I shouldn't be surprised to find that I'm a "let the fabric do the work" kind of weaver-sewist. My sewing skills are rudimentary at best, and I'm a big fan of straight lines.
It was an unexpected joy to browse the web last week and find beautiful garments made from simple shapes. Simple tees take only a handful of seams and finishing work to make from relatively narrow handwoven yardage, and larger items can be created by thoughtful piecing.
This revelation has been brought on by completing the finishing work on my plaid and huck lace project—the first project made on my floor loom. While I started, wove, and finished my next project, the plaid sat and languished, awaiting fringe twisting and a final destination. Last weekend I finished the fringe and washed and dried the piece, and made the final call that it was just too long to be a single wrap.
It needed a new life, to become something else.
I folded it in half and clipped the edges together in a couple places, and I tossed it over my head and shoulders. Suddenly it dawned on me that there was enough fabric here to make a shirt, or a poncho, or some kind of garment.
I could talk all day about my distaste for Pinterest, and how half of the images don't link to an original source, but even I have to admit that it's really good for one thing: creating image boards. I searched for handwoven tops and Pinterest delivered. Had I been searching for handwoven top sewing patterns, I would have been sorely disappointed, but that's what a regular web search is for.
There are tees, ponchos, jackets, knee-length coats, dresses, and any other kind of top-half covering you could think of. Fiber artists of all sorts are out there making beautiful pieces, whether for the joy of it or to sell, and it's very inspiring. I found a very simple tee that I fell in love with, and it has me thinking about weaving a lightweight cotton and/or linen piece to make summer shirts with.
First, I thought about using that tee image as a guide to make a top, but the plaid stripes on the handwoven yardage don't evenly match up due to beating my weft inconsistently throughout the project. Oops! Instead, I found a triangular poncho tutorial that I nipped a couple ideas from, and then modified it to meet my needs.
A few zigzag stitches, two cuts, two seams, and topstitching later, a finished poncho appeared!
(Okay, fine, I added a little bit of shoulder shaping after the fact, but it was still a very simple project.)
This project has been very exciting for me, because I'm finally getting to a point where I can see myself putting something like this in the shop. The fabric does 95 percent of the work, and I make a couple cuts and careful seams to make a project that looks and feels truly solid and finished. What a wonderful outcome!
I've been a bit under the weather for the past couple days, but things are looking up and I'm happy to be back here on the blog, and thinking about my upcoming projects (which I can't wait to share with you all).
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My next Twitch stream is scheduled for Saturday, March 4 at 9am PST, and I'm working on getting the blog schedule under control as well as adding a newsletter to go alongside the blog. The good news is that both cameras are working again, so I can do show and tell much more easily now.
Once a month streams and blog posts are doable at the moment, but I definitely have a stretch goal of twice monthly for both by the middle to end of the year. Getting back into the swing of things has been great for my mental health, productivity, and allowing myself to rest. I really do thrive on routine, so doing a little every day allows me to not burn out by spending long days working on things.
At the heart of this all is the fact that the more I'm making, the more I have to talk about, and that's a beautiful thing.
Until next time, take care! 🌸
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Note: You may have noticed a few changes with the design and web hosting of this blog; there may be a few tweaks here and there going forward as well. Behind the scenes, I'm working on streamlining where all of my content lives, and part of that process was securing a new domain name as an all-encompassing location to host my work.
You'll always be able to get to this blog at freckledfiber.blogspot.com, but you'll notice that the URL will automatically change in your address bar to be blog.freckledfiber.art instead, and that's how I'll be promoting this space going forward.
Additionally, website and hosting changes often take a little while to appear for everyone. If something isn't working, feel free to bring it to my attention, but know that the answer might be "please check again in 24-48 hours!"
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