Teena's Black and Cream Nouveau Bolero

I created a one-of-a-kind bolero for a lovely customer, Teena, last week. Teena had seen Helen's bolero on my blog, and asked me to create a bright coloured bolero for her, which is similar.

When I was searching for suitable fabrics, I found quite a few brightly coloured cottons, which would have been great for this design, but then this black and cream fabric jumped out at me for some reason.

I had already previously created a black, red and white coat for Teena, and I knew that she loved the graphic contrasting of those colours, so I thought, even though she wanted bright colours, she may still appreciate this print.

Evidently I went with my instinct, and Teena loved it, so here we are!



Teena's feedback was sent to me yesterday:

"I have received the bolero and once again I am very pleased with it. It is a perfect fit and makes me feel good wearing it.", Teena in Perth.

This bolero jacket has been handmade from a 100% cotton print, fused on the inside, and fully lined with polyester lining.





I thought I was pretty darn clever matching up the centre front so well! - look above, yes, that is an opening between those two halves.


I have a box full of old vintage buttons, collected by my Aunt (who is 80) and my Mum. They are buttons from my Aunt's Mum and Mother in law, and my Grandmother. I included two black buttons from this stash on the front of Teena's bolero.



A close-up of the front of The Black and Cream Nouveau Bolero, above.



This bolero has 3/4 sleeves, and the centre front meets edge to edge. It is a loose fit. If you are interested in this style, I have more bolero styles similar to this available in the Penelope Red Etsy Shop, where you can buy online.

They include The Venus Bolero



and The Gothic Coffee Bolero.

The Penelope Red Black Latin Bolero Jacket

I have been busy making a few more handmade winter pieces for the markets recently, and I wanted to show you this brand new style, the Penelope Red Black Latin Bolero! I call it "Latin" as, for some reason, when I tried this style on, I thought the cream appliquéd lace gave it a very Spanish type of feel.



Sometimes my designs come to me at the most unusual times... when I am sleeping and I dream it; when I am cooking or walking; basically when my mind is somewhat shut off from the constant design process. I guess you could say they are like instant snap shots that kind of appear in my brain for a split second, then disappear. I usually can't do anything else until I draw the idea on paper.

This design came to me in one of those moments!



Above, cutting out the black jacquard wool fabric.



Next, I cut out the interfacing. The whole bolero is interfaced. A much better finish, and it will be much more durable.


Above, sewing the sleeve together.


I apply my Penelope Red label to the inside back facing.


I used silk lining for these jackets. The size 8 and 12 have black silk lining, the size 10 has pale blue silk lining.


I love the lace I used on these jackets! It is a very Art Deco styled lace- the lace I used for my wedding dress! I had a fair amount of it left, and I had been looking for the right design to use the rest in... so here it is.


I applied the lace in parts to the centre front, the shoulder seam, the sleeve hem and the centre back.



It was lucky that I could use the machine to appliqué all of the cream lace pieces on.


Above, clipping and trimming the seams- I do this on every seam!


Attaching the lining and facing to the main outer side.






The lace on the sleeve cuff/hem.

I will hopefully have some nice elegant photos of this design in the next week or two, and will add it to my etsy shop soon. I currently have a few bolero's already in the Penelope Red etsy shop, so please take a look, and visit again soon!

Sharon's Black and Grey Winter Coat. Part 1: The Making of...

The following photos show the step-by-step making of a Penelope Red Winter Coat. This coat was handmade from two contrasting fabrics: 1. A 100% wool black spotted jacquard and 2. a wool/elastane blend cream and black woven twill (from a distance it looks grey).

This is a made to measure garment, and the lady (Sharon) who now owns it, picked it up this past weekend. I was so happy with the fit on Sharon- it looked fantastic on her! I am hoping to receive some photos from Sharon in the coming weeks, so that will be part 2...



First I had to grade the pattern from a size 10, to the correct size.



Next, I altered that pattern to suit Sharon's body shape. I created a toile (prototype) which she tried on before commencing the final garment.


Above, cutting out the wool jacquard, and below, cutting out the fur trim.



I used a cotton voile to interline ALL pieces of the coat. This creates a warmer coat, as well as gives the coat more durability and better shape.


Above and below, piecing the sleeve together.




Above, I am sewing the centre front and side front together.


All seams are trimmed, and clipped, then pressed open.


After this, I hand sew the seams open- using a big stitch. Since the seams and fabric gets quite thick, it is important that they all lie flat, and perfect. It also makes the seams durable for longer.




Above, sewing the interfacing to the interlining.



Before I attach the sleeves, I then create the welt button holes down the centre front.


Above, the inside of the button hole. Below, the outside the button hole.




To make sure that the button hole and the binded cording stay in place and all seams lie flat, I then hand sew the binding edges down to the interfacing.


Inside of the coat, where the pocket is sewn.


The coat collar is made from wool, fur and a very thick interfacing.


The collar seams allowances are also hand sewn down.


After attaching the sleeves, I apply a shoulder pad and sleeve head roll to the shoulder area.



Once the outer layers of the coat are created, I then attach the lining.


Above is a photo of the coat before I had completed it- as I still had quite a bit of hand sewing to go to finish it off. I will hopefully have more photos to add to part 2 soon!