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Saturday 10 January 2009

Finally - the black peacock suit

Happy New Year everyone!  I've been back from Melbourne almost a week now, but wanted to finish the jacket before I posted.  I was lucky enough to be able to meet up with Vicki (Hong Kong Shopper) again while I was there - we chatted, we had coffee and yes we bought fabric  - more on that later.

So here at last is the finished outfit.  
Things I learned while making this;
 - It's better not to start a time consuming project in party season
 - It's definitely worth keeping those back issues of BWOF, at least 5 years if you have the space
 - Fabric shrinks when you quilt it
 - I'm not completely crazy about dropped shoulders
 - If I ever need to pick up any lint or white cat hair I need only wave this jacket nearby

I'm really happy with how it turned out though - the canvas and the topstitching around the hem of the jacket, although subtle really give it a nice weight and structure and the brocade details make this easy to dress up with the matching skirt, but it also works as a more casual piece with jeans.  These are not the greatest photos but you can see the details and colours more clearly in these dressform shots.

You can see in the end I decided not to use the patent zipper I bought recently.  Lindsay T and Trena were right, it begs to be left exposed and it was just too much for this particular jacket since I already had the brocade detail - the zip got kind of lost.  Interestingly the Project Rungay boys posted about zippers recently and included this Michael Kors jacket which has a similar zipper so I may make something inspired by this.  

But not yet, much as I love jackets I need a break before I make a new one.  

12 comments:

  1. I love the peacock suit! So chic. I'm jealous as I don't have any tops and bottoms that truly coordinate.

    Welcome back and happy new year!

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  2. Oh wow... this one is definitely worth noticing!

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  3. Allison, that is just so gorgeous! Love the use of the peacock fabric and the lines of topstitching. Very nice indeed.

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  4. Just gorgeous - the fabric and style really suit you. Happy New Year!

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  5. Beautiful, it is simply beautiful! I love all of the details that went into making this suit so special!

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  6. Fabulous!! All the work you put into this really paid off. You inspire me to take it up a notch! I'd love to see what you do with the patent zip.

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  7. That is just gorgeous! I am so in love with that peacock fabric. I like that you can wear the jacket with jeans, too.

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  8. I love the fact that you can wear the jacket with jeans too. Thepeacock fabric is awesome. And the way you combined the topstitching in the jacket is something I must remember. Very nice.

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  9. What a FABULOUS looking suit! You have outdone yourself! GORGEOUS!

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