Shearling Jacket

Shearling is lamb leather or suede with the wool still attached. It comes in a variety of colors, lengths and finishes.
This is a shearling coat I just finished for my husband. It is a very dark brown/black suede with a bit of a distressed finish. The wool is short, tightly curled and is called snowy top. The underneath is a dark brown and the top is cream colored. I used Neue Mode pattern 23090 with lapped seam construction. All of the seams are double topstitched with Gutermann topstitching thread. The buttons are horn buttons. I made bound buttonholes and stitched a patch of the shaved suede to the wrong side to finish them off.
The Academy of fine Sewing & Design www.finesewing.com is offering a Shearling Jacket workshop November 12-16, 2008.

Designer Scarves

Here are a variety of men's and women's scarves I have recently completed. The North Bay Film Festival organizers asked me to create 2 men's scarves as gifts for actor Rupinder Nagra and producer David Miller of the film Amal. Amal is one of Canada's top 10 films this year.
The first scarf is made from a piece of ruched taffeta and chenille yarns I purchased in Paris. It is in shades of black, navy and red. I made it wide and long enough to wrap around the neck and tie in a big knot. I used some of the selvedge as a fringe at the ends.
The second scarf is an opera/evening scarf made from a beautiful piece of silk crushed velvet purchased in New York and co ordinated with satin. It is in shades of olive, brown and burgundy. I basted the layers together to prevent the velvet from creeping. For more tips on sewing with velvet see my article in the Oct/Nov 06 issue of Vogue pattern magazine.
Shown on the shearling coat I made for my husband is an alpaca scarf. I knit the faux cable scarf out of Baby Twist from Alpaca with a Twist. The pattern was designed by Margaret Della Rossa of Village Yarns in Toronto. Contact www.villageyarns.com for His 'n Hers Winter Accessories pattern and/or kit.
The red alpaca shawl/scarf is perfect for Valentine's Day! I knit this out of 100% alpaca from Misty Alpaca. The pattern I used is #077 Silk Alpaca Babushka from Mac & Me www.macandme.net
It is worn with the V in front and the ends wrapped around the neck and tied. The lace edging is 12 rows of knitting picked up along the edge once the shawl is complete.