Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Livia's Zimarra


I just realized that I hadn't posted this project. Looking at images of zimarre while working on the black and pink one I came across this image of Countess Livia da Porto Theine. I liked the idea of having a fur lined coat to wear to events during the colder months. Jason and Stephanie gave me a gift certficate to a local fabric store for Christmas and I used it to purchase gray and white faux fur (I have no idea what kind of animal it is supposed to simulate). Then I got stuck on finding the fabric for the outside. I really wanted silk but I'm just not knowledgeable enough about fabric to choose it online. I have to see and touch it to know if it is right. The silk satin I was finding locally was $40 per yard which is totally out of the question and polyester just isn't an acceptable substitute so I set the project aside.
Last week I was browsing ebay (I had a Paypal refund buring a hole in my pocket. :D ) and came across listings for satin fabric in a 55% cotton 45% silk blend. I decided to give it a shot and order half yard cuts of two colors. The fabric arrived yesterday and it is gorgeous! It has the perfect dull sheen and a nice weight and, best of all, it's $11.50 a yard. Now I just need to decide on the color. To my eye the coat in the painting looks like a deep salmon-y color (though it looks slightly different in each of the three or four images I've found online). The fabric is available in crimson which seems a bit too bright to me and in mauve which is a lighter pink than I thought it would be when I ordered it. I suppose it would be possible to overdye it to get the right color but I'm just not brave enough to go that route for fear of messing up and ruining the fabric. I think I am leaning toward the mauve but I just have to keep looking at it for a few more days before I decide.


Edited to add that I've ordered a piece of this fabric in cranberry to see if I like that better.

2 comments:

Cricket said...

I like the mauve Cindy!!

smiles,

Anam_Kihaku said...

stunning - i'd say it supposed to be snow leopard.. I second the mauve for it...

love your blog :)