Velvet Jacket

I fell in love with this metallic floral velvet the instant I saw it on the FabricMart website. I managed to wait until the first velvet sale, but it wasn’t easy.

I mashed up of both views from Kwik Sew 3796. I added a lining and used three buttons instead of one.

I thought I took photos of the WIP (work in progress), but I can’t find them. It’s very possible I didn’t take any due to the hectic holiday season. I was focused more on the process and less on documentation.

This lovely velvet was just 45 inches wide. Between the obvious nap and narrower width, I’m glad I bought four full yards!

My original plan didn’t include lining and the pattern doesn’t call for one. But I felt the ravely nature of both the floral and solid black velvets, and the scratchiness of the floral velvet, changed my mind. Digging through my stash produced a small piece of black lining, and several large pieces of light smoke grey and a darker grey. There was not enough black to do the whole jacket, just enough for the body, so I’d have to use something else for the sleeves. I thought that might be too “patchwork-y”, even though sleeve linings are almost never seen at all. The darker grey looked brownish against the velvets, so I went with the light smoke grey.

I had no idea what to do about the button loops. Then, as the jacket neared completion, I stumbled across a black velvet spaghetti strap. I think it’s from a dress remade into something else long ago. I’m surprised that I held onto it AND found it just when I needed it! I cut the strap into lengths jut big enough to fit over the buttons. Instant, easy and classy button loops.

Instead of just one button, I used three black Czech glass buttons.

Then, I realized I made a critical mistake!! The lovely jacket went with absolutely NOTHING in my closet!

I wore it with an emerald green satin bow blouse. It didn’t exactly go with and didn’t exactly clash. Green is the theme color for Little Shop of Horrors (the musical live play), so it was Ok. I made a little cream top, based on Jalie 2911, to wear with this jacket. I used a scrap of champagne stretch satin to make the shawl collar, and a tissue weight cream/gold metallic jersey for the bodice and sleeves.

Two Quick Tops

I can’t believe it’s almost Valentines Day! The holiday season was a little crazy this year. I didn’t have any time to blog, but amidst the laughter, tears, and expensive car repairs, I did manage to squeeze a little sewing in.

First I’ll share two quickie tops. I do not have any “in progress” photos of these, just the finished tops. The first is a pink silk jersey cami to wear under sheer tops. The second is a fun, floaty pullover in a wild 60’s inspired print.

Pink Silk Cai

The sheer look is going to stick around for awhile. Sheer barely there blouses look great on the right body. That body is not mine! So I whipped up a little cami top to wear under sheer things. The silk jersey fabric came from FabricMart a year or two ago. The soft pink color is nice for undies. I used my ordinary cami pattern. I tried stitching in the ditch at the neckband. It was extremely difficult to do, and the results were not great. I took a different approach to the armoholes. I folded the binding over to the back along the seamline, sort of like a facing. I did not fold the raw edge under, I left it exposed. I topstitched the binding/facing to the armholes using a decorative stitch that had a little bit of stretch. I finished the hem by serging the raw edge, turning it under twice, and top stitching. I serged the edge so it would not roll and curl. I used the same decorative stitch for the hem.

This light, floaty pullover top was inspired by a late night window shopping excursion at the Neiman Marcus website. I spotted a mod-print challis mini dress, with an interesting variation on princess seams. I made Simplicity 1199 before, in a kint as the pattern recommends. The fit was slightly baggy, so I was sure that, with some pattern tweaking, it would work in a non-woven fabric.

Super light and floaty pullover in a wild print

The fabric itself is a soft, light as air, rayon challis. The wild print in bold, contrasting colors has a distinct Cat-In-The-Hat feeling. The wide fabric has a distinct border down each selvedge. I decided to mix up the borders. The front and back center pieces and one sleeve have one border at the hems, the sides and second sleeve have a different border at the hems. I thought the mismatch fit the fabrics Cat-In-The-Hat theme. I decided the wild design needed a little taming, and used black binding at the neck and hems to help define the edges of the top and give the eye a place to rest. I used scraps of rayon knit for the bindings, to preserve the soft, floaty hand. Another advantage is that the same fibers need the same kind of cleaning treatment.