Sewing again ...

another jacket

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This week I made progress on the velvet hoodie I'm making for my sister. Because of the hoodie, which is a transformation of a dress of vintage silk velvet my sister found at an estate sale, I decided to reword a me-made dress of my own into a summer jacket.

I made the original dress from different lengths of expensive decor fabric that was gifted to me. I created the dress to wear to readings of my poetry. I wore it exactly one time because even though it had pockets and was made of beautiful fabric, it was stiff and uncomfortable. Perfect weight for a jacket though!

Like my sister's dress, I cut this one off at the bottom (below the pockets in my dress's case) and straight up the middle. I re-arranged the neckline into a deep vee shape. I made two covered buttons and a loop to fasten the jacket. Other than that it was a matter of machine stitching and sewing. I then wore this new jacket out to live theatre.

My new favorite thing? Wearing a me-made jacket every time I go out to an event. I've now worn my cranberry red velvet jacket, my altered yellow jacket, my pink satin long bomber, and the latest: short sleeved color-blocked jacket with a slightly gathered skirt.

I have several more jackets to make for myself. I have the fabric on hand, the patterns on hand. You can expect to see a pumpkin colored twill, a wool tweed Chanel type, a blue satin bomber, and more.

The more I sew, the more I want to sew. The more things I dream up to make. The more I can upcycle. And almost all of it is being made from stash-on-hand or vintage sales. I did buy the yardage of wool tweed for the Chanel jacket. I also splurged on appropriate buttons. Most of the fabric, including the linings, come from fabric I've collected over the years.

I rarely buy new fabric. I take apart dresses, coats, and shirts. I use old sheets, old curtains, blankets, quilts, whatever. I recently embellished the back of my jean jacket with a Buddhist thangka. Sometimes I add a piece of jewelry. On the jacket I embellished for my sister, I added a beaded belt to the waist. Nothing is safe in my house! I'll use or re-use anything that attracts my eye for my projects.

I also like to use special stitches. French seams, flat felled seams (like those on your jeans), visible mending, anything to make my project look better or stand out as a one and only.

My two recent fabric additions came from two different places: one is an antique store in a tiny town in Missouri, the other from the Portland Opera Costume shop sale. I now have fabric on hand that I could not have afforded to buy otherwise.

In case you can't tell, these things bring me a great deal of joy. I love wearing one of my own pieces and receiving compliments from strangers (also from family and friends!). I love having fabric on hand so I can dream up a project and immediately make it. I love saving money on fabric, being able to make things from silk, satin, and velvet.

What is your favorite item to wear? Do you make your own clothes, or have someone make you something now and then? If you could have any item of clothing in the world, what would it be?

P. S. Happy Pride Month!

image by freepik