I am super excited to share this weeks garment with you for a couple reasons. The big one is because I not only drew inspiration from my father (Much like in Mama Mia, and Mama Mia 2) but also from my Grandfather and Sister. So this one is going to be very family oriented and I hope you like it as well. Let's start at the beginning.
So I've been doing this Challenge for awhile now and am about halfway through my box. Assuming no one else sends me anymore fabric I think we'll be wrapping this up soon and then I'll have to thing of something else to do ( like that'll be hard) What I started with was this super duper cute horseshoe print fabric, with strips parallel to the selvage edge. I had seen maybe a month earlier this adorable little blouse at 3 Women Co. an adorable vintage shop in Long Beach.
It had these cute little cowboys all over it with I loved!!! Because my Grandpa was a Cowboy and my dad is very much a Cowboy still and I just had to have it!
Only Bummer cost was $75 and out of my current price range, so when I pulled out this weeks fabric, with the horseshoe print it was sooo perfect I new I could make this blouse!
I decided I wanted to make it in my little sister's size as she recently had a birthday but also because I just knew that this top was going to be for her. I know I've said this before but fabric speaks, and this fabric, wanted to be this blouse, and to belong to my sister. Now I hadn't measured the fabric out yet but it was a good sized piece and I was hopeful I'd be able to get two tops out of it. #goals
I started with a vintage Simplicity pattern 5067 I traced out the pattern and then altered the sleeves giving them that dolmen shape (Idk if you follow me on IG but if you do you know how I feel about dolmens as I only wear them as often as possible) the pattern had four front darts, two fisheye back darts, all of which I left in, as well as side darts. I ended up having to move the dart excess from the side into the front darts, as that side dart was throwing off my dolmen sleeve. Video below!
I measured out this really great fabric and was pleased to have a 1 1/2 yards of 60" width fabric to work with. The only label on this one said "washed" so I know the fabric was pre-shrunk at least. I'm going to assume its cotton, after having sewn and pressed the fabric multiple times I'm confident it is either cotton or linen. I tried to lay it out multiple ways but but I could only fit one blouse on this fabric which wasn't the worst thing ever. I stitched the thing up, had some trouble with the bow, and succeeded in the end! So soon as I was done I was so excited I called my sister to show her the shirt and she loved it! My sister and I both love westerns, and when she was little she always dressed up like a cowgirl which was why I thought of her in the first place. Even though in real life she's a librarian, I know in her heart she's a cowgirl.
I pretty much used everything, all that was left was a small 9x45 piece, tiny, but I couldn't just throw it away! I mean it was sooo cute, but how could I do something which such a small piece. Then I remembered having some leftover Navy twill in my room and the lightbulb went off. I didn't have enough fabric to make another shirt, but I did have enough twill to make a shirt and maybe I could incorporate the horseshoe stuff into it?
In my post "Rockabilly Harley" I very quickly skim over the MODA fashion show that I created a Menswear line for. Which was very much inspired by my Father and Grandfather. My whole vibe was men who like cars and motorcycles and planes you know stuff like that. My Paternal Grandfather was such an inspiration for me. The year he passed away was the same year I moved to Southern California and really decided to pursue my dream 100% He had been in the Air-Force, a Pilate, a police officer (Mounted Ranger) also a volunteer firefighter, and owned a ranch where he boarded horses. He always dressed like a cowboy. My dad is very much the same, Air-Force, Pastor, worked on cars, worked on our boat, always dresses like a cowboy. I love that when ever I think of them that's what comes to mind, cowboy boots, and a big belt buckle, really nice felt hat. Jeans but real jeans, not those tattered up or overly embroidered kind. Solid work jeans, and a suit on Sunday.
His shirt was easy, I've made that pattern Idk how many times, it was second nature for me at this point. I knew I wanted the pocket to be made from my horseshoe print. And then I decided last minute to also do the inside of the collar stand. Which really made the pocket pop!
I think it's funny my sister and father now have matching shirts, but it's also kinda fun. I remember one year in college I made my dad a really cool shirt out of Hawaiian print, and then used the leftover print to make something for myself so I could match him. That garment was lost like two moves ago and now my sister is the one who gets to match our dad.
Anyways that's it for this week! Please don't judge my photo gallery too hard. I was super tired when I took those pictures, and I did it at night when the lighting is bad. But I had to if I was going to photograph them before they made their way to their owners. Unfortunately these ones are not for sale as they already have owners but feel free to browse my shop for other goodies. Or contact me directly and I will do my best to get you fabric to have these made out of. As always you can follow me on Instagram @MadsenCreations Facebook- Madsen Creations by Rachel Madsen, Twitter and Snapchat are both rachieface89 you can also find us on YouTube Madsen Creations for all kinds of videos. Gallery Below
