Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Sewing: Vintage Inspired Fur Wrap

All photographs are self portraits taken by myself.  

I'm finally getting back into posting more of my summer projects!  This is a photo shoot that I did just the day before I left for my drive back to Savannah.  I was trying to get as many last minute shoots in as possible before I left.  

This summer I rewatched Baz Luhrman's, The Great Gatsby and that sent me into a big 1920/30s kick, which was a big inspiration for the styling of this photo shoot.  One day this summer I was driving through a nearby town and I drove past this old fighter plane and decided that it would be an interesting new location for a shoot!
I made both the headband and the fur wrap that I'm wearing.  I'll be posting a tutorial showing how to make both pieces soon!

The wrap is made from faux fur that I found in the throwaway fabric bin in my school's fashion building last year.  The very last day of finals was the last day that the fashion building was going to be open before closing for the summer the next day.  I was trying to get as much personal sewing in as possible before it closed.  I was one of the very few people left in the building, and I was about to leave when I randomly decided to look for fabric scrapes for future textile swatch books (fabric swatches are so expensive).

Because it was the end of spring quarter, all of the seniors had graduated, and left yards and yards of unwanted fabric in the scrap bins.  So what did I do?  I went home, dropped off my sewing supplies, and biked back with an empty backpack ready to fill.  I found yards and yards of fabric!  I made three different trips and collected as much as I could.

I even went by the offices half way through to double check with a facility member to make sure that what I was doing was ok.  The professor that I asked stopped what she was doing at the moment, and came to do the same thing with me - collecting her own trash bag full of fabric as well!  ha.  So tip if you go to a fashion school - in the spring time check the fabric scrap bins!


Outfit:
Headband:  Handmade, myself
Fur Wrap:  Handmade, myself
Cream Blazer:  H&M
Dress:  Vintage Guess, thrifted (this was one of my happiest thrift store finds).

Working with fur is different than working with normal fabric.  You have to be careful during the cutting/sewing process, because you don't want to actually cut the fur itself.  This cuts the fur short and then looks like it was given an unwanted hair cut.  The trick to keep this from happening is to cut your pattern pieces using a razor, or small snips from the wrong side of the fabric.  I'll go into more detail showing this when I post the full tutorial!  I'm hoping to have the time to share it sometime this weekend.

I hope your week is going well so far!

11 comments:

  1. Oh Esther! This is such a gorgeous photo shoot! The dreamy pink fur and the vintage 20s/30s feel...you really hit the nail on the head here. Nice work!

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  2. Ooh. I'd love your tips on sewing with faux fur. Man, all that mention of free fabric makes me wish I lived by a fashion school! Actually, I wish that for more than one reason--I'd love to take classes. Good idea to stock up! Love the look. The colors of the photo really lend themselves to the feel that I think you were going for. Nice job!

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  3. I love your blog, and your photographs are so amazing!
    keep up the great work :)
    kayleejowilliamson.blogspot.com

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  4. Love! Would you mind me featuring any of your projects on SSB? I credit, link to your post and let you know when featured.
    https://facebook.com/sassysewingbees

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  5. Beautiful! That side knot on the dress is lovely.

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  6. oh the black white pics are sooo amazing!

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  7. Flapper barbie :) So in love with this!

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  8. Lovely fur wrap and headband. Nice photos – esp. the b&w ones (sepia might work, too). How about a classic roadster (or other vintage cars) straight out of The Great Gatsby which would go so well with the outfit? Best regards.

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  9. Really impressed by the overall look and photos. You are on my list of favorite sewing projects in 2014
    http://en.inthemoodforcouture.com/10-lovely-outfits-sewn-2014/

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  10. You're so beautiful and talented at whatever you do...
    You're a huge inspiration for me! Love your work!

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