Acanthus

Since I have black thread in the serger, I am making an effort to sew dark fabrics.  I chose a black and white acanthus scroll print and wanted to make yet another button up shirt.  I had a yard of it, so I figured I'd once again use the hacked Burda 7831.  I've made shirts from 7831 and a yard of fabric plus a bit more fabric for contrast on the front bands and collar assembly.

But.

I just didn't want to do contrasts this time.

I thought a but and realized I could do a variation...without the collar.

I borrowed the scoop neck shape from the fake McCall's 8197 variation of Burda 6401 and confidently cut the front and back, a bit less confidently cutting the sleeves and facings, and then hoping I could get enough length to make the front bands.  I did!

And yes I realize the pattern is busy enough to hide anything like a detail this shirt may have.

Toy Sewing: Not Dolls, Not Plush

As an American kid in the 1980s, I was very much exposed to the advertising for the Get In Shape Girl line of toys.  Now, my Mom was an aerobics instructor, so most of that line of toys held no appeal for me.

But.

That ribbon wand.

So I bought it and I liked it, except for the fact that the ribbon was attached in a way that did not, most of the time, allow it to spin freely, so I'd have to stop playing and take a moment to untwist the whole thing.  Which got annoying.  I eventually left it at the grandparents' house for all my cousins to play with whenever they wanted.  After dealing with the need to untwist it, I'm not sure they wanted to much, either.

About a month ago, though, I was suddenly seized with the idea of making a ribbon wand.  A ribbon wand with a proper connector.  A ribbon wand that would not twist into an unfun worm.

A follow-up experiment

 So, the negative foil left on the transfer foil sheet after applying it to the reptile texture?  Is now fused to some pleather.

I have absolutely no idea what I'll do with this, although whatever it is might also involve fusing interfacings and such to the back to make it heavier and, more importantly, to stabilize it, because, as aging pleather, that plastic membrane layer on top has lost some of its ability to stretch without tearing

(and I have ordered some proper materials for work on the other foiled leather project, including a new pack of leather needles, because I keep worrying that my single remaining ancient leather needle will break if I get too enthusiastic with leather or vinyl projects...)

An experiment

 I want to make a purse, and I want to use some of the second hand leather I've accumulated, mostly as gifts (thanks, All!)

And some of the leathers are in colors I do like, but I have hesitations about using--the leather needle I have isn't meant for heavier hides; if I quilt the suede will it just look like a bad Chanel knock off, which would send all sorts of incorrect messages about the kind of person I am; do I really want to use up the fantastic stuff when I know my skill in this area isn't great...stuff like that.

I decided maybe I'd use the pale gray-blue and sepia mock reptile finish leather someone gave me about 20 years ago

It's really soft, but I know I could interface it

but of course that wasn't the biggest issue