ALMOST COMPLETED JACKET

It's almost finished......and I learned a lot about working with this new 50/50 bamboo/rayon fabric.

The photo clearly illustrates the jacket still has some finishing touches left to do...... a good pressing for one, and it needs buttons.  I'm planning to make large colorful felt covered buttons and buttonholes in each of the 3 squares.

Though my goal was to treat this as a sweater.....I think if I had it to do over, I'd have lined it....unless I'll be wearing a slippery shirt, it's a bit too clingy.

My friend Kay wrote with a couple of edging suggestions.....both of which I had already been tracking on, but it's good to know that a real expert also thought they'd work!

One idea was to add some machine stitching around the outside edges to help stabilize them. By the time I got Kay's note....I'd already tried that approach by stitching with a bright blue Aurifil wool thread.  The impact wasn't what I hoped for, though my sample didn't stretch too much, I feared it would if several echo lines were added.

Next, I went back to my original idea of fusing a narrow strip of felt, allowing the original color to peak out along the outer most edge, plus machine stitching for added strength.  I expected to have to cut a template for the front wavy edge, but happily, the fabric was pliable enough to be manipulated into curves without any puckering.

So, overall, I'm happy with the results.....and definitely will explore more options as the fabric becomes readily available after Market.  National Nonwovens will be opening an online store, hopefully by early June.  For those of us who love working with any of their felt products, this will make obtaining them much faster and easier.

I'm off to teach at the West Suburban Quilters' Guild near Brookfield, WI for the next few days.....be sure to say hi if you are joining me for the lecture or class.