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.

Starting to Piece Bob's Stole

Here's an image of the initial piecing on my pressing board:

It was at this point that I realized I had to be careful not to have all the pieces meet at a central point because the seams will make this area thick and bulky.
There weren't a lot of orange and yellow ties in the collection, however I was able to use several of the tie linings, some of which were beautiful gold satins.
I like to put the work up on my design wall so that I can look at it vertically and from a distance:

The piecing is almost done. I'm going to leave it at this point for the weekend and come back with fresh eyes on Monday.

The Designing continues

My client commented that the first sketches are beautiful, making her think of a specific stained glass window that is particularly meaningful for the family.
She wondered if a radiating pattern like this stained glass were possible -- those sun bursts that start yellow and gradually fade to red. So, I have created another couple of sketches...


This will be a bit of a departure from my usual linear swirls but I'm looking forward to the technical challenges!
Meanwhile my husband took the ties apart while watching TV and I washed them yesterday...

After a couple of rinses, I spun them in my salad spinner, and then pressed them while damp and leave them hang to dry.

So, today will be spent cutting and stitching!

Beginning Another Stole for Ordination

A box of red ties arrived today...


I spent a pleasurable hour sorting them...

And thinking about possible designs:

Which one do you like?

I need to start work on this right away--Bob's ordination is September 17!