The House

My sofa needs to be slipcovered or re-upholstered. Much to my dismay, Connor loves to sleep on it, and while I am gone during the day, it’s his haven. Additionally, the pattern is dated and I wanted something I could take off and chuck in the laundry with a lot of bleach.After checking around, and realizing how incredibly expensive it would be, and how long it would take, I decided that I would make the slipcover for my sofa. It was a moment of complete insanity, fuelled by watching some videos on-line and reading a local blogger’s EZ instructions for making one. I mean, if Pam can do it, so can I! The first thing I did was head over to see my friends at DeBois Textiles, and check out what they had on hand. I already had an image in my mind, put there by Joni at Cote de Texas, who is the world’s leading proponent of white slipcovers, preferably in linen.  I have sewn with linen many times before, and find it to be difficult to work with, and at my amateur level, I need all of the simplicity I can possibly get.

As I poked around in the nether regions of DeBois, I happened upon the perfect fabric for the sofa. It’s a pale cream colour and is a nice weight cotton. To make it a little more interesting than just plain fabric, it’s got a diamond pattern woven into it.  The wonderful people at DeBois were kind enough to make a gift of the fabric and I appreciate it tremendously! The pattern’s small enough that I don’t have to worry about matching repeats and lining up edges.

After a lot of pondering and thinking, I realized that the first thing I needed to do was to make about a mile of cording or piping for the pillows and the edges of the sofa. I bought 20 yards of cord, but soon realized that that wouldn’t be nearly enough. I am sure I need at least double that amount. Actually, the first thing I did was have the fabric laundered in a commercial washer. It had to be cut in half to fit into the machine, and having it washed and dried before I start cutting and sewing ensures that it won’t shrink the first time I wash it. Next up, measuring the two T-cushions and the three pillows along the back! Stay tuned.

As I mentioned the other day, I love my Barbour Stockman’s coat, and it’s not the only one I have. I managed to accumulate a few of them when I lived in the UK, where they are pretty much standard issue. Given the weather, it’s quite understandable.I got an e-mail from Liberty and they were touting their slightly more feminine versions of the traditional Barbour jackets. Instead of the usual assortment of plaids as the interior fabric, the Liberty versions have some of their traditional prints. 

Here’s what I’d do with my old Stockman’s coat… add a contemporary Liberty paisley as the lining. If it’s going to rain, you may as well have fun with your rain gear!!

I found a group of limited imprints of six of the costumes that Cecil Beaton designed for the film, My Fair Lady, in 1964. Beaton won an Academy Award for Best Colour Costume for his designs, which remain classic today.

I thought it would be fun to look at the sketches and then the finished product. I think that this is the most well-known of the dresses from MFL. It’s the dress that was worn in the black and white scenes at Ascot.

Probably one of the most pivotal scenes is at the Ball, when Eliza dances with the prince in this spectacular dress.

This is the Prince’s mummy, who is wearing a gorgeous tone-on-tone purple gown with a green sash and elbow-length gloves. Of course the most incredible thing about her costume is her hair and headpiece.

I can’t remember the scene where Eliza wore this dress… can you?

There are two other sketches that I can’t find the film images for. If you know what scenes they’re in, or who they are, let me know and I’ll add them to the mix.

I do love this movie! It, along with Mary Poppins, is one of my all-time favourites! What are yours?