Feathers + Pleated Silk
Over the last 30 years, I’ve had the privilege of working with some amazing suppliers who carry exotic and unusual components not found on the general market. On more than one occasion, I’ve been able to not only meet but exceed the expectations of my customers thanks to suppliers. Sadly, many have retired or left the industry and locating those show stopping pieces has become more challenging. For today’s Backstory, I wanted to share a special evening purse from the vault.
A supplier once asked me if I would be interested in unique feather pieces. Of course, I was interested. I knew this particular supplier carried the best quality and extraordinary component pieces. (He supplied costumers who worked in the entertainment industry with high profile clients who needed those show stopping, one-of-a-kind pieces.) This, I believe, was one of those occasions when the supplier had leftovers and wanted to move them quickly. The feather pieces weren’t cheap, so I had to refrain from overspending. I selected a few and eagerly awaited their arrival not knowing what I would do with them.
A few days later, my package arrived. It contained a few of the most beautiful feather arrangements I had ever seen. If I had to guess, these were probably intended as embellishments for fancy hats or headpieces for a stage show. One of these feather pieces really captured my attention and I noticed that it coordinated beautifully with two charmeuse silks I had purchased for gowns. Inspiration struck and I thought it would look beautiful on a small evening bag. I laid out my silks and decided to use three different fabric manipulation techniques to add depth and dimension. I first created a stippling effect with free motion sewing on black charmeuse. I then shirred additional black charmeuse for the purse back. I decided to try pleating the forest green silk. To me, pleating was sophisticated and elegant and would elevate the overall look. The pleating experience was not pleasant. It was tedious and took me many hours to pleat a small amount of fabric. I quickly realized why pleated fabric was more expensive!
My challenge was to create a visually stunning evening bag in a small space without appearing ‘too busy.’ This was a situation where a geometric based pattern was my friend! I angled my piecework and trimmed each section in a beautiful, braided trim. Once all the front piecework was sewn, I decided to place the feather piece at the lower left front corner of the bag and accent it with a black silk yo-yo and Swarovski rhinestone button.
The interior was lined with black silk fabric and finished with an invisible magnetic clasp to keep it closed.
This small, but visually impressive purse was a success! The customer who purchased it for a special event loved it and I had an opportunity to work with gorgeous fabrics, extraordinary feather pieces and expand my sewing skills.
This piece is Not for Sale. It is in a private collection.