I have girls. My eldest wasn't a princess. When she was young, she liked trains and cars as much as fairies. Which was great. I made her dresses with trains and coats with fish and frogs, but admittedly my items are geared more for girls' tastes than boys. I decided to reach outside that range because boys like to wear their imagination of their sleeves too. And sometimes we parents need that to be not another super hero cape and sometimes we need to be a little bit more dressy.
On that note, enter the Dragon . . .
Imagine how much more fun dressy up in a blazer would be with a fire breathing dragon wrapped around your shoulder would be. This dragon is appilqued in a way that is fully sewn on the edges. No shabby chic fraying going on here. The dragon is a combination of cottons, and sateen, and silk.
I took photos of the process to share some of what happens along the way when creating these pieces.
- Fabric selection is so important. Color interaction, textures, sheens, and durability all come in to play.
- Cutting all the intricate pieces and prepping them for sewing. Most designs I cut by hand, but I have been experimenting with using a silhouette machine as well.
- Laying out the design in just the right orientation
- sewing, sewing, sewing
- The appliques have to be added at just the right point of construction. After any seams they overlap, but before the piece becomes three dimensional.
- the back/wrong side view. It makes me want to explore free hand embroidery more. I love the way it looks like a drawing on the garment.
Then the construction of the blazer begins. I used Blank Slate Patterns basic blazer pattern for the jacket. I love all the extra details that the pattern incorporates, such as the notched collar and welt pockets. The formal elements play agains the elaborate dragon so nicely. The seem to legitimize each other nicely.
The blazer is fully lined with a polyester lining. It keeps it all so clean and tidy and being slick makes it easier to slip on and off. It is even machine washable it your are willing to face ironing. I always find that ironing little clothes it so much more of a challenge than adult sized items.
Here are few more finished shots. My youngest offered to model it even though she is a size to small, after all girls like to be knights in shining armor too.
