boucle sans debacle

pre-script: you may have seen me prancing around in this boucle over at MSN.  as i don't like to be repetitive, you'll see different shots over here in kalkatroona, and some different story bits as well. because i know the top thing on your mind is MORE OONA.  you're welcome.

if you've been keeping up with me, you know this boucle.  i had an affair with it for almost four months before i finally cut into it, petting it, staring longingly at it, sometimes just standing in the middle of the room hugging it, ruggy glancing over, what are you doing?  really what i wanted to do was drape it over a dressform and go crazy, but alas, i left my much beleaguered and mostly useless "uniquely you" on the curb in LA.  her NY styrofoam wasp waisted counterpart also went the way of the dodo in the Great Move Up Down And Over Country of Aught '12. with my hands on a dressform, i have no idea what madness i would have come up with.  probably some sort of gown.

when i first laid eyes on this boucle, all i could think was WIGGLE DRESS WIGGLE DRESS WIGGLE DRESS.  the bolt had three and a quarter yards left on it, and i took it all.  ALL.  it was simply too deliciously bratty not to.  as i pranced around the store with my treasure, happy shoppers stopped me every ten feet: oooh, so pretty!  what are you going to make?  a jacket?  grinning, i would loudly chirp  NO! I'M GOING TO MAKE A WIGGLE DRESS!

like most of the onlookers, my mood man eric looked nervous, but willing to help.  make sure you really press those seams, he guided, flat open and niiiiiiiice and you have got to overlock those edges, maybe interface them, you want this to be tight.

as the weeks turned into months, everyone, and i mean everyone, saw this as a jacket.  carolyn heard "dress" and pronounced me winne the pooh.  christine lent patterns.  meg cautioned against it.  finally, one day as i was sitting on the floor, boucle curled up next to me in my mood bag, i looked up at ruggy and sighed: it should be a jacket.  cue violins.  yes, babe, it should ruggy agreed.  and then i can wear it lots and lots instead of once or twice a season.  in his wisdom, ruggy did not say i and everyone else in the rational world told you so.  he just said yes.  yes you can.

when it came down to it, i couldn't bear to line it and hide one bit of the brilliance of this boucle.  so back to mood i went for a tidbit to hong kong the seams.  josh advised me to pick a fabric that was close to the weight of the boucle, which made me happy, because there are about eighty bolts i'd like to play with on the third floor.  kway greeted me: you still haven't made anything out of that?  eric shook his head: at least you're taking you're time, you got to get it right.  i shocked myself by going for black binding.  kway shocked himself by agreeing with me. as i walked away, bidding him a wish me luck, he replied, naaaaaah, i have faith in you.  faith's better than luck.

unfortunately kway's faith was wrongly placed, the black wool i chose was waaaaay too thick, and wouldja look at this atrocity of cotton i bound the seams with:

THE HORROR. fortunately that led to my decision to line in orange silk.  peep my handstitching!

the pattern, a burda magazine jacket from sept 2008, was chosen after thinking about all the gorgeous things renee makes from those damn volumes.  maybe the years of sewing have sunk in, because this went together in a couple of hours.  i curse the magazines no more.  the dropped shoulders, however, were way too bulky, and emphasized my gorilla paws.  so i came up with this handstitched leather fix (the orangey brown bits are oonamade to keep the closures down when not in use).

and finally, for some closure on this extreeeeeeemely pictured post: i wanted a metal exposed zip, but during our meetup last weekend, peter suggested a simple hook and eye closure to keep the swing of the jacket.  wanett and suzanne helped me pick out a perfect match, and i added three to keep ruggy's cries of BUT OONA IT'S COLD OUTSIDE down to a dull roar.  (however, he's right. it's colder than a witch's ittie bitties out there.  hence the indoor shots.)

to everyone who helped me in some way, i hope i you like the outcome! i still have a good yard and a half left, and this stuff is so soft and wonderful, i think i'm going to make a great big voluptuous pillow out of it. that way i can curl up with it inside and out.

if i ever go outside again.  freeze much?

this jacket was made using my monthly fabric "allowance" as part of the Mood Sewing Network (and now resides in MommaBalloona's closet!)