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.

Penelope Red Featured in Northside Magazine Tues 10th Aug 2010

I am very proud to announce that Penelope Red designs was featured in the Northside Magazine, 10th August 2010 edition. A digital image from the magazine is above.



The designs featured in this edition, were the Autumn Flowers Blouse...



...and the Venus Floral Bolero.

Feedback for The Penelope Red Silver Floral Corset Dress

A lovely customer (Leticia) from Pennsylvania, in the USA, asked me to create a Silver Floral Corset Dress so she could wear it to her daughter's wedding.

I am hoping to receive photos from Leticia soon, from the day. For now, I have attached a few images of me wearing a copy of the dress.

Leticia made my day today, as she wrote some wonderful feedback to me:

"Penelope,

I have to tell you that my daughter's wedding was the most wonderful night of my life. We celebrated the event in a big way and the memories are wonderful.

I have to thank you for the dress. I told you it made me feel like dancing when I tried it on...and did we dance! I cannot say enough about the craftsmanship of the dress. It was impeccable! Not only did it fit well, but it was the most comfortable item of clothing I have ever worn! If anyone is thinking about getting this dress, they should not hesitate! I did, but am more than glad that I had it made!

I paired it with some pewter shoes, and at the church, a pewter scarf (my daughter wanted my shoulders covered) and received so very many compliments on the dress! Thank you for making the night so special!! I will remember you if I need another special dress!"

Leticia



It makes me so happy to read about other people having unforgettable moments while wearing my designs!

Photos from Aroma Festival 2010

Although these photos are a little late, I thought I would share with you my day at The Aroma Festival 2010, at The Rocks Markets.



The weather was beautiful, the Sydney backdrop was stunning, and the food and entertainment great. A really fun day out in the city.



I probably stuck out like a sore thumb in my Penelope Red Black Rose Red Dress against everyone else wearing the usual jeans, but I try to tell people, jeans are not comfortable, but yet people insist on wearing them to every lace they go.

I love my red dress, it is so comfortable, elegant, and easy to wear! Besides, I don't want to look like everyone else anyway!



I am a big tea drinker- don't really like coffee, so we had fun trying the different tea varieties, buying some chilli sauces, and I had an amazing cupcake! I love my sweets!

Creating "The Red Hour" New Summer Collection

Finally my computer is working!!!! I have not been able to add any new blog postings for 2 weeks now, and I am starting to get withdrawal symptoms. So here I am, back again, and ready to add more and more new posts!

So without further ado, I wanted to show to you the beginnings of my new Penelope Red Summer range, "The Red Hour Collection".

It is called "the RED hour" instead of "the cocktail hour". I began designing this collection by starting off thinking: "what would I love to wear to a cocktail bar or party?"

Then I visited my textile agent, and she had these amazing fabrics! So the ideas just flowed...


The above design is my new Aqua Summer Wrap Around Halter Neck Top. Such a great style, which never dates, paired together with a stunning print- I have a feeling this will sell fast!


The photo above and below is of another cotton print, but you are actually seeing four colourways/swatches of it (2 in each photo). I have so far bought the green/aqua/yellow combination (the top swatch in the photo below), and now, each time I look at these photos I am tempted to buy another, but I am not sure which one... Any suggestions?



From the aqua print fabric, I am also making some flared pants from it. Anyone who knows my style well, knows I love my colourful flared pants!


This next print will be made into a gathered neck blouse, such as the Black and White Nouveau Blouse. This style shape has been very popular in the past 6 months, and as soon as I spotted this fabric, it just screamed Penelope Red!



There will be plenty of other handmade Penelope Red styles to come, and sneak peeks to view. I am hoping to have all the designs made up in the next week, ready for a brilliant photo shoot.

Some of my current styles available to purchase can be found in the Penelope Red etsy shop here:

Teena's Black, Red and White Winter Tailored Coat: A one- of a kind design!

A few weeks ago, I received an order for one of my Winter Tailored Coat's. I met Teena at The Rocks Markets, where I took her measurements, then we discussed colours. We agreed on a palette of black and red with a hint of white. Since Teena lived in Perth, and I lived in Sydney, the fabric samples to were posted to Teena, and once approved, the coat became a reality!

The photos below show some of the steps taken to create this beautiful hand made, one of a kind coat...


Cutting out the Red silk lining



Cutting out the black wool


Sewing the black wool pieces together (above), and sewing the red wool and cotton interlining together. I add interlining to all of my coats to give it extra warmth and durability.



I decided to add white/ivory piping to the design, as it really made the red and black contrast and stand out even further. It gave the colours a dramatic edge and oomph! I made the piping from some cotton roping and ivory silk, cut on the bias.




As you can see above, the piping really makes the red and black stand out! I like it how it also makes a very graphic and almost pop art look to the coat. This is a photo of the sleeve.

Below, the inside of the coat, where the side pocket sits.




Above, the finished side seam- including the pocket.


Sewing the white piping to the red wool, before it is attached to the black wool.


Above and below, creating red piping for the button holes. I decided to use red piping in this case, as the buttons are already black and white, and I thought if I used white piping, there would be too much white in that area, and the buttons would not stand out enough.



Creating the welt button holes. I always make big stitching lines to guide me, then I sew in place the piping. Just to create this part of the button holes takes me around 90 minutes for about 5 button holes- then I still need to hand stitch the seam allowance of the piping down, and finish off the under side of the button holes. A very time consuming exercise, but the finished product is well worth it!


Sewing the interfacing to the bottom of the red wool- this is for the hem, and it makes it sit nicely every time you wear it!



I apply the fur collar to the lining, so I need to hand stitch the collar seam allowance down, otherwise it will not sit flat.


A little extra added detail: I decorated the lining with white embroidery!


And the finished product!....


And a few lovely comments from the customer:

" The coat has arrived and it is absolutely perfect. It is beautifully made and your attention to detail is amazing. I really am thrilled with it. " from Teena in Perth


I am very happy with the finish of this coat- it was very hard sending it off- as I really wanted to keep it for myself!.... Luckily, it wasn't made to fit me!

Kiran's Sari-Inspired Wedding Dress, Part 1: East meets West

Ok, so this is a little teaser for all of those interested in the Sari-Inspired wedding dress I am currently making. I can't show you too much, as I think it is only fair that the wedding guests see the final dress before the rest of the world!, but I wanted to show you the work involved in this design and all the handmade touches that go with it!

This dress is for a lady I have known ever since I started selling at Paddington Markets- over four years ago! Kiran, the bride, is one of my best customers, and I don't usually make wedding dresses, but for her, I was happy to do it. She always asks for something special and different, and through out the years we have grown to understand each others aesthetic, and more importantly, have become friends. I knew that she was going to want something completely different, and I couldn't wait to get started!


As Kiran is Indian-Australian, the first thing I said to her is that we should include the cultural influence. The above drawings is a rough idea of what the design has started out as. As the title of this posting implies, we wanted to keep an even mix of Eastern and Western cultures alive in this design; so we have a western-style corset dress, and as she walks down the aisle, we will have a gorgeous train/overskirt made from the Sari (pictured below).


After a while of searching for the perfect fabric, Kiran showed me this beautiful Sari that her Mum and herself had picked out. I was thrilled straight away! Anyone who knows me, knows that I love over-the-top decadence, so it was really exciting to be able to work with something such as this!



We decided that the plain bright pink silk dupion would be used for the corset dress, as this colour ties in with the beading, and really highlights Kiran's complexion. The navy blue silk chiffon sari will be used in making the over-skirt. The leftover beading/pieces of the sari will be used for decoration.


I generally get images/visions in my mind when I am really into a particular design (it sounds weird, I know, but I have no idea how else to describe it). Every time I envisaged this design, I could see the pink silk added to the over-skirt hem, and constructed into really interesting shapes that would add detail and interest to the back. As we had discussed, most guests would have a view of the back of her dress throughout the whole ceremony, so we wanted to make the back a feature.

The above and below photos show the toile (or prototype) of the dress, with the over skirt attached. Imagine wherever the white fabric is, that is where bright pink silk will be; wherever the black is, that represents the sari.




The above picture is the corset dress toile, so imagine this in bright pink silk.

As you can see, there is a lot more to go on this design. I will be updating this design as I proceed further, in the next few months- so stay tuned!

Take a look at PART 2 here!

Take a look at some of my other designs here: