Mother-Daughter Bonding at the Sewing Table
Ana came home with grand plans for sewing. She wanted to piece together a quilt top, back it and fill it, attach binding, and baste it so it would be ready to be quilted by hand. She also wanted to sew a coat she has been fantasizing about making ever since she saw The Matrix. Yeah, she wanted a coat like Neo's.
I decided to join her and finish sewing a jacket I had started years ago - how many years, I don't know. I have fantasized about this jacket for a long, long time.
Ana did considerably better at accomplishing her goals than I did with mine.
The quilt is ready for quilting. She will hand quilt it a block at a time as a relaxing past-time after she goes back to school.
The coat is done, too, and it is spectacular.
She found the pattern on eBay. A priest's hassock - which she realized was the basic coat from the movie. (Oh, yes, another religious allusion from The Matrix).
She wanted to line it. I suggested that she get another fabric that she liked for a lining, and sew two layers together as one. When we went to JoAnn Fabrics, she found a black 100% wool suiting for the outer layer, and a black and gold brocade for the inner layer. She spent just about all of her Christmas money on the materials. Expensive, but a coat like this would be very expensive if you bought it ready-made.
Here are pictures of the coat, exterior and interior. In one picture, my friend Bonnie is holding it up to show off the excellent finishing job that Ana did on the inside of the coat.
Ana is delighted with her new coat. It's a good thing she has it, too, because she forgot to bring her winter coat home with her from Montreal.
As for my project, things did not go quite as well.
Here is the pattern I have been dreaming about:
My first discovery was that the wool I had cut out had been damaged by insects in the years it had been sitting in a basket in my sewing room.
I quickly learned that all of the finishing work was on the surface, and that the slightest wobble was quite visible. I simply could not finish the piece with the quality that I love and need in my clothes. I have so much more appreciation for the good finishing that seamstresses in other parts of the world give to the clothes that I buy.
I also discovered that the jacket looked dumpy on me. It was not at all flattering. The armholes were very deep, almost a dolman style, and the jacket just hung on me. I have learned that I look best in fitted clothes.
The final product of my two days of sewing:
I regret the time I devoted to the jacket, but not all fantasies work out. I'm giving myself a pat on the back for being able to admit that this project was not worth any additional time, and jettisoning it.
I decided to join her and finish sewing a jacket I had started years ago - how many years, I don't know. I have fantasized about this jacket for a long, long time.
Ana did considerably better at accomplishing her goals than I did with mine.
The quilt is ready for quilting. She will hand quilt it a block at a time as a relaxing past-time after she goes back to school.
The coat is done, too, and it is spectacular.
She found the pattern on eBay. A priest's hassock - which she realized was the basic coat from the movie. (Oh, yes, another religious allusion from The Matrix).
She wanted to line it. I suggested that she get another fabric that she liked for a lining, and sew two layers together as one. When we went to JoAnn Fabrics, she found a black 100% wool suiting for the outer layer, and a black and gold brocade for the inner layer. She spent just about all of her Christmas money on the materials. Expensive, but a coat like this would be very expensive if you bought it ready-made.
Here are pictures of the coat, exterior and interior. In one picture, my friend Bonnie is holding it up to show off the excellent finishing job that Ana did on the inside of the coat.
Ana is delighted with her new coat. It's a good thing she has it, too, because she forgot to bring her winter coat home with her from Montreal.
As for my project, things did not go quite as well.
Here is the pattern I have been dreaming about:
My first discovery was that the wool I had cut out had been damaged by insects in the years it had been sitting in a basket in my sewing room.
I quickly learned that all of the finishing work was on the surface, and that the slightest wobble was quite visible. I simply could not finish the piece with the quality that I love and need in my clothes. I have so much more appreciation for the good finishing that seamstresses in other parts of the world give to the clothes that I buy.
I also discovered that the jacket looked dumpy on me. It was not at all flattering. The armholes were very deep, almost a dolman style, and the jacket just hung on me. I have learned that I look best in fitted clothes.
The final product of my two days of sewing:
I regret the time I devoted to the jacket, but not all fantasies work out. I'm giving myself a pat on the back for being able to admit that this project was not worth any additional time, and jettisoning it.
I'm a Reverend in Boise Idaho who has been looking for the pattern to make a Cassock and would be extremely greatful if you could possibly send me the pattern VIA email for I find that this would be much easier than having to spend vast amounts of money buying the Vestments online it is just rather not really cost effective for me at this time. So if you could send the patterns to scruffy13fox@yahoo.com I would be absolutely greatful. Thank you, Rev. Kyle G. Davis
ReplyDeleteExcellent Matrix coat with a great lining! One of my two teenage daughters sews and knits, and she draws in the Anime style. I'll show her this blog, and I can bet she'll want to buy the pattern pronto. This would be a versatile pattern for cosplay.
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