All over the place...

That's where I've been, sewing wise. DD's jacket, a dress for her as well, BWOF 11-2008-111, which is almost done. And this dress that I decided it was time to make.

Check out my shoes and nails - gotta bring the dress little more into the summer :)) 

And about the fabric from NY Fashion Center; it arrived the day before yesterday. Almost one month... I'm not sure I love it either. The color is more fuchsia than carmine. It's called silk zibeline and is very crisp, similar to duchess satin but with more of a twill weave. I think it will work for the vintage suit, but now I have plenty of time to decide :)) Bye bye contest, maybe next year.

------------

Thank you for all your praise of DD's jacket. She loves it and will send me a picture of her wearing it. If you go back and read the comments you will find that she actually left me one -a first for her. So proud of you, darling :)) She told me she's even linking to my blog from her Facebook page... 

------------

And the coat... well it's still missing two buttonholes. I'm planning to take it to Warren's - the coat is too nice to fool with a silly buttonhole lever!

It's 96 Degrees Outside

... and here I am with a black jacket. And a coat. Well, the coat is nearly finished, just not very inspired with all this heat going on. The jacket is for oldest DD who's at boarding school. Sure hope it fits; we never did get around to making a muslin. It's made with stretch cotton and silk so I think it will be okay. I used BWOF 8-2008-115 and made very few adjustments, but I did have to deal with the fact that the pattern is for non-fraying wool with raw edge finishes, which of course I couldn't do with the cotton. It looks okay but LOVES cat hair (and thread and anything else that cares to show up). 

The peplum and back belt is an interesting feature I think.

The lining is pretty wild.

I like the little details on this pattern, like the sleeve darts...

... and the vents with sleeve bands that go toward the front. I attached the band to the back sleeve seam, whereas the pattern has the band attached by buttons and no vent.

Hope it's preppy enough for my "gossip girl" fashionista...
---------

Okay, so I made a muslin of the vintage Pierre Cardin suit but I'm still waiting for the fabric. NY Fashion Center usually are quite fast but this time it's been two+ weeks :( They sent me an email more than a week after I ordered and said it would be delayed, which I think was kinda late to notify me. If the fabric is fabulous, I'll forgive and forget. If not, there won't be any more orders from me. 

But the suit is gorgeous so I'll probably make it even without a contest :))

------

And thank you for the lovely comments on Warren and Jan's work. I'll be sure to show him when I go down there again. :))

A 1 Is A +

Ah what master he is, Warren. Here are some close-ups of the belt and buttons he and Jan made for me. Just amazing.

The buckle is a vintage Art Deco rhinestone I bought from Ruby Lane (just got lucky when I did a Google image search.) When I brought it down to A 1 Pleating, Warren's keen eye saw there was a missing rhinestone which I did not know- they're itsy bitsy ones. He found one and replaced it. That's how he is. Professional. They sure don't make'em like that anymore, do they...

The belt is backed with sueded leather. The buttons are backed with china silk- not exactly your standard Dritz version :)) I tell you; it's hard to show just how exquisite everything is by a simple photo. I will never try to make a belt or covered button again- unless I'm down at Warren's of course. I wouldn't mind learning how it's done. Bet he has some awesome tools :))

Someone Just Got Lucky :))

I used Math Goodies Custom Random Number Generator by assigning everyone a number according to their comment (thank you Lindsay) :

1. Vicky

2. Lindsay 

3. Lori

4. Ann

5. Trena

6. Anne

7. MaryPat R

(Grace asked not to be included)

And here's a screenshot of the result:

So it's 1: Vicky! Congratulations, you can contact me at your convenience; bjorum at mac dot com.

Thank you everyone for participating, I'll probably do this particular giveaway again soon since it's for an important cause. We need to do our share to keep people like Warren and Jan in business.

A-1 Pleating Co.

I just returned from A-1 Pleating Co. in its new location. Warren's new shop- like his old, is located in the alley behind W. Third Street. And again, he occupies that "Harry Potter" space, this time 8318 1/4- just love those fraction numbers :)) We spent some time chatting and he's a wealth of information. I'm encouraging him to put up a website and he's promising to do so.

Here's his new address:

A-1 Pleating Co.

8318 1/4 W. Third Street

Los Angeles, Ca 90048

Warren's cell: 213 674-4555

Warren in front of the driveway entrance

The tiny space is still in a state of "we just moved", with everything stacked on tables and leaning against the walls.

The main entrance

Jan and Warren

It was so nice to see Warren and his assistant, Jan, again. Warren has been in business since the early sixties and may be the only one left who provides some of these services, like the custom belts and buttons. He has clients from New York, which tells me that this is indeed a dying specialty. He told me that when he first came out to Los Angeles, the downtown garment district was full of shops like his...  and now, not a single one is left :(

I promised to spread the word and I'm more than happy to do so. His work is so first rate that even the most finicky customer won't find a thing to complain about :))

I ordered my belt and buttons and they will be done next week. So while I wait...

It's a good time for a giveaway!

This time I'm giving away Warren's services :)) This is your chance to have that fabulous custom belt made to go with your suit/coat/dress/skirt/pants, or, custom buttons (I'm having mine made with the fabric and an insert), or pleats! Any pleat you need- go check your patterns, or look for inspiration on the web. But don't forget to leave me a comment first :))

There are two rules: 

1. You have to post a review of A-1 Pleating Co. on Pattern Review after you receive your item, and 

2. You must have left me a comment in the last 6 months.

All my overseas friends are of course included as always!

I will do the drawing at the end of the week. And I'd love to use the "random" tool some of you used in your drawings, please let me know where I find that one :)) 

Here are my reviews where I used his services:

BWOF 09-2007-122 Blouse-Jacket (Wish I had a better picture of the belt but DD has taken the entire suit to boarding school!)

BWOF 09-2007-123 Skirt

11-2007-108 Skirt

Do I Have Time?

... For vintage, that is. The contest on Pattern Review has already begun and I'm still working on my coat. I truly dislike starting another project before having completed the current one but I might just make an exception. I found these two patterns on Vintage Fashion Library and they arrived today. The one on the left is copyrighted 1930, and the one on the right 1958. It's an exclusive design for McCall's by Pierre Cardin. Just adore that collar!

As you will see below, the front and collar is one piece. Such a nifty little detail, me like nifty little details :)) Also love the art deco dress of course, perfect for my rectangle.

Here's the coat at the moment; one sleeve basted on, the lining stitched and waiting to be attached. I'm going to have Warren down at A 1 Pleating make the belt; he did a superb job with the pleats and belt on my first BWOF project. I may have him make buttons as well.

If you're ever in need of these kind of services, he takes orders across the country. You simply mail him the fabric with instructions and he sends it back when it's done. The work usually takes about 1 week. Here's the current address, he will be moving a few blocks down in a couple of weeks:

A 1 Pleating Custom Belts & Buttons

8426 1/2 W 3rd Street

Los Angeles, CA 90048

(323) 653-5557

-----------

Thank you all for Happy Birthday's last week. She had a fantastic time, watching our show with good friend Iris (DD to Bad Mom Good Mom, Grace). The actors brought her up on stage in the end which made for one truly Happy Birthday :))

-----------

And another thank you for answering my question about the silk shantung fabric. Now I know that my previous thought about this fabric was wrong; that it's drapey and not crisp, like dupioni.