Tag:

faux leather

The Complice wallet

by Elsa 1 July 2023

*This article may contain affiliate links.

The sewing project

Fabrics and notions

The sewing project

Fabrics and notions

The Complice wallet pattern

Each of Vero’s patterns is full of techniques. This time, I learnt about sewing gussets.

This wallet has numerous card slots, pockets (either zippered or not), checkbook space, etc.

Many pieces to cut, trust me!

A rotary cutter is a good way to quicken the process of cutting since bag pieces are usually rectangles. I use this (old) Fiskars cutter and this tiny Prym one*.

You can even add some rings at the sides to transform it into a nice night-out bag.

Faux leather Complice

Some options are available for the front so I did F1-F2-F1 with 2 of the faux leathers I had.

You have a preview of some of the fabrics I used for her new school bag!

Interfacing

I fused Vliseline G700 on the lining. This fusible interfacing was perfect to add some body to the poplin.

I pondered whether adding some Bouncyfirm 160 to the faux leathers, but I feared making the wallet too firm. I should have: these faux leathers are rather soft.

Fabrics

Lining is purple poplin from Ma Petite Mercerie whereas the faux leathers come from La Mercerie des Créateurs.

Topstitching

The last topstitching line was by far the trickiest, even with my Janome 6700P.

Before topstitching, I pressed my whole wallet under heavy dictionaries for 24 hours!

I used the narrow Accufeed foot, with the needle on the far left to avoid the many layers of the gusset.

The needle was a Leather size 100, with a stitch length set at 3.5 and I was sewing really slowly. Thread was polyester (normal weight).

Here are all the feet and plates I used for my Janome 6700P:

HP foot and plate for sewing the faux leathers
Wide accufeed foot for topstitching
Narrow accufeed foot for the final topstitching.

1 July 2023 0 comment

Billie in Berry

by Elsa 2 April 2023

*This article may contain affiliate links.

Billie is the jacket you grab without thinking when you’re out and about.

But grabbing without thinking doesn’t mean it has no character.

So here’s Billie, in Berry faux leather and with its bling zipper!

The pattern

It’s one of the few outerwear patterns by pm-patterns.

It’s not new. I had tested it way back in 2018. At that time, I had used both sides of tweed to play with contrast on the sleeves and shoulder yokes.

Besides its traditional jacket look, it also offers a moto jacket option. Sizes range from FR 34 to 52 and the PDF is not layered.

Princess seams slim the silhouette and shoulder yokes and two piece sleeves make the pattern perfect for color-blocking.

Center back is slightly higher for a more modern look.

This jakcet is also fully lined (you’ll bag the lining). Karine’s instructions are very thorough and you’ll achive a perfect jacket following them blindly.

So, let’s see now what I sewed.

Faux leather and Disco zipper

First step: checking the size. I was all over the board, from 38 to 44. I wasn’t in the mood for grading so I chose a size 42.

The fabric is soft faux leather*. The color is amazing: it’s called Berry and it has a lovely metallic shine. There are other colors available that would go well on soft boho bags.

Finding the zipper was tricky, but I fell in love with the Disco zipper range at Ma Petite Mercerie’s. Since the jacket was shiny, I wanted a shiny zipper! Choosing the right color was impossible online so I chose “copper” and I think it pairs well. The zipper is quite expensive (45 cm for about 9 euros), but I loved it so much…Who said that sewing is for the cheapie?!?

Look at it 😉

When I got my parcel from England, the faux leather was slightly folded (+ it came with custom taxes that time….shoot…). I pressed it carefully from the wrong side at low temperature and used a clapper where wrinkles were persistant.

Cutting with a rotary cutter made the task quicker.

Use clips instead of pins and remember that you just have one go: unpicking is not an option!

A size 100 denim needle was enough for stitching and topstitching.

Seam allowances should have been pressed open, but the faux leather didn’t handle it well. I opted to topstitch all of my seams, but the side seams.

Tip: I lengthened my stitch length to 5 (the maximum on my Janome 6700P) and I lowered the pressure foot’s pressure from 3 to barely 2.

I couldn’t crease the hem so I stiched in the ditch at the bottom of each seam crossing.

I had noticed that my first Billie jacket was a bit wide at the shoulders and I had had some regrets not putting shoulder pads then. So Billie #2 has shoulder pads and I feel it gives more structure and shape to the jacket. My pads are from A et A Patrons‘. They are made by hand and the felt and batting are carefully stacked.

I’m really happy with this Billie jacket. When I had finished the first one back in 2018, I had already a vision for a leather jakcte and…here it is!

Berry is a great color for green eyes and amethyst/berry/purple are my colors of choice.

I’m sure I’ll be wearing this jacket a lot once days grow warmer.

And you’ll notice a new garment worn underneath this jacket…that you can see here!

2 April 2023 0 comment

Needles and Threads Sewing accessories

The Carioca handbag

by Elsa 27 November 2021

I’m back, after having lost of my ‘sew-jo’. That’s not a problem, sewing is a hobby and never feel compelled to go to your crafts room if you don’t feel like it.

But I’m back with the cutest newest bag: Carioca, from Sacotin.

I had so much fun using caps, sewn-in foam, etc.

The Carioca pattern

Carioca is a city handbag full of inner pockets.

Two sozes are available: Small and Medium.

Let’s see MY bag.

Brocade and faux leather

My Polka bag was great but started to become too small. The Small Carioca seemed to be the best size for me.

I still had some faux black snaksking leather from my Biguine bag and I thought that adding some Lurex brocade in cherry would be nice and cute.

I had found the faux leather too flimsy for my first bag so I decided to use some sewn-in foam for a sturdier look.

I also block-fused the brocade because it was fraying like mad.

Hardware comes from La Mercerie des Createurs, in gun color.

The lining is chrrey poplin (very very pink, no Photoshop here!).

Tricky?

Not really. The lining was a bit more difficult because of the sheer number of pieces to assemble.

The faux leather was sewn using a size 100 Denim needle, with increased stitch length (3.5 for assembling and 4 for topstitching).

Installing double-cap rivets was fun! It’s as if you installed Kam snaps. Really easy and it looks so much more professional.

This article may contain affiliate links.

27 November 2021 0 comment

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