Erica Bunker | DIY Style! The Art of Cultivating a Stylish Wardrobe

McCall's 8043 - Open-Back Top!

12:00 AM

McCall's 7906 - Brown Faux Leather Skirt!

8:30 PM

I’ve been using this fashion weight faux leather for a while now and I’m so in love with it. I can’t get enough of it. I’ve bought the black, gold and this is my second time buying it in brown. I’ve made jackets, pants and it was time to make a skirt.

I decided to use McCall’s 7906. I love the high, cinched waisted style. I cut the size 14 at the waist and blended to a size 16. I cut view D, the longest length, which was fine.

But I still needed to make my standard full seat adjustment so that the skirt wouldn’t hike up at the back hem.

The skirt has inseam pockets, belt carriers and a self-belt. And I used these gorgeous Amber Horn Buttons.

A lot of home sewers feel a bit intimidated at the thought of working with leather or faux leather, so I’m going to share some of my favorite tips.

Faux leather and leather sew basically the same. You’ll need a leather needle. I used a size 16/100. You’ll also need specialty sewing machine feet. When I sew with leather, I like to use a walking foot, a non-stick foot or a rolling foot. When cutting leather, I prefer a rotary cutter and a self-healing mat instead of scissors because I like the clean edge. You also should cut leather on a single layer instead of on the fold.

Also, be mindful that pins can leave holes in leather. You can use them, but be careful and only pin in the seam allowances. Or, you can use Wonderclips or small binder clips.

Make sure you transfer all of you markings, but don’t use a tracing wheel. Like pins, tracing wheels can also leave holes. Use chalk, but test on a scrap to see if it will be easily removed with a damp cloth.

You can forgo seam finishing because leather doesn’t fray.

Pressing? Yes! You can press leather and faux leather. BUT, it must be done CAREFULLY and CAUTIOUSLY. Use a piece of muslin, cotton fabric or silk organza as pressing cloth with your iron on a lower setting. Use a scrap piece to test out your adjusted settings.

For the hem, I wanted it to be nice and clean with no topstitching. I used Stitch Witchery and fused it.

Bold Colors

Simplicity 4403 - Fur-Trimmed Red Wool Coat!

12:00 AM

Happy New Year! Last year, I realized that I had scaled down my sewing a great deal. It wasn't really intentional, it was that I only sewed the things that I was really into. As I was going over the last decade, I remember the years that I felt like I had to be running to Jo-Ann's and Hancock Fabrics to grab every single new pattern that was released on the first day of the sale and then be the first person to sew up the newest Vogues. Y'all, that shit got old and I got bored with the releases. I haven't been feeling a lot the new patterns in the last few years, and I've been reaching into my stash for oldies but goodies that I never got around to sewing.

Which leads me to this: I finally got the red coat that my closet needed. I've been wanting one for years and I wanted it to be a classic silhouette with great details. I didn't want anything trendy, I wanted something that would age well.

I reached way back into my stash and pulled out Simplicity 4403. It's been out-of-print for years.

It's a Threads pattern, which means it has great details and instructions, even if you've never made a coat before. This one is worth scouring Etsy and Ebay to find.

I'll just list all of the supplies I used for this coat:

Primary Red Blended Wool Coating (It's sold out, but they have beautiful coatings)
White Cupro Twill Lining
Italian White, Green & Red Piping
Hair Canvas
Fusible Interfacing
Lg Brown Buttons
Sm Brown Buttons
Fur (From Jo-Ann's)

When sewing with wool, you always have to preshrink it. I used the dryer method. I put the entire piece of uncut fabric in the dryer with a wet towel and set it to high. This is the best way to steam shrink wool at home. But you have to use common sense. Use a well-used towel that won't produce a lot of lint in a similar color to your fabric. Because if you put a new-ish white towel in with black wool??? You'll be pissed. You've been warned. Or, skip all of this and take it to the dry cleaner.

I cut the size 14 and graded out to a 18. I wanted to make sure it wasn't pulling across the hips. I made a 1" FBA, made 1" swayback adjustment, 1.5" full seat adjustment (because if not, the coat would hike up on the back hem) and I added 2" to the overall length.

I added a back stay with my hair canvas and made custom shoulder pads and sleeve heads using polyester batting.

I modified the under collar by creating a center back seam and cutting both pieces on the bias. And I just hand stitched the under collar to the fur upper collar.

I love that this pattern instructs you to make bound buttonholes.

With the thickness of my fabric, that would've been my obvious choice.

For the lining, I simply bagged and added hanging chain and decorative piping.

I hadn't made a coat in 3 years and I really enjoyed the process, even if it took me 2 weeks to get this cut out and completely sewn. It was so worth it because I love it so much!

Baby Lock

Adding an Embroidery Design to a Pattern with Baby Lock Sewing!

3:00 PM

When I purchased this Italian Black/Off-White Stretch Cotton Print, I bought a large cut of it because I knew I wanted to make a two-piece.

The jacket is McCall's 7730 and the pants are Simplicity 8655. I cut the size 14, D cup in the jacket. I like the style of the jacket, I felt that the lines were a little plain. So, I decided it could use a little zhooshing up.

I selected this design -- Midnight Blooms from Urban Threads.

On my Baby Lock Aventura II, I adjusted the colors so that they would show up on my fabric and compliment the print.

I made a test design and decided where I wanted to place it and using my 6.25" x 10.25" embroidery hoop, I hooped the jacket fronts prior to sewing the darts so that it would lay flat. And I flipped the design orientation the opposite way for the other side. Instead of using stabilizer, I interfaced the entire fronts.

This project required 14 colors. So, if you're just starting out in embroidery, I suggest you buy a thread kit, like I did, to get you started. I bought the New Brothread 63 Spools Color Kit from Amazon.

I like the way the design turned out. I wanted to do more and get really creative with the placement. But sometimes, less is more. I didn't want to overdo it and end up trashing the whole project. So, I decided that as I get use to adding embroidered designs, I'll gradually become more playful with placement.

For the inside of the jacket, I lined it in an Antique White China Silk/Habotai from Mood Fabrics.

This was a really easy jacket to bag a lining on, even with the vent. I added an embroidered stitch to the lining as well.

I didn't want the sleeve flounce to collapse, because I think that would take away from the design. I added horsehair braid to the hem.

I absolutely love the fit of these high-waisted cigarette pants (women print pants). I don't think I'll EVER wear pants that don't come up to the natural waist ever again. They're comfortable and you don't get muffin top or butt crack. Who wouldn't want that? I cut the size 16 and lengthened the hem by 3". They're very fitted at the waist. I found I needed to let out the center front and the center back seams a little bit because I wanted to give my invisible zipper a littler more ease.