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Los Olivos, California, United States
You can reach me at fool4fabric (at) gmail (dot) com

Saturday, October 27, 2012

OOOOH! SHINY!

In another life, I must have been a MAGPIE...
I am so attracted to sparkly, mirrored, shiny things...

When I was in San Francisco last May, Shams took me to Fabrix, one of her local fabric stores...
(does she know how lucky she is to have MULTIPLE local fabric stores?). It's a catch as catch can store, so you never know if there will be wonderful things, or nothing. I lucked out, and found several "pieces des resistances"...one of them was a black faux patent leather croc piece, sort of like this:

It has been marinating in my stash, waiting for the perfect pattern/idea combination. Voila! (I'm clearly not over my motorcycle jacket craze...)

This is a pattern I've had for a while...I tried to make a jacket out of one of my beloved red pontes, only to have a massive FAIL, back in April. The problem was not the pattern, it was a  "wrong fabric/operator error" type of problem. SO... I pulled the pattern out of the corner where I'd thrown it and started again. I made a combination of Views A and B, using a LOT of black and white striped zippers.



Due to the difficulty of sewing on shiny plastic, I consulted my go-to sewing pro, Shams, (AGAIN), and invested  in a couple of Teflon feet for my Bernina; they are fabulous, and open up a whole new vista of leather and faux leather projects. They failed to make the construction EASY, however...to my needle and thread I had to add pliers (hard to get the needle through that black PVC) and, finally,
Gorilla Glue. I wrestled mightily with this project; I also chose to learn how to "bag a lining" and the combination of new techniques and difficult fabric caused me to take two weeks to finish it. Finished, it is, however...and here it is on Ethyl (who I couldn't have made it without)...


I lined it with a black and white striped silk
and here it is on ME...


And, look what I discovered when I was almost finished:
I guess Giorgio's a magpie, too!

40 comments:

  1. Wow! That's one fabulous jacket Margy!!

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  2. OMG! that is so great Margy - I read along with your trials with the last version and loved the pattern but now I NEED that pattern. Love the rocker biker chick vibe... all you need is the Harley!!

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  3. Margyh, Great new jacket IT IS DEFINATELY YOU!!!!! I also read about your failures and can't imagine you ever making oversized clothing............ I desperately need to thin my closet as I seem to wear the same things over and over anywhy.

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  4. Looks so very hip on you and nice on Ethyl too. Yeah, keep that motorcycle vibe going. It so suits you!

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  5. Your jacket is magnificent and you have a wonderful look in it.

    Karendee

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    1. Oh, Martha! You are the absolute best! There are not enough words! Only exclamation marks can convey (coming from someone who doesn't use exclamation marks!!! Mary MM

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  6. That jacket is absolutely marvellous! I can imagine that it was a challenge to sew but it was so, so worth it! You look amazing in it.

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  7. The Jacket looks great - I bought this pattern last year to sew up some suede that I have so nice to see your version - I think your's looks better than the Armani one, and looks fabulous on you.

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    1. Margy, I don't know why I called you Martha. I think all those exclamation marks addled my brain. Sorry. MaryMM

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  8. WOW, Margy. You know I was less than enthused with that fabric that day in the store. Just as you are drawn to shiny patent leather, I am not. But, you've almost turned me because that jacket is AMAZING. It's gorgeous on Ethyl and gorgeous on you!!!

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  9. I'm sure that yours is just as awesome as the Armani one is...but considerably less expensive! It is marvelous, btw!

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  10. What a fabulous jacket on you. You go girl!!!!

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  11. Yours is so much better than Armani's!

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  12. I agree, better than Armani's. Absolutely fabulous jacket, Margy!

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  13. The trendiest rocker biker jacket i ever seen! U look amazing!

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  14. Your sewing, your figure, your amazing wardrobes...I am forever in awe of your creations. How you got such professional results from this material, I just can't imagine. It's gorgeous!!!

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  15. Oh WOW. You look fabulous wearing that jacket. Way to go, girl!

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  16. Shiny is good. That motorcycle type jacket is perfectly YOU!

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  17. You are rockin' that croc! Fabulous!

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  18. WOW! Now that's one impressive jacket! Not my style (I'd look ridiculous in it!), but I can really appreciate the skill and talent that went into its wonderful construction. Fabulous on you! Well done!!

    LOL at your "Shiny Objects" title...:)

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  19. Wow! You and Ethyl are rockin', edgy babes. Great job!

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  20. BTW...I've added your fabulous blog to my 'favs' links on my new blog: windows2wearables.com I'm inching my way into apparel sewing - quite different from valences (no staple guns allowed, apparently!)

    Can't wait to see your next project!

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  21. I have the coolest Mom in the world!!

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  22. Loving that biker chic look! Making Armani's look like a Girl Scout badge project!

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  23. This is amazing on so many levels! It looks great, expensive, chic and smart. What a wonderful addition to your collection of shiny things! I will refer back to this post. I want one myself.

    BTW, where did you find those beautiful zippers?

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    1. They were from Ghees...http://www.ghees.com/html/zippers_ghees.html

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    2. Thanks for the tip. I keep coming back to check out your great jacket. I admit it. I'm jealous!

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  24. Ooh, you go, Margy! That jacket is HOT! And you carry it off so well. Who is that Armani guy and why is he copying your inimitable style?

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  25. You've got guts my friend! It looks amazing. Love the pattern you chose. I think I'll use it for that new piece of fabric I just bought. Thanks for the tip.

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  26. You look awesome!!! Your talent is unbelievable. Neiman Marcus eat your heart out!!

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  27. Margy, you're rockin' this jacket! You're such a hottie in it, you'd better watch out for those young guys hitting on you!
    What a fabulous garment, and so well made. I love the striped zippers and linings. They up the cool factor all the more.
    Terrific!

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  28. Wow Margy!! Fabulous jacket. Love your style
    Caro

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  29. Margy, love your motorcycle jacket! I recently purchased this pattern and was oh so hesitant to attempt faux leather or the kind of fabric that might do it justice. I will definitely give it a go, with fingers crossed, now that I have seen what can be accomplished. Wish me luck!

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  30. What a super cool jacket! I admire you for tackling this type of fabric. I've had something similar in my stash for a while, but haven't had the guts to make something out of it yet. Very inspiring!

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