furry

Oh my gosh you guys HAPPY 2015!!! I hope everyone had an amazing holiday season, and a fantastic start to your new year!

As you might be able to tell from the lack of my usual greenery in these photos, I've actually been traveling for the past few weeks and only just got back home.  Whilst visiting family and indulging in some cozy holiday relaxation, I decided to unplug from the internet and social media for a bit, so my apologies if I've been a bit MIA in the blogosphere as of late. Since getting back I've enjoyed perusing all your reflective year in review posts - so much great food for thought! I'm feeling inspired to put together my own for this year... look out...

In the midst of my travels, my December make for the Mood Sewing Network went live, and then promptly disappeared. I believe they've been switching over their server over there, so if you saw some posts pop up in your feed but couldn't get to them that would be why! And it looks like things are on the mend now...

This was a quick and simple make this month since I spent the latter part of December on the road, tragically separated from my machines. However, I really think the fabric here is the star of the show, elevating this from a simple raglan top to a special statement piece.

Holiday sewing always makes me feel weirdly anxious.  Being the willing citizen of the internet that I am, I feel like I get bombarded in the weeks leading up to the holidays with beautiful examples of party dresses, articles on how to put together my best holiday party look, and advice on how to juggle my holiday party circuit without getting burnout. Question: Who is having all these fabulous holiday parties and why is no one inviting me?!? Are there really people that have so many parties to go to that they get burnout?! I mean, I know I'm not the most social of butterflies (*cough*understatement*cough*) but, like, is the whole world hanging out without me? Yes. Yes it appears they are.

So because I am a mindless automaton, I think holidays = parties, therefore, holiday sewing must equal party dresses, right? And then Practical Sallie mule-kicks me in the back of the head and reminds me that the fanciest party I'm going to involves catching up with my Mom over a cup of tea. While I'm sure she wouldn't blink an eye if I decided to curl up on the couch in a taffeta and lace confection to watch It's a Wonderful Life, the whole scenario leaves me feeling oddly itchy...

So I put my social anxiety back on the shelf (where it belongs) and tried to come up with a compromise that feels a little special, but still allows me to kick back and relax without having to don pantyhose (because...ugh). 

And that, my best beloveds, is how this little furry top came to be. Aren't you glad you asked? What? You mean you didn't?? Hmm...

Okay! Back to the matter at hand, and all joking aside, I've been digging the whole 'fancy sweatshirt' look that has been a bit of a trend for awhile now, and thought that a faux fur sweatshirt might be just the ticket to fancying up what is, essentially, loungewear. And I just happened to have Grainline's Linden Sweatshirt pattern arrive on my doorstep not too long ago, so I thought I'd give it a whirl!

I ordered this Estate Blue and Black Faux Fur from Mood Fabrics online a couple of months ago with absolutely no idea what I was going to do with it. And when it came I couldn't stop petting it. No exaggeration folks, it is so SO soft. Like, I-want-to-make-footy-pajamas-for-my-dog-out-of-it-so-she-can-be-this-soft soft. That's right, I want to cover my furry animal in faux fur because.... soooooffffttt. 

Did I mention it's soft?

It also has a very short 'hair' and a slightly crushed surface, reminding me a bit more of velvet than of fur.  And, true confessions, I actually have a pretty big fear of working with velvet, or really all napped fabrics, including, I suppose, faux fur.  That's right. I have a furry phobia. (Let's all agree to just not google that last sentence, mmkay?) I mean, THE PILE you guys!! What if I crush the pile??!!! Oh the things we sewists worry over...

Isn't that fabric gorgeous!? That subtle blue and black animal print... that sheen... that texture! Sigh...

So how did I handle this furry fabric?? Well, here's my little secret guys: I did absolutely nothing different than I usually do with a woven fabric.  That's right.  That's my "expert" advice to anyone out there who might share my fear of faux fur - just treat it like you would any other fabric. Of course, if you want to get technical, there was also a fair amount of finger-crossing and making burnt offerings to the Fabric Gods going on, as well... I know, I know... I'd never ask me for advice either...

Okay, seriously, this fabric is 100% rayon, which I knew going into it. It has a very firmly woven backing, a crisp drape, and as I mentioned, a short hair.  I simply cut my pieces, as you do, sewed them on my regular machine, then serged the edges together to prevent any raveling.  I'll probably be finding little blue and black hairs all over my cutting table and in the gears of my serger for the next eon, but them's the breaks. I used a medium hot iron with a little steam on the back of the fabric whenever possible, and employed the services of a press cloth if I had to press on the front. No drama.

The pattern required some tweaking to make it work in this faux fur because the Linden Sweatshirt is designed for knits.  But, you know guys, I like to live dangerously.  I take fabric suggestions as just that: suggestions. Obviously a knit would be perfect for the Linden, but I felt like this slightly crisper woven would work too, given the easy sweatshirt fit of the pattern, and would make for a more boxy shape.  Plus, I always feel like Jen's patterns are so expertly drafted that they really hold up well to experimenting like this. The only place where my little experiment totally backfired was at the neckline.  The fabric stood away from my body in a most unflattering way.  So I took two little darts out of the neckline at the mid-point of the raglan sleeve and problem solved! The actual raglan lines are a little puffier than perhaps I would like, but at the point I tried the top on (obviously there were no muslins being utilized here) it would have required too much finagling to fix the issue, and I wasn't sure I'd be able to move my arms if I did. So we're living with a bit of poof. We're okay with that.

I made View B of the Linden, which has a cropped hem and a shorter sleeve.  To keep things on the luxe side I used bias strips of black silk charmeuse to bind the neckline and as a facing to finish the sleeves and hem. It's a very small touch, but it feels very luxurious.  I hand stitched everything in place on the wrong side so there are no visible stitches when the garment is being worn.  The seamlines really sink into this faux fur and become nearly invisible so it probably wouldn't have been a big deal, but I really wanted a clean looking finish and didn't want to chance it.

I really love the finished look! The shorter length of both the hem and the sleeves make for a really cool layering piece, while the faux fur still keeps me snuggly and warm.  I'm also such a sucker for playing with opposing textures this time of year and I love how this pairs with my faux leather leggings.  All in all, this was such a simple make, but it's also such a great statement piece. Definitely a nice, subtle way to dress up my low-key, party-free holidays! 

I really hope y'all had a wonderful holiday, that you got to spend some time with those you love and make a few memories to carry you over till next year.  As I get along in years I really start to cherish the holidays as a time to come together and show my love and gratitude for all the important people in my life.  So excuse me for being sentimental, dear readers, but I'd just like to take a moment to say how much I've appreciated each and every one of you this past year. You guys are where it's at.  I'm sure I'll be back with more new-year-reflections, so I'll keep the sap short for now - just know there's more where THAT came from!

Love you guys...

xx