I am so bummed . . .
I got the coat body together with the yoke last night. After I crushed the velvet, of course. The sewing was fine. The color is not. The yoke and the body don't match in color. The yoke is a strawberry red and the body is more of a true lipstick red. I knew they wouldn't be exact - nothing is, but I didn't count on the wash pulling so much of the dye out of the silk. I don't know what I was thinking in going ahead and making the yoke. I probably have enough velvet to redo the yoke in velvet, but just enough - I bought all the rest of the velvet on the hanger, so there isn't any more. I won't have enough to do the facings for the body or the cuffs, either. If I buy more dupionni, I can't wash it, but then I'll have the bleeding dye issue all over again.
Right now, I really don't even want to think about it. I have an entry deadline, Oct. 1, for a show I was hoping to put the coat in. I could put in Little Red Empress in stead. Now I'm stalled a bit. I know I can make the deadline - I only need the standard pictures - front, back, and detail. The lining doesn't have to be done. But the colors not matching . . . . that's a problem. No matter how well stitched, no matter how many couture details, if the colors don't match or at least coordinate it's not going to fly. I've spent a lot of time and money on this and I'm not happy with the result. Here's another nasty twist - the sheer fabric with the flocked roses - remember that? The roses are two different colors - yes, would you believe it, the red of the yoke and the red of the body. They are the strawberry red, with darker red edges - you do have to take a good look at them, though.
Rant over. Now for the reality. I need to do something. Realistic ideas:
Option A: Leave it. Don't dwell on it. Pretend like it's ok for the coat fabrics not to match. Maybe if I do the appliques on the lining in both colors it will tie the whole mess together. Maybe the American Quilt Society National Show judges won't notice, either. Coordinating reds, not anal retentively matched reds. Right. . . .
Option B: Make yoke out of uncrushed velvet. Requilt everything, including trapunto rose. Make facings out of white dupionni with white fur. Problem is - velvet shows holes. No restitching allowed. Ummmmm, I don't think so, at least not after the experience with the first trapunto.
Option C: Make yoke out of white dupionni, no color matching required, but risk looking like a candy cane or barber pole, or worse, Santa Claus. This might work if I redid the fur in white. Since the fur for the cuffs is made and one cuff is ready for stitching on, this isn't a really attractive option.
Here are the pics, as bad as it is. I can't account for your computer monitor, but I did take this stuff out in the sunlight after taking the pictures, and it really doesn't matter what kind of light it's in. The top one is the closest to reality. I stuck a cuff up around the neck to get a feel for how the collar will look. The second one was taken with flash, and is a bit washed out, but shows the crushed velvet, nicely.
If any one wants to vote on the options, or has any ideas, let me know. Off to percolate - this is off my chest, and acutally Option A is looking pretty good . . . .
4 comments:
I feel a bit silly leaving a suggestion as you are the expert and I am only a viewer, but would it be possible to add a trim over the join of the velvet and silk? Piping would look good but a bit difficult since the seam is sewn. Maybe a hand sewn trim that blends both colours? And then used somewhere else?
Personally I would not add white as it is too obvious and santa clause - ish.
Don't feel silly leaving a suggestion - no idea is too silly or not to be considered in my world. Sometimes the oddest of comments spurs just the right solution.
Thanks for the interest and courage to comment!
Hi Summerset- I check in on your blog periodically and must say you do beautiful work. To be honest the colors not matching doesn't bother me. I like it and I am usually a "matchy" person. I guess my brother the artist is rubbing off on me. In essense you have an a analagous color scheme going on which adds depth to the garment. I do think you need to bring the yoke color into the garment in another area so that it looks purposeful. Make as a binding on the fur cuffs or a banding down the front or hem. Good Luck.
The colors not matching does not bother me either as the highlights in the crushed velvet seem to be nearly the same color as the yoke, in both photos.
A trim over the seam might be nice. I would try a red darker than either of the reds in the coat.
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