Grail, Chosen (un)Wisely

 So.

Making a motorcycle jacket from a sequined fabric is not an original idea. Once I saw a sequined motorcycle jacket, though, I definitely wanted to make one.

I haven't, yet, but I do want to.

A big barrier to this potential project has been that I have a very particular idea of what kind of sequin fabric I want to use

• Sequins that are sewn flat, not flippable or paillette or a shape besides 'round'
  
• Sequins that are 6mm, not 3mm micro sequins
• Sequins arranged in offset rows, not meandering, random, or without the offset
• The base fabric is opaque, not mesh
• The sequins are metallic, not holographic, iridescent, matte, or transparent

And apparently any one of those requirements is unpopular unfashionable, let alone combined.  The few places I did find that offered this specific--and admittedly kinda old fashioned*--format of sequined fabric...tended not to have it in stock. *It's the Seventiesness I want.

Or, well, they might have it in stock in colors that I didn't want.  If I was going to pay [gasp] $30 per yard, I was absolutely going to be picky about colors.  Silver, gunmetal, black, pinks, purples, even blue-greens: all fine.  No. gold.

And I was willing to splurge on this fabric, especially since I could probably get away with 1¾ to 2 yards--since motorcycle jackets are short and made of a lot of pieces, they can be squeezed out of surprisingly small (for jackets) yardages.

But you can't buy something you can't find.

So I checked whenever I'd think about it; watched stuff that was "not close but I might settle for it" get reduced and sell out on FabricMart; cursed JoAnn for only carrying the trendy sequin stuff; tried variations on web search terms that made the search engine tilt its head like dog who might have recognized a word you just said.

Honestly, though, I mostly didn't think about it.

The kiddo needs pants--he's doing virtual school again this year, but we have to go to an in-person orientation soon to pick up the school-issued computer, and Husband thinks the last pair of pants I made for the kid are...kinda weird.  I could make another pair, of course, and in a more neutral fabric, if I had any such fabric.  Husband wanted to look for a pair of ready to wear pants, so we spent a while in Walmart this morning with a tape measure (the kid stayed home.)  Since he's built like a piece of spaghetti, it took a while to find options that were long enough (or nearly so) but with a waist that could be reduced further with elastic without turning into paper bag waists.

We managed to find two pairs!

That particular Walmart tends to have little to no stock of mill end pre-cut fabric, but I decided to go look anyway, just in case they had something suitable for Kid Pants.

They did not, but, given the way this post started, you can probably guess what they did have

I can't say it's exactly what I was looking for, because I didn't have an exact color in mind

but wow.

Spotting it felt a lot like when I spotted the #3-4 transitional 1960 Barbie in beautiful condition in a pile of "everything you can fit in this bag for $3" toys in a thrift store (a feeling heretofore approached only by going to another thrift store the very next day and finding a Sasha baby Sandy.)  I grabbed it in delighted disbelief, then very intentionally went back to regular browsing.

This fabric is a 50" wide synthetic double jersey knit base, with the sequins covering 40" of width (which, in retrospect, is probably common on sequin fabric, and that "I could get by with 1¾ yards" thought was...naive.)  

The overall length is just over 3 yards (I know the label says 3 yards, but I have been lied to by a mill end pre-cut label before), but that part around the three yards point shows its true nature of being a mill end

There should be plenty of sequined area to make another Burda 6800 (more likely than KwikSew 3764, but I do have other moto jacket patterns I haven't tried out yet.)  We'll see how much of this end is left before trying to figure out if I might make something featuring it.

One of my long-ago Wawak orders included a set of brass zippers with light pink tape, in number and sizes for Burda 6880, too, and I also have pale pink fabric, with black pinstripes, suitable for lining.  And light pink Saba C thread!

So, while I don't know when I'm going to make this into the motorcycle jacket I've been imagining for ages, I do have the supplies for it.

and it will definitely be an Unwise Sewing Adventure

Blergh.

 My last monthly cycle is what ramped up my productivity earlier and then proceeded to destroy any further inclination to sew that I had.  For the last few days, I've been feeling more like I want to make something, but haven't been able to figure out what.

And I still haven't figured out what, but I have been finding fabrics that I can admit are good but not for me.  And, as I have been poking through my stash looking for anything else that can go, I rediscovered what may technically have been a huipil (from the friend's relative's destash), but a very hastily machine sewn and polyester lace and tiny amount of embroidery kind of maybe huipil.

So I cut off the lower pin tucked and lace inserted part and added a waistband

A Most Basic Skirt

 So, after the hubris of the previous project, I wanted to make a simple black skirt to go with it.

Now...I don't lack for simple black skirts, but this time I wanted it to be a very long sheath skirt.  The last trip to the creative re-use store brought Simplicity 9815 from 1990 into my pattern stash

(and yes, I have found a nice plastic sleeve to put it in, just in case those spots are malevolent.)

As simple skirt is a boring project, and using a new pattern meant I wasn't quite sure about the size, so it took a few days--with lots and lots of pauses--but here it is

and, oh, yeah--black is hard to photograph

Tulle Star

 I am developing a theory of what I'm calling Unwise Sewing Adventures, and this project would definitely be one of those

 

 Yes, it's a long sleeve button up shirt made from a holofoil star spangled tulle.

Nothing about it was a good idea.

It was so much fun to make.

Re-use Revisit, Part 2: Patterns All Around You, Patterns Everywhere

 No editorializing on things in this round up of the patterns I bought at the creative re-use thrift store today for 10¢ each, and, like the fabric, I did not allow myself to rethink anything--if I put it in my basket, it stayed there until check out.  You might be able to tell I've had vests and suit coats on my mind lately, with a nice find for that vague military-style marching band jacket idea I recently had, too.

I did donate 23 patterns, so bringing home 20 patterns is a net positive, right?

Re-use Revisit, Part 1: The Clothening

I went with the same friend to the creative re-use thrift store again today.

I was...not as restrained as I was the first time we went.

I'll post the patterns separately--this post is entirely the fabric haul (minus the pack of monk's cloth the friend picked out for me, because I want to try punch embroidery.  Said friend also gave me a punch needle.)

 

Vestdeo

 I (somewhat) impulsively made a video while I was working on that last vest, too

Featuring: some of the thought process behind deciding to make the vest, some of the other potential fabric options, and a whole lot of me rambling about the ways I cut and sew and the gadgets I like to use

Is a Nineties Vest, Is Not a Nineties Fit

 

Vest

Dress

Unlike the last two outfit photos, I actually wore this for most of the day  (it did eventually get too warm for layers)

Throwback Vest

 In the previous vest post, I concluded by mentioning that I might make a 1990s-style vest someday.

And here we are

Another combo

 

Shirt

Vest

Skirt