Cozy - specifically for my teen

Brrrrr...

Current temp is 23 degrees.  After a springlike winter so far, it might as well be  -23 degrees.  Better than the 11 degrees we started the day with, though...

Now, let's say you are in the market for a supremely warm scarf that gives the illusion of an artistically draped sweater around your neck?  Would you want to spend $900 or so for one?   (Note: I typed this long ago, and the price has PLUMMETED since then.  What I am referencing with the links must be a recycled post, apparently, as it has probably been a year since I typed this intro...)

So, as I was saying... $900? I don't think so!  I saw this lovely blog post on a site I have long enjoyed , and was just FLOORED by this idea. So simple.  So cool. Timeless really.

http://www.garancedore.fr/

No, I will not be spending that kinda cash.  After all, who doesn't drip a little coffee on themselves every now and then?  And at that price, I'd have to stop drinking coffee, tea, wearing lipstick, and doing just about anything above my shoulders involving color!

But I will say, as the weather grows cooler, and my desire for/dreams of "coziness" are really at their peak, and I have felt some heavenly fabrics in the district that will warm both your bodies and hearts.

So, here we are, at the beginning of 2016, and NY Elegant is one of the stores that has wonderful cozy furs and soft, cuddly things on the 2nd floor.  Oh, you didn't know they have a second floor, did you?

For a bit of fun and practicality, I tried a new idea.

While we all love the allure of no-sew projects, you've gotta admit that it usually requires some quality deal-breaker that makes you wish you had simply gone the extra mile.

However, sometimes not.

So, I'm conceiving a no-sew (well, kinda) that will keep you warm!

Inspired by a weird seated too close to a too-hot radiator problem at her school, my daughter's ruined Calvin Klein made-of-weird-meltable-fabric-and-not-quite warm-enough-anyway winter jacket needed some help to be wearable again.

cuff of jacket, after radiator problem

Let's take some fur and create a new cuff! And... maybe collar, too?

So, I'm not sewing to create this design change. Well, not much. I'm tearing the backing of this faux fur, which creates a straight strip, to make cuffs for the jacket, giving the jacket a "Zsa Zsa" kinda feel.  I'll reveal when I'm done (maybe) tonight.

About faux fur and real fur... I must have gone 10 places to find JUST the right thing...

As recently featured on the blog, I was making a jacket with  a solid dose of GLAMOUR, and I needed just the right trim.  I had already made a wrong purchase, and still needed something full,  warmer, and more lively.

I looked, and looked... Went upstairs, downstairs, and up and down the streets of the district, to find just the right faux fur trim for the jacket I was making.  I won't waste you time with needless information of the places that didn't have what I needed...


because I found the perfect thing upstairs at New York Elegant.

Yardage.  And I bought 1/2 yd. When it comes to faux fur there is so much to get right... The feel (or "teddybearishness", as I like to call it), the density, how securely the fibers stay in place, the pill, puff and shed factor, the smell (for me) the flexibility and weight of the backing... 

If you are looking for fur, (whether faux or real) here are some other good places to check:

Joyce Trimming (faux)
Lauren Trimming (faux)
Daytona Trimming (faux)
Leather, Suede, Skins (real)
M&J Trimming (faux and real)
Leather Impact (real)

Will you find amazing surprises in some other district stores?  Yes, you most certainly will.... but I could write a NOVEL on the subject.  Just try these first.  You'll be exhausted after that. 

Intimidated about sewing with faux fur?  Try the new DVD recently released by Kenneth King.  I was so bummed that I had to miss the recent launch event, but I'm sure it was fantastic!