Holey Moley - My jacket from the Bergman Blouse pattern

I've sewn up several cardigan jackets using this pattern.   The first thing I did with the pattern was to make it into a cardigan in 2008.    I sent photos of what I did to Casual Elegance but never got an acknowledgment.    For almost a year,  in periodic newsletters,  CE and LH have been tempting women with new jackets and changes to existing patterns.    Lyn of Lyn's Stuff blogged about a Princess Jacket she sewed up last fall at one of the Loes Hinse seminars.   After I commented, she confirmed that it was "derived" from the Bergman pattern.    Then in the last newsletter, Loes provided a "tweak" of the Bergman blouse as a cardigan jacket with a deeper front and a 6" tucked hem.

While I was in Charlotte recently, the Neiman Marcus Chanel Manager showed me the Spring/Summer 2011 Look book and details of the garments and fabrics.    The first three ensembles and the jacket in the show are made of a fabric with laser cut holes backed with a mesh.    He told me he was getting advance orders, even at the $8,000 and up prices.   I'm going to the trunk show next week and thought --  I can make my own holey jacket.   I had a piece of holey mesh fabric from Marcy Tilton that I only got a yard of  -- turns out there was 38" and voila, I had enough for a Bergman jacket that I already had fitted and ready to go.   I sewed and closely serge finished all the seams, then I got out some mesh fabric I bought just for trims and played with the edge finishes with the jacket on this mannequin that I can pin to.    I used a piece with several rows for the hem and tucked it up.   I'll apply that and then stitch one row of the trim along the front and neckline.    I've played with a single row of trim on the sleeve or a wider one of two rows.   You can see larger photos and details on the Bergman Flickr set.   I think it looks amazing.   Stay tuned for the finished version and more of what I'm sewing for spring!

 Update on my condition and this blog:

I'm still not doing so well with my feet and hands but I make an effort to go upstairs and sew and plan every day now.    I can't feel anything with my feet so I tripped on the iron cord today, but got right back up and finished what I was doing.    I am having difficulty with my feet because the nerves have been gone for six months now, so the muscles controlling the toes have no nerves and don't work.   The feet are the first to go and the last to come back.    My husband says that everything he has read says the soonest people start getting better is 8 months and much longer for everything to be back to normal since nerves grow back so slowly.   It may be up to two years before I'm back to normal.   I have to wear a support on each foot/leg at night to keep the calf muscles from tightening up while I sleep.   There is a custom graphite foot/calf brace on order that should be here next week that I have to wear inside my shoe to keep my right foot up.     I have to be really careful not to fall again because the pain and swelling kept me from doing the physical therapy that I have to do.   I am working very hard to strengthen the leg and ankle muscles that can be strengthened so I can stand up without falling over.    It's like a stroke patient re-learning to do things.    My toes drag ( don't stay up by themselves) and that causes me to fall if I'm not very careful to tell them to stay up, and lift my feet while walking.    I got some compression socks that help the swelling in my right foot/ankle from the falls.    Even the swelling and sprains heal slower in my case.     I use a walker in the house.

My hands are also affected so I can't type one word without making mistakes.   You don't see this since I correct the mistakes.   It's also hard to use pins and sew/control the foot pedals,  so all this has been very hard on me, and I try not to get depressed.   I still can't believe the cruel and ignorant behavior of some women toward me, even those who took advantage of my hospitality and generosity.  Because of the continued hatred and ugliness (bullies never give up) in comments left here that I did not post,  I am considering making access to my blog by invitation only.    It's pretty sad that in my condition I would have to do this because of people like that.