I have advanced slowly on the weaving lately since I have been doing some sewing. I have added a page dedicated to sewing on the blog. Please feel free to check it out here.
Here is a preview of my current weaving project though, which is a mix of various animals.
After sewing my green coat from a 1950-pattern, I felt inspired to sew a 70’s coat with fluffy lining. So I found this pattern from 1975 on eBay and decided to use up some of my medieval fabric stash (diamond kypert?). I also bought some faux/fake fur (black curly, like a small lamb) for lining of the coat. I did use some regular lining in the arms though.
And here is the finished coat. Maybe not quite as stylish on me as on the super-thin models, but I still like it.
I have to add that sewing in faux fur is not ideal. It is slippery and the house gets full of “fluff” that sticks to everything (including your face and arms).
I like the viking style bags with wooden handles, and it is a good place to use some of my woven straps/belts. So I made a belt with the leftovers from my coat and then I did a Sulawesi style strap in thin wool in colors to match (green, white and brown). So here it is…
The strap is using 16 motif cards and 2+2 border cards. Most motifs are in my design page. If not, just drop me a note and I will upload it.
The woven part, with quite a lot of leaf variations:
It took me some time to finish and the main reason is that I decided to sew myself a rain jacket in the middle of weaving it. The results is here.
I have been working on this belt on and off for the last month or so, in paralell with sewing my coat. I do like the color combination, but I need to draw some new patterns for 16 cards. I seem to weave the same designs over and over. I do like weaving the edges in the classical diamonds pattern though. I find it adds alot to the overall impression.
Well, here it is. a bit more that 2 meters long, wool, 16 motif cards + 10 border cards.
I have taken a small brake from tablet weaving to sew myself a vintage coat. I found this pattern and I fell in love with this design from 1949.
I also have a stash of wool fabric that I bought for some medieval sewing project, that did not happen. I have been wanting to use up some of it and I realised that I had enough of this green quite thick wool fabric (since at least 5 years) and some black velvet (dating 20 years back…). I found some cheap sewing supplies in a second hand shop (the shoulder pads, thread and facing) which meant that the only new stuff I had to buy were the lining material, the pattern and the buttons (I keep searching on second hand for 4 nice buttons).
I am really happy with how it turned out. I only regret not finishing it earlier, since winter is nearly over in Switzerland. Also, I still have to add buttons (and the dreadded button-holes) to finish it off.
The pattern, originally from 1949
Me in my coat. I am already planning for a new spring jacket in 1970’s style.
Regarding learnings from this project, I have to mention a few points:
Sew the coat and the lining in parallel, to make sure they are exactly the same size in the neck, shoulder and back seams.
Make a first draft in cheap cotton (of the upper body at least). It made me realise I should add a few cm on the lenght of the upper body part and the sleeves.
Have the dicipline to stop when you are tired and continue the next day.
I have done some sewing this last week(s). First a real-life coat, which turned out really bad. I have not done ordinary sewing for very long.
So I decided to come back to my comfort zone and do a new Viking apron dress. I have wanted for a long time to try a version with pleats at the neckline.
I am happy with how it turned out. Now I can only wait for the outdoor season to start, so I can use it.
I finished this belt quite fast. I really like to weave in silk, since it is very smooth. However, on the down side, the threads are brittle and wear easily during weaving. Well, here it is.
I thought of this “horses” pattern (to the left) while weaving, and I really like how it turned out. I also tried some new “creatures in squares” for 24 cards.
The silk yarn and some details.
The other design elements are mostly my own. Some I have tried before and some not, but I have lost track. I have hundreds of designs and sketches in my folders and I never took note of what I tried or not. If you would like the turning pattern of anything not on the design page, please contact me (the contact page is not always working though, please use the e-mail adress).
As some of you may know, I have created quite a few patterns on the theme “creatures in squares”. Here is a small sample of some of them. I am still experimenting on the context and new patterns.
