The Red Stole--lining and piping

The piecing is over--now onto the more fussy finishing work of the lining, piping, and so on.

In the box of red ties were also several "fat quarters" (a quilters' term for a square of fabric measuring about 22" x 18").  I like to use cotton for the lining because it makes the stole "sticky" and less prone to sliding around when worn, so I cut several strips off each fabric and stitched them together randomly.  This will make for an interesting lining.  

The future wearer's mother did this piece of cross stitch.   Initially the plan was for me to incorporate it into the piecing somewhere on the stole, however when she washed it, the red thread bled into the white background leaving a pink haze.  I have decided to create a pocket from this piece and attach it to the lining of the stole--women's clothing always lacks pockets, so why not give her one on her stole?  Perfect for a key, business card, note...

Attaching the piping--this particular tie was a patriotic mash-up of the US flag.

The jumble of piping--one of the ties included cartoon characters.

This is a deacon stole and needs to be attached at the side hip.  I decided on three covered cords, the number three being an important number in the Christian tradition.

Stole Front--piping is attached and waiting for the lining.  You'll see less of the piping once the lining is added.

Stole back.

The Red Stole, continued...

I made great progress yesterday...

The piecing is finished.

Brightly patterned candidates for piping.  These ties were too "busy" to incorporate into the piecing but they'll make fabulous piping.

Preparing for the next step...trimming the pieces using the paper pattern.

Now onto my other weekend activities...

Red Stole Progress

I think I was a bit overwhelmed with the abundance of materials to work with, and my desire (and my commissioner's hope) to include a little bit of each material in the stole.  I cut a strip from each tie or fabric length a week ago, and left them all ready to go...

Strips laid over the ironing board with the samples on the wall behind.

Finally, yesterday was the day to get started. This stole is a deacon's stole which comes across the chest from one shoulder and hangs down at the side.  I started by cutting a piece of foundation fabric (unbleached cotton) wide enough for the two pieces that will hang at the side.

The piecing has begun.

Detail of the piecing at the sewing machine.

Adding foundation fabric for the two pieces that will go over the shoulder.

Extending the piecing into the shoulder pieces.

One of the wonderful fabrics received in the box--both sides are useful. 

Piecing is still in progress, but the foundation has been cut apart--it was getting too cumbersome as one piece.

So, a good day's work!  Now to finish the piecing...

Joy's Stole is Finished

Another wonderful project comes to an end.  This stole has been particularly satisfying because of the good materials.  I didn't have to improvise or delve into my stash.  Herewith the finished stole--ready to ship to Oregon....

The completed stole

Back view

Lower detail

Upper detail

Lining--I added some pockets made from the tips of three of the ties.

This was the tip from a particularly special tie.

My custom label at the centre back.

May Joy have as much pleasure wearing this stole as I had creating it!

Joy's Stole, continued

Some good progress:

The piecing is finished, and the back seam is sewn.  The finished stole will be about an inch narrower when the piping and lining are added. 

Back view

Piping materials.   I like to use striped or dotted ties.

A jumble of finished piping, ready to apply.  This is the best use for highly patterned ties.  I don't really like to use them in the body of the stole because the patterns can be distracting.

Beginning a New Stole for Joy's Ordination

I received an inquiry several months ago about creating an ordination (i.e. red) stole for Joy who will be ordained in August 2013.  A beautiful box of materials arrived in the mail a few weeks ago.  Included in the lot was a piece of lime green silk with a special request to include some of it in the stole.  These materials were donated by Joy's friends and family, and the green silk is a reminder of her grandmother.  Also note in the first image a striking tie of skulls.  The label indicates that this tie was designed for the Richard Leakey museum in Kenya, and the skulls shown are from our Home sapien ancestors.  My husband, who is my "tie-taker-aparter" recognized the skulls as being Homo erectus, Home habilis, and Australopithecus.  Apparently this tie belonged to Joy's father and is one of her favourite ties as well as being a family classic.

This gorgeous collection of red ties and a couple of scarves arrived a few weeks ago from Oregon.

This tie has a striking flower motif.

I decided to start with the flower motif--here I was auditioning the materials that I might piece around it.

The flower motif framed with some of the lime green silk and the skull tie.

Starting the layout of the stole.

The piecing progress so far.

Detail--this will be at one lower edge.

Piping and finishing

I love to use striped ties as piping. Striped ties are obviously neckties and difficult to use in the main body of the garment--they scream "This stole is made from ties!" I prefer my work to be more subtle in that you have to get up very close before it's obvious that the stole is made from ties. In piping however, striped ties shine. These are the striped ties that came in this collection:

And the jumble of piping I created from the three ties:

Piping is a lovely way to finish the edges.

Once I applied the piping, all that was left was to stitch the lining and presto, the stole is finished!

Back view:

Dove and Flames

I decided to mount the dove on the gold metallic fabric--here's an image of trying that out, along with the start of some flames made from overlapping organza and tulle.

And then added even more fire...

Tomorrow is piping and lining...

Stitching a dove

Cathy has asked me to incorporate some of their children's baby clothing somehow. Tucked into a ziplock bag was a baby sock and a couple of remants from baptismal garments--some cotton eyelet and a scrap of rayon jacquard.

I thought the most obvious use for this fabric would be a dove: use the sock or part thereoff for the body and embellish the wings with the lace.


So, starting with the sock--the cuff fans out nicely to form the tail feathers!

And cutting the eyelet into strips meant that I could use it to embellish the wings:

And I used the little fragment of rayon jacquard for the head:

Here's a view of the dove on the back of the stole (it's not attached just yet):

And finally, I started playing around with the background, adding layers of organzas and gold metallic fabric:

I haven't made the final decision about this yet--I need to sleep on it! The layers of fabrics making up the dove are stitched, but the dove itself is not stitched to the stole and neither are the organzas. I find it best to wait a while before making a commitment.

I finished the piecing today. Here you see the stole in its raw and organic form on my design wall.

The next task was to lay the pieces down on the cutting table and trim off the raw edges using the paper pattern. I over-estimated the shrinkage caused by piecing--I'd far rather be trimming than trying to add fabric at this stage!

I stitched the centre back seam and placed the stole on my mannequin. (I've used my linen table cloth to mimic the alb which Bob will wear under the stole.)

Here's what the back looks like at the stage:

Decisions to come:

(1) What to use for piping. These striped ties are a possibility.

(2) Create a dove which will be appliqued on the centre back.

(3) Decide on any other finishing embellishments.

So, now to take a bit of a break and walk to the library to return some books due today...think about what to make for dinner...and think about these next steps! Deliberate down time is crucial to my creative process. I have the best ideas either while knitting or walking.