Stitchin' in My Kitchen

I’ve spent the past few weeks working on Vintage Simplicity 5922, it’s finally finished, and I felt like showing it off! Even though I’m currently experiencing summer in the SF Bay Area, I love faux fur, and I hope to one day move back to a city that experiences true winter. In the meantime…. This jacket pattern is meant to be made in a combination of fur and a woven fabric. I decided to go with the fur sleeve option this round.   The body of the fabric is this amazing black-on-black skull silk-cotton from the designer Milly that I bought from Cali Fabrics (I think it’s sold out because I bought it all). The sleeves are a black shag 2” faux fur also from Cali Fabrics, and the lining is a purple polyester from the brick-and-mortar home of Cali Fabrics, Fabric Outlet (shop local!) I made a quick muslin of this and found it to be a bit snug around the lower band. It’s a size 14, which is sized for a 28” waist, but felt a little too tight for a jacket so I ended up s...

Over the past few years, I’ve developed a pretty solid me-made wardrobe.   There aren’t too many holes or missing pieces that I need in my daily life.   I had a few summer pieces I wanted to sew for the upcoming season but after that I was planning on spending time this year on some more involved, time-consuming, sewing-skill-challenging projects.   The first one is a classic trench coat – or the Briscoe trench coat, inspired by ‘Law and Order’ Detective Lennie Briscoe, who rocked an awesome Burberry trench on the show (I often watch/listen to Law and Order reruns while I sew, mainly if I’m home alone). I was cruising vintage patterns on Etsy and I found this 1974 vintage Vogue 1095 Christian Dior trench coat pattern, and I bought it for $31, which may be the most I’ve ever paid for a sewing pattern.   I just loved the back, and thought it was a nice variation on a classic theme.   It was a size 14, for a 36” bust, so pretty much perfectly sized. ...