Faux Fur Fun
Hello friends! I don't know about you, but I'm ready for some happy. Like many of you, I have a very heavy heart. One of the things I've learned about life, however, is that joy and sadness are not always mutually exclusive. This blog is not really sad. It is full of happy things. So maybe this will make you smile today, because it makes me smile:
This coat was a totally spur-of-the-moment eyeball-a-bathrobe-and-draw-up-a-quick-pattern project that happened rather suddenly Friday afternoon while Clementine was napping. I ended up sewing it all together in a frenzy of fuzzy fur Friday night, which resulted in some uncontrollable sneezing fits. It's still not quite finished as I ran out of magnetic snaps, so I need to go out and get some more of those today. By the way, magnetic snaps make the BEST closure for a kids coat, as they practically close themselves (see my magnetic snap tutorial if you've never tried them).
Do you know how sewing can be cathartic? It was. So fun to see this come together. The great secret of making coats is that they are actually quite easy. Though, the disadvantage of not actually taking a bit more time to properly adjust the pattern pieces to her measurements was that it came out about a size 5. Meh. Room to grow. And besides, it adds to the crazy-grandma-in-her-fur-coat effect when she puts it on, which I am totally loving. If you're not sure you love the faux fur look on kids, please take a look at this picture that I found particularly inspiring on Pinterest and come back and tell me that it is not completely stinking cute.
Personally I am not exactly a faux fur kindof gal, and I remember that my mom looked at me like I was crazy when I bought this fabric on a trip to Seattle a couple years ago, like "what the heck are you planning to make with THAT?" Now I just wish I had bought more, because I didn't even have enough leftover scraps to put some patch pockets on the front. Much less make a matching fur bear hat to go with it that would have been crushingly cute. As it is, it's got enough cute factor on it's own, but there you go: for some reason I can't post things without telling you how I wish it had been slightly different. I'm like the dinner hostess who compulsively has to mention the item of food on the table that's slightly overcooked.
Let me offer you one last thing:Tips for sewing with faux fur1. Cut each piece with a scissors individually after tracing the pattern pieces onto the back of the faux fur with chalk or marking pen. Attempting to cut through two layers at once, or trying to cut from the fur side, can result in swears/tears.2. Then get out your vacuum cleaner and clean up all that loose fur before you begin sneezing uncontrollably. NOW.3. Use a ballpoint needle on your sewing machine. Most faux fur is actually knit fabric, even if it's not very stretchy, so it's wise to treat it like a knit.4. Similarly, a walking foot on your sewing machine is a really good idea (see my walking foot post for more info).5. If you are sewing the faux fur with a woven fabric, as I was in this case, it may help to put the woven fabric on top when sewing the two layers together to help stabilize the knit underneath.6. Get out your vacuum again after you're finished so you won't have a permanent allergic reaction to your sewing room.