This photo hasn't been seen much, in part because it isn't a great photo. But the deep dive I have been doing into my photo files means I've been 'discovering' old photos and thought I would share this one.
As part of writing A Thread Runs Through It, I spent a lot of time remembering personal projects I've done. This photo shows a double whammy.
Doug is wearing a jacket woven from 2/60 silk and alpaca, tailored by a professional tailor in Vancouver. Even though we didn't have a lot of money in those days, the fabric was too 'special' for it to be put into the hands of someone who didn't know how to properly sew it. As it happens, the tailor also provided another lesson in the value of a good HARD press. Even though I'd had it pressed by the presser at the local dry cleaner we used, the tailor spent hours giving it an even harder press before he ever contemplated cutting into it. In the end, the custom fit jacket was a 'perfect' fit, and to be honest, it still hangs in the closet where Doug will pull it out when he needs to be 'dressed up'. (It's a bit tight now, but at least he CAN wear it - can't say the same for the suit I'm wearing.)
My suit is also 2/60 silk warp and tabby weft, with a slightly textured silk pattern weft for the jacket and the blouse front. The trousers and rest of the blouse is all smooth silk.
Here's a closer look at the suit:
Doug wore his jacket to Convergence in San Jose and unless he told people it was handwoven, most people at the conference didn't realize it.
Another jacket I did was this one:
The fabric is 2/8 cotton for both layers (yes, it's stitched double weave) with a fine silk slub for the weft.
I ran out of fabric and had to quickly weave enough cloth for the sleeves, which were a heavier weight than I would have liked, but I was under an extremely tight deadline and had to work from my stash. This jacket was entered into the informal fashion show at Convergence in 1986, and at least one very experienced weaver found the cloth intriguing.
As I work my way through my memories, I am becoming aware that I really need to do...something...with the clothing I can no longer wear. I've held onto a closet full of garments, thinking that one day I would lose enough weight to wear them again. OTOH, with covid and me still avoiding the plague, I don't go to large indoor events anymore, and my handwoven clothing is too 'fancy' for my lifestyle (if you can call it such) now.
I suppose I could see if a local consignment shop would take them. Or I can leave them for my executrix to deal with...
Today I am going to try weaving again. It seems it doesn't matter if I weave or not in regards to my pain levels, so I figure I might as well end the day having done *some* weaving if I'm going to hurt anyway.
2 comments:
Is you suit diversified plain weave? What’s making the pattern?
If I remember correctly it's double two tie unit weave. I explored that weave structure quite a lot for a while for it's versatility. And playing with that was part of the key to working with the weave structure I'm working with now (which I still don't know what to call that one!)
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