le mani d'oro

Over the years, I have been inspired by tuxedo dresses designed by Paul Smith. Some had a shawl collar or a tailored one, some had sleeves and some were like that following, not suited for winters in Montreal. In the end, I wanted them all. I was dreaming of having one of those in my closet.

Tuxedo Dress from Paul Smith's 2013 collection picture taken on Polyvore

On realistic note, very chic dresses don't get to go out often of my wardrobe. I work in a university where most of professors and administrators are rather relaxed looking on a day to day basis. I had to make the concept evolve towards the reality of my life.Chic London cocktail are not part of my reality.

Well, I thought that this Burda Magazine pattern would be an excellent compromise between my work environment and my passion of tuxedo dresses.

Burda Magazine 2012-11-133

I cut the usual size combination for my silhouette: 38 for the bust, 34 for the waist and 36 for the hip zone. Gladly, I have sewn a muslin for the top part. Ho la la, this dress sizes very big. As you can tell from the following pictures, it requires many adjustments. I am floating in it and so is Daisy my dressform. I look like a little girl wearing her big sister's dress...  not the look I want !

Burda 2012-11-133 muslin 1 too big

Burda 2012-11-133 muslin 1 too big

 So I am back to the drafting table to draw a pattern one size smaller. I hope that it will work this time.

Je n'étais pas du tout satisfaite des photographies de mon manteau Burda 8017 mises en ligne précédemment. Elles me semblaient fades et peu saturées en couleur en raison de l'heure du jour où elles ont été prises. J'en mets donc de toutes nouvelles prises hier à la maison. Mon conjoint mérite des remerciements pour cette séance productive. Je sais qu'il déteste prendre ce type de photos et il a accepté de me consacrer une bonne heure. Comme il gagne sa vie comme photographe reporter nature, je comprends son manque d'intérêt à photographier des vêtements.

The pictures already posted of my Burda 8017 winter coat were lacking contrast and saturation. I jumped on the occasion of having my DH at home to take pictures of a few garments I recently sewn.

Voilà ! 

Test lumière et exposition - Lets test light and aperture

		Avant de prendre les photos discutons du concept ;-)   - Before shooting anything, let's talk about the objectives ;-) Oups buttons not all snaped - oups un bouton de défait

Vue de côté - Side view

Pause rigolade - Lets goof a bit !

Oh the magnetic buttons are not that good - Oups les boutons magnétiques ne sont pas géniaux

DH is suggesting to raise the sealing to make a real studio - humm vivement un plafond de 3.2 mètres comme dans une vrai studio

Le col monte très haut, parfait pour l'hiver Montréalais - The collar is high and perfect for Montreal's winter.

Lots of latitude for movements - Tout l'espace voulu pour mes grandes enjambées !

Sneak peek of my funny dress this will be in my next post - Un aperçu de ma robe d'inspiration Marie St-Pierre... plus de détails prochainement

Even before cutting the pieces for a muslin, I am planning the lining of my Burda coat. My first idea was to quilt, in a creative way, Thinsulate to the kasha lining and give to my boiled wool jacket a little warm woompf.

After reviewing The Sewing Laywer's blog on her Burda 7731 project (see picture on this article) and reading this exchange on Pattern Review's blog, I entirely revised my position.

The key words I remember from those readings were: Michelin Men, Bulky, No Drape, Not suitable for wool jackets and Made for thin nylon fabric.

Ok you convinced me !!!!!!!!!! Thank Kay you for sharing your knowledge . Or else, I would have headed for a disaster.

Now I have boiled wool and kasha lining and those 2 together are not warm enough for Montreal's -10 oC or -20 oC or worst -30 oC... well at -30 oC I will wear another jacket for sure. But still, Montreal could be cold.

So what are the options according to you ? Polartec, lambs wool, or ???

I used lamb wool in a previous jacket that I plan to show you soon. It is not sufficient to keep me warm under -5 oC. So far I have been wearing a duvet vest under my wool jackets to keep me warm. Keep in mind that I walk 4 kilometers per day on my way to and from the office. I do not travel by car.

The duvet vest gives me comfort and warmth, but it also makes me look like Quasimodo (the hump back in Notre-Dame de Paris ;-)). It fluffs my jacket a little too much. If I could, I would like to avoid that option.

On the other hand, a thin lining with the duvet vest allows me to wear the jacket during fall and early spring.

Again, what do you think, what are your suggestions?

Kind Regards,

Anne-Marie