An interesting and perhaps vintage pale pink pearl snap shirt with a cowgirl brown print called to me from the bin it was in. The sleeves were slightly bell shaped and finished with this little lace instead of the predictable cuff and pearl snap. These sleeves were merged with the corduroy sleeves. Interesting and added a bit more femininity.

Finished it off with a little lace and isn’t it dainty!?!
A doily was hand stitched to the left front pocket, adding another sweet and feminine touch.

When the jacket was turned around, it was “fine” but the back now didn’t match the front. Mmmmmm. I had purchased a shoebox-stash from another seamstress and after searching through it, I found a lovely peach calico print. This was made into ruffles to create a bustle-like effect. Nice! Looking for the finishing touch, I need something for the top of the bustle. After searching through my craft room, I came up with this: the end of the necktie. Yeppers, took the tail of a rich blue necktie and made the bustle topper.

This is the latest in my jacket re-works. Most of them have been working with denim jackets but brown corduroy jacket was just to yummy to pass on – and I’m so glad I did not keep walking. Not only did I save this cutie from a landfill, but it has become a wonderful new item destined to extend someone’s wardrobe.

This next jacket wasn’t denim, but it is in the same style. I first disinfected, as always. Then I added an iron on Love the Earth.

As you can see, I also added a gorgeous rhinestone accent but that wasn’t quite enough so then I stitched a heart around the rhinestone one.  Nice! So as I turn the jacket around to see what, if anything, else it might need. Mmmmmmm. Ah, another rhinestone accent!

At the end of the day, you end up with this really cute, fall jacket with a terrific message. It is apparently quite inspiring – or so says my model.

As I mentioned in my last post, I have rented a small booth at the Plano Antique Mall. It is a fabulous place I have enjoyed shopping at so thought I would see how well I can do there. Having this booth has focused my planning so currently it is filled with purses. Not exclusively, but dominantly. As I have planned this, I have been greatly excited by the prospect of creating a line of denim jackets.

I have done a few jackets in the past and am now exploring a variety of possible techniques.  I just finished a guy’s jacket; it is a wonderful country-styled denim, with a yoke across the back shoulder blades. I took parts of an ubber soft, but thicker cotton camo button down shirt and added them to the denim. It has become a simple but awesome, one of a kind jacket.

Here you can see most of the front – the overlay of the lapel and one of the pockets. It was important to me to retain use of the pockets but they are such an awesome way to accessorize I had to USE them!

The sleeve cuff of the denim has been covered with the button-hole plat from the front of the camo shirt. Here is a close-up that shows the detail the plat adds to the denim sleeve. In this shot it is very obvious what part of the camo shirt was used but it does not standout in the full view.

Lastly, you see the front view of the completed jacket. I didn’t get a shot of the back but the camo was also used to overlay the yoke on the back also. Voila! A terrific jacket for a young country boy. A statement of fashion and recycling that reflects NO femininity which is harder to pull off than you might think! Enjoy!

There is some craft news – in May, I rented a craft booth in the Plano Antique Mall, on Spring Creek, just east of Hwy 75. It is a wonderful place, with a longstanding history in the DFW area. Diverse in its choice of crafters, this place is surprisingly large and easy to visit. You can wander a little or a lot, shopping for everything from furniture, to antiques, to old fashioned candies and so much more.

It is a wonderful place that I encourage you to visit!