New Style: The Gothic Coffee Bolero

One of my very latest styles, The Penelope Red Gothic Coffee Bolero.



This design evolved from the fabric-up. I already had the pattern, as it is the same pattern as the Venus Floral Bolero, and I had the fabric roll in my sewing room, just begging to be used. For some reason, I automatically had a vision of black lace on it some where, and then as I looked through my box of trims and things, the black velvet ribbon looked so elegant next to the lace.



Once I started to put it all together, it had a little French feel to it, a little bit of a Gothic undertone, and an Art Nouveau vibe.



The Gothic Coffee Bolero jacket is made from a very unique 100% cotton weave. The fabric has been woven into tiny diamonds, from white and coffee coloured yarns (It almost looks beige from a short distance). Then a silver foil print has been applied to the entire fabric. The silver metallic finish is noticeable, but is not something that takes over the style.



The centre front has been decorated with velvet ribbon, and a vintage black nylon lace. The front meets edge to edge, and little black buttons and hand-stitched loops helps to fasten the bolero.



The jacket has been fully lined with a polyester lining.



I will be placing this bolero in the Penelope Red Etsy shop very soon. I hope to get some amazing photos with a proper model very soon!

New Penelope Red Scarf Design: Chinese Flowers

I have posted a new scarf design in my Etsy shop. The Penelope Red Chinese Flowers scarf has been made from various beautiful fabrics, including silk, cotton, and linen blends.


I love mixing colours, textures and prints together, in unusual combinations- my friend's say it is my trademark. Making these scarves gives me the opportunity to play around with this even more.


I usually use one of the fabrics in the scarf to inspire the rest. So, for instance, in this scarf, I used the red Chinese-style printed cotton, to help determine the other fabrics and colours to use. The print has beige, cream and blue included in it.



A few other scarf designs can be seen here.

All Penelope Red scarves are one-of-a-kind. No scarf is exactly the same as the next.



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