Featherstitch Avenue

Style and Couture Sewing

The Joy of Mochilas

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Santiago Vanegas Photography

Santiago Vanegas Photography

Mochilas at Piedmont Park

Mochilas at Piedmont Park

Mochilas at Piedmont Park

Mochilas at Piedmont Park

Photography by Santiago Vanegas

Wahoo!! Festival season is upon us. It’s time to bust out the mochilas–the perfect festival bag! Although truth be told, I carry my mochila year round. One of the perks of being married to a Colombian is that I am well stocked up on mochilas. And I make sure that my friends are equipped as well, always leaving lots of room in my suitcase to bring back more for everybody. For those of you who won’t be traveling to Colombia any time soon, you can order yours from Shop Latitude.  And if you are planning a trip to Bogota, you can go straight to the source, Artesanias de Colombia

Come back next week, Sunday, April 19. We’ll be in Paris.

French Vest

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French Vest by Tracey

Pattern, Vogue 7975 (modified)

Cotton Canvas, B&J Fabrics

Metal Studs, M&J Trimming

Photography by Santiago Vanegas

This vest is one of my go-to items for spring.  Since I made it out of canvas, it’s got some weight to it, so it works really well on those “sort of”‘ warm days.  (Anything below 85 is not warm in my book.  Yes, I’m a lightweight.)  I was obsessed with an Isabel Marant vest from a few seasons ago, and decided to make my own version.  I rounded up all my supplies on a trip to New York which involved buying lots of bags of pyramid studs from M&J Trimming.  Opening my suitcase at home, it was no surprise to me at all that I had a note inside announcing that my bag had been checked.  All those studs probably landed me on a watchlist somewhere.  And those studs did end up causing pain, but only to me and my pattern-making instructor Lindsey as we sat there puncturing our fingertips trying to push the little buggers through the fabric.  But when all was said and done, I was pretty happy with the result.  And our babysitter said, “I would actually buy that!”.  High praise indeed.

We’ll see you in two weeks.  Happy Easter!!