Back in the days when the cost of decent apparel fabric was reasonable, in the days before I morphed in to a more or less full time quilter, I did a great deal of garment sewing.
And I was good.
It makes perfect sense, then, that when a young friend expressed a desire for a cloak to wear over her dress for her January wedding, I offered to make her one as a gift. Nothing could be easier, provided you are accustomed to dealing with projects that require many yards of fabric.
Duh.
The one bump in the road, from my point of view, is the ridiculous cost of fabric. I had originally thought of using velvet, but it runs $25 per yard. Even with the 50% off coupons I have, that’s pricey. We’ll need an additional 5 – 6 yards of lining fabric, plus thread to match, the frog closure, any trim or miscellaneous other notions. I do have a budget I’d like to stay within.
We’ll look at the velvet, but also at the velveteen ($11 per yard), panne velvet ($9) and, if they have it, the crushed velvet ($7). Color availability will drive the final choice, but my preference would be crushed velvet, not because of the price differential as much as the drape and visual difference from the others. Crushed velvet is softer and has a less stiff drape than the others (particularly than the velveteen), and has a more interesting surface texture.
Today we’ll meet at the store to fondle various fabrics and finalize the pattern choice. I may buy the main fabric tomorrow, picking up the various other pieces of the puzzle as the availability of 50% off coupons permits. Actual construction won’t begin until the day after Christmas.
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