How to Make a Jacket Using Silk Autumn Leaves
Women oftentimes find it impossible to find just the right lightweight jacket for fall. Even if they can find it, it may be much too expensive or in an unfavorable cut or design. One way to side step such problems is for a woman to make her own jacket. But since some women don't sew and others have no idea where to begin, they may not know where to begin. The steps below outline a way to make the perfect lightweight fall jacket using beautiful silk autumn leaves.
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Things You'll Need
- Sweatshirt (any length and neck type; in the appropriate size and color of your choice)
- Silk leaves
- Piping craft paint
- Fabric glitter
- Trim (your choice)
- Faux jewels (optional)
- Fabric glue
- Iron-on material
- Sewing machine or needle and thread
- Dressmaker's chalk
- Sharp scissors
Instructions
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1
Decide the primary colors that you want to use for your jacket including the color for the jacket itself and the tones of autumn leaves you want to use and the paint colors you want to use as accent.
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2
Sketch out a rough design for your jacket with regard to the placement of the silk leaves, any trim and/or other embellishments such as faux jewels or glitter.
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3
Determine how to secure the leaves and any planned embellishments to the jacket. There are several options available including fabric glue, iron-on heat transfer products (like fusible webbing), a sewing machine, and needle and thread.
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4
If you don't have everything on hand, make a trip to purchase the items you need.
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Measure to determine the exact center of your sweatshirt. With a piece of dressmaker's chalk, mark a straight line from the top to the bottom center of the shirt and cut directly on that line.
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6
Place the silk autumn leaves as you want them to lie down the front of your shirt. Once you are happy with the design, then begin securing the leaves to the shirt by whatever method you have chosen. If you have chosen to use iron-on fusible webbing, then you will have to prepare the leaves according to the product's instructions before you begin placing them on the shirt.Make sure that the leaves are flat, unwrinkled, and totally secured to the fabric before moving on to the next step. Make sure everything is dry before moving on, as well.
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Using the piping paints that you chose, begin drawing a piping line around the outside of each leaf to prevent the silk from unraveling as well as to provide another mechanism for securing the leaf to the garment. Lay the shirt flat to dry and don't move on to the next step until everything is thoroughly dry.
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Once the shirt is dry, with a small pair of sharp scissors cut the fabric around the leaves that border each side of the jacket.
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Add any trims or embellishments that you want to the jacket. For example, you might put a light wash of glitter over some of the leaves or add embellishments of faux jewels (glued on or set in) for accent. Another option would be to add trim to the sleeves or collar for further accent. Apply these with whatever method you choose (such as glue, iron-on, or sewn on).
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Tips & Warnings
Long sweatshirts work just as well as standard ones for this process.
Use a neutral solid color for the shirt and add color with the leaves and embellishments.
Use a single color or mix multiple colors of autumn leaves.
It is easier to add piping paint to the shirt if you use a shirt board underneath.
Add extra leaves down the sleeves of the sweatshirt to add extra accent.
Add autumn leaves to a pair of sweatpants for a fun autumn jog set.
Choose flat, gloss, glimmer, pearlized, or glitter piping paints according to your specific wants and needs.
Be sure you use glues that are suitable to the various types of products you are using.
Pre-test any glue or iron-on transfer fusible webbing before using it.
Keep it simple. Don't overdo or the jacket will go from designer look to cheap.
