The No grain jean jacket continues.

I thought I would share a peak of the progress. I have not touched this project or anything else for nearly three weeks, and trust me, it is killing me. I did manage to do a Hong Kong finish on the side seams to day and will do the same to the sleeve seams. I could have flat felled them but just wanted a bit of whimsy and finesse for the inside.  I took this jacket apart with a razor blade. Most of the recycle jean projects I have found specify just hacking the sucker with the scissors. The blade took very little time and I did it while watching TV. By doing that I gained the dark seam allowances to work with. I cut off all the details and repositioned them on other parts of the jacket, which made no logical sense whatsoever but is fun aesthetically.  For me, this design is all about the fun and nothing here is being taken too seriously.

This gives you a peak at some of the "painting" if you can call it that. I wanted just blotches of color, much like my original inspiration. I used Lumiere textile paints and once heat set they softened up nicely.  Next time I will mix them with fabric medium to soften them up. Every project there is something to learn, right? I did get some really cool iridescent textile medium, made by Liquitex, that I am anxious to try but this project is pretty much painted out at this point. I am chomping to use my new Inktense pencils and the irridescent medium.

Here you can see my Honk Kong seams , made without the benefit of an edge stitching foot, but on a galloping horse, it will be fine. As the side seam curves out for the hip there is a flat felled seam. Not easy to nicely wrap the binding around. I may redo that, we''ll see. Where is my all time favorite presser foot, the edge stitcher? Well, I am using my workhorse Kenmore which doesn't have such a foot while my Pfaff is at the spa in New Hampshire. I will pick it up in two weeks when we go down to visit. There is NO ONE around here that can fix a computerized machine within  50-60 miles. I think that alone is good reason to move, right?

We are still in fix up mode with the house and our hard work is starting to show. We are going for big curb appeal with landscaping changes, new front doors and other goodies. I think I've watched too many HGTV real estate shows.  We hope to have the house on the market March 1, although it's looking so  much better it's tempting to stay put. Realistically, however, we need to be closer to our children for several reasons and that's what we will do. This was our downsize home. We sold the big house on the lake some years back, still to the chagrin of our children, but we've all come to love this little beige box on the river and all it's wildlife and quiet. Our goal with this revitalization is to try and give this box some character and I think we have. In going over our papers on the house the other night, I found the original real estate photos. It was new construction and wow, I'm amazed we even bought it. The layout inside and location on the water sold us. We've always lived on the water and it was definitely the right choice. By Labor Day we will be done with a slew of August visitors and all the construction and hopefully it will be back to our usual quiet, laid back, creative lifestyle. I can't wait to seriously hit the sewing machine, yes!.......................Bunny

The Jean Jacket continues....

I managed to get an afternoon of painting in on my jacket and it is near done, so easy. This isn't the Mona Lisa, but soft big splotches of color. I experimented a bit and the Lumiere dyes gave me my best effect. All they will require is a heat setting 24 hours after paining. I may still use some of the Shiva paint sticks. We'll see. The vegetable peeler is what I use to remove the skin from the paint sticks. I have had sticks that are fifteen years old and fresh as daisies once they are peeled. They are supposed to be peelable, not just a drying out factor, and they last forever.  But I am not done.

I also ordered a set of Inktense Pencils which I am soooo excited about.  I want to thank Coco, of Coco's Loft, for introducing me to these via her blog. I can't wait to try them. You use them, sort of crayon like, or any colored pencil. Then you apply a bit of water with a small brush and voila - they turn to permanent inks which need NO heat setting or any other kind of setting to be permanent on fabric. You bet I am tracking this package! 

Some Surface Embellishment, maybe....

Have you ever been on an Artist's Studio Tour? I have been on a few and went on one today that was really wonderful. The tours invite you (free)  into the studios of professional artists where you can discuss their work, see them working, and of course, buy their efforts. It is very inspirational and great fun. There is something about craft fairs that leaves me lukewarm the past few years. There always seems to be a sea of quilting cotton placemats for sale on myriad tables. And of course, what craft fair would be genuine without those Christmas elf crocheted toilet paper covers? Bless these people for working so hard at their craft but that type of thing just doesn't do it for me. Sometimes there are gems lurking at these craft fairs  but when they realize how talented and marketable they are, those artists jump on the studio tour bandwagon. I've never been disappointed on one of these tours as all the artists are truly professional and so talented.

Today I saw dyers, beaders, glass fusers, a young man who cut big blocks of linoleum into fabulous designs,  a couple of wonderful photographers, painters, print makers and more. It was truly inspirational.  Suddenly my purple wool jacket seemed a bit blah.

I think I have the fit worked out now with the FBA added and a swayback adjustment. I am also going to make the darts at the neck shorter which should give me more ruffle around the neck and not accentuate my sloping shoulders as much. I will also wear shoulder pads. Muslin #3 got darts and no darts. The no waist dart version hung much better on me as it did on the three other versions I have seen. I haven't seen anyone make it with the darts yet. I did add a bust dart in front as well but no waist darts will be found.

Another reason to catch one of these studio tours, if you can, is the refreshing jolt of creativity it gives you. My brain is totally refreshed and energized with ideas. Truthfully, the past couple of weeks I have been looking at my purple/blue wool and just thinking it is a sea of darkness. I've been toying with several ideas for adding surface embellishment to the jacket and today came home and played with my paints. What originally sparked me to think about painting or doing something to the fabric was this picture below of Sandra Betzina's jacket. She took out the darts and sleeve ruffles and  had this incredible fabric  that really enhanced the design. I've also noticed that all of the great versions I have seen of this jacket were prints. Who am I to argue with success?

I have this twig stencil and pulled out various types of paints to see what I would get. The one above is actually silver oil paint dry brushed on to the wool. I love painting fabrics with oil paints. I love oil paints and that smell of linseed can envelope me any time. For some reason the painting looks really clunky in the photos but it is really a finer design in real life. The one with the silver paint looks very natural, lets the wool not look painted and Hubs loved it. 

On this one I used Lumiere metallic turquoise textile paint. It was a bit clunky and I think would give a better print if I had mixed it up a bit better. I love these colors together. And last and least...........

This is white Jacquard textile paint. I mixed it with fabric medium and it really was too runny but that is why we experiment and do samples.

Which one will I pick? Not sure because I am also considering some non paint options for embellishment, maybe some fancy threads to serge the edges with or some couching. I'm still letting ideas flow and playing. I want this to be everyday wearable but not a sea of midnight. I will keep you  posted. The jacket is all cut out............Bunny