Merry Christmas to one and all! This week I pulled out unfinished projects and completed them. Here’s one of them:
Le Grizzly!
Fur vest: All that remained to be done to this vest was some handwork at the neck, chopping off the hem and finishing it. You can see two previous blog posts about this grizzly experience by clicking here and here.
It took freezing weather in Texas to make me drag this out and finish so I could wear it outside. As I write this, it is 29 degrees Fahrenheit. Here are some images of the finished vest made with Simplicity pattern 2285 .
First up, the lining of china silk somehow got just a little skewed. I cannot change that barring ripping out the whole thing. Ripping apart china silk and faux fur is not a good proposition. The lining stays.
The collar was finished around the inner neck edge by “hand-stab-stitching” through the neck seam. It’s kind of unfinished-looking right now but a grosgrain ribbon hand sewn to the inner seam might make it look more finished.
Since the longer length made me look like Smokey the Bear, I shortened the vest to end at my high hip. Normally, high hip is not a good length for me but seems to work with this particular vest.
I was flummoxed by how to hem; then remembered that there are books by experts I need to consult! Claire Shaffer’s classic Fabric Sewing Guide suggested a faced hem. Fantastic! But I knew that…….
There needs to be some understitching at the armhole edges and front edges on the lining; it will have to be hand-picked since the vest is all put together. Meanwhile, I’m in a hurry to wear this.
To whom it may concern: Can Kenneth King please do a detailed online class on sewing faux fur? I’ve got the cutting and the seams down pat; not so much the finishing processes.
Well, what do you know, it’s two days later since I started writing this post and the temps are in the high 60s. Now we’re waiting for the next freeze…….
Sending Holiday Love to All
Samina
Sew Everything Blog 
Have not gained the courage (and I fear patience) to tackle faux fur. Instead I purchased a vest years ago. It is very nice for our 2 – 3 days “cold” weather here in Texas. I think yours looks fabulous. Congratulations!
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Thank you, Linda! Yep, it’s a totally impratical sewing project, weatherwise. But in the end it is kind of fun to do.
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Beautiful job. I made a faux fur shrug a couple of years ago. The faux fur was ok but I had lots of trouble with the lining and finishing . We could use a video or two.
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Hi Marilyn! The finishing and the lining are exactly the areas where I needed some guidance. By the way, thank you for sharing this post on Facebook. Appreciate that 🙂
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Samina that is a gorgeous closeup picture of you! I LOVE your grisly bear and I’m pretty sure that pattern is archived somewhere in my stash.
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Faye, thank you for the compliment! I am waiting eagerly for a drop in temperatures so I can wear the vest. Totally frivolous item to own in Texas, but so much fun.
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Very fashionable! One of my younger co-workers wore the exact same thing to our office Christmas party! Very chic! It looks great – you don’t look like you need any lessons at all!
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Thank you! Appreciate the compliment 🙂
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29 degrees – that is cold! It’s good to be able to whip out the (faux) fur when you need it. Your vest is lovely and luxe looking, but I don’t feel at all tempted to sew with the stuff myself. I’ll leave this bear of a project for the more adventurous sewers to tackle. Happy Holidays!
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Thank you, Lisa! Sewing with fur is not something I want to be a habit. Once is enough. Although, I want to come up with a project to use up the large scraps leftover from this.
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I love it Ms. Samina! I also agree that it’s very luxurious looking! I know you’re going to get a lot of wear out of it! I don’t blame you about the lining either…I wouldn’t take it apart either, LOL!! Great job and hopefully we’ll get some cooler temperatures here in Florida so I can pull out my faux fur vest too!
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Thank you, Myra! Even with the wonkiness of the lining, it’s not too bad, and hopefully I’ll be wearng it soon. Right now it’s 80 degress outside here.
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