Tweedy Jacket

Since Wednesday I have been working on a new jacket using the felt tweed technique Galina posted a link to on the Forum, after making a couple of samples last week, I dove in, designing a template from an old coat. Even using dress-making paper, it was a struggle to get the expanded template to fit on the sheet.

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Laying out 2 layers of merino over a resist for the torso:

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Adding the yarns, this was quite a challenge, especially when I came to flip it over and had all the long lengths from the back, that would be used to decorate the front, got into a bit of a tangled mess. After some patient de-tangling it all came good in the end…

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The sleeves were somewhat easier (no resist involved).

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And the (nearly) finished jacket, all sewn up. It just needs a couple of buttons (nothing in my button tin suits this jacket) and possibly straightening the bottom edge; currently the front right hand side (left hand side of the photo) hangs slightly lower than the left. What do you think? Asymmetrical clothing appears to be back in fashion but I’m not sure this qualifies, does it just look a bit untidy?

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Given that all the yarns I used were synthetic (mostly acrylic) I was impressed by how well they embedded into the felt, there a just a handful of small loops that I will stitch down by hand.

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A close up of all the lovely textures!

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Sculptural hats and bags with Rutsuko Sakata

I spent Monday and Tuesday this week on a workshop with Rutsoku Sakata, and the lovely ladies from Region 3 IFA making sculptural berets and bags. We all had a wonderful time.

This is my bag sitting on its resist and slowly taking shape; it literally took 9 hours to place all the stitching, my finger tips still feel sore and bruised today but I’m pleased with how the shape is developing. This is definitely going to be a one-of-a-kind type of bag!
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the front

 

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The back

Now I just need to figure out what the strap / handles will look  like and how to attach them…

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Some of the participants and their wonderful creations