Making the Mandragora Silk Jacket // All the Embellishment
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- Опубліковано 9 вер 2024
- Dozens of hours spent bent over beading later, I have quite an epic jacket to wear for any special occasion that may ever arise! Sparkling beaded bugs on shimmering silk, it's not very practical, but it sure is fun.
The video where I made the jacket pattern is here: • Making a Batty Back Bl...
Silk Baron: www.silkbaron....
Bound buttonholes with Laura Mae : www.britexfabr...
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Glass Buttons: www.etsy.com/s...
Goldwork embroidery threads: www.etsy.com/s...
5 layer cotton shoulder pads: www.moodfabric...
Cartwrights sequins: www.ccartwright...
Glass beetle beads: www.etsy.com/l...
Music and Sound Effects from Epidemic Sound.
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Need to make a block pattern? There are many options, and I talk about several in this playlist! : • Making a Bodice Block ...
Where I get my pattern drafting paper: atlaslevy.3dca... (not sponsored)
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First, a disclaimer: So many of you have kindly offered to send me things, including vintage items you may have inherited, and I am so honored you would think of me and of course I do adore vintage treasures, however, unfortunately I only have so much storage space currently! So there is a chance that if something just wont work for me, or doesn't fit me etc, that I may not be able to keep all of your lovely things. Please only send things if you are okay with the possibility that I may donate items I just cannot keep. If you would prefer I put things that I can't keep into the TCH Etsy shop to help raise funds for me and the channel, please specify this in a note or letter in your parcel. Thank you so much!
Bianca Esposito
PO Box 632177
Highlands Ranch, CO 80163
Thank you for watching!
Two days to do this?! What is this, Project Runway? Amazing job Bianca! With zero exaggeration, this jacket is literal art. 💚💚💚
I mean two days to make the jacket sure, then eight more days for embroidery...as it turned out 😂 Thank you Chae! 💚
This gives me "I am a highly fashionable witch who can turn into a cicada" vibes in the best way.
Holy shit Bianca, this is EPIC!! I can't believe this only took 8 days to embroider. I hope to make something half as beautiful one day.
Thank you Amie!! Over a week when I had originally planned only 2 days, scheduling me is oh so optimistic 😂
The way it looks like the back is covered in a shattered mirror until you get closer and realise it's all beautiful bugs is so very fae. Absolutely magnificent piece, well worth all the time you invested in it and delightfully indulgent.
Thank you! 💚🐞✨
The full suit is giving me very abstract "Dragon encrusted with jeweled bugs" vibes and I LOVE it.
Thank you Hannah!
I genuinely can't explain how much I appreciate your videos on days like today. As a chronic fatigue/illness sufferer, 'normal people' long days feel like marathons thru quick sand to me. I'm finally able to relax and rest while watching you make this breath-taking jacket. As usual, beautiful work my dear!
Thank you Karinda! 💚
This is just gobsmackingly stunning. Like, excuse me while I pick my jaw up from the floor 😲 I can't even wrap my head around this. Well flippin' done, Bianca!
Yes, you should absolutely show up wearing this when you sign on your house (fingers crossed for 2023!)
And yes, would LOVE to see a bag lining video! But super excited for all your spooky October stuff so I will be over here waiting patiently for it 🤗
Thank you!! Lots of Halloween inspired projects coming right up! 🎃🦇✨
I think showing up at a realtor's office in this would be phenomenal! Plus, it would certainly tell them exactly what level of excentricity you're looking for in your architecture
They will pull out the list of "haunted and unsellable" houses just for me 😅✨
I usually never comment, but this is a work of art! Absolutely stunning, I am in awe of your talent and patience!
Thank you so much!
dreamingofmanderley Me neither, it's an absolute work of art!! Bianca is beyond talented.
Just curious, are you a Daphne Du Maurier fan...? That's a variation of the opening line from one of her best novels.
So very nice
Holy mother of bugs! This is amazing, I am often in awe of you and your work but this is just gorgeous. I think if you ever get the chance to visit Oxford you absolutely must wear this as well as the actual Mandragora gown while walking around on a misty October evening!!!! You would be a beautiful, creepy, gothic fairy-tale come to life! Love it, and I am now going to try and figure out how to make my own bug broach because I need one of those bad boys!
Thank you! I do actually hope to visit Oxford next year, but I also hope to travel with just a carry on, so sadly no mandragora things will be coming along 😅
That's understandable.....hope you love Oxford when you visit. Based just a little way out in Abingdon.
You outdid yourself with this one. The jacket is STUNNING!
Thank you Janee!
This is pure art. The jacket is insane, I've never seen anything so beautiful. Bianca, you are incredibly talented. And all of this in few days? Wow. Just wow. I have no other words. And I don't know why, but when I looked at the finished jacket I instantly thought about you buying iridescent silk and vintage sequins for the curtains in your own victorian house, I hope it will happen one day.
Thank you Natalia 💚 There will definitely be iridescent silk curtains when I finally find a home ✨
This jacket is unbelievable! I do hope your shoulders have recovered.
I would love a video about different collars, please & thank you!
Yes! Collars are so confusing to me!
Thank you Laurel!
Even @ 6.04 this was intensely satisfying. That shape, the smoothness of the silk…….just so “right”. Yeah ok I’m weird, I’m one of those people who can be mesmerised by the way a particular colour or juxtaposition of colours or shape(s)looks, or by the feel of a fabric or other substance(I’ve been told I should get myself tested for ADHD/the autism spectrum *shrug*) It’s quite hard to explain how intense that feeling is, but that “is” it 😆 Also that embellishment…….magnificent!! You have a real talent for picking colours. I’m always overwhelmed by the colours when working with beads, and can never choose which ones I need so I really wish I had your knack for a gorgeous colour combination.This is truly TRULY beautiful Bianca, a real work of art.
Thank you Pauline! 💚🐞
Spectacular!! Don’t hide it away in a closet. It is a work of art. Wear the heck out of that buddy.🍾💐
Thank you Julie!
Absolute WOW!
Images and hints of one eyed seamstress villains dressed to the 9s (maybe even the 10s) in bug covered silk. (Well, not BUGS bugs.) Marvelous work , dear, simply beautiful.
Thank you Michelle! 💚
This is so incredibly gorgeous - so impressive x so monumentally epic! There aren't enough words for the emotion it evokes and I was trying to imagine like what if I were somewhere and I saw someone wearing something like that - I would just fawn all over them I wouldn't be able to control myself. THAT is so amazing, you did such a great job and your talent as a seamstress is one thing (albeit a huge thing) - but that beading and sequining stuff is next level 😍
Thank you!! I am excited to wear it for something fancy in the future, a night at the symphony perhaps, or just browsing a big bookshop with hot coco all evening 😅✨
@@TheClosetHistorian I can relate to that! The Minnesota Orchestra is great and I love a good bookstore! I've been visiting the ones in Stillwater, one of which has a coffee shop with delectable treats and herbal teas for those who can't handle caffeine. Comfy chairs to sit and read too. The other bookshop is a little too small for chairs or a coffee shop. Going south on Main Street on the right hand side is a bead shop. All kinds of interesting treasures there! The only truly interesting thing I have to wear, besides my reversible cloak, is a leather-like vest with ruffled arm caps. I feel the need to make something spectacular that doesn't make me look like I threw on an old feed bag! I love you're doing elements that can be used to make different looks by changing tops and skirts. You look so lovely in all the combinations! And thank you for showing the button holes again.
🕊🐈⬛🦋🖖🎭🪄
We, mere mortals, are unworthy to gaze up this beautiful jacket or to speak in your presence. I bow to your superiority.
Thank you Thomas!!
Positioning the lips on the ironed front was just so satisfying. This color is the gift that keeps giving.
Wow, wow, wow! This is an epic jacket! I have no words. O.o Sooo beautiful!
Thank you Iris!
This. Is. Amazing.
Every time you embroider something it’s just the most beautiful thing.
Thank you Alyssa!
Breathtakingly beautiful! Gaspingly gorgeous! A true tour de force! Operatically opulent! You've practically outdone yourself with this one, Bianca. This level of extravagant embellishment is usually reserved for the petite mains in the couture houses of Paris. Brava!!!
Thank you Gwen! 💚🐞
This is insane! It belongs in a museum! 😍😍
This absolutely should end up in a museum at some time in the future! It's totally museum-worthy! x
Thank you Mark!
I'm impressed and further impressed that it took only 8 days to embellish the back!!!
Thank you! It helps to have no social life for big beading projects ✨
The green jacket with the orange satin skirt is just exquisite.
I'm not a bug person at all, but the craft and skill you showcase kept me glued to the screen.
Brava!
Thank you!
A realtor first thoughts would be "Of course you do and I know just which objects to pull" if you waltz into their office in that suit claiming you're looking for a historical diy. Amazing embroidery, it looks stunning.
Thank you Malin! 💚🐞
Another stunner!! Yes, where it to a closing, to a book signing/meet & greet, ANYwhere your heart desires!! Just breathtaking …
Thank you Debi!
This style is PERFECT for the drag queens who are on Dragula (a horror meets drag series). Victoria Elizabeth black wore a dress if similar color, but the beading on it was the chest cavity and rib cage. so stunning.
Oh my goodness! There really aren’t words that can describe how impressed I am with your artwork and design but I have to leave a comment so I’m going to try anyway. Bravo on so many levels. The beadwork and embroidery is perfect and the design of the suit jacket is absolutely couture. You continue to inspire me to sew and try to live a full, creative life through your art and example. thank you so so much for being such a inspiration.
Thank you so much! 💚
"That BELONGS in a MUSEUM!!!!!!!" BUT SERIOUSLY. The design of the jacket is beautiful all on its own, but the embroidery and sequins is SHOWSTOPPING. The way all of the colours work together, the layers of detail... it transcends the medium into pure magic. I'm so grateful that you make these beautiful things AND document your work to share with all of us.
Thank you so much Olivia! 💚
Absolutely gorgeous! No end to your creatively. The intricate bead work on the bugs is incredible. Well done.
Thank you Jane!
I come back and watch this video probably twice a month. It is an absolute feast for the eyes! Bianca’s eye for detail and unwavering craftsmanship from start to end is unbelievable! Thank you for being the creator that you are!
This is insanity!!!! Everything is perfect, your ability to 'see' colours going together and then pull out such a varied and yet cohesive piece of art!!! God, I'd love the jacket but if it ever doesn't fit well, I would frame it!!! Beautiful. I don't know if I'm inspired or just overwhelmed by the work you put in.
Thank you! 💚
Mmmm, crispy silk. Yummy!
No. None of us have anywhere to wear silk tafetta in 2022, but it sure is good to vicariously enjoy the tart but buttery taste of your Mandragora creations. Yum!
Thank you Kaytie!
This jacket is EPIC!! I love how it turned out. No wonder it took 8 days to do all that embroidery. You should definitely wear this outfit when you get invited to the Met Gala
Thank you Kathryn!
This came out gorgeous! And those bug embellishments are my absolute favorite thing to watch you do!
Also, would it be evil of me to suggest a waistcoat and a jaunty hat with that leftover silk? A pillbox with some snazzy veiling, perhaps? 😁
Thank you! I do want to make a bug covered hat (or three) sometime for sure!
The level of craftsmanship from the outfit to the embelishments is just amazing
Thank you Brentt!
As a fellow glittery bug fan, this is so beautiful! and so fun!
Thank you!
One day there will be a museum filled with your creations
WOW!!! Just WOWWWW!!! Your bead work came out just absolutely GORGEOUS! This is just amazing to look at. Really loving the Jacket style too.
Thank you!
The beading 😍 can't get enough of it!
Thank you Hanna!
Glorious!
And yes, I went and drooled over Silk Baron, but with the current parlous state of the pound vs the dollar, just as well I don't NEED any silk... (not that we ever NEED silk, but I don't have any balls to go to in the near future).
Thank you Catherine! I have been to www.thesilksociety.com/ in London before, if you want to browse more local UK silks... 😅✨
@@TheClosetHistorian I think if I do make a big expensive project, it will be a wool winter coat (I gave several coats I no longer wear to the local church food bank... so can make one without feeling guilty!). But not this year. (I had to replace my tumble dryer).
@@TheClosetHistorian and PS it would be cheaper to buy from Silk Baron and pay the taxes!
Yikes! They did have an iridescent silk lurex organza though and I am very tempted....until international shipping is $30 😭
Do I, practically, need and embroidered sparkly jacket in my life? No. Do I, emotionally, need an embroidered jacket in my life? Absolutely. Gorgeous work, as always.
Thank you!! We all need more embroidery ✨
Awesome! lovely work!
Thank you!
It's important to have one's priorities in order, embroidery trumps a non ruined skeleton every day of the week!
The jacket turned out so beautiful, I'm in awe!!
Thank you! My skeleton gets spookier with each sequin ✨
Wonderfull work, delightfull video 😍
Thank you!
You could always say you wantto wear it for a burial gown. What a masterpiece!
I wouldn't want this jacket cremated though! It shall go to into the estate sale 😂
It's perfect 🥰 😍 💕
Thank you Charlene!
I was taught to sew over the pins in High School back (in the early 1960's). The sewing machines were a lot stronger back in the 1960's) than the new mostly plastic sewing machines being sold today.
Hi, I'm part-ways in to where you are embellishing your jacket and I got a thought (can you imagine). Aren't there small embroidery hoops and stands to hold a hoop steady while you work? I believe I've seen setups like that. I'm not suggesting that you should use something like that, I genuinely am just curious. People around here seem to be generous, so just maybe somebody will answer my question.
Other than my question I'm having a great time, and being a tad envious of your skill to dare to sew silk taffeta. I love that fabric and the swishing sound it makes when you move in it. yours, Ann
Thank you Ann! Yes there are such things as embroidery hoops, but I wanted to have the jacket all put together before the embroidery work so that I wouldn't have to manipulate the finished beadwork off and on the sewing machine and risk snagging or otherwise ruining it, so I did the beadwork last.
@@TheClosetHistorian Hi, That sounds like a hassle indeed. I asked about the hoops just out of curiosity, so I've learnt something new today.
The jacket must have been your masterpiece, as in you've gone through with your yeoman time. Not only the jacket coming out exquisite, but then you embroidered the whole back. Royalty from around the world should be trying to break your door down for an appointment for future ballgowns. Yours, Ann
P.S It goes without saying really that I'm interested in how to line a garment D.S
I don't have words. This I could watch nonstop. Beading bugs, beautiful, fantastic bugs. Wow. The outfit is awesome, the beading out of this world.
Thank you Elaine!!
Beading shops should be paying you to make tutorials. But then it might become work instead of fun.
That you Cheryl! My after school job in high school was at a bead shop ✨
It reminds me of like an I spy book page. So beautiful 🤩. *Applause 🎉
Thank you Charlotte! I loved those books as a kid, I should get some!
The front is beautiful but the back is STUNNING!! I love that from the front it's, 'oh, cool shoulders' and from the back it's just dazzling. I hope you get to wear it out of the house several times because this is the kind of garment that needs to be seen.
Thank you!
I use a horseshoe shaped pillow to support my shoulders when crafting. It really helped me be kinder to my shoulders. Love this suit & all the embroidery.
This definitely is a must wear anytime! Grocery shopping wear this, going for lunch doesn't matter where wear this! I would also say it's one of those pieces you can use a room decor, on a sewing mannequin with the back on display in just about any room. It's just that gorgeous.
Sooooooo beautiful - your talent and workmanship blows my mind
Thank you!
Thoroughly stunning! I love, love, love it!
Thank you! 💚
This would be an excellent outfit to wear for a museum or art showing
Beautiful! Would love to see some tiny sparkly spiders clipped to the heel of your shoes too, so it looks like the Cuban seams of your stockings are their silk lines
Every time I watch your videos I get inspired to work on my own projects
i should've said this a million times over on your videos -- but i absolutely love and sincerely appreciate how much time you dedicate to explaining how to adjust patterns for each new garment. it's so useful for a noob like me
Thank you Maddy!
That was perfection 😍😍😍 THANK YOU!!!
Thank you Hector!
Wow! Creepy! I am astounded by the e level of work and the beauty of the jacket!
Thank you Emilene!
The jacket is very pretty but your beetles and cicadas are chef kissed! Stunningly beautiful!
Thank you Janice!
Where should you wear this? Literally anywhere and everywhere you want, all the time, to show off this INCREDIBLE work of art that makes you proud and happy!!! Wow!!!
Thank you! 🐞
Absolutely stunning is all I can say I am in complete aww of your talent!
Thank you Cindy!
Embroidery and beading are wonderful. ❤️ It’s so nice to see younger generations doing this. You may also want to look into embroidery with silk ribbon to add to the bugs. Silk ribbon embroidery is quite lovely and many effects can be achieved. Bravo Bianca! 🥰
Thank you!
I'm trying to draft a pattern for a ready-to-wear Schiaparelli piece, and this entire Jacket making process has been incredibly helpful to watch! I've said it before, but I'll say it again - you have helped me NOT be afraid of sewing patterns! The Jacket is absolutely gorgeous! I don't think one could be more glamorous, dripping in bejeweled beetles and cicadas! Absolute stunner!
Thank you Siobhan! 💚🐞
I’m looking forward to the pic of you wearing this when you by your home. ❤
Ah. Hello fellow PMDD person. Knowing about it really does help things make sense :)
I (not someone doing this for a living) try to leave my patterning and complex construction to outside of my luteal phase. Less likely to give up and hide, or have to redo it again when the fog is gone. Hand sewing and easy finishings are for close to my period.
I've just watched the decoration of the jacket for a second time. A beautiful work of art!
Thank you Annie!
Wow, the jacket looks fabulous!
Thank you!
Gorgeous dear! A piece of absolute art. I so would go everywhere in it!
Thank you Susan!
As someone also with PMDD, I feel you on the week of depression in a month. It makes doing much of anything difficult for me, but sewing always helps to distract me.
It turned out absolutely fantastic! 💚 I always fawn over the Silk Baron fabrics after being introduced to them by one of your videos and someday… SOMEday… I will have some lol
Thank you Sydney! I always used to think "well I don't have /actual/ depression becuase it comes and goes too much" tracked that on a calendar for a while and ohhhh 😅
Im going to go ahead and say it.. You ARE the queen of patterns! Youre the only person I've seen that adds and alters patterns the way you do. Im VERY beginner and Im afraid of patterns. At some point I will have to confront them and take them on and your videos sooth my anxiety towards them lol! Theyre intimidating for someone on the poseur level.
Thank you! I promise pattern drafting gets less scary fast after you have the basic blocks done, then it's simply fun changing them up for new designs!
I love the beading on the bak, just fabulous. I love to do couture sewing and want to learn how to do the tambour embroidery/beading.
Thank you Renee! Tambour is very fun, I hope to get/build a bit frame for doing tambour someday.
I run to the embellishment part!, I almost broke my leg!, Epic! that jacket deserves to be framed! what a piece of art!
Thank you!
Wow, this is exquisite work! Thank you for showing such a detailed look at how you made the embroidered and embellished parts. The final jacket is an incredible work of art!
Thank you!
The other comments say everything I could think to say and more. Basically I am jaw droppingly amazed. How stunning.
Thank you!
They're already turning (leaves, that is lol) up here in Manitoba. Got plenty of ashes, poplars, maples, and birches along with plenty of shrubbery (no, I'm not bringing you one, no matter how many times you say NI!! lol) and vines in the bush, too. And our sunsets are almost to die for, since many of them can create incredible feelings of wistful nostalgia and melancholic heartache with their beauty. (ok, ok, I get it, I'm being a little over-zealous in my description, but they ARE beautiful lol especially when there's a few clouds floating around, too) Even after the sun's long set, if the moon's out a little bit, there's times when the clouds show up in various colors of deep blues, greys, purples, silvers, etc., and even they can be very beautiful, too. And nothing beats the look of the harvest moon coming up over the horizon when it comes up a deep reddish-orange.
I can't wait to see you showcase this entire outfit while you cavort freely amongst the leaves and sleeping trees with the orange-yellow moon coming up regally in the background and the dying rays of a tired sun slowly disappearing in the west. Or perhaps you're paused while walking, pondering the life and times of a long-forgotten name on a random gravestone in an old semi-overgrown cemetery in the bright but interrupted light of a full moon after all the leaves have dropped, while a wistful breeze wafts mournfully through the now-empty branches of the surrounding trees, carrying the thin and wispy clouds across the face of the moon, chilling the air slightly in conjunction with a low misty ground fog.
This jacket is outrageously lush. Stunning work. You take the breath away in it. **slow clap**
Thank you!
Lovely, unique, inspiring...🌈🌈🦋🦋
Thank you Vikki!
You, your work, and this EPIC jacket are absolutely jaw-dropping! The Met Gala needs to seek you out. Thank you for sharing yet another amazing piece of art.
Thank you Jeanne!
You have made a true work of art, and whoever sees this splendid jacket will be lucky indeed!
Thank you Julie!
That jacket is one, if not THE, most beautiful pieces of clothing I've ever seen!!! 😱💚
Thank you!!
You've really inspired me to embellish and embroider something myself. Don't think I'd quite have your skill to make clothes from scratch
I am amazed you didn't post this as two separate videos to give yourself a break.
I rarely give myself a break 😂 I need to learn!
Wow!
Absolutely beautiful work!
Thank you Kim!
Thank you so much for saying you have a checklist of adjustments! I thought most people just remembered or made notes on patterns. So, when I did sewing projects back in college, I’d definitely mixed things up. And now one piece of visualizing tasks in new projects that was fuzzy for me, and a barrier to doing mock ups (and so new projects), feels illuminated!
Alas I only had adjustments for this project because I had made a mock up and wanted to tweak the style a tiny bit. I don't normally adjust my patterns at all becuase I draft from a basic block pattern which already fits exactly as I would like!
Button math for 5 buttons: measure distance between top and bottom button, divide by 4 and place the middle three buttons that width apart and that width from the top and bottom buttons. This works for any number of buttons: always divide by one less than the total number of buttons you are using.
love how extra and sparkly the back is
Thank you!
this is a work of art. absolutely stunning. I'm not sure if you understand just how talented you are.
Thank you!
You do stunning work Bianca!
Thank you Liz!
You can sew a spider thread going from the back side of the skirt going to the side swish.
The long or short way, make a little spider web in the wide part, not straight, on the bias and to the bottom of the skirt.
Then either the spinder on the front side or the back side of the skirt and make it BIG and Green.
That embroidery is fabulously macabre! Its absolutely stunning! The jackets and skirts all come together so well. You must be so pleased with the end results.
Thank you Linda!
Wow! That jacket is runway worthy.
Thank you Kirsten!
You're right - it's very similar to stained glass. Your embroidery work is amazing. It's the perfect compliment to your sewing and drafting skills. This piece belongs on display! (When you tire of it, of course...)
Thank you Deborah!
Holy wow!! I fell asleep before the reveal! If you ever stop wearing this, you need to frame it! It’s really a work of art!
Thank you Heather!
Absolutely beautiful! You are so talented awesome work love the hand embroidery!
Thank you Renee!
Love, love, love your Singer machine!
Machine envy!