The Sewing Place

Fun with Stripes contest - 1.06.-30.06.2019

renita

Re: Fun with Stripes contest - 1.06.-30.06.2019
« Reply #45 on: June 28, 2019, 04:50:24 AM »
Renita's entry

What 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.










WildAtlanticWay

Re: Fun with Stripes contest - 1.06.-30.06.2019
« Reply #46 on: June 28, 2019, 09:35:00 AM »
Wow, a totally unique garment. Fabulous.  :loveit:

Greybird

Re: Fun with Stripes contest - 1.06.-30.06.2019
« Reply #47 on: June 28, 2019, 09:58:38 AM »
I think this contest is going to be harder than ever to vote in.

doesntworkonwood

Re: Fun with Stripes contest - 1.06.-30.06.2019
« Reply #48 on: June 28, 2019, 10:05:07 AM »
@indigotiger That's so cool how you've played with stripes. You've made some really intelligent decisions to make the most out of your fabric and it looks fab!

@renita There's something about your dress that reminds a bit of the fourth doctor from Doctor Who, in a very good way! I can't believe you handwove your fabric, very cool!

Lachica

Re: Fun with Stripes contest - 1.06.-30.06.2019
« Reply #49 on: June 28, 2019, 21:35:21 PM »
Wow @renita that's fabulous, weaving your own fabric
Mary
2020 stash: not gonna count, not gonna feel guilty.

StitchinTime

Re: Fun with Stripes contest - 1.06.-30.06.2019
« Reply #50 on: June 29, 2019, 13:21:23 PM »
StitchInTime’s Entry

What did you make and how did you play with the stripes
I made a patchwork, quilted tote bag using vertical and horizontal stripes of different widths. The stripes were used to hide an external zipped pocket and to make a feature of an internal zipped pocket. The stripes were continued on to the handles and offcuts from the handles were used to make an internal slip pocket.



Pattern used (commercial or self-drafted, anything goes)
The inspiration for this bag was a woven striped bag produced for a London department store. I used a supermarket tote bag to give me an idea of what size to make and took the opportunity to shorten the handles as shop bought bags seem designed for someone several inches taller than me.

A short description on how you made it/problems overcome/etc.
The first problem I had was that most of my fabrics were black and white, but one was black and cream, so I tea-dyed all the fabrics to get a uniform colour.



I used patchwork (including partial seams) to get the different widths and different directions of stripes. Once the patchwork pieces were the correct size, they were lightly quilted using stitch-in-the-ditch onto offcuts of wadding fused on to a backing of woven interfacing. The handles were also pieced and then reinforced with a woven fusible interfacing before being wrapped around a soft handle cording. I added three pockets to the bag - a “hidden” zip pocket on the outside, a zip pocket on the inside with striped piping, and a slip pocket on the inside using remnants from making the handles.




I forgot to mention the main problem I had making this bag - my sewing was significantly impeded by the determination of Not-our-Cat to sit on the fabric at any opportunity.

« Last Edit: June 29, 2019, 14:08:15 PM by StitchinTime »

StitchinTime

Re: Fun with Stripes contest - 1.06.-30.06.2019
« Reply #51 on: June 29, 2019, 13:22:11 PM »
I forgot to mention the main problem I had making this bag - my sewing was significantly impeded by the determination of Not-our-cat to sit on the fabric at any opportunity.

Manuela

Re: Fun with Stripes contest - 1.06.-30.06.2019
« Reply #52 on: June 29, 2019, 13:46:40 PM »
@StitchinTime could you please modify your post and go to ‘attachments and other options’ and click ‘insert Attachment’. That embeds the images into the text, I can then copy it into the voting thread with the pictures showing up. I tried to modify your post to do that, but didn’t succeed.

StitchinTime

Re: Fun with Stripes contest - 1.06.-30.06.2019
« Reply #53 on: June 29, 2019, 14:14:15 PM »
@Manuela I tried to modify the post as per your instructions, but I didn’t see the option to insert attachment (perhaps because I don’t use the default forum theme). However, I think I might have found a work around by inserting image links to the attachments. Hopefully this will allow you to copy the post to the voting thread, though it does mean the photos appear twice in this thread as I assume the attachments will have to stay for the links to work.

Manuela

Re: Fun with Stripes contest - 1.06.-30.06.2019
« Reply #54 on: June 29, 2019, 14:26:22 PM »
Great, thank you @StitchinTime   :)

WildAtlanticWay

Re: Fun with Stripes contest - 1.06.-30.06.2019
« Reply #55 on: June 29, 2019, 14:34:26 PM »
@StitchinTime  that’s a great bag. Very creative and completely practical.
How did you make the padded looking handles?
I like that you used tea to turn the white a sepia tone.  :drink: Did you use salt to set the dye?


StitchinTime

Re: Fun with Stripes contest - 1.06.-30.06.2019
« Reply #56 on: June 29, 2019, 14:49:41 PM »
@WildAtlanticWay I used some bag cord that had been in my stash for ages to make the handles. It was a soft padded type rather than the usual rope type and I’ve no idea where to get any more when I use the last of it. I didn’t fix the tea with salt - I just rinsed it until the water was clear. I want to get a waterproofing spray for the bag, so I think that will address any potential colour run issues if the bag gets caught in the rain.

Manuela

Re: Fun with Stripes contest - 1.06.-30.06.2019
« Reply #57 on: July 04, 2019, 16:26:31 PM »
Please remember to put your entry posts with pictures up until July 7th  :)