Stop, Start, Stop, Start... And so it goes

It's been weeks since I've posted anything here. Things were moving ahead nicely on the velvet jacket. Maybe you remember? Unfortunately, my mom, who lives in a retirement community in New Hampshire, developed some pretty serious health problems. In response, I've been back and forth from my home in Maine almost weekly for the past month. What sewing I've accomplished has been "around the edges" of a pretty chaotic lifestyle. I did manage to get it hemmed, and the lining is completely finished. It really only needs buttonholes and buttons at this point.

I'm glad to report that mom's doing much better, and things are slowly returning to normal around here. Still, there's not much progress being made on the jacket. Why??? I got it into my head that I want to do handworked buttonholes. I blame the whole thing on Laura Mae and her gala extravaganza! Seriously, this woman is such an inspiration. Is there anything she doesn't have the courage to tackle? What would Laura Mae do? Heck, I've even gone out and bought 2 yards of silk organza because of her, even though I have NO idea what I'd do with it!

So here's the hold up.

 

 

In order to do the job properly, I've ordered a buttonhole chisel and keyhole punch. Unfortunately, they're on back order and I have no idea when to expect them.

 

In the meantime, I made a stab at it.....

 

 

OMG, how horrible is this!!!! Needless to say, I have a lot of practicing to do.

 

On a more positive note, I've been working on a new shirt. Maybe you've noticed, there seems to be a floral trend coming off the runways for Fall and Spring. Flowers are apparently appropriate year round.

 

So I'm jumping on the bandwagon! Plus, what guy doesn't need a new shirt?

 

For some reason shirts are easy to sew in little steps, so I've been working on this over the past three weeks. Sometimes I only have time to sit down and do one thing, say, sew a placket. Then it sits until I have time for the next one. Over time it comes together.

 

 

I'm using a cotton shirting that I picked up on sale at Denver Fabrics. Total fabric investment $13.82! It's been very easy to work with, and fun to match.

 

 

I used a contrasting stripe under the placket, inside the collar band and inside the cuffs.

 

 

But there's much more in store for this shirt. Now I have TWO unfinished projects!

 

 

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All systems GO for the Belgian Chef's Jacket

I recently had the chance to slip away to the Jersey shore for a little mini vacation. In addition to a couple of gorgeous days at the beach, I also took advantage of my proximity to New York and slipped into the city for a few hours in the garment district.

Time was limited so I had to make the best of it. The garment district can be daunting to say the least, especially when I'm searching for a fabric to coordinate with a piece of rumpled velvet in my pocket, iridescent velvet at that. Talk about looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack! So with a little bit of a time crunch (It was close to 3:00 pm before I emerged from Penn Station) I made a beeline for Elliott Berman Textiles at 225 W 35th. St. I felt that this was going to be my best chance of finding the perfect fabric.

Why Elliott Berman? For those of you who have never been to the garment district, there's a lot of very flashy fabric in the windows of the street level stores. It's really a visual feast. After awhile though, it all starts to look the same. And in some cases it is! We're talking a lot of embroidered polyester brocade. I've learned that to find something really different, sometimes you have to get off the street, like up to the 7th floor.

Elliott Berman Textiles specializes in imported fabrics, mostly from Italy and France. I guess I'd call it an "investment dressing" fabric source. They offer fabrics I've never dreamed of. How about a white and silver gray matelasse interpretation of The Lady and the Unicorn tapestry. They've got it!

On my first visit to this store, which may have been two years ago, I balked at the prices. Oh, the regrets I have!!! I was new to sewing and it was all about getting a bargain. My "quest" was to get everything on the cheap. Anything more than $6/ yd was outrageous, until I got burned on some $10 camel "wool" that turned out to be 101% synthetic. I used that fabric to make the peacoat from the Japanese Men's Coats book, a difficult and time intensive project. Two seasons of very limited wear later, it looks like crap. The fabric has pilled everywhere, even where there is no wear, and it just looks cheap. I hate wearing it, so it's in a garment bag in the attic, where moths refuse to chew on it. It was a lesson that I had to learn. Spend more and have clothes you love vs. spend less and have clothes in the attic.

OK, back to Elliott Berman.

I was greeted by Eugenia, the glamorous gal in white above. No one could be more charming and helpful. I pulled out my rumpled velvet, explained my project, and she went to work finding the perfect fabric. I swear she knows every fabric in the mountain of bolts behind us in this pic. And this is but a mere corner of the store! She nailed my "needle in the haystack" in about 5 minutes.

Ta Da! Here is my coordinating fabric for the reverse of the lapels. It's a metalic brocade, a dark brassy gold on black with a moody William Morris feel. The minute she tugged the bolt out of the stack, I knew I would never find anything better. It pulls the purple and the green from the velvet perfectly. Total Fabric Score!

Hmmm. This is Dries Van Noten S/S 2014. I'm suddenly feeling very fashion forward!

With the clock ticking I made a quick dash up to W 38th St. and Pacific Trim. They have one of the better buttons selections, and the woman who works that section of the store is always very helpful.

I settled on these brass buttons with a slightly distressed texture. The sales lady totally pooh poohed my first choice, saying they looked cheap (and she was right, of course). She steered me away from plastic to metal. They're much better quality and a nice match to the metalic of the brocade. This is going to be one very opulent garment.

So I finally have all the components to start constructing the jacket. I've never sewn velvet, so stay tuned and wish me luck.