Tuesday, September 13, 2016

It's a Match!

I greatly admire handwoven fabric, overshots and twills are favorites, especially. I also love ikat fabrics and have never tried the technique, although I could on an inkle loom. And then, I'm in awe of people who can use their sewing machines without a fight (something I've never mastered) and who can create wearable clothing.

What an honor to be asked to have a part in someone else's project which combines all of the above. All I had to do was inkle a couple of plain weave bands. There was a lot of conversation, color-matching of yarns and a sample sent ahead of time to be sure that I had it right. Below is the result.


This is a cotton kimono jacket by Janice DeCoomen woven in bird's eye twill.
(Click photo to enlarge it and get a better look.)
It is part of The Milton Artists Guild's exhibit at the Office of the US Attorney General                        in Burlington, VT.  The show runs from September 2016 through February 2017.

The exhibit is called 'Inspirations' and her piece was inspired by the colors of the mountains and sky. Janice told me that "When I was an art teacher, a favorite unit was studying Hokusai's Mount Fugi paintings and having the students paint our local mountain, thus 'Kimono'". Below is a sample of the yarn she used for the project.


In the fabric, the bright pink color tends to get a lot of the attention, so Janice decided that she would like the trim and belt to have more of the blues/green/purple colors. 
I wove two pieces, trim at 1" wide, and a piece for the belt at 2" wide. 
They are shown below. 


Here is a closeup of the trim. I used 5/2 perle cotton at 53 warps, for just under an inch. 



Thanks, Janice, for inviting me to be a part of this! 
You can visit her website here; wildflowerweaving.weebly.com

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