Tag Archive for: vest

When I was in Japan last May I had a chance to try Kenzo Jo’s special stretchy yarn. I had used stretchy yarn in the weft before, but never in the warp. This yarn is stretched and starched so that you can wind it into a warp like any other fibre. Once you wash the piece, the starch comes out and the yarn contracts making for a fabulous effect.

In this piece, I put this yarn every 5 (or so) threads just in the centre section.

 

Here is the result before washing…

 

and after…

 

 

So exciting to see the changes!

Then, it stayed in my studio until a few days before the SAORI Kai this past weekend. I needed something new to wear and so it was time for this piece to become a garment. I wanted to feature the ruffles and so I made it into a vest, using the ruffles as a collar, the back yoke and as a feature at the bottom of the back of the vest.

 

 

This was so simple to make as it is just two pieces. One piece is the entire front – from the bottom at one side, up and around the back becoming the collar and yoke, and then back down the other side. The back is a piece cut off and sewn to the yoke and the two sides. I sewed this all by hand. After I made it, I realized that it is similar in design to the vest in the Beginner’s Clothing Design book called the Rocket Vest (design #9).

 

 

I added a few of “Bob’s Buttons” to finish it off (the morning of the kai!)…

 

The vest is very lightweight, but warm as all the fibre is a very soft wool from SAORI Japan.

Happy Weaving,
Terri

My website: www.saorisaltspring.com

Yesterday, I posted this photo on Facebook:

Here’s the rest of the story…

I had finished weaving a piece this summer and it has been waiting to be made into something. Yesterday was the day!! I had an idea to make a shawl/jacket based on the pattern in the “blue” SAORI clothing design book – pattern # 28.

I measured my weaving and it was approximately the same width and the exact length – go figure! So I got started and made a few modifications to the design as I put it together.

When I was finished, I asked Alan to take some photos. I don’t like having my photo taken at the best of times – but it didn’t work on the dress form, so here I am modelling it.

With the large collar down….

With the large collar back…

With the large collar up as a hood….

With it rolled into a bulky collar…

From the back…

And then when I got tired of modelling (you know, where to put your hands? where to look? how to stand? – a model I’m not!), I jumped up in the air…Alan kept taking photos and so that’s how we got the photo that I posted yesterday.

Today, I found a few more ways to wear it. What to call it – a tunic, a shawl, a jacket, a vest – it is all of these….

And….so simple to construct…

Just 3 pieces sewn together along the selvedge edges with holes left for the arms!

Happy Weaving,
Terri

My website: www.saltspringweaving.ca