understand my thought process but for some reason this ensemble reminded me of something a mid-century fashion maven would have worn on safari.  Since we're a long way from the Serengeti, we were going to have to settle for a suburban safari.

Like any good (style) hunter, Mary wears a mix of camouflage green for cover and bright orange for safety.
The outfit began with a blouse that I made several months ago; the coordinating sun hat came next, with just enough remaining ric rac to replicate the blouse's stripes and just enough material left over from the blouse to make a matching scarf tie.  

The ric rac on the sleeves of the peasant blouse was applied by machine but the bow was tacked on by hand.
Nearly all of the vintage ric rac came from the sewing basket of my great-grandmother. 

When I found the tangerine twill (a grandma hand-me-down) in my fabric stash,
I couldn't quite convince myself that capri pants could complete a cohesive ensemble.

Mary, a huge fan of quirky color stories, was convinced immediately!

Although she'll probably be extremely chagrinned that I chose this particular musical accompaniment, I couldn't help but think of Henry Mancini's classic to underscore our suburban safari!  HATARI!!!

What do you wear on safari - urban, suburban, or otherwise?  Do you think you think neon tangerine, olive green, and shades of pink are a Sub-Saharan sensation or a victim of the veld?

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

p.s. PLEASE STAY TUNED!!!!  Mr. Tiny will soon be able to "Put a lid on it" for you!  Sun hats, like the one Mary is sporting here, will soon be for sale on Mr. Tiny's South Side Market on Etsy!!!!

Sew What?! Christmas on the Patio: A Holiday Squaw Dress

(Source)

Living in Southern California leaves us fairly immune to "weather" (boasting? why, yes, I am).  Here we must rely on the traditional colors of Christmas as the only major indicators that the season is upon us.  You know, the classic palette of gold, orange, brown, and yellow...GOLD, ORANGE, BROWN, and YELLOW?!?!?!  Okay, question my orthodoxy if you must, but wouldn't you take a second look if whilst browsing the second-hand store you came across 9.5 yards of this crazy, Christmas-themed trim?

There are times in life when even $1.91 is too dear to waste on something frivolous - good thing I don't consider 9.5 yards of woven, lamé, Christmas trim a frivolity.  I'm sure people much smarter and more clever than I could have figured out myriad ways to employ the trim.  To me, however, there was only one option - a Christmas squaw/patio dress.  What better way to celebrate both the holiday and our temperate winter weather than Christmas on the patio?

Even a tree going up in blaze isn't enough to faze Mary.  What a trouper.
p.s. My camera stinks.  Any suggestions on a good, moderately priced replacement?

If you have never made a squaw dress, I recommend against it.  It takes an unholy amount of ric rac to achieve the desired look which translates to hours spent in front of the trusty, old Bernina (which actually gave out halfway through) applying the dang blasted stuff!  And then there are the gathers!  $1.91 for the trim may not have been too dear but $100 for a proper gathering foot for the sewing machine was.

I'm still having PTSD-induced nightmares about miles of gathers and ric rac!

And then there is the fully-lined bodice in which one must sew a total of twenty darts - twelve of them at the elbows!  The ELBOWS!  Never able to leave well enough alone, I also made a matching belt with covered buckle.

It was a good excuse to use this vintage Jiffy Buckle.
Warning: 50+ year-old adhesive from an iron-on
 "Magic Pattern" is best left "un-ironed-on."

Again, I leave it to much smarter/more clever people to just go out and buy ready-made clothing - especially when said clothing is for your crummy kid sister!!!

The living room of our pals, Bobby and Amber, was the perfect backdrop for a photo of Mary in the new dress.

It may not be red, green, and white -  or even blue and silver - but it was fun to turn the traditional, tri-color, Christmas color story on its elfin ear.  I honestly thought that Mary would receive a bit of good-natured ribbing at the unexpected color combination but everyone seemed to really like it!  Did you make or assemble a cool holiday outfit?

I only left myself enough time to clip on my vintage "Merry
Xmas" colonel tie.  Fortunately, I was in great company with
 our pal, Dave, and his "Season's Greetings" neckwear.

Boy, oh boy, I have a lot of holiday themed posts that I wanted to do but I'm running out of time.  Christmas is very much just around the corner.  Here's wishing you and yours a very joy-filled holiday!


Cheers!

Mr. Tiny