After taking my daughter's favorite old coat apart, I wondered if I really could make it smaller so it sat for days while I pondered what to do with it.
What was a once a princess seamed fitted size 11-12 coat is now a fit and flair size 7-8 coat. We won't talk about the temporary button or the few places I had to hand stitch to flatten the corners. Overall, I think it's fine. I hope my daughter likes it.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
The First Coat
When my daughter, Alex, brought me her fake fur coat and said it was too big, I naturally told her I could make it smaller. I had just received a dress dummy for Christmas (okay, I bought myself a dress dummy for Christmas). Her name is a Lula Belle. Anyway, I learned to sew out of necessity and continued to challenge myself by learning all kinds of techniques and tricks. When we moved from North Carolina to Virginia, I put my machine away and didn't pull it out again until a couple of weeks ago. I have forgotten much of what I once knew and will have to relearn it.
Anyway, I have taken Alex's coat apart. I have a grave fear that I will not be able to put it back together. While working on it, I realized why this coat is so important to Alex. This is the first coat we ever bought for her. All her life she had hand me down coats. She hated most of them. It wasn't really that they had been her sister's coats, it was that they truly had, and still have, completely different taste and style. Alex must have felt like an impostor.
This coat is also special because of the circumstances of the purchase. It came from Express, and while that's not really special, it came from the Express in New York.
One year, on Christmas Day, we opened a few presents, then got in the car and headed to New York. Richard's brother, Bill, was in New York with the Old Vic Theatre Company doing a play at the New Vic. Bill is an accomplished musician and he was providing the music for the Company's version of Grimm Fairy Tales. The play was loads of fun and it was great hearing Bill's lovely music.
We were doing a lot of walking and it was freezing. Alex was at that age of black clothes and hoodies. She didn't bring a coat. We popped into Express and she fell in love with this black fake fur coat. The large size was the only one they had, but that didn't matter to her. It meant it would fit over her hoodie.
While it is no longer as soft as it once was, it has been a well worn but cherished item. So I am working to make it properly fitted. Lula Belle is wearing it now, inside out, no lining and no sleeves. Progress continues.
Anyway, I have taken Alex's coat apart. I have a grave fear that I will not be able to put it back together. While working on it, I realized why this coat is so important to Alex. This is the first coat we ever bought for her. All her life she had hand me down coats. She hated most of them. It wasn't really that they had been her sister's coats, it was that they truly had, and still have, completely different taste and style. Alex must have felt like an impostor.
This coat is also special because of the circumstances of the purchase. It came from Express, and while that's not really special, it came from the Express in New York.
One year, on Christmas Day, we opened a few presents, then got in the car and headed to New York. Richard's brother, Bill, was in New York with the Old Vic Theatre Company doing a play at the New Vic. Bill is an accomplished musician and he was providing the music for the Company's version of Grimm Fairy Tales. The play was loads of fun and it was great hearing Bill's lovely music.
We were doing a lot of walking and it was freezing. Alex was at that age of black clothes and hoodies. She didn't bring a coat. We popped into Express and she fell in love with this black fake fur coat. The large size was the only one they had, but that didn't matter to her. It meant it would fit over her hoodie.
While it is no longer as soft as it once was, it has been a well worn but cherished item. So I am working to make it properly fitted. Lula Belle is wearing it now, inside out, no lining and no sleeves. Progress continues.
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