1.24.2013

boucle sans debacle

pre-script: you may have seen me prancing around in this boucle over at MSN.  as i don't like to be repetitive, you'll see different shots over here in kalkatroona, and some different story bits as well. because i know the top thing on your mind is MORE OONA.  you're welcome.



if you've been keeping up with me, you know this boucle.  i had an affair with it for almost four months before i finally cut into it, petting it, staring longingly at it, sometimes just standing in the middle of the room hugging it, ruggy glancing over, what are you doing?  really what i wanted to do was drape it over a dressform and go crazy, but alas, i left my much beleaguered and mostly useless "uniquely you" on the curb in LA.  her NY styrofoam wasp waisted counterpart also went the way of the dodo in the Great Move Up Down And Over Country of Aught '12. with my hands on a dressform, i have no idea what madness i would have come up with.  probably some sort of gown.




when i first laid eyes on this boucle, all i could think was WIGGLE DRESS WIGGLE DRESS WIGGLE DRESS.  the bolt had three and a quarter yards left on it, and i took it all.  ALL.  it was simply too deliciously bratty not to.  as i pranced around the store with my treasure, happy shoppers stopped me every ten feet: oooh, so pretty!  what are you going to make?  a jacket?  grinning, i would loudly chirp  NO! I'M GOING TO MAKE A WIGGLE DRESS!

like most of the onlookers, my mood man eric looked nervous, but willing to help.  make sure you really press those seams, he guided, flat open and niiiiiiiice and you have got to overlock those edges, maybe interface them, you want this to be tight.




as the weeks turned into months, everyone, and i mean everyone, saw this as a jacket.  carolyn heard "dress" and pronounced me winne the pooh.  christine lent patterns.  meg cautioned against it.  finally, one day as i was sitting on the floor, boucle curled up next to me in my mood bag, i looked up at ruggy and sighed: it should be a jacket.  cue violins.  yes, babe, it should ruggy agreed.  and then i can wear it lots and lots instead of once or twice a season.  in his wisdom, ruggy did not say i and everyone else in the rational world told you so.  he just said yes.  yes you can.

when it came down to it, i couldn't bear to line it and hide one bit of the brilliance of this boucle.  so back to mood i went for a tidbit to hong kong the seams.  josh advised me to pick a fabric that was close to the weight of the boucle, which made me happy, because there are about eighty bolts i'd like to play with on the third floor.  kway greeted me: you still haven't made anything out of that?  eric shook his head: at least you're taking you're time, you got to get it right.  i shocked myself by going for black binding.  kway shocked himself by agreeing with me. as i walked away, bidding him a wish me luck, he replied, naaaaaah, i have faith in you.  faith's better than luck.

unfortunately kway's faith was wrongly placed, the black wool i chose was waaaaay too thick, and wouldja look at this atrocity of cotton i bound the seams with:




THE HORROR. fortunately that led to my decision to line in orange silk.  peep my handstitching!




the pattern, a burda magazine jacket from sept 2008, was chosen after thinking about all the gorgeous things renee makes from those damn volumes.  maybe the years of sewing have sunk in, because this went together in a couple of hours.  i curse the magazines no more.  the dropped shoulders, however, were way too bulky, and emphasized my gorilla paws.  so i came up with this handstitched leather fix (the orangey brown bits are oonamade to keep the closures down when not in use).




and finally, for some closure on this extreeeeeeemely pictured post: i wanted a metal exposed zip, but during our meetup last weekend, peter suggested a simple hook and eye closure to keep the swing of the jacket.  wanett and suzanne helped me pick out a perfect match, and i added three to keep ruggy's cries of BUT OONA IT'S COLD OUTSIDE down to a dull roar.  (however, he's right. it's colder than a witch's ittie bitties out there.  hence the indoor shots.)



to everyone who helped me in some way, i hope i you like the outcome! i still have a good yard and a half left, and this stuff is so soft and wonderful, i think i'm going to make a great big voluptuous pillow out of it. that way i can curl up with it inside and out.


if i ever go outside again.  freeze much?

this jacket was made using my monthly fabric "allowance" as part of the Mood Sewing Network (and now resides in MommaBalloona's closet!)

107 comments:

  1. Oh good job lining it in that delicious orange silk!!!!! I love the little buckles too :) A boucle pillow with the leftovers is a great idea!! ^_^

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  2. I love the sleeve details! Lovely job!

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  3. It looks so good Oona! I think the lining and the buckles give it that extra ooomph though! I say down with the boucle pillow! Surely you can squeeze a pencil skirt out of a yard and a half! That's what I would do!

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  4. It's so chic and fun.. The orange lining its just rad

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    1. thanks girl! i'm loving the lining, tho i wish i'd had some chartreuse silk...

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  5. I really really want this in my life. Amazing. Your energy is fabulous!

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  6. I love it! Especially with that gorgeous orange lining!

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  7. The fabric is so beautiful! You will get so much wear out of that coat!

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    1. ESPECIALLY now that the weather has turned to less of Go Outside And Lose All Feeling In Your Face...

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  8. I loooove this jacket. the sleeve fixtures and orange lining really "make" it. And have you come over to Burda? I have Burdas going back ten years. At 12 issues times 10 years times 30 patterns per issue... That's a shitload of patterns!

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    1. tigress, i am so coming over to burda. i mean, i've had a year's worth of issues for YEARS. more on that soon...

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  9. gorgeous! I love it. The fit is lovely.

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  10. Looooove the coat. It's so delightfully bright and simple and pretty. And your buckles are a stroke of brilliance.

    Oh, and don't go outside unless you have to! It looks nice, but it's brutal out here!

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    1. that li'l leather strap for sleeves down was all because of you :)

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  11. Oh, and I am with Carlee: Pencil skirt!!

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  12. Really beautiful jacket, love the leather bits! You handled the difficult fabric so well!

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    1. thanks angela! i think i needed the months of staring at it to screw up my courage :)

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  13. OOOOOOOna - stupendous jacket and now you can make a whole flock of wiggle dresses in coordinating colors to go under it - long sleeves, short sleeves, no sleeves, you name it. Or skirts and sweaters too while you're at it. This jacket is the launching pad for a whole wardrobe.

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  14. That is such an awesome jacket. I'm going against the crowd on the pencil skirt... that remaining fabric would make an awesome bag... ;-)

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  15. this jacket will be remembered. trust me, just wait and see when people do reviews of 2013... oh the boucle...

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    1. teehee thank you! looking forward to your BS entry, by the way...

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  16. Gorgeous!!! I love the orange lining and the leather details that you added. Absolutely scrumptious!

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  17. The pattern really lets the fabric shine! And (typical) I love the orange lining.

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  18. All I can say is WOW. This would not work on most people and on you it is utterly delightful. Your workmanship is beautiful. The seam binding and lining are gorgeous complements. I love that buckle thing you've got happening. You are such a joyful person and this jacket reflects that.

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    1. what an absolutely beautiful compliment. thank you. (and for you to compliment the workmanship as well just sends me over the moon!)

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  19. Whatever route that fabric took to get where it was worked. I love the final result. It looks great on you.

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  20. Wow! Fabulous! And...well done!

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  21. Holy freakin' fabulous! Need I say that Ruggy was right? You look marvellous!

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  22. So colorful and fabulous! It just looks happy and cheerful! Just what this freezing NYC week needed!

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    1. if only i could wear it outside!!! i think it'll come back out this week :)

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  23. Lady, this turned out so rad. Sometimes you just need to listen to the fabric (and everyone around you, cough cough). Love the shape, and your Oona belt fix is genius. Fuck, you're making me miss sewing. Would it be weird if I go home after painting my new place for 6 hours tonight and stroke the box my sewing machine is in???

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    1. NO. THAT IS NOT WEIRD AT ALL. in fact, i think your machine will be mad at you if you don't.

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  24. sorry, oona, everyone was right. but at least you can glory in how fabulous you look in that brilliant jacket!

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    1. yeah, i took my medicine. i'll be wearing it next week, fingers crossed :)

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  25. Replies
    1. thanks alessa! miss you!

      scratch that, i just realized you fell off my bloglovin reader. WHAT.

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  26. Oh Oona, that is just so awesome. I love the sleeve bits.. were they hard to sew on?

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    1. no, well, a little bit-- first i pierced the leather by machine, with a leather needle & no thread, then i handstitched them to the sleeves using the pre punched holes. fingers were a bit sore, but not too terrible!

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  27. That is a really, really, REALLY beautiful make and I adore the orange silk lining. Girlfriend, you did that boucle proud. And you listened to Ruggie...!

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    1. don't remind him too much. we gotta have ONE humble person in kalkatroona.

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  28. I really love it and I was shocked that you mentioned having Gorilla hands which made me wonder if you're actually an ISIS agent?

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    1. I have some boucle that I wanted to turn into a wiggle dress. Maybe I will solicit second and third opinions...

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    2. HA. yes, i am totally a character on archer!!!! and having a weird other universe moment, we have the same first name (my real name that is, and spelled with a Y.)

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  29. Amazing jacket and I love the story it tells, so many sewing friends along the way. You look fabulous, as always.

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  30. Holy freaking monkey hats. That boucle is MAGIC! This coat is all kinds of rad. That lining? I die. *twitches in jealousy*

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  31. I love your jacket!! How awesome it is! Well done and you look very beautiful in it.

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  32. Oh my gawd! So freaking gorgeous Oona!! I'm drooling.

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  33. The buckles are just fantastic. What a cool fabric.

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  34. Hilarious! Sounds like you had such a fun time, and oh boy - such a great jacket!

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  35. Very striking!

    Who cares about the cold? When you go out the limo pulls up, in you hop, nice and toasty. When you get to where you're fabulously going, the limo deposits you in front of one of those plastic igloos that every restaurant in the city puts up in the winter and in you sweep, orange lining peeping at the peeps. Cold is for other people.

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  36. Of course, I already knew that this was BAD ASS!! It looks just as amazing in the photos!

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  37. The jacket is fantastic. The sleeve buckles! I love the sleeve buckles. Too awesome for words...

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  38. A-freaking-dorable. Buckles, amazing. Fabric, amazing. You, amazing. Me, jealous of your cold. Throw me some snow woman! (And maybe this jacket while you're at it kthxbai).

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  39. sigh...I do with there were matching Oonapants....

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  40. love it! i second the vote above for a pencil skirt from the leftovers!

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  41. ORANGE LINING! It's like silver lining.
    I think the boucle is happy to be a jacket.

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  42. oh goodness, it was a difficult birth, wasn't it. But you got a beautiful baby to make you forget the pain! ha ha LOVE IT!!
    Very clever of you on the buckles.

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    1. ha! isn't that what happens, your body forgets the pain and dupes you into popping another one out? EEK.

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  43. This is absolutely gorgeous! Very impressed by the little leather straps and lining. I think you've reached a new level of awesome:)

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  44. Gorgeous! I love the closures-- you managed to preserve that great shape and make Ruggy happy at the same time!

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  45. This is awesome! Ditto for the pencil skirt! That's like the bottom half of a wiggle dress anyway, right? This has so motivated me to do something with the boucle that has been languishing in my stash foooooorever.

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  46. Fantastic! Let it be known that I thought a wiggle dress would have been gorgeous, although I do love the outcome. May I suggest a fabulous waistcoat with the remaining yard and a half? Paired with a white silk pirate-style blouse - aka billowy sleeves - underneath? SO CUTE (in my mind, at least).

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  47. Hi Oona! Just found your blog the other day, and can I say you are SUPER talented! And an inspiration. Absolutely LOVE this jacket!

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  48. Absolutely m a g n i f i c e n t Oona the colour is divine. You are owning this baby owning it!

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  49. UTTERLY GLORIOUS!!! Boucle, orange lining, and leather straps = Oh my hannah banana fabulousness!

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  50. aaaa those colors are killing me.. love love your new coat, sister oona.. i have some beautiful boucle in various blue colors, i planned to make a wiggle dress out of it (!?) but i might change my mind now :)

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    1. oh please do it sis! i SO want to see a boucle wiggle dress.. you can go where no sewist has gone before...

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  51. You. Are. Incredible! So talented. Take care of those hands girl. You got magic in those fingertips.

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  52. Gorgeous! Coat's good too! Love the lining option, and the corset hooks on the front. Fab job! You say you have some left.... ;p

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    1. hahahaha yes i DO. i'll prolly pet it for another four months...

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  53. baby, it's cold outside but you are sizzling in that coat! Nice choice with the orange lining, really gives it an extra 'pop'.

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  54. Your jacket is so amazing. I love the lining and the buckle details, as well.

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  55. Agh, you make the most wonderful things. The buckle details are the best. Please tell me I can get me some buckles in NYC?

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  56. Just wanted to comment because I can - LOVE this jacket!

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  57. No,no, no don't make a pillow make a pencil skirt! It will be as fabulous as the jacket!

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  58. Darling! I think its divine!!!!!!! I love this, I am so excited by the spectrum / rainbow! Delicious sewing Oona!

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  59. Cute!! It looks nice on you! I love that fabric, marvelous!!!!

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i thankya truly for taking the time to comment, i love a good conversation-- and hope you know my thanks are always implied, if not always written!