Leather wannabe

This is one of those annoying outfits that just have “something” wrong that keeps me from wearing it on a regular basis.

Made quite some time ago.  The fabric … a rather thin knit that wants to masquerade as leather.  I just had to have it.  Unfortunately, it’s a rather boring brown.  It became a 2-piece “dress”, because …. that’s so much more versatile than a real dress, right?  The top – my usual Pamela’s Patterns t-shirt.  The skirt – McCall’s 5523 (OOP, but still available).  I remember being thrilled that the fabric held a perfect crease for the pleats at the back.

Then I was not-so-thrilled that the zipper decided to sport a blip at the bottom despite all my precautions of interfacing the seam allowance, etc., etc.  No amount of steaming or any other tricks helped.  (If this was wool, that zipper bottom would have been PERFECT!)  Well, before I did any really serious damage to the fabric, I decided to just leave it alone.   I figured I’d always wear a jacket or cardigan with this skirt, so no-one would ever see my backside anyway.  The waistband decided to stretch out, despite my best efforts of interfacing and stabilizing.  No problem.  I just threaded an elastic through, to keep the skirt from sliding down to my hips.  I’ll just always wear a belt to cover that unsightly mess.  So far, so good.

What I had was a less-than-perfect, very boring brown outfit.  It needed some embellishment.  I came across some iron-on metal stud thingies.  An opportunity to use my gadget for applying hot glue crystals and studs!  Never mind that it took me – hmmm – a while to get up the nerve to actually apply the studs.  The thought that I might make an irreversible mistake with hot glue on the front of my outfit made me put off doing it.  Eventually I did get up the nerve.  I was not impressed with the fact that the glue actually seeped out beyond the edges of some of the studs.  OK – I can live with that.  Not too, too bad.   So you’d think that finally, with everything in place I could wear and wear this outfit – it works quite well with an “interesting jacket.  Not so.  Every time I wear these pieces, one or more of the studs come loose.  I’ve even lost a stud.  (Good thing I still have replacements!)  This is just downright annoying.  I think that I’ve figured out the problem.  The fabric is stretchy.  The studs – not so much.  Obviously the glue (despite my meticulous application) is not as strong/ doesn’t actually seep into the fabric to keep the studs really permanently in place.  So – lesson learned.  Hot glue embellishments are best left for woven (non-stretchy) fabrics (but I think I'll leave my clothes alone).  I would have probably been far better off with sewn-on embellishments.  Peeling off the studs will only leave unsightly spots.  I’ll wear these pieces in a pinch, but they’re definitely not a favourite.  I hate having to go through the day worrying about having bits of metal raining off of me.  I obviously need to stop acquiring fabric because it looks/feels “neat”.