Thursday, May 23, 2013

Classes - Winter 2013 - Part 2

Last of my class samples for January to June.
Butterick 4028 - chopped shorter
My "cheater" version of a Chanel jacket.  Instructions for a quicker version of this jacket are found in Threads Magazine No. 128 - January 2007.  I would love to tell you that this is some wonderfully amazing tweed fabric and lovely silk charmeuse lining, but ... it's not.  I had the idea for this class, wrote up  the class description for the store newsletter, all the time thinking that I would just order some fabric on-line, because the probability of finding anything decent at Fabricland is next to nil.  Of course, I managed to lose track of time because of one thing and another, and the next thing you know - I should already be sewing this jacket, and  - no suitable fabric.  Off to Fabricland to find something - anything half-way suitable.  Nothing.  Not anything even remotely related to what I needed.  In a last ditch effort, I headed to the clearance section, which happened to be at 50% off that day.  There it was - "unknown fibers" very loose somewhat tweedy-looking stuff for the unbelievable price of $2.00 a metre.  This certainly has to be the world's cheapest Chanel jacket knock-off.  With such, um, "exquisite" fabric, I was not about to waste any precious silk for lining, so that is grand old polyester charmeuse.  Didn't bother spending money on a chain for the hem.  It is what it is.  I did underline with voile, though.  Don't know that it will help with stability in the long run.  Just from hanging in the store, there are already a few snags in the loose weave.  I'll wear this for as long as it looks decent, but I did have my sample done on time.  It's still a lot of work, but much, much faster than the true method of putting together a Chanel jacket.  I now know that I can do this, so the next time I decide to make one of these - I'll definitely take the time to source out nice fabric, because all that work certainly deserves a lengthy lifespan.
For trim, I just used the selvage and some braided trim that I had in my stash.
Kwik Sew 3553
And, of course, we had to have yet another pair of pyjamas for the "Fundamentals" classes.  Nothing exciting about these - I'll be whipping these out in my sleep soon, but it is nice (I think) to have a new sample to show with every new class schedule.  Poly/cotton, and I thought that adding a bit of lace would help to make them a little less boring.
Now I'm working on samples for my summer classes.  No pyjamas this time around!

8 comments:

  1. The Chanel jacket does not look like it came from $2 fabric!! What a bargain, great job!

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  2. Chanel jacket looks great! Perhaps the pictures are misleading and you know better than the fabric is not bad and this jacket has long life ... but you did a great job! Love pajamas, so romantic ...

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  3. Irene, I swear your fabric is exactly like the one I used for my last Chanel jacket. I bought it from Julie at Timmel Fabrics and it was in the $20.00's. It was a mixture of silk/cotton and wool, if my memory serves me ! Enjoy your jacket. It looks great!

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  4. Your jacket is very beautiful - and you won't mind wearing it, as you found such a bargain beautiful fabric.

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  5. Irene, your Chanel lookalike is so cool! I love that it is a bargain, and doesn't look it at all. Love the pjs, and wish I lived close in order to take a class.

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  6. Wow, what impressive samples! The jacket is beautiful, but I'm more interested in the sleepwear. The lace trim really adds a lot, and they look so wonderfully made.

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  7. love your jacket just beautiful

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  8. Hello! I am sewing Kwik Sew 3553 for the second time and I'm having a lot of trouble with the fit - lots of bagginess between the neck and shoulder. Any tips? Thanks!

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