What I am making now

Whoa. June is almost gone and just what have I been making?!? I've been traveling quite a lot and have only bits and pieces to share.

I was so excited to visit the lowlands in Scotland, building the trip around an opportunity to spend one night on the very special island of Iona. I do hope to return.

While on that side of the lowlands, we stayed 3 nights in the port city of Oban where I happened on a sweet little fabric and textile crafts store. The main attraction for me was all the Harris Tweed. I guess I could've gone home then, from a sewing perspective. But not really - the rest of the trip was focused on family and fun, all good.

After Scotland, we met up with family at Lake Garda in northere Italy. No sewing related items to share, except that I did not include clothing appropriate to such high heat and humidity there. I thought I had covered that, but not really. I should've brought something in lighter colors. All my layering pieces in dark colors failed me.

me and my BSF!

After a few days at home, I was off to one of my Very Happy Places - Shakerag Workshops in Sewanee TN. This year, I took "Imagined Landscapes" with Arounna Khounnoraj, of Bookhou. She is a lovely person and an enthusiastic teacher. She also is open to learning from her students and sharing knowledge. Luckily for her and her family, she appears to be a good marketer too!

Left is a piece from the free table, Right is after a marigold dip!

We played with natural dyes - indigo, madder, marigold, onion skins, avocado, as well as an iron pot that I avoided. We also painted with thickened soy milk, as well as fabric screen printing ink. 

Each of us worked on one central piece around the title - imagined landscapes. It was fascinating to see all the different takes on the theme. For mine, I used pieces of indigo dyed and madder dyed cotton. I also had a piece of dark blue batiste with me that I incorporated into my piece, using free-form applique and reverse applique.

I came home with lots of yellow from the marigold. I'm not big on yellows but I'll use those pieces somewhere. I used an old table cloth I picked up at a thrift store. Those old textiles really love the dyes!

an early sketch

This was an early, warm-up piece for me, using a piece that was first painted with the black screen printing ink. Then I added some thickened soy milk paint, before dipping it all in the marigold. Super interesting results but it will probably just go into my *parts department*, as Diane Ericson calls it.

the brownish parts are from painting with thickened soy milk

Toward the end of the week, Arounna walked us through the construction of a triangular pouch. This is also a free tutorial on her youtube channel. I have not finished mine yet, partially because I like it in this state. It reminds me of a tiny soft shoe.

I'm so excited about attending Shakerag next year when I hope to attend a class with Merill Comeau. I've longed to take a class with her. Fingers crossed it all works hope.

When I returned from Shakerag, where it was also a bit hot, I took to modifying some dresses. I wore each of these at Shakerag and realized I wanted to change the necklines. For the Tessuti dress, the Eva in silk noil (thank you, BSF!) I simply added some embroidery. It was too plain.

For the Sewing Workshop dress, the Memphis, I lowered the neckline and added a striped binding, instead of the previous mustard binding. Now I may go and add a side seam pocket. It really needs a pocket. Sandra Betzina's description of adding such pockets in her Power Sewing is easy-peasy.

I'm also working to finish the hand-stitching on my Imagined Landscape. And I've started a new-to-me pattern from Diane Ericson, the River Tunic, which is designed to be one size fits all and nearly zero waste. Already scratching my head but lots of play left.

Seasonal Changes

It is finally autumn here in the southeastern part of the US. And it feels a bit like we're heading into winter quickly. It always feels that way because I love the feel and look of fall and want it to stay a while.

Twice a year, I move my clothes from one closet to another. It is always a good time to assess the items I'm not wearing or items that need mending. And I find myself enjoying the making of small tweaks in a few items.

First up is this black cotton shirt with white sashiko, constructed 2 years ago. It is made in a medium weight cotton that feels a bit like washed linen. I traced the pattern while at Sew Kansas. It has never been published by the Sewing Workshop.

This neckline is not part of the pattern. I adapted it from the Egyptian shirt from Folkwear.

I like it a lot and have worn it often. Black pants; black top; done. No surprise that is began to look quite washed out after a number of washings. And I have all this black walnut juice around, so I thought, why not?

But I did not want to dye the white sashiko so I removed it. I let the top soak in a solution of black walnut juice and iron water for several days, simmering it on the stove from time to time. I think it did get a bit blacker. Afterwards I restitched the sashiko. Yes, I did. Who does that?!?

Next up was an unlined version of the the Sewing Workshop Tremont jacket. I have used this pattern more than once. It's a charming pattern, I think, with its asymmetrical fronts, set-in sleeves, and face-framing collar. This one was constructed using a hefty loosely-woven cotton ikat. I added some red accents that got in my way when I actually wanted to wear it. And it really should have been lined from the get-go.

I now see that the red accents are just about invisible. sigh.

So I removed the red accents and lined it. I used a soft light-weight cotton Ikat for lining the body and rayon Ambiance for the sleeves. I really like the weight of it now.

I also added a new closure using remnants from another cotton ikat project. I created frog knots per Sandra Betzina and simple loops on the other side.

And then I decided I didn't like that and removed the closures. Jeez.

Last weekend I signed up for an indigo dip at my local recreation center. I looked around and saw this nice white top I made with a French pattern, the Cezembre. I had already adjusted it once, as the cotton shirting was too tightly woven for the sleeves to fit smoothly into the armscye.

Cezembre before

I tried to create a gradiated indigo color with the darkest portion at the bottom. It was impossible (for me) to keep the upper portion white, so I dipped it all. I'm pretty happy with this color. I do love indigo blue.

Cezembre after

Ah, well. Two steps forward, three steps back. It's all about the joy of working with cloth in my hands.

Two More Picasso Tops

I now have the Picasso Pants and Top pattern from the Sewing Workshop (TSW) out of my system. I've made the top 3 times and the pants once. I don't see any more tops in my immediate future, but who knows? These surprised me. I do definitely see more pants in my future, but possibly not until spring.

In summary, my first version of the top was made from a tablecloth - cotton damask.

And my second one looked like a tablecloth, though made from cotton prints. I have already taken it apart to use in other projects.

My third and favorite one is made with rayon jersey knit, plus some striped accents. This is a bit ironic because I was reluctant to make a knit version even though the pattern envelope requires it. The woven versions are of necessity size Mediums and the knit one is size Small, and I think the size XS might also fit in knits. It is designed as a big boxy top, and I like that a lot!

Above I'm wearing the knit version of the Picasso top with my favorite knit pants (the Helix pattern from TSW). I have made those a number of times just because I like the look. Making them is fast and easy.  Below I'm wearing the Picasso top (in knits) and pants (in rayon crepe), which is a pretty close approximation of the intentions for this pattern.

Now I do think the whole Picasso look is cute. And I will happily wear this ensemble and feel good. And I know the slimmer Helix pants create a more flattering silhouette. Just a little note to self.

I made the same changes to the neckline as in my previous Picasso tops, this time using a bias strip of striped knit. It's not matched at the shoulder seams but the up side is that the shoulder seams are nice and flat. And it was a sweet opportunity for a little sashiko.

Meanwhile there is still a dye pot simmering on the stove, this time with pokeberries. I've printed with pokeberries before but this is my first foray into dyeing with them. I simmered and strained the juice from it. Now a piece of silk noil and another piece of cotton sateen are brewing. I'm realizing I need to be more careful in my handling of this stuff that seems to grow everywhere here in the southern states of the US.

Recent foraging: black walnuts, magnolia pods, pokeberries, queen ann's lace

It is intriguing that pokeweed is both poisonous and edible. The leaves are edible in early spring before the stalk becomes purple. The berries that are growing now can be used to make jelly, once the seeds are removed. That being said, I must be more careful in my handling of the stuff (another note to self). But the color is so seductive. Maybe the dye will be rewarding too.

I'm also ready to do some more avocado dyeing. Here is a shot of them with my new toy - a macro lens for my phone camera.

Some days it feels like there is almost too much fun stuff to do. Does that happen to you?

Vogue 9081 - Dipped Again

Vogue 9081 is a dress pattern designed by Marcy Tilton, maybe two years old. I first made it in a bright orange linen. Yes, what was I thinking.

In its next iteration I eliminated the lower band, making it a tunic. Still too bright though, so I dipped it in black walnut juice. Over time it has seemed to continue to fade just a little to this:

So I dipped it again. I had kept a bucket of black walnut juice from fall 2017 in the garage. It had developed a white glaze over the year but after I removed that, it was still potent for dyeing and this is the result:

This color is the best so far, I think. I'm letting it cure a bit before washing it thoroughly and so I may lose a little color still. But it's almost time to collect black walnuts again so I'll have a fresh supply soon.

Meanwhile I'm experimenting with avocado skins and seeds based on Botanical Colour at Your Fingertips by Rebecca Desnos on rayon challis. It is certainly not dramatic but I do like the soft pink I got with the skins. You can see how subtle the results are below. And the process is multi-stepped over multiple days.

white rayon challis dyed with avocado skins, rinsed and dried (on left)

But I'm not easily diverted so right now I have another piece of rayon challis in the pot with juice from the seeds. It looks so pretty now but will no doubt be more subtle when it is finished and dried.

Silk and Serendipity

Sunflowers on a farm in NH

The more I play with plant dyes, the more I want to play. There are endless variations and the results are unpredictable. I enjoy the surprise and make no attempt to create repeatable processes. Sometimes I chastise myself for not keeping better notes, but not often.

Black walnuts rescued from my local hiking trail

Years ago I spotted a bolt of PFD china silk at an estate sale. I have only just now come to appreciate the magic that is silk. I'm guessing that most silks contain dye magic. Of course I love to sew with cotton and linen but dyeing is not nearly as exciting with those celulose fibers.

My most recent adventures have been primarily with black walnuts but also with leaves and sunflowers. Here is the (first) one with sunflowers. You can see that bolt of PFD china silk in the upper left hand corner.

I started by dipping the silk in an iron bath: The iron bath is water and white vinegar in a glass container with some rusty objects. After about a week of steeping, it was a light orange color. So I dipped about a yard of the silk in it and squeezed it out. Wearing gloves, of course!

Steamer with the silk piece and some Hanji paper pieces

Next I pulled the flowers apart and laid out rows of the various parts of the flowers on half of the damp silk. There were green leaf-like structures (sepals) under the yellow petals, the yellow petals and then the black center torn into small pieces, each placed in rows.  I folded the remaining silk half over the plant parts, rolled it tightly, securing with twine. Then I curled it so that it would fit on top of my steamer.

I am totally in love with the resulting patterns and colors. I believe that the dark navy/purple parts were stained with the dark center seeds and that the other parts produced the orange stains. Now I am itching to stitch and wear this. I've done some research and I'm fairly comfortable that these are safe to use for clothing. For more on this subject, check out this very helpful post from India Flint, as well as this one from Alpenglow Yarn.

Meanwhile I've returned to my black-walnut-dyed silk pieces with plans to make something. The variety of results is endlessly interesting to me. This one was folded and steeped in leftovers from last year. I am amazed to see the pink colors and have no idea what caused it. I was not expecting much from year-old black walnut juice. But silk is magical.

Folded, clamped and dyed with year-old black walnut juice

The fresh walnuts from this year also yielded a wide variety of results. All pieces came from that off-white china silk. The following piece was simply stuffed in the dye pot and left to steep for a week or so, stirring occasionally. It looks more solid in reality. Some combination of sunlight and the camera created a rusty color. Because of the sheen, the color varies quite a lot.

This next piece was folded and clamped between two pieces of glass. It was steeped in a plastic container also for about a week. Perhaps the plastic inhibited the color transfer, or maybe the clamping was especially effective as a resist.

So now I must make something.