DIY bridal faux fur shawl

weather in september is quite unpredictable... i need something warm to go with my simple dress for our special day...
took me a day to make - it looks simple, hanging over the lamp in the lounge... just a piece of faux fur with lining, pearl buttons etc...
was it that easy to make? hmmm

the idea of a shawl came when i dug out my chance purchase from HK... a piece of good quality faux fur (for i think only HKS $10 or may be $40, either way, a HUGE bargain, considering it would retail for $69/m here)
the silk lining (2m in all) was more $, HKD $90/m (still cheap at AUD $18/m)...
i thought and thought about the design - should i do a bolero? should i do a short coat? should i do a shoulder wrap with a ribbon? at the end i decided - just do a throw! a full cover shawl that could be folded in half into a shoulder only wrap... the more simple it is the better (could then be used in the future at other occasions)

so i got to work today... first preparing the faux fur fabric... drawing out the seamline (no pattern)
lots of pinning...
using wet tea towel to set the direction of the fur b4 trimming... tedious! cutting the fur at the edges, so that sewing by machine would be possible - even more tedious!
i managed to carelessly cut a hole through the faux fur... so had to take extra time to repair...
more pinning!
the trimmed edge could clearly be seen!
now it was time to sew the edges and make measurements and cuts for the silk lining... working with silk was equally hard - very slippery!
finally the two long edges were sewn!

followed by the shorter edges and finished!
not really actually... cos i still had to sew in the buttons (to secure the folded shawl)... the buttons were to be sewn along one of the two long edges... lovely buttons! they cost more than the faux fur!
the other long edge would have the button hole ribbon sewn on... in order to make the button hole ribbon i thought it would be easier to do some braiding...
looping and sewing...

there we go...
secured :)
i have to say i was pretty sick of all the fluff (from fur cutting) and the hand sewing (the button hole ribbons)... but the end result was not bad...

here, worn as a full shawl...

surely will keep me warm!