Bedazzling with Buttons

I was looking for  a creative project to get my mind off the fact I don't need any new clothes for my Covid Isolation/work from home lifestyle, but I have a huge fabric stash of garment fabric. Sigh!  So I was excited to hear of the  Marfy Remnant challenge #Marfyremnantchallenge2020  created by Ann of Youtique Bridal and sewing blogger/youtuber Andrea at SewtoFit.  It was a challenge to use remnants of fabric, which we all have, to make and embellish a garment. The suggested pattern was Marfy 116,  a extended shoulder tunic with yoke, vertical princess seams and hi low hem.  The pattern was selected because both Ann and Andrea had won it in an ASG event. It was also a free pattern in the Marfy Evergreen pattern magazine.

Marfy 0116

 The remnants I used were men’s shirting pieces purchased in a 15 lb. bag from the Robert Talbott menswear manufacturing facility in Calif. Below is the original advertisement from Threads Magazine. Yes, these remnants have been in my stash for a while.

Advertisement for Scraps

I received a huge bag packed tightly with striped checked  and solid, very finely woven, cotton  fabrics.  The remnants were generally abut 16” by 20”. Wonderful fabric to work with.  I sewed my adolescent sons button-down shirts out of this fabric. Also quilts, masks and now this top.  I still have a huge amount remaining.

Supplies

Because of the remnant sizes, I color blocked the top. But I still had to do a fair amount of piecing to get pieces large enough for the color blocking.  The back and back yoke have a center back seam.  The extended bottom in the back are separate pieces with the stripes going horizontally.  Fortunately the stripes are so fine, they look like a  solid color from a normal viewing distance.

When my mother moved in with me, she brought her button stash. One drawer in her button box was full of mismatched shirt buttons. Shirt buttons to go with the shirting fabrics! I sewed them to the yoke area of the top. Bedazzling with buttons! 

 I had recently made fabric cord  for the button loop on a silk blouse and decided to see if I could make really fine cord with these shirting fabric. I call it fabric cord, but all my sewing books refer to it as "tubing" or "self filled tubing" and the technique for making it is under button closures - loops. My first strand was less than 1/8 inch,  but it was difficult to sew and turn.  So the sake of time and my sanity, the others were a more doable 1/8”. 

Cording

 Now that I had all these cords. What should I do with them? I shaped and hand tacked the cording into flower shapes with a hole in the center so they could be fastened over the buttons. They are removable. I like the look of the airy flowers on the yoke of the top,

Back yoke

It was a fun challenge.