Well, I was looking at CheapTrims for the first time and the creative juices started flowing. I was looking at the feather trim on tapes and got a little designing brainstorm. Well, maybe not a completely original idea but I'm a Fashiontrance fan and I've seen some haute designs with feathers and I love them. They have a 6 inch sort of peacock herl fringe, I want a spool of this BAD!.....cause it's there. LOL
OK, here's what I've come up with, I'm thinking sort of a bolero type vest thing. I saw clothing with feathered skirts and pants but like I'm going to hang feathers on my caboose? hahahaha!! Sleeveless box vest, stopping just above the waist. I'm thinking that sewing the tapes of feathers as you would the fringe on a flapper dress, only I don't want the tapes to show....so, if I first take my fabric do all the folds sort of like __/\___/\___/\__ this, the folds being as deep as the tape is wide and then steam press very well with the inside of the fold being pressed UP. I was going to use a green taffeta, it's that deep green that changes shades and has a bit of black in it, depending on how the light hits. Then when I sew the tape into the fold, the back of the fold points up so the feathers hang down.......but if I put folds in the fabric, across the grain, press well, then lay the pattern on the pre folded fabric, cut it out, join the side and shoulder seams, these would be unfolded when sewn up, matching creases of folds as closely as possible, repressing folds into seams then sew the feathered tape into the folds, whatever little fudging needed at seams (with all the feathers it's not like matching plaids) pressing up on the inside so feathers hang down and then lining it with a solid heavy weight fabric, I'm thinking the same heavy taffeta, this should work pretty good, right? I may have to fine tune and tweak the shoulder seams a bit to make the feathers hang right but that really isn't a big problem ( infamous last words).
Planning and Pondering, Val