Monday Morning Inspiration/Fringe It!

I feel like this post should be entitled, "Great Expectations." I had the best intentions of doing so many posts last week...and then...I did nothing. Maybe it's winter, but, it really can't be that as I LOVE winter. Oh well, I'm here today, and I guess that's what counts :)

Some fun things, not at all sewing related...

I am having the best time with Berkley! The very first night that I brought him home, he jumped up on an ottoman that rocks back and forth. Most dogs would quickly jump off, but not Berkley! He just rode it out. The thought came to me that he might enjoy an agility class. The only problem was how aggressive he became when he would see other dogs. So, I decided to have a trainer come and help me with the situation. Last Monday was our first session. He was a little shocked by the experience, but the techniques really work! I had him out for a long walk yesterday. We encountered 3 dogs. I could see that he noticed the dogs, but he just kept walking. I was so very happy. There's still hope for that agility class :) 

My husband's nephew had mentioned that I should find a cabinet for the Christmas Creatures that I have made. I thought it was a great idea, but I was a little stumped on what the cabinet should look like. It really needed to have the same funky aspect as the creatures. 

I found the cabinet pictured below, made from repurposed wood and an old window frame. Perfect! The only issue was that it would need shelves, lighting, and glass in the door/window. I took it to a carpenter/artist that I thought would do a nice job. He did :) Now the little creatures have their own home.              

We hung the cabinet last week. It weighs a TON!!! And, it was a bear to hang. But, it's up, and until the end of the world comes, at least for me ;), this is where the cabinet will stay!
What has been nice is that everyone who has dropped by has been drawn to the cabinet, and they have just stood and marveled at all the little guys inside. So nice :) It looks like there's a crack in the glass in the picture below. There isn't, it's just a shadow.  

Becky of Trail Balloons and I are gearing up for a new February challenge. We will be using the Merchant and Mills Francine top/dress to create woven wool/tweed sweatshirts. We have set our weekly challenges, so we have a game plan. Now to decide what I'll be doing. I did a little snooping around on Pinterest for some design ideas. As it turns out, I was really drawn to fringe. 

I love this piece from Chanel. Pictured on Anna Wintour on the left, I love how it was cut on the bias. With this piece, the fringe is not a self fringe, but feathers. Regardless, it's a great inspiration piece.  

Here's a tweed jacket that was given added attention with the fringe trim. So pretty. 

The fringe on the dress and jacket below looks like a purchased trim. But, the fabric could easily be fringed and sewn back on to the garment.

Another Chanel piece with self fringe.

Two rows of fringe on the jacket. It really pops due to the added black trim.

An extremely simple top given a little interest with the fringe hems. Love the added detail of the fringe on the skirt as well.

The center panel on the dress below would have disappeared had the fringe not been added.

Another super simple top made more interesting with the fringe on the sleeves and the hem. Love the added detail of the knitted cuffs.

The last two pieces are skirts and not tops, but I really love the self fringe on both.

Bubblegum 4 Breakfast did a lovely post on how she created this beautiful bias trim. You can find the post HERE.  

Here's another great post on making fringe from KBDesigns. 

So, if you find that you would like to embellish a garment, especially one that is made with a fabric that will fringe, there's no need to search and search for trim as you just need to pull a few threads!

Have a great week!

Rhonda

One Pattern So Many Ways, All In One Place/A Great Design Resource

I love patterns! There was a time when I couldn't wait for the new Vogue pattern catalog to come out. I would go to the store and literally sit for at least an hour(if not more!)and dream over the patterns. Better than a Christmas wishbook for me! 

Then...I went to school and learned how to design and draft my own patterns. One thing I learned is that a good basic design is really all you need, well that and some instructions :)

A while back, I took Butterick 5678, which is sadly out of print, but available on sites like Ebay and Etsy, and showed you how to take it from a basic shirt and add lots of design details. The instructions are a little difficult to find as they are all over the blog, so I thought I would consolidate them all here on this post. That way, if there is something you would like to try, you can easily find it. 

This was the first piece that I did. The basic shirt was used, but a Peter Pan collar added and a change in the sleeve. You can find the instructions for the Perter Pan collar HERE, and the sleeve instructions HERE.

While this looks rather complicated, it's really quite easy. The collar tutorial can be found HERE, and the sleeve tutorial HERE. 

This is a favorite of mine, the raised neckline. The collar tutorial can be found HERE, and the sleeve tutorial HERE.

This is a wide variation of the shawl collar. Look closely and you'll see that the collar sits up a little higher on the back of the neck. This is one of my favorite dresses for summer. The tutorial for the collar can be found HERE.

This is the narrow version of the shawl collar. You can find the tutorial for the collar HERE, the sleeve tutorial HERE, and the circular skirt tutorial HERE. 

I also showed you how to take the pattern and turn it into a summer jacket and add pockets HERE. The sailor collar tutorial is HERE. The sleeve has a turned up cuff, and that tutorial can be found HERE.

And finally, my favorite of all!!!!, my zebra dress. You can see my design process HERE.

This is a dress that I find every excuse to wear. 

Although the pattern I used is out of print, plenty of basic shirt patterns can be found. Any of these designs can be used with a pattern that has a good neckline, the shoulder seam sits at the shoulder, and has a princess line seam.

I think it's about time to choose another pattern and have some fun with it. I'll put that on the schedule for January. In the meantime, I'll start looking around for a good basic pattern and deciding how I can manipulate it. If you have any ideas, let me know :)

My Stephen Burrow's Inspired Coat

Thank you to everyone who sent notes yesterday. I'm so very happy that I once again received a great report. It seems that the moles have grown a little in size(width), but not in depth, and depth is what can mean cancer. So, I can still see, and you will continue to receive my crazy blog posts ;)

Our fashion show chair for the upcoming 2018 Haute Couture Fashion Show has been very inspired by the work of American designer, Stephen Burrows. She would really love to have an entire segment of the show devoted to pieces that have been inspired by his work. 

Yesterday, I shared with you the sewing challenge entitled, "Designin' December." Linda of Nice Dress, Thanks I Made It, loves to sew and loves to try and inspire others to sew, so she came up with the idea to encourage others to copy, rather than purchase a garment that they would like to have in their wardrobe. If you would like to participate, she even has a button that you can attach to your blog.
   

When I did a little research on Stephen Burrows, I found the coat below and loved it! So I told our fashion show chair that I would recreate it with the hope of getting a few others to make up a Stephen Burrows inspired design for the fashion show. So since I am coping a designer original, I thought I may as well participate in the Design' December challenge. 

My fabric just arrived yesterday. My coat will not be an exact match, but still inspired by the original. Sadly, I just couldn't get the light right, as the colors are much more vibrant than they appear, especially the yellow. It's much closer to the yellow in the original coat.

Now to make up a muslin. The coat is a very basic design, it's just a matter of the placement of the colors. I think it will be a lot of fun to play around with the colors.

The fabric is a washable merino wool ponte from Fabrications in Michigan. I was a little concerned that all of the colors that they had on their website might not be available, but when I called to order, I was told that if they don't have it in stock, it's not on the website. Nice!

So, a fun new project. 
You won't miss me walking down the street!!!