The Routemaster Tribute Capelet!

Living in London, you are incredibly reliant on public transport. Londoners talk about transport almost as much as they talk about the weather, and any changes that are made to it are analysed and discussed at length.

Several years ago, our esteemed city elders decided to replace this beloved design:

Classic Routemaster

With this fire prone, cumbersome piece of s***:

 I hated these buses so much, I even resorted to making my own 'I HATE BENDY BUSES' badges and leaving them on buses and in public places - my own little stab at art terrorism/protest. I was unbelievably pleased when it was decided to take them off the road, and replace them with an all new Routemaster. Transport in this city is still over priced and unreliable, but this new bus just makes me smile, and I'm so pleased to see government taking a chance on a piece of public design which is stylish and takes risks with a classic:

Thomas Heatherwick's new Routemaster design. Read more about it here

 The back view, with the open 'hop on, hop off' platform restored

By coincidence, I made a jacket that is nearly the same shade - my Routemaster Tribute Capelet!

 

This was a stashbuster made from some cheapo red polyester that I bought locally. It was intended for trousers, but when I got it home I realised it reminded me too much of an air stewardess uniform, ie scratchy and synthetic. It languished on the stash pile until a couple of weeks ago. And I've been wearing it almost constantly - I love it!

Here are some details:

I wanted to keep the cost down, so I lined it with a £1.50/m poly cotton black and red polka dot:

  

I wanted it to be a quick project, and keep hand sewing to a minimum. But there were some things that couldn't be avoided, like the little chain that attaches the cuff to the body of the coat:

This fabric frayed and unravelled like nobody's business,involving loads of trimming with the pinking shears. In the end, I approached it the way you do when you're tidying up your home and shove everything into a cupboard or drawer - the 'out of sight, out of mind' method. I put the lining in quickly and attached it loosely with a catch stitch to the hem of the jacket:

 This is my new favourite way to do my nails - I've been watching a lot of Lana del Rey on Youtube

And to end, some more photos of the jacket in front of a double decker bus - it's not a Routemaster, but it was too good an opportunity to pass up!

                        Mr Needles says that this hairdo looks better with a 'haughty' expression...

That's it! See you soon!