“Your Style Statement defines your authentic self. It is a compass for creating a life that reflects what’s true to you in every way. From your wisdom to your wardrobe, from your longings to your living room, your style statement is where your essence meets your expression.”
~Carrie McCarthy & Danielle LaPorte~
Good Afternoon my dear Sew family, I hope this post finds you happy, healthy and whole. It’s a great Tuesday afternoon simply because I have another opportunity to do what I love and share what I learn with all of you. While I won’t go into details regarding my weekend I will say I spent most of my time in pajamas and wrapped in my favorite throw. Consequently I didn’t do much sewing at all until late Sunday evening when I had a momentary burst of energy that quickly left a couple of hours later. I was so inspired by the awesome posts of some of my favorite sewing bloggers that I had to get to my machine and sew something.
Walking into my sewing room I wasn’t quite sure what exactly I was going to make, I just knew I needed and wanted to make something. As I sat in my chair I glanced over at my fabric stash and saw deep wine colored faux leather sitting on top of my Fall/Winter textile basket. Although I’ve had my eye on this leather for quite some time I really had no idea what I wanted to do with it. Several ideas began to flood my brain as I sat there but since I wasn’t feeling very well I knew I would have to tone my creative thoughts down in order to avoid exhausting myself again. So I sat a little longer and began to think about my style foundation, that thing that’s at the very core of who I am creatively. Then it hit me no matter what I create be it simple or complex I always want to be chic, classic and above all else feminine.
I thought about all the ways I love to wear leather and thought why not combine something chic and off the shoulders with a cute little sassy bottom. For me challenging myself isn’t always about the complexity of the pattern/design sometimes its about the fabric, the textures and manipulating them in ways I never have before. Needless to say it felt really good to sit at my machine after being in bed all weekend long and create something that so effortlessly expresses the style that is ME!
Hugs
Patterns
=I used two very simple patterns that I knew would give me the look I had in mind. For the top I used Simplicity 1613 View D with no flap/overlay and for the skirt I used my new go to flirty pattern McCalls 6842 view C.
Fabric= Is a faux leather that has a two way stretch and was very easy to work with.
Notes = I did add a dart at the top of each sleeve in order to get the fit around the shoulders I was looking for. When using this type of faux leather you have to be careful because it can expand. I decided to finish the top bodice seam with Sealah No-Sew binding tape (carefully applied with iron using three layers of muslin between leather and iron itself). Iron is on lowest setting and not left on very long at all but be careful this can expand your faux leather fabric even melt it if you are not careful. The bottom hem of the skirt and top I decided to leave with a clean raw edge cut that turned out rather nicely!
Deep Wine Boots from Nordstrom!
