Manteau #1

Inspired by a spot-on Christmas gift from my soon-to-be Son-in-Law

(a dozen silver and black antique buttons) and my upcoming trip to Iran, I made the first attempt at a
"Manteau", a covering for the upper body worn by many women in Iran. If you recall, this 
is my challenge:

This is my first attempt:

The pattern is B5822, a shortened and unlined View B.

I used a lovely, drapey tone-on-tone black rayon brocade...I've had it so long, I've forgotten where it came from! (photos have been lightened to show details)

I'm afraid I'll have to switch out the buttons for the trip to plain black, but these lovelies will go right back on when I return. The unlined rayon is quite cool to wear.

On another note, last week I had a meet-up with ReAnn Scott, who lives in Chicago. She was out to California for the birth of her first grandchild, and managed to fit in a brief trip to my part of the world.
We went out for a long and chatty lunch

(blurry iPhone photo) and then I shared my somewhat meagre brick and mortar fabric stores. We had a
great time...meetups are so much fun!

KAPPOGI!

And what is a Kappogi, you ask?

I grew up in Hawaii and loved the "mama-san" aprons worn by Japanese women; they seemed so attractive, while being practical at the same time. I've never understood those skimpy little aprons worn by a lot of women...they must not be as messy as I am when cooking!

I know, I know, in my last post I was all set to do a major cleaning of my studio, and I DID, for a day or so...but I had ordered, then lost, this pattern a year ago and when I finally unearthed it, I NEEDED to make one for myself...

I used quilting cottons that I had originally bought in my purse-making days and used the pattern as is

except for lengthening the sleeves. There is elastic in the wrists, so they can be pushed up out of the way when doing dishes.

It's a little late, considering my holiday cooking and cleaning is over, but it never hurts to have a cute
"costume" for every day!

close-up

Now, back to cleaning!