Saturday, January 26, 2013

Marfy meets lambskin

It all started last November.  OK, it was probably earlier than that, but it began in earnest in November. My absolute favorite garment of all time, my baby blue leather jacket from 2005 (or 6 or 7) has gone past 'a little tight' to 'just let it go' too small.  This picture is from about 2007.  It actually buttoned at that time.  I used a vintage (even at the time) pattern Vogue 1919 pattern (Pattern Review is here) I will spare you the gory details, but I made this before I knew that you weren't supposed to put bound buttonholes in leather with out written approval from congress and an edict from The Vatican.  They turned out pretty good, for something that I wasn't supposed to be able to do.

Still love it, really love it.

But its the time of year when a young girls thoughts wander through too many shopping sites and her feet wander through Nordstrom too frequently and she gets the wanderlust for a beautiful new motorcycle-esque fab jacket.
It helps that my favorite fabric retailer has so graciously assumed the duties of lambskin dealer...

My favorite to replace the blue is remarkably similar to the emerald that has been declared the color of the summer.

I also love the look of that super soft quilted leather.  Its a sure sign of my Kate Spade obsession.  I am determined to find a way to do this.

My first tip was to get a walking foot.  Since my dearest elna didn't have one (from 1977) I borrowed a machine from a dear friend across the hall at work.  Yep, thats just the way sewing enthusiasts roll...  Its a Janome 6500 with some kind of dual feed adjustable feed dog synch sewing magic going on.  It sews the leather quilting wonderfully.  It feeds evenly (my biggest concern) without bunching or skipping.

The results for this specific purpose are wonderful, but I wouldn't buy a $2,000 machine just for that.  It doesn't sew well through 4 layers, and not at all through 5.  When you think about it, this can be a problem in garment sewing.  When you sew on belt loops there are 4 layers in the loop so sewing it to 2 layers of waistband (or jacket seam) is out of the question as is a jeans hem with a flat felled out- seam.
Another problem with the Janome, it refuses to sew with heavy duty thread, it shreds it like crazy in about 6".  Vangie agrees so it isn't operator error.  I was hoping to do the quilting in a heavy duty thread that is half a shade lighter but I guess not.
Anyway, I'll post more later...

9 comments:

  1. Bound buttonholes arent ok in leather?? Thats news to me! What other alternatives are there besides a zipper or snaps??

    I have a 6500. I leave the walking foot on it almost all the time now and it sews beautifully. I havent had too many issues with sewing through multiple layers of denim provided I use a large enough stitch and needle, though my industrial machine (Seiko Sth-8-BLD) does a better job. Are you using a topstitching needle? Sometimes that helps with the heavier thread. I always stick to Schmetz needles and Gutermann/Mettler thread. My Janome just loves shredding Coats and Clark thread.

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    1. Hmmm, I may go back and get some Mettler or Gutterman, whatever thread has a closer color. You have given me an excuse to run to the fabric store! I also want to find some fabulous lining for it. I'm thinking paisley or maybe an animal print.

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    2. OK, you're a genius. I went and got Gutterman heavy duty and a size 16 topstitching needle and it sews like a dream!
      Next you can help me with buttonholes on jeans!

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  2. And BTW I adore your baby blue leather jacket! I can see why you love it so much.

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  3. Did you say "lambskin dealer"? Please do share... is there a website? It's a lovely color, so "springy"!

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    1. Roz at http://stores.smfabric.com/StoreFront.bok has it, she has about 50 colors but I don't know why she hasn't listed it on her website yet. She has pearls and metalics and and the best customer service ever! I will have to twist her arm and get her to post it on her website (perhaps when she sees how in demand it is)

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  4. Oh that's going to be fabulous. I wasn't aware that leather bound button holes were not allowed. I'd have thought they'd work well. Shows what I know then.

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    1. Thanks guys, I truly love that garment. As for bound buttonholes, people say things like "why didn't you just use a zipper?" "Snaps are so much easier" (tried snaps on another jacket, wasn't impressed) Yada yada, I like the buttons. I look back and I can't believe that I tried it.

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  5. Not your mothers leather, for sure! Very pretty.

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