lines, lines, everywhere lines

Winter has set up shop. It likes our company too much, it's our own fault for being such good hosts.

Come, Winter, let me part my fringe curtains for you!

My March MSN Mission: make some transitional pieces, in the hopes that a transition of seasons is still in the cards. First up, FRINGE! I attached the 24" silky lengths to some woven leather trim and added a buckle for a removable belt, in case I want to wear it over something other than this TNT from my BHL beauties, the Charlotte skirt, done up in metallic boucle.

I might make another belt in Green and Hay and call it my hula belt. They've got every color in the world at Mood's NY brick and mortar, and ten colors online. And bonus for us shorties, it’s already perfect knee length. GO TEAM VERTICALLY CHALLENGED.

All those swishing lines infected me. I sort of went haywire over lines, lines in the fringe, lines in the boucle, lines in the basketweave silk lin-ing, LINES TO THE LEFT OF ME, LINES TO THE RIGHT, and so the coat fell prey to my sickness: zigzag topstitched crafter's lace lines all over that jammy! The yellow lines you see running along the seams are chock full of plasticky goodness. (The yellow spot you see is my dinged up camera lens.)
But wait, lest you marvel too much over that topstitching...

WHAT THE HOLY HELL HAPPENED HERE.
Couldn't really tell you, don't really know. I bagged my first lining, which was utter magic, but didn't bag it to the facing... I handstitched the lining under the facing and then decided it was time to learn how to bag... yeah, no idea. It's a mystery. Sometimes I just go with my gut, and sometimes it leaves me with a hot mess at the bottom front edge of the garment.

WHICH MEANS LEATHER PATCHES. I could just call it an Intended Design Element but it's so much more fun to show you the true horror story underneath it.

This Burdastyle Round Coat pattern was another horror story. That pattern, albeit well drafted and super fun once you figure it out, is in dire need of some decoding. It has several languages on it, and several extra unnecessary pieces in it. Seek it out if you must, but it's not for the PDF uninitiated.
Once I solved its mysteries, I spent another EIGHT YEARS agonizing over how to place it on this wooly blanket of a print. Had to hack oodles of length off the bodice to get away with my yard and a quarter…was left with whispers of fabric and a somewhat satisfactory placement…

AND IN THE END I CUT THE DANG SLEEVES OFF THE THING ANYWAY.

Because, you know, Spring is coming eventually, right? We'll need some sleeveless stuff, right?
this ensemble was made using my monthly fabric "allowance" as part of the mood sewing network, in the hopes of roping in some warmer weather.