New Floral Printed Pencil Skirts

Today I bought some fabulous floral printed cotton sateen to make some pencil skirts. The pencil skirts will be high waisted, and fitted around the leg and hip. The hem on the skirt falls to just below the knee. The pencil skirt shown in the next two photos is the style that I will create- the print will be the bright pink, white, navy blue and yellow print shown in the 3rd photo.

The fabric is gorgeous! The floral print is bright and colourful, while the cotton sateen is very comfortable to wear as it has elastane (lycra) added to the weave. 

 

I have enough of the pink, navy, yellow and white printed fabric above to make approximately 4 or 5 printed pencil skirts. They are available in Australian sizes 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16, and I will make them to fit and your length. The beauty about them being handmade! - you can get it custom made to fit you!

If you would like to order one of these beautiful, handmade pencil skirts, please email me at:

designer@penelopered.com.au

The green, navy, pink and mauve floral print above is available in a size 10 pencil skirt. This is a one of three pencil skirts... I only ever make a very limited edition of all of my designs.

The above photo shows me, wearing another Penelope Red pencil skirt, again from a cotton elastane,  in an ornage, yellow, white and blue abstract floral print.

I love wearing my printed pencil skirts- and they are perfect for travelling too! The below photo is my husband and I in St.Petersburg, Russia a few years ago. The elastane means that the skirt will hardly crease. The cotton means that the skirt will be very comfortable and easy to look after and wear.

For any enquiries, please email me at: designer@penelopered.com.au

New Style: The Penelope Red Venus Corset

I have just added the Penelope Red Venus Corset to my Etsy shop, so I thought I would add a few extra pictures to this blog.



I love wearing corsets! They make me feel so feminine, sexy and empowered! I feel like my alter ego comes alive when I wear them, and I always receive compliments on the craftsmanship, and difference to the rest of the corsets out there. Most people can't believe that I make them myself!



You can take a look at the making of one of the Penelope Red corsets here.



The main fabric is a vintage floral brocade, featuring a floral pattern in pink, salmon and pistachio green on a cream background. I have enough fabric to make about eight copies of this corset- that's eight for the entire world to share. I can make them in A-B cup size, as well as C-D cup size.



Please contact me on designer@penelopered.com.au for more information on sizing, etc.

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Wednesday is Accessory Day! Pretty in Pink

The following designers were kind enough to feature one of my designs in their treasury recently, so I had a look at their shops on etsy- they all have some lovely designs, and I thought I would share them with you.

Pink is such a great colour, with many possibilities, so this is a small showcase of pink from Etsy!

Bruised Pink.. thin resin bangle set by MilkwoodDesign. I love the 2 tone thick bangle!

Nouveau Floral - hand painted silk crepe de chine luxury scarf by MuseSilkPaintings. Aren't the colours just fabulous!?

Set of Two Valentines Day Pink and Red Saddle Stitch Ribbon Bow Non Slip Hair Clips by VanillaPixie

Such sweet lil' hair clips!

The Penelope Red Hooded Coat: The Making Of

The above photo, of me, was taken with the help of my hubbie. So it isn't a professional photo, but atleast you can see the hood!


Recently I finished a gorgeous Hooded Coat, that will go on sale late September in the Penelope Red Etsy store.

I was inspired by the loose fitting coats of the 50's, as well as the fabrication, a beautiful, soft and bright coloured bouclé. The fabric is actually a recycled fabric, which I bought recently, and it captured my attention straight away! I wanted a more fun feel with this coat, and I thought the hood added something unusual and striking, that you wouldn't get elsewhere.

I wanted to share with you some of the detail and effort I have put into the making of this coat....

First, I decided to interline this coat. The bouclé' is a very loose weave, and the cotton interlining adds stability, as well as warmth, and durability.

I placed interfacing in all of the areas where it was needed- no cheap fusing here! I have also hand sewn the interfacing down the front, as shown below.
All seams were clipped and trimmed, to reduce the bulkiness of the layers, where possible as well.

Shoulder pads were added to create a very tailored look. It is amazing the difference a good shoulder pad does to the look of a coat, as well as to your figure!


I have added a sleeve head roll to the shoulder seam- this creates a very soft roll-like effect that the sleeve falls over, so you don't get the top of the sleeve collapsing, or a sharp edge from your shoulder pad. It is just something extra which may not seem like much, buts adds to the overall look!So that is some of the inside details, now for the outside details.

I love, love full sleeves at the moment! I especially love full sleeves with added detailing, so I created a pleated sleeve, and it gets narrower towards the wrist.

The front and back panels have been made to be very loose from the bust area down, so I have added pleats that fall loose from just above the bust.
Where possible, all checked lines are matched up to each other in corresponding seams. This itself is quite a challenge, as you not only have to get the sewing right, but the cutting has to be spot-on too!
All of my coats and jackets are always fully lined, and this is no exception. I like to try and make the inside as beautiful as the outside, so each person who wears my designs feels like they have something special and beautifully crafted.
The buttons on the outside ofthis coat are vintage buttons, that I have collected. They were the perfect colour.
The actual fastening is positioned on the inside, so I have the buttonholes on the inside, along with other buttons that fasten .

This is a picture of the hood- well, the best I could do on a dummy. It looks so much better on a body, these photos don't do the coat justice! I can't wait to take some good photos of this design, and others that I am currently working on, but for now, this will have to do!
Hopefully I will have some good photos to share with you, of this coat, ASAP! Some of the Penelope Red Autumn/Winter designs can be viewed here....