Tuesday, August 7, 2012

12 months on - a project revisited

It was 12 months ago that this crazy sewing adventure started for me.  And it all started because of a coat.

I had seen a lady at a vintage fair wearing a beautiful princess seamed full skirted coat, and I wanted one.  And vintage being what it is, I couldn't find one in my size, the colour I wanted, or for a price I could afford.  I had a lightbulb moment when I realised I could borrow my mum's sewing machine and sew one from a vintage pattern!

 The pattern that started it all - isn't it beautiful!  Such an elegant coat.

So I bought a pattern, some fabric and started sewing (and blogging) and I haven't looked back.  Not once.  Not only have I loved every second of it, its been a real turning point in my life.  And twelve months on I've decided to make another coat, and this time do it better!

These are the fabrics I purchased - and I'm really excited about them!

I purchased this gorgeous Japanese wool flannel from Gorgeous Fabrics

I originally purchased the swirly black lining recommended by Gorgeous Fabrics, but decided I wanted to be more daring, and instead found this suitably amazing red polka dot satin... its scrumptious!

There are quite a few pattern pieces to cut out, and they are quite large, so I didn't get much further than the cutting out stage on the weekend I'm afraid...  But me being me, I wasn't content to just follow the pattern as is - no, that would be easy!

Hahaha - so true!

Instead I've decided to make the skirt of the coat a bit fuller, and the collar a little bigger.

 
You can see here that I added roughly an inch to each side of the eight skirt pieces


Last time with this coat, since I was VERY new to sewing, I had no idea what bound buttonholes were.  However I do now, and I know that they are a beautiful finishing detail on any garment.  I say finishing detail, but funnily enough they are one of the first things you have to tackle.  I haven't tried them before, but this coat deserves them, so I'm going to give them a go.

So yesterday I went looking for candidates in the world's most amazing button shop!  They don't have an online store (which, when you see the amount of stock they have, you can understand) so it was very lucky that I happened to be nearby.

Here are the three I chose:


Here is the difficult thing - I love them all, so I was hoping for some input from you guys.

CANDIDATE 1 - the Round Button.  Boring and predictable, but goes with everything.
CANDIDATE 2 - the Heart Button.  Cutesy and fun, and not too over the top.
CANDIDATE 3 - the Red Lips Button.  Whimsical and fun and a bit crazy.

So, who would like to put forward a suggestion on which buttons I should use... someone... please!!!

Beccie
xxx




8 comments:

  1. The heart!!! I love that detail :-D

    Wow I can't wait to see your coat! The red is amazing. Really need to work on mine more too. I'm at the buttonhole stage too and not sure if my heavy fabric will be too bulky for bound buttonholes. Gotta test! :-D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm going to be doing several practice ones before I attack the real thing thats for sure! And Laura-Mae at Lilacs & Lace just posted a very comprehensive tutorial : http://lilacsandlace.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/bound-buttonholes-tutorial.html

      Delete
  2. Omg this is hard to choose. I have to be practical so I would go for the round button and its a classic coat. BUT the great things about buttons is that you can change them whenever you want right?

    So excited for you! I love red-such a "hello world this is me!" color dont you think?? xox

    ReplyDelete
  3. You're right Bunny - I can change the buttons any time, but I can't change the size of the button hole... The round one and the heart shaped one would probably go through the same sized hole, but I'm not sure about the lips... I think I need to test that out.

    I know that its a classic coat, but part of me likes a bit of whimsy every now and again!

    And red is such a statement colour - I LOVE IT!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think the heart ones are they are a really cute heart shape and the coat colours look lovely!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with the heart shaped ones, but once I've worked out how big to make my button holes I'm going to test and see if the lips button fits through the hole too... cause I like them too, and the coat might start out with those buttons on it first. But if they don't fit through the same hole I'm going with the heart buttons :)

      Delete
  5. If all buttons fit in the same hole couldn't you change the button to the mood your in? That would be cool but it probably sounds easier than it actually is.
    LOVE THE RED SATIN!! Always have always will :)
    -

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thats what I'm hoping! It is a bit of a chore to change them, but I like the idea :) And the red polka dot satin is fabulous - so fabulous I had to go and buy more!

      Delete