Silver Lining

Here I present the third (and potentially final) variation in my series of wool herringbone capes.

I chose another neutral colour, a lovely silver-grey, which I imagine will be stunning in the fall or winter months.  The piping is more subtle because of its colour which I continue to scrutinize. There is a slightly lavender hue to the piping colour which hints at a softer, more feminine look but I keep wondering whether a darker charcoal piping would have been a better match.  From a distance, like in the photo below, it is harder to notice the detailing along the back.

Finding a complimentary lining proved to be frustrating this time around as I had many second-thoughts.  I bought this blushing antiques polyester long before I was ready to start on the grey cape and at a time when I didn't have my wool swatches with me.  I kept circling the rows and aisles of fabric and returning to this one on the bolt.  Fine, I decided to buy enough for one cape and give it a try.

As I sewed my way through the chocolate brown cape I occasionally took out the blushing antiques fabric and laid it against the silver herringbone, examining it up close and from afar. Somehow by the time I finished the brown cape I had convinced myself there was something better out there.  

Another trip to Queen street and another afternoon poring over satins, polyesters, silks.  Feeling the pressure not to come home empty-handed I purchased a dusty wine-rose jacquard from King Textiles but was somewhat dissatisfied on the return trip.  I went as far as cutting out the entire lining and pinning it to the half-finished wool outer shell. Then I took out the blushing antiques polyester again and stared.  Then I stared some more.

Mike helped me to make the final call.  I presented the two linings and he promptly chose the floral without hesitation.  I think when you spend too much time obsessing about a thing it takes a step back, or an outside perspective, to see the right choice.

Now that the cape is in its final form, the silver herringbone and floral lining wonderfully coupled, there's absolutely no more doubt in my mind.  Mike's veto to the jacquard was well-played.

And you may have noticed that this cape has a label!  My labels arrived last week and I have been hand-stitching them into the capes I've already completed.  Going forward I will use the machine and also add a centre-fold label along one of the seams.  Shouldn't be long now before I announce the online opening of Red Herring Road featuring my collection of wool herringbone capes :)

Cobourg Photo Shoot

This week Jenny sent over photos she took for me last month of my red cape at the Cobourg farmhouse.  It was a last-minute "photo-shoot" before I had to leave, a huge favour from an artistic fellow crafter that I had met just that weekend.

I finally have some photos of this cape being worn by an actual person instead of just a dress form. Fabulous.  Thanks again Jenny - lovely pictures.  Too bad I had to model a wool cape in June though! Full-length jeans and leather boots would have paired so much nicer with the cape than capris :)

Wondering how to show off the lining here

Thanks Meg for making me laugh and distracting me so that "modelling" wasn't so darn awkward

Delicious Chocolate Cape

Nope, that's not a typo.  Delicious, you might wonder?  Sure this beautiful wool cape may not be too tasty but it certainly is pleasing to the senses.

Meet the latest addition to my wool cape collection, a more masculine herringbone piece in chocolate brown.  It is a slightly heavier wool than the red herringbone which actually made it easier to work with; fewer wrinkles, cleaner edges, less stretch.

A beautifully feminine jade-green floral crinkle polyester was chosen for the lining to balance out the chocolate.  I was a little hesitant at first to use crinkle polyester as lining but it still feels great against my bare arms and the print is just too gorgeous to pass up.  The pink and maroon tones in the blossoming peonies would actually make this a wonderful lining choice for the red wool as well.

Again I added a loop for hanging up the cape which is situated by the right shoulder rather than the centre neckline.  This allows the cape to hang more uniformly since the opening of the cape is asymmetric.

One minor change in the design of the cape is to the button enclosures near the bottom of the arm slits.  Previously on the red cape I used just a loop with a 4-hole flat button but the attachment was not as secure as I would have liked.  Perhaps elastic cord would have worked better to keep a snug fit against the button but I wasn't thrilled about that option. 

This time around I went with old fashioned buttonholes.  I also switched out the flat button with a shank button.  Much better connection.  

And here's how the Singer makes buttonholes.  No, I can't just press the "buttonhole" option on my machine. Instead I have to switch out the standard foot and screw in this stapler-sized contraption.  I know...pretty awesome.  

Since the needle on the Singer can only move in a straight line, this device clamps down on the fabric and moves that from side to side to complete the stitch.  Same concept applies for the zig-zag attachment I have (I know, a separate attachment for each stitch style). 

The buttonholer comes with a set of cams of different sizes.  The 9/16" worked perfectly for this application.

And here's the result.  I still prefer to wear the cape with the slits unbuttoned at the bottom to show off the lining which is intended to be a feature of this piece.  On windy days though, I can see how these buttons will come in really handy.

Finally, guess what? This cape was made to sell.  That's right, I am in the process of starting a small collection of wool capes that will be up for sale in the not-too-distant-future.  Stay tuned for more details and feel free to contact me through this blog if you are interested. I will be posting photos of a silver-grey cape before this month's end :)

PWB, Lola, and Me

Last month I attended another Purple Workbench weekend crafts event, this time at a lovely farmhouse in Cobourg.  I don't quite remember all the things I've been preoccupied with over the past four weeks but clearly I've neglected my blogging.  Time to play a bit of catch up.

I headed out early with Kelly and Meg to pick up the food that the eleven of us girls would be feasting on over the course of the weekend.  After unpacking our bags at the farm we drove into Port Hope. First stop, lunch at a small pizzeria.  When two very pregnant women want pizza, I've learned not to stand in their way.  Pizza was delicious, olives and all!

Next stop was Queenie's bakery, then the farmer's market, then Betty's for desserts.

So many desserts to choose from!  How do you select just a few? Well, simply, you don't.  You let Nancy sweet-talk you into buying more than you planned on in her totally innocent little way.  Just like a pro.

Kelly posing with Nancy at "Betty's". Confused yet?

I spent the weekend meeting a fantastically creative group of women with energy and spunk that was oh so refreshing.   For those two days women sewed, painted, quilted, crafted, talked, laughed, and ate so much good food.  Kelly, you're a fantastic chef.

I had decided to make another Lola dress, this time in a navy and gold polka-dot jersey.  Sounds like a strange combo, right?  I actually loved the result...at least, the combination of fabrics that is. Unfortunately the dress itself turned out to be too big on me, which was kind of bewildering considering I used the exact same pattern that I assembled for my first Lola.  That one fits beautifully.

I suppose it could be that the jersey is so much stretchier than the micro-suede...but still.    This dress ended up being at least a full size too large.  Perhaps a run through the dryer in high heat will help ;)

I ended up modeling it in the photo below with safety pins tucking the excess fabric in the back.

For fun I suggested that Meg, at 31-weeks pregnant, try on the Lola dress.  She was skeptical about her belly fitting and was concerned the fabric wouldn't bounce back after our little dress-up session.  Well it did, and she looked stunning in it!  Was it an expectant mother's glow?  Breathing fresh air on a sunny afternoon?  An incredibly talented photographer?  Maybe all of it combined.  Either way this is my favourite photo from the whole weekend. 

Meg, kicking off her shoes and enjoying the sunshine

Finally here are a few more photos from the weekend to show off some of the projects completed by the girls.