Up-Cycled Blanket Jacket

Sometimes it takes some time to actually use what I’ve dyed, but not this time! The fabulous magical designs from the wool marbling set me in fast-forward to get this Up-Cycled Blanket Jacket done and make buttons!

Working with the Wool:

One of the reasons I love working with this up-cycled wool is that it is so thick! I guess I am a lazy sewer nowadays as I’d rather NOT have to do a lot of lining and finishing of edges. I’d rather be ‘artsy’ and somewhat rustic so using something that won’t fray is awesome. It will depend on the amount of felting that the wool has had. And sometimes my rationale is that ‘if’ I’d like, I can always change my mind later and add lining or some edging.

The Design:

After I dream up an idea I often use a garment that I have to copy the pattern from. I like the versatility of this one as it allows some shaping with the side gussets and also can use smaller pieces as was the case with the Eco-Printed Jacket. I’m not a super skinny one so it also adds some vertical definition to make me look ‘taller’ = thinner.

Seams are pressed open and steamed; wool is lovely for that!

After piecing with a basting stitch it can be test fitted. It was fun to figure out how the variety of marbling is arranged. Now that I can create my own designs and eco-printing I am a bit bored with printed yardage form the fabric store!

This time the front closure is a simple coat zipper (thanks mom for the amazing collection you left me) sewn next to the cut edge. ‘My bad’; I did not even use a zipper foot as it fit well.

Maybe I have been influenced by my years in europe as I like the traditional look of the boiled wool jackets; hence the triangle design for the loop closures. Details can make such a difference in a design.

What kinds of Buttons?:

I had a vision of what buttons I wanted and I knew it would be quite the hunt. And I hate paying for single buttons more that the rest of this up-cycled jacket is worth. ya, you guessed it; I made them.

‘Pulled out my drawer of polymer clay and mixed a bunch of colours with blue. Hint; if you choose a rustic-non-perfect design then it’s much more likely that you will achieve what you want. I’m going for the wood/antler slice look. That ‘perfectionism’ is what breaks most people; just saying.

Run some ribbons through the pasta machine in varying colours.

Roll them up envisioning how the colours will combine. Squish and poke to create details in the ‘rings’ of colours like the rings of tree stumps.

These come together much like the geodes. The fun part is the slicing – oooh look at the details. I’ve kept them a bit thicker than 1/8th inch.

Keep them a bit thicker for strength and poke some holes with a straw. As you can see I like BIG buttons; go big or go home. I love the striations and variations of colour. Bake according the brand you have used.

And then I had another idea; (as often happens in that brain of mine) I twisted the rest of the clay into spirals and made some horn-toggles. According to my instagram voting the horn ones did win out, but I am sure the others will get used with some of the blue wool I have.

Finished!

The collar became a simple straight stand-up and a facing was adding inside the front. Sleeves are folded back and just a simple straight stitch for edge detail. Considering this was on the way to the landfill, I am very happy with it! The patterns of the dyeing are so mesmerizing…