Friday, July 29, 2016

Peony in Progress



This is maybe my fourth version of the Sewing Workshop's Peony vest. Evidently I made a linen one when it first came out but I can find no evidence of that. Next I made it in a faux shearling that I purchased from the now-defunct Waechter's Fabrics in Asheville NC. It was fun to make but I never wore it. More recently I made one in denim and began to add sead-stitching to it. This one I enjoy wearing.

The Peony vest is one of my favorite patterns. It has good bones.



This one is from linen. The back is lined with a remnant of silk-cotton radiance. The front is lined with a cotton print designed by Marcia Derse. I love, love, love her designs. It looks like silk to me.



It is now finally ready for some hand-stitch. Finally.



It should have been an easy make. It has 3 pieces really - the back, the left front, and the right front. So I began to make mistakes right away. I do not think I have ever unsewed such a simple garment so many times.

And let me just give a shout-out to BSF Ginny who tried hard to preach the merits of understitching by hand at a recent meeting of City-Wide Couture. I was glad I did that. It would have been much more challenging to unsew machine stitched understitching. Yes, I got that far before making the final blooper.



Of course, the big reason to hand-sew the understitching is that you gain control over the shaping and there is no unintended shaping. Oh, and it's pretty.

Now I will enjoy much hand-stitched embellishment. It is fun just to think about the possibilities.

So what is simmering in your sewing world?

4 comments:

  1. Martha, where can one find Martha's fabrics? I'm very willing to order online. We only have JoAnns and a few quilt shops here.
    Kathy

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    1. Hi, Kat, it is frustrating to have so few options, isn't it? I bought the cotton lining online. See the link to Marcia Derse above. I also bought the radiance lining online - can't remember where but you can google radiance fabric. And the linen is from Linda Lee at the Sewing Workshop. I also trust Marcy Tilton's online fabric. Good luck.

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  2. The hand picked understitching is pretty! What is simmering in my world? I am making a sheath dress for a dinner out next week.

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    1. Thanks, Mary. I look forward to seeing your sheath. Guess what? I cannot wear a sheath - too straight up and down! I look forward to seeing yours though.

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