Oh man am I excited about this post!!!! I can't believe these pictures turned out as well as they did. I was on such a time crunch for this one, but I don't want to get ahead of myself so lets start at the beginning.
This weeks outfit is brought to you courtesy of McCalls M6770 straightforward, no alterations. I actually made this probably 10 years ago, you know before I knew how to sew lol. It's surprisingly well done considering my skill level was not where it is today, and this was actually my first time sporting it which makes this photoshoot that much more special. So lets get into it.
Inspiration begins somewhere and for me it began with the jacket fabric. I actually remember spying it in Joanns for the first time, it spoke to me, it wanted to be a jacket. I don't remember if I purchased the pattern or the fabric first but I do know I never had any doubt that this fabric needed to be that jacket.
This was not jacket fabric though and did struggle to be sure. The fabric is a polyester semi sheer fabric, it's not chiffon but is nearly as thin, its not silk but has about the weight and texture. I stitched the body of it to a non fusible heavy weight interfacing which was my biggest mistake and I will always regret it!!! No, in all actuality it wasn't a bad move, I did it to give the fabric the much needed structure of a jacket and it worked. On the downside I robbed the fabric of its natural characteristics which is okay because its made up for in the sleeves but if I could do it over, I would create whats called and interlining and attach the shell to that which would serve the same purpose but would allow the fabric to stay true to itself. (See guys designing is hard) The jacket is fully lined with laces up the back and all of this turned out beautifully. The front is double breasted and I made two noob mistakes, firstly I choose buttons that were way too small and lacked character, I don't know why I picked those but if I could do it again I most definitely would. Secondly I placed my button holes too close together and opened them up. Huge no, no, still the overall look is excellent.
These pants/bloomers whatever you want to call them are the real culprit here! I stayed up till two last night taking them apart and putting them back together, again this thing was made before I knew how to sew, specifically before I knew how to put in a front fly which is probably why today was the first time I donned it. The pants are made from an iridescent taffeta, a very pale pink with blue undertones. I purchased it from Joanns in the Reg Tag section (you know when they had good stuff) the jacket doesn't have pink or blue in it, it had purple, grey, and nude. But I like the way the two fabrics went together. Matching is one of those things we learn early on, how to match, but sometimes matching can be too much. In this case the nude picks up on the pink, and the grey picks up on the blue and the two blend really well.
So my mom is probably going to get mad at me for taking pictures in a bra, but I worked so hard on this bustle I really wanted an unobstructed view. The Whole Thing Is Made Of Organza!!! I'm not exaggerating, this was the last piece of the puzzle, and the hardest fabric selection. I knew I wanted it to be sheer but I also knew I didn't want it to fall flat. I had to play with a lot of fabrics before I finally settled on this one, an I ultimately went with the color because I like how it played off the pants. It was absolutely the right choice it really stands out against the other colors. The trim, which there is a lot of was purchased from Debs Lace and Trims I love their trims and the sell in bulk which makes them my go to. I don't remember what I spent on the roll but I do remember I go a really good deal. I wasn't sure at first about the color, but I really liked it once I put it on the jacket and I think it really brings it all together. Oh I also sewed six snaps onto this thing which is how it is able to attach to the bloomers. I really wanted to do buttons, which if I would if I were able to match the ones on the jacket, I'd just sew them on the back though and leave the snaps underneath, i don't really think buttonholes in organza is very wise, but I like the idea of buttons on the back, somehow, that's screams Steampunk to me, or maybe I just really like buttons.
Wow that was a dozy but it was a lot of pieces to talk about lol. If you enjoyed this post feel free to leave a comment, or maybe check out our show to purchase your very own Madsen Creation. For behind the scene stuff follow me on Instagram MadsenCreations, or Facebook Madsen Creations by Rachel Madsen. As promised pics below!
