| I know for a fact that I am not alone in my desire to someday wear my weaving. Now I’m not talking about wearing a scarf, shawl, or other rectangle; I am talking about taking a piece of handwoven cloth and turning it into an elegant jacket or a fun skirt. Yet for some reason many of us--including those of us who have no problem sewing from commercially made cloth--are scared to sew with our own, handwoven cloth. Well fear no more. Daryl Lancaster, long known throughout the weaving community and beyond for her truly fabulous garments sewn from handwoven cloth, is here to help guide us through the process. --Christina
You’ve given scarves, handwoven dishtowels, mats, throws, and baby blankets to everyone you’ve ever known. They are cherished and used, and you are thought of in such wonderful ways. Now, it is time to make something for yourself. We dress ourselves every day. There is no better way to celebrate the skill from our hands, through our looms, and show off our talents than to wear something from handwoven cloth. Just ask anyone who has ever been stopped in an elevator at a weaving conference.
If it were that easy...;
Weaving the cloth is one thing. There are important things to know about sett, and washing, and structure, but there is also learning how to fit the body you have now. How to cut that piece of cloth into shapes that make you smile, and be proud and get you lots of great admiration at the next gathering of handweavers. Cutting into that cloth can make the average weaver swear off on making handwoven clothing, or worse, decide to dress only in rectangles. And that would be sad. We have shape, and we have volume and cloth needs to be manipulated and sewn to celebrate that shape, and few can do it with just rectangles.Journey with me through a five-part series on garment construction from handwoven cloth. In the first part we will talk about inspiration, what size cloth to weave, sett, and how to sample without setting up the loom twice. And of course finishing that cloth so that it is “needle ready”. We will talk about cutting out that yardage and how to keep that handwoven fabric under control.In part 2, we will talk about fitting the body. How to understand the industry fit model, and how to make it work for you. We talk about measurements, full bust adjustments, and working with the grainline. And of course, making a test garment or muslin. In parts 3-5, we get into the real meat of sewing with handwoven cloth. How to control grainlines, sewing basics for handwoven fabrics, seams, edge finishes, and of course closures. There is so much to talk about, and I’ve got so much to share. I’ve spent a lifetime creating garments from my own hands, and there is nothing more satisfying than wearing something you’ve made that fits you well and celebrates the cloth from your loom.
Join me for Part 1 on Monday, February 23, 2015. The webinar is 60 minutes and there is time for questions. All will be answered eventually, and packaged in the download. If you can’t make it for the live webinar, we will let you know when the download becomes available. Register now!
Meanwhile, happy weaving!
--Daryl Lancaster |
