in search of a quiet place where i could act like an idiot in peace, i stumbled upon a seemingly barren parking lot.
complete with john deere tractor.
it wasn't as empty as it seemed... soon, i had a crew of city housing workers with whom i had a delightful time. a woman in overalls possessing a beautifully infectious laugh came charging out. you seen that coat? that's straight outta the seventies!! you got a whole seventies thing goin on, i like that! EEEYYYYY JIMMY! 'member when you usedta dress like that? AHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAA
listen! a sweet man named ralphie ordered...you be careful out here now! dese people throw things outta dese windows and we can't do NUTHIN ta stop them. what's wrong wit' people?! lookit alla that broken glass! ey, you made that coat? well that's just GREAT. i expect ta see you in vogue one day, young lady!
ralphie was my favorite.
this yardage, part of my mood fabrics MSN allowance, is certainly crazy enough for those hallowed pages. and finicky enough. i realized i'd have to handstitch every seam if i wanted a pretty finish-- you can see the difference side by side in the bottom half of this collage. no contest, yes? and so a-handstitching i went...
i think it paid off, as it created sort of a padded look to the seams.
a great amount of crossing my fingers went into the pattern hackery of simplicity 2812...it included taping coat bodice pieces to bottom mates and evening out seams to erase a waistline seam...it was definitely one of those AAAAAAH LET'S JUST SEE WHAT HAPPENS makes. the collar brought this baby to a suddenly fluffy bunny cute place, i took one look in the mirror and cooed ooooo hai my name is oona don't you want to come play tiddlywinks with me? the cat gave me a weary look, he's used to me barking at myself, and i went with triple overlocking the neck edge instead.
ah, overlocking. ah, machines that work. i remember machines that work...to be honest, it's been a irritating week sewing wise, working out the technicalities, that is, of accomplishing sewing, and i'm looking forward to a weekend out of town where i can put THE GREAT SEWING MACHINE CONUNDRUM OF 2014 out of my mind. hope you're looking forward to a lovely long weekend as well!
this coat was made using my monthly fabric "allowance" as part of the Mood Sewing Network.
GASP! The seams! The inside! The fabrics.... the fabrics... it's sew beautiful!
ReplyDeletethank you karen!
DeleteUNBELIEVABLE!!!! DUDE, this so totally ROCKS!!
ReplyDeleteThe hand stitching makes it!! And also gives you carpal tunnel, I'm sure.
haa! i went zen on it and used a super sharp needle, fo sho.
DeleteHoly Moly this is beautiful! It's an utterly elegant and sophisticated joy. Your skill with matching fabric to pattern blows me away. Nice work!
ReplyDeletethankyou caroline, what a great compliment!
Deletelove the simple collar!
ReplyDeleteoo you shoulda seen the first collar. SO. wrong!!
DeleteI will never get enough of your 70s fabulousness. I kid you not I have patterns I sigh over, thinking, if I were Oona with that amazing hair I could pull this off. Then I remember I will never have an afro, or freckles...in the 70s pattern world my options are wonderbread white with the most boring girl-next-door shoulder bob haircut and you only get to wear the oversized "jiffy" patterns in khaki polyester double knit!
ReplyDeletebut no! you have fabulous farah fawcett hair that i shall never get to toss around!!
DeleteOH GOD ITS SO LOVELY. I love when you wear orange. The orange + blue+ your amazing style = one helluva piece.
ReplyDeletethere's more blue & orange a comin, my technicolor friend....
Deletewhouaaaaaaaa............gorgeous !
ReplyDeletethankya!
DeleteI LOVE the look of the padded seams!
ReplyDeleteAnd is that one of the swank needles you were talking about???
please share the details! :-D
oh yes, it's a super sharp clover brand needle from SIL thread. about 9 bucks for a pack. to be honest, though, i think there are way swankier out there.
DeleteGorgeous coat! I love the seams, worth the hand sewing effort!
ReplyDeletethankya! it was a lot of effort :)
DeleteOh... My... Heavens! You gone and done it again! Dang girl, what an inspiration!
ReplyDeleteman i love a good dang. thankya jessica!
DeleteI love this whole story and scene. And coat.
ReplyDeletethey were definitely related to teamsters.
DeleteYou are awesome. Those back princess seams, the fabric, ahh, LOVE!
ReplyDeletethank you!!
DeleteOmg I cannot handle this, it's too awesome...we haven't spent that much time together yet, so you might not have heard me say 14 million times that orange and blue is my favorite color combo -- just about any orange, any blue, I love them together so hard. That coat is beyond incredible. Handstitching great call.
ReplyDeleteI REMEMBER ANOTHER OUTFIT -- WITH MANY OF THE SENSIBILITIES OF THIS ONE -- IN YOUR QUEUE. S'ok, one cannot have enough blue and orange. Or 70s jeans. Or sequins, for that matter.
And I dig that necklace too. /gush
DeleteHAHAHAAAAAAAAA yes i did raise an eyebrow at the already waiting blue n orange when i got home from our day! i guess i have a penchant for that combo too...
Deletehahaha your story is the BEST. and that coat is so amazing! i can't believe how awesome that fabric is. nice work!
ReplyDeletei considered serging the edges and keeping it as a blanket, lemme tell ya...
DeleteThis is AWESOMENESS! I especially like the orange contrast down the center and on the sleeves - very cool! :)
ReplyDeletei had to use that selvege :)) thankya!
Deletei am loving this so much. everything about it. the length, the seams, i love the way you used the fabric. just love. and perfect paired with those high-waisted trousers and easy white shirt.
ReplyDeletewhole time i was making this, i knew you'd be into it. seriously.
DeleteJust WOW, the colours, the seams, the fabric...This is so Oona! Just totally cool and awesome...love your new Contact pic too!
ReplyDeletehaha! trying, slowly but surely, to pretty up the blog...
Deleteyou remind me of prince in this outfit, sis! the prince! and little prince too! how fabulous is that?
ReplyDeletealso, i hear ya with all the machine suffering! i'm away from my sewing machines, and can use only 30 years old and never serviced machine that belongs to nikola's mom, and that machine is a biatch!
SO MANY PRINCES! I AM ALL THE PRINCES! i totally see the little prince in there too-- like, can't unsee it now.
Deletewhy do our machines forsake us?
That coat is fabulous! Enjoy your weekend break from sewing machine woes :)
ReplyDeletei took those orders seriously :). thankya!
Deleteawesome coat!..every time I see something you've sewn I just makes me HAPPY!....I love your work man, I just love it! :)
ReplyDeleteoh, thank you! that makes me so happY!
DeleteOK, that's gorgeous. But where did you get those freakin' jeans?? I want some!
ReplyDeletegirl. forever 21. like three years ago, and truly $5. ridiculous. on many levels.
DeleteThat is so "Age of Aquarius", but if you're going to disco you need Kork-Ease platform shoes, because you can really spin on those flat soles while you "do the hustle!" You should start selling those patterns; nobody else is doing that look.
ReplyDeletei've wanted a pair of kork ease FOREVAH.
Deleteif i had the stamina to properly learn pattern making, i could see doing a whole flashback line. one of the required notions would be alcohol.
Great looking coat!!! I love your look, love those jeans also!
ReplyDeletei love your DRESS!!!
DeleteOh my Goodness! Oh my goodness! I love your coat. It's so cute! I mean, look at it!
ReplyDeleteteeheeee;)
DeleteEvery bit is amazing. Love, love, love the jacket. And the jeans with that super fly zipper are the stuff of my dreams.
ReplyDeletethose zips like to eat flesh. i backed them with some remnants so i kiiiiiinda made them, hehhehe....
DeleteSPEECHLESS...as in no words! Okay, just a few...let's do F's...fabulous, funky, fantastic! Me thinks you are subconsciously inspired by Ms Iris again...brilliantly, I might add. Cause this coat is all kinds of classy, yet Vogue-y, and hip-y {not to be confused with hippy}. Bravo on the hand stitching! Totally worth the effort! Now, get yourself outta town and may a new sewing machine be delivered by the Easter Bunny.
ReplyDeleteaaaah glad to be back in the praise section! HAAA!!! we are back, and the easter bunny was quite good to us with a happy weekend, mais, no machine.
Deletesiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Gorgeous!!! Love the whole outfit :)
ReplyDeletethankya!
DeleteOooh! I'm imagining you stopping traffic with by opening your coat like a superhero with a cape. So fun!
ReplyDeletethis is your shade of orange!
DeleteAmazing coat. I tried to look up the pattern but found that it now is a dress so it must be an older pattern. I love the lines of it but that fabric does not look like it was the easiest to work with. Great job!
ReplyDeleteah, it might be gone. it was from the project runway line. the envelope looks nothing like this though, maybe it's for the best! crazy hackery!
DeleteThat is one seriously fabulous coat! But you already know that. What I want to know is how did you get that lovely orange band running all the way along the neckline, CFs, hem, & sleeve hem? Are they all selvedges?
ReplyDeleteyes they are! i just ran the pattern right up to the selvege (selvage? selvedge? SO MANY OPTIONS GOOGLE!), except on hem & neck line-- there, i stitched the remnants to the hem (and inside of neck for support). i literally had JUST enough.
DeleteRalphie would've been my favourite too. I want to say 'that coat is totally made for you' but IT IS. I will also add that it rocks in every possible way!
ReplyDeletehaha! thank you lisa!
DeleteThat is some seriously amazing fabric made into an even BETTER coat!
ReplyDeletethanks girl!!
DeleteWhile I realise it's not really the main focus of this delightful post, I do enjoy a John Deere Tractor...In more relevant news, I also very much like the coat...you've managed to make bright orange super chic...I can only conclude from this that you are some sort of wizard.
ReplyDeletei AM. i am a TOTAL wizard. if i keep saying that, i *should* be able to make two new sewing machines magically appear... right?
DeleteExquisite work as usual! Love the colours, especially the orange. And the padded seam look is interesting!
ReplyDeletethank you!
DeleteThis coat is mad!
ReplyDeleteHAHAAA YES! that is the perfect descriptor!
DeleteThe pure gorgeousness of this is just so much. I love it and you look beautiful as always.
ReplyDeletelori, you are simply the best.
DeleteI want that jacket! I want that jacket! I want that jacket!
ReplyDeletethat's like saying beetlejuice!!!!!!!
DeleteI love that coat!!!
ReplyDeleteheya leah! thankya!
DeleteI love how this turned out! You took a ho-hum dated looking pattern and made it modern, and I loved how it looks like you used the selvedge as the accent. Ingenious!!
ReplyDelete:) thankya!
DeleteSuperfat FUNKY coat! Lovin' your 70s thang! I bow to your awesome hand stitching too, totally inspired choice and it looks amazing. If I tried to do that it would have looked like a 7-year-old playing with felt during a rainy lunchbreak.... sigh....
ReplyDeleteoh now, but give me some felt and i will definitely revery to toddler crafting skills.
DeleteThat's one seriously beautiful coat! As usual, I'm in awe. Anne-Marie
ReplyDeletethank you anne-marie!
DeleteOooh! Orange! It's similar in colour to those T-shirt father brings from work. Only more so. (He works in a locomotives-and-wagons-testing facility. Lots of heavy metal in the original sense, dangerous stuff floating around, necessitating orange.) I think you found yourself the perfect place to photograph a very special coat.
ReplyDeleteAnd handstitching! Welcome to the world of handstitching. :D
Plus I like your jeans.
yes, i remember that about your dad's job-- and IRL this is truly hazard orange hued!
Deletei'm really enjoying the handstitching. have to, i guess, what with the broken machinery...
THAT is fecking gorgeous. Those seams...the patience to sew them by hand paid off. Brilliantly wicked. Take THAT machines-that-refuse-to-work. If you have the space an old Singer treddle machine is a fantastic thing to have about. Seemingly impervious to problems; they also double well as a sideboard.
ReplyDeleteAs a side bar, I have serious hair envy. I've come to appreciate what I have, but when I was a little girl, well as little as 13 anyway, I wanted to have hair just like yours.
aaaaaaaand, the old treadles will work in case of apocalypse.
Deleteyou can take solace in the fact that at 13, my mom had given the hair-care responsibility over to me, and i was so confused by it, i simply grew mats of knots at the base of my scalp that had to be torn apart.
On anyone else, Marce, I would say no, no and no. Even a model in Vogue - it would be no (and eat a sandwich). Through the grace of God and stitched down seam allowances, this works. Oh how this works! Have a great Easter weekend!
ReplyDeletehahaaaaaaaaa! it was a terror before that handstitching, and a hit over the weekend:)
DeleteSo orange! So 70s! It is really not hard to love this coat...
ReplyDeleteand hard to ignore it :)))
DeleteGorgeously orangatangy-ly lovely :) Thanks for brightening my easter. you inspiration xx
ReplyDeleteyou are WELCOME!
DeleteFantastic story, really vivid characters! Your coat is pretty damn fine too.
ReplyDeleteteeeheee, thankya louise!
DeleteLove this coat, love the tractor, but for me it is all about the awesomeness of those seams . Amazing.
ReplyDeleteLove this coat (it is FANTASTIC)....but also love your jeans. Need to get me a pair of those jeans.
ReplyDeleteIt's absolutely gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteLOVE this coat, it is AWESOME. Made me want to go rummage in my basement sewing room. I want one. It is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteGemma in Germany
I'm just seeing this coat now and it's gorgeous!!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! What pattern is this?
ReplyDeletethank you! it's a modified version of simplicity 2812, there's a paragraph in there about the hackery, i have no idea what i did now, to be honest!
Delete