Couture

Couture is such a fancy word. It makes me think of France. And big poofy dresses that have lots of ruffles and tucks and gathers. Well...it did make me think of those things. Now I have another image in mind. Now I see it as a great big black hole of time warp that causes things to happen in slow motion and take eight times as long as originally planned.

Last week Nana came to visit for a few days. While she was here I talked to her about a Christmas gift for Big Granny. In conversation it came up that Big Granny really liked a certain quilted jacket that she received years ago. She has worn it so frequently that it has "seen better days". So...silly me...thinks, "I can make one of those!" Well, maybe. But not before Christmas. Especially since my 800 other projects aren't done yet. I thought of supporting my fellow crafters and ordering one from etsy. Then I saw that etsy wants $200 for a quilted jacket. I thought of giving Big Granny an IOU for a quilted jacket to be completed in January. But that's no fun. And then it dawned on me. Pre-quilted fabric! Woo Hoo! The hard work is already done! I just zip zip zip a few seams and a Christmas gift is born.

Now...stick with me. Pre-quilted fabric does not have a "right" or "wrong" side. It's finished on both sides, so the jacket can't (shouldn't) be lined. But how in the world am I going to finish the seams on the inside? I don't have a serger. Can't pink a quilted fabric. Hmmm. I asked Google and I was introduced to the Hong Kong Seam Finish. This is what I read:

The Hong Kong Finish
This is a couture technique and a beautiful way to finish the seams on an unlined jacket. It requires binding the edges of each seam allowance with a narrow strip of lightweight fabric that’s cut on the bias.

Sounds perfect, right? It even references a jacket. I'm making a jacket! YAY Hong Kong!

That little paragraph forgot to tell me that for each seam (usually one pass with a sewing machine) I would end up making FIVE passes with the sewing machine. Plus time for lining up fiddly edges of bias tape.

But. I'm done. And I'm proud. And I'm glad I learned something new. I won't lie - there is one part that is a hot mess inside there and there's nothing I can do to fix it. But it's on the inside and not the outside so I'm thankful. And no one but me and Big Granny will ever know.

And since Big Granny does not read blogs, or even own a computer for that matter - I can tell you this story and give pictures.

Finsihed jacket. Yes, the print is a little loud for a 91 year old woman. Have you met Big Granny? She can get away with it.

Inside

Hong Kong craziness