Winter White Coat with Champagne Mink

Although I'm thinking SPRING these days, I wanted to share this coat that I made for the Holiday Art Fair.   The style of this coat is slightly retro but thoroughly modern.   It is about knee length and is cut fulll enough to put over a jacket or sweater.  It is fully lined and has welt pockets.  I repurposed a champagne mink stole to create the shoulder feature.  I prepare the fur by removing the lining and cutting any seams that prevent it from laying flat.   I then transfer my shoulder pattern on to the back of the fur piece.  I then reseam the fur so that it can lay on top of the coat.   I leave the coat side seams open until I have finished attaching the fur to the coat.  I use a zigzag stitch along the cut edge of the fur to attach it to the coat.  I  used a tapestry floral motif for the applique.    After I apply fusible interfacing to the back of the fabric to prevent excessive fraying, each motif is carefully cut out.   I then strategically arrange the motifs on top of the fur; pin in place and then free motion applique them to the coat.    This is quite a tedious process as the coat is very bulky and hard to manuever.  I also do some thread painting on the motif after they are applied to give it more interest and dimension.


  

Never fear, I'm still here......but where has the time gone???

Wow, here it is March 2020 and I haven't posted since September 2019.    I'll try to catch up in the next couple of weeks.   As some of you already know, every year I have the opportunity to sell my creations at the Holiday Art Fair and Doll Show sponsored by the Indy Cloth Dollmakers Club.   So during September, October and November I'm busy completing my doll for competition and creating one-of-a-kind wearable art.  After the show, I take a little time off and then when the new year started I began a new journey of textile art that I'll share with you in the next few weeks.   I'll start to catch you up by showing you some of the wearable art pieces that I had at the show.

This is a Tibetan Panel Coat that is reversible.  Finding complementary fabrics for all the panels proved to be quite a challenge.  I couldn't find fabric that I liked for the shoulder contrast, so I created by own fabric by cutting out shapes and appliqueing them on the fabric.  I did some thread painting to enhance the appliques.   The reverse fabric is a beautiful kantha fabric but again I couldn't find another kantha fabric for the contrast trim so I created my own.   As you can see each side creates a completely different vibe.  The kantha side is rather soft and impressionistic while the other side has a more modern abstract feel.  When I was done I couldn't decide which side I liked the best.   I guess that's probably a "good thing".  I love two looks with one garment, don't you?

Kanth detail

   

Fabric created for shoulder detail

My Love Affair with Kantha Fabric

I have to admit, I think Kantha fabric is awesome.   For those who do not know about Kantha; here is a brief description.  In India, old saris, either cotton or silk are patch worked together and then they are layered one of another, usually only two layers.   These two layers are then hand stitched together to form one fabric.   Usually the stitches are long running stitches.   Kantha fabric is used for garments and home decor items. 

This past spring and summer I found 3 pieces of Kantha that I love and I have made 2 of them into garments.   The first was a red floral print on one side and solid red on the reverse side.   Often garments from Kantha fabric are made reversible.  This jacket is not reversible but I did use the reverse side for the collar and cuffs.   All the colors in this jacket make it extremely versatile.  I think it will even look great with blue jeans. 

I found the second piece and third pieces at Silk Road Textiles in Cincinnati.  I have finished another Kantha jacket in purple.  It is fully lined and has wonderful sleeve detail.  

The third piece is a luscious brown print that is yet to be made but I can't wait to get started.   More to come.... 

Unusual Lantern pants

I made this Marci Tilton skirt last year from Vogue pattern V9060 and loved the shape.   I thought that the shape would also look good as pants so this year I decided to give it a try.  I took my standard pants pattern to get the waist, hip and crotch depth and then free-handed the design from there.  I drew the shape on pattern and decided on how the pattern pieces would look then I created the pattern and test the pattern in muslin.  When I was satisfied with the fit and shape I cut it out of some striped fabric that I had in my stash.   I believe the fabric is a cotton/linen blend and has a texture like something we used to call "shagbark".    I really love the result, but now I have to design the perfect top to go with it.  Have some ideas so I'll work on them this week...stay tuned.  

New Red and Black Winter Coat

I have a Lee Andersen coat that I love and I decided to use it as inspiration for another coat.   Finding fabrics that I could use proved to be quite a challenge.   I finally found a black nubby fleece and red and black sculpted fur at Fields in Kalamazoo.   I found a red and black fur online at Mood Fabrics.   Once I had all the fabrics, I set to work on a pattern.  I heavily modified a Burda Pattern so much that you wouldn't even recognize it but the sizing was what I needed most.  It is unlined so that it will be an intermediate weight coat for late fall and early winter.  I made mock flat felled seams  and serged seams so that the inside of the coat is neat in appearance.  

I found it very difficult to photograph the black and still be able to see the detail so I have included a couple of close up photos.  Enjoy. 

 

New Upcycle Tunic

Many of my friends have asked me how I make my upcycled tunics so here are a few pointers if you could like to try one yourself.  

If you want to upcycle some thrift store finds into a tunic start with sweater and shirt that will be too big for you.   Sometime I use men's sweaters and shirts and sometimes I find a L or XL women's sweater, dress or shirt.   The point is that the garments you choose should be too big for you since you will be using them as a tunic and will be modifying them.   In this case the sweater was a man's XL and the shirt was a Large.   I always try on the sweater to see how long it is on me.   Then I know how much fabric that I want to add to the bottom of the sweater.  In this case I wanted this to be a little longer so that I could wear it as a tunic with leggings or a dress with tights.   

Always fuse knit interfacing to the back of the sweater where you plan to cut into the sweater.   For example, most of the time you will want to cut off the band at the bottom so you would apply fusible interfacing where you will be cutting.  Also if you plan to change the neckline then fuse interfacing to the top part of the sweater.  

In the past I have always left the sweater sleeves long, but this time I cut them off and hemmed them to make a modified "vest".    To add interest to the sweater and to make them look more like one garment then take elements, such as the pockets, cuffs, buttons, and fabric from the shirt to add to the sweater.   As you can see I used my serger to make strips of shirt fabric that I used for trim around the bottom and neckline.   I also used  the collar band as a decorative stripe down the front of the sweater.   Number one rule...cut off each piece of sweater and shirt as if it could be used because many times that's exactly what you end up doing.  

I used my ruffler attachment to make a pleated strip to put around the neckline.  

I like a stand up collar, so I move the tiny buttons up to the collar stand that makes a new collar.   

Memory Lap Robe

My friend, Debbie Silva, died last year from ALS, and she gave me an appliqued elephant panel that she had started and knew she wouldn't be able to finish.   She also gave me the complimentary fabrics that she chosen to go with it.   As most of my followers know, I am not a quilter, but I made an exception for this project.   I decided to finish this as a lap robe.   It reminds me of Debbie's, wonderful creative and  loving spirit.  It also serves as a reminder to count my blessings.  We never know what lies beyond the next corner and we need live every day to our fullest potential and be thankful for all our friends and family. 

This quilt is truly a labor of love and further reinforced that fact that I'm not a quilter at heart; at least in the traditional sense.   I could see myself doing art quilting but that's about it.   There's a couple of places that I wish I had done it differently but overall I'm pleased how this all came together as a design.    I outlined the elephant by couching on gray and orange yarn to the edge of the appliqued design.   I think it helped "pop out" the image.    I'm glad that you can't see the quilting part in the picture.  That's why so many quilters send their quilts out to be stitched.   Hope you enjoy the design.