Butterfly on Bone Vest - Final

 The vest is done, and turned out very nice! Although I have to admit, were it not for my rubber nosed pliers, I could never have gotten a needle through that heavy denim. 

I did not try free sewing on this project. Just didn't feel comfortable with it, and after playing around on small sample pieces, it became obvious that this was going to be a learning experience. So, all the stitching on the vest I did by hand.

The bones are outlined in black thread, as are the butterflies. I put Fray Check around the edges of the butterflies, even though they were ironed on with Heat and Bond. The fabric was thin, and was going to fray pretty easily. Also, I put Fray Check at the ends of the braid trim to keep it from unraveling. The trim and buttons came from my stash. 

I have worn the vest once, and the only feature that bugs me is the collar. It rubs on my neck, so I may end up cutting it off. 

 

In The Meantime...The Linen/Lace Tank Top

I bought this linen tank top for $3.99 at the Goodwill (big surprise), knowing that I would do something with it, as it was a nice blank canvass. It's been in my closet, quietly waiting for me to make up my mind just what I would do to jazz it up a bit.

Enter Pinterest, with a major eye-candy bohemian/gypsy site, and the creative juices really started to percolate. I decided, after drooling over the clothing, rooms, and those amazing gypsy wagons, that there must be some residual hippie in me yet ( I graduated from High School in 1967). There were many clothing items decorated with lots of antique lace and beads. Shazzam! I've had a stash of old lace for a long time, so pulled out the linen tank, what lace I had, and started playing around.

Here is what I have decided on so far. I suspect more lace will be added to this tank as time goes on, especially around the bottom. But for now, I will sew this old lace yoke piece (given to me years ago by a friend) to the tank, then add beads and crystals. So much fun to be had by recycling stuff from the Goodwill. Warning...it is addictive once you start. You see possibilities EVERYWHERE!


Linen tank top and old lace blouse yoke.

This is how I will sew the lace to the tank. The narrow band at the top of the lace will be sewn down, but the lace below the band will be left loose. I think I will add crystals to the bottom of each lace point, to weight them down a bit, so they hang nicely.

Here are some closeups of the lace. I'm thinking of calling this the Gypsy Lace Tank. Sounds much more exotic and romantic than just Linen/Lace Tank Top.

And just for fun, here is a photo of my work table, which is in the garage, with both the Belle Epoch Short Dress, and the Linen/Lace Tank laid out, ready to start work on. Actually, I have already started on the Belle Epoch Short Dress, as the bottom of the shirt in the lower right has already been cut off. Please ignore the pile of couch throws waiting to be tossed in the washing machine. LOL

Bolero...A Shrug, Not The Sultry Music.

In my ongoing experiment with the Alabama Chanin patterns, I decided to try the bolero next. And, since Robert gets more free red and black pet food promo T-shirts than any other color, other than maybe dark blue and an icky tan (he's now asking for extra large shirts just so I can cut them up, as he only wears a large), naturally, the bolero ended up red and black. I almost managed to work around the logos on the shirt, but still ended up with a bit on one sleeve. The binding got sewn on with, at this point, my rough execution of the herringbone embroidery stitch. Later I will add stencils to the front and back, but I need to get some black fabric paint. I may also add red beads to the black binding.

For future boleros, I think I'll make the sleeves a tad longer, and make the armholes a bit looser. They felt a little tight to me. Oh, and I used the size large on the pattern sheets, even though most of the time I wear a medium. The bolero still fit snug. I'm going to wear it a few tines before I make the next one, and decide whether I want to make the next size larger to get a looser fit. I think they are supposed to fit snug, but it felt a little too snug for my comfort zone—I have wide shoulders for my size. Anyway, time will tell.

I should also state that I didn't have a rotary cutter at the time I made this (I just bought one yesterday, along with a small mat board), so the binding is cut with regular scissors, which don't always leave a clean edge when cutting long, narrow strips.

 The hint of pet food logo I couldn't quite work around. Oh well.

So that's it. My first AC bolero. I like it because = I can get a bolero out of only one extra large T-shirt (other than contrasting binding), I like the feel of it, it's comfy to wear, easy to sew up, and makes a great little canvas for artwork. Can't beat that.

For further bolero inspiration, check out these amazing ones made by Rice, over at the Voodoo Cafe. They will knock your socks off!