from February
After finishing the first effort on this top, I was intrigued enough that I wanted to do this again, with another piece of hand-painted fabric from the same source.
So how this all started (there's always a story)...was I got the latest issue of Vogue Patterns Magazine and there was a great article on zippers...including a "lace" zipper from Ghee's. So one click online and I have one in my very hands (OK a little longer than that, but still pretty quickly).
The black zip in my hand of course it needed a light background to show off the lace, and I knew I had this piece of gorgeous Bamboo and with black accent would be great.
So this became an exercise in adaptability which is often what happens when you're using something new and incorporating it into a pattern. Just know that don't be surprised if you have to do a little tweaking here and there and be prepared for it.
Here's the zipper from Ghee's - really nice and very creative.
So I'm playing with this and thinking that this needs to be applied on the surface - not under, or even with the teeth showing. I'm thinking that I might have to do a little hand tacking to keep the lace down, but basically I put this in opposite the way I would put in an invisible zipper.
Where the invisible zip would have the tape on the inside, this has the tape on the outside, so that the under side looks like this:
So that the back fabric is pressed to the inside, and only the zipper teeth show on the inside. This makes for a nice clean look on the inside, which is nice, but more importantly, the teeth do not get caught up in any flap or underflap to catch or stop the zip from operating. The later is the main reason I used this technique.
But don't let this dissuade you, cause this was really an easy application, once I perfected it.
There were two other minor problems - one was the top. The zipper had metal (shiny white/silver) as the stop on the top - ick with the black. Really this is just me being extraordinarily picky, but since I was going to all this effort....
I just zig-zag-ed over the stops with black thread. Paint would just wear off or chip off, and I really, really didn't like the silver showing through. The fun of this is the black on the celery green (Yeah, I know didn't do a good job of capturing the delicate color of this fabric).
See - this looks so much better.
One last problem....
You can imagine if I didn't like the zipper stop at the top showing, that I wasn't going to like the bottom showing so had to invent something to cover this....but this is a separating zip, and didn't want anything permanent that would cause me to have to do an over-the-head into the top. Again, being picky.
A gap at the bottom (the zipper wasn't long enough) for the full length of the top, but no matter, it was long enough...it goes from about the waist to the top of the neck, which is fine for me. So a detailed button flap at the bottom is enough detail to make this a nice closure and professional enough looking so that I now like the zip and it works perfectly.
But there's a surprise....the back!
And before you think I've turned into some feral animal...well, I sorta hafta admit that I do love the wolves in Yellowstone a bunch, and Walt is always giving me grief about it.
So this was a natural for me!!! Lace and wolves - on bamboo fabric - yep, that sounds like me!!!
I love it, a wonderful creation. thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Susanne Reynolds | March 13, 2011 at 09:43 PM
What a neat zipper and I really like your idea of using a button flap at the bottom to cover the end of the zipper. Thanks for the inspiration!
Posted by: shannon | March 14, 2011 at 03:15 AM
Pretty, Pretty!
Posted by: claudine | March 14, 2011 at 08:12 AM
Love the blouse! If you love wolves then you must read about the domestication research in the March issue of National Geographic.
Karen in Houston
Posted by: Karen Mulkey | March 14, 2011 at 09:45 AM
@Karen - I'm addicted to wolves and I think the big reason is that they remind me so much of my cute pup, Siggy...the communication between humans & domesticated animals is so deep and heart-felt, that it's hard not to be drawn to these animals in the wild...even though they are wild you want to reach out, but can't, but want to! http://www.cwuap.com/flash/image6.jpg is a great shot we got in Yellowstone...this little guy tugged at our heart strings for 3 hours playing with us! For more click http://www.cwuap.com It's one of our passions.
Posted by: ClaireOKC | March 14, 2011 at 10:44 AM
That's a head twister! The zipper is beautiful and just perfect with the celery. Love it.
Posted by: Bunny | March 14, 2011 at 02:17 PM
Gorgeous! Love these tops and the surprise back details!
Posted by: Ann's Fashion Studio | March 15, 2011 at 07:02 PM
Claire, I don't know if you are going to make more out of this Knip, but they made some mistakes.
Model 2 tunic is on page D-in red
model 6 jumpsuit is on page C- in black
model 7 Tunic is on page F - in black
model 12 jacket is on page H -in red
the picture of model 13 on page 27 is wrong,this jacket will be in the april Knip
Posted by: Anna (NL) | March 16, 2011 at 07:52 AM
Love the little details that add give interest to an already unique garment!
Posted by: Summerset | March 17, 2011 at 06:19 PM
I love your top!
Thank you for the tip about the zip - I've just ordered 3!!
Now to find the projects to use them on...
Posted by: Jemajo | March 28, 2011 at 04:29 PM