Renita's entryWhat did you make and how did you play with stripes:I made a tunic/tabard from handwoven fabric. The woven fabric was pieced together then sewn in such a way that the stripes in the fabric change direction. On the 'front' the stripes run vertically on the 'left' and horizontally on the 'right', with a v-neck. On the 'back', the stripes are on the diagonal and there is a piece that forms a shawl, for want of a better word. All these directions are relative, as the garment can be worn front to back and/or inside out and/or with the collar tucked in or left out.
I haven't tried wearing it upside down...
I had fun both in the making of the stripes, while weaving the fabric itself, then in the positioning of them in the final garment.
Pattern:The design is based on one in a Saori patternbook. It's a bit of fabric origami, known as a 'squid' because of its final shape. It's always different, depending on the nature and width of the fabric used, but generally hangs well and is very comfortable to wear.
A short description of how you made it, problems etc:The fabric is a mix of cotton, wool and potentially other fibres, woven on a plain black warp. I played with colour and weaving techniques to produce stripes of different colours, widths and texture. After wet finishing, the fabric was cut into 4 equal lengths then pieced to make a square of approx. 1m. The garment then basically involves sewing two adjacent sides together, leaving enough space to get your head through, adding some armholes and finishing the hem.
I transferred some of the hem cut-off from the back around to the front, so I'd have a reasonably level hem and to maximise my fabric usage. Seams are either lapped (woven selvedges = no chance of fraying), or flat felled to enclose raw/cut edges. The arm-holes were pre-stitched, then cut out and self-bound using fabric scraps.
I decided against pockets to keep it as flexible as possible - the garment has no right or wrong side really. I elected to turn the hem up towards the side with the fringe showing, as that seemed the more casual option.
I've worn it today, along with pieces from last year's SWAKOP, and think it's a good contender for a spot in this year's collection.
Here's some of the wearing options at the top (and my sewing supervisor and general boss, far right...), and the garment laid out on the floor, along with the left-over fabric (very efficient garment design!) at the bottom. The colour is much more accurate in the top images.