Now where was I? Oh yes, getting crafty with the faux fur stole.

Years ago, I was seduced by this Jean Paul Gaultier loveliness:

Again I plotted to make myself one. Again I failed to find the perfect fabric. Now I’m in the neighborhood, though nowhere rich enough to afford yardages for a full coat, I can at least console myself with a pastiche of this (look above), and this (look below)…

My Chinese Painting skills not being what it should be, I had to settle for the ubiquitous dandelion design so beloved of interior designers (and me too)…

So I experimented with some decade old graphic design markers on a scrap. Added a bit of gold paint I bought for the Bird & Blossom Taffeta Pleated Skirt. I even digged out the chinese seal my parents gave me in time long gone. It may look like just doodles to you, but it’s a door to one of my alternate universes.

So here’s the Double A-Side of the Faux Shearling Stole:

Please note the stray faux crack lines à le manteau Gaultier. The dandelions are simple asterisk type shapes, with small crosses & dots at the edge of the pompoms for that distinctly dandelion look. Ok, the leaves aren’t dandelion leaves – more like spider-plants they are. But like with my crooked pseudo Chinese “calligraphy” who’s going to tell? (That’s pseudo calligraphy, not pseudo Chinese. I may not remember how to write Chinese, but I remember how to look it up on Google.)

(PS The words are from a famous Tang Dynasty Chinese poem I learnt as a child. It seemed vaguely appropriate as it’s about spring and falling flowers. You can find out more about the poem here or listen to it read in Chinese here. I almost went for a children’s spoof version about not bathing in the summer and getting mosquitoes bites everywhere, slaps in the night and wondering how many dead. Maybe I should have. Who would have known in London?)

And there’s the back-side for those walking behind me…

It was good fun. But I haven’t figured out how to style this side yet. This is my best attempt so far:

Hmm…Needs a bit more work.

I might add some thread loops at the side waist so I can tie it at the back for a less bulky look.

Or I might add some thread loops at the bottom edges so I can attached detachable faux rabbit feet à la So En stole I showed you earlier.

Oh yes, every sewing project is a big production. I hope the end results will be worth it!