Zen Jacket

And here is the jacket I made from the fabric of the previous post, Throw the Shuttle, Beat the Threads. 

This year, I've had lots of fun experimenting with new yarns and creating new fabrics.

 

For this warp I used a hand-painted skein of Bamboo Lace from Blue Heron Yarns and combined it with a solid green Bambu 7 from Silk City sett at 18 ends per inch. The weft was 8/2 Tencel.

 

The finished fabric drape is amazing. I wanted to keep the garment simple to show off the beauty of the color changes. It started out as a simple kimono. Then I added panels under the arms for more ease. It seemed to need something more in front. So I added a shaped neckline with an extra panel for an assymetric front and buttons.

 

The sleeves were twice as long but I didn't like the way they hung. I folded the fabric back on itself and stitched which gave it more stability.

 

I love this jacket. And woven into the fabric is the memory of my much needed zen moments that helped create it.

 

Throw The Shuttle, Beat The Threads

Ever since leaving an office job to study fiber arts, the loom has been my constant companion. And fibers and colors have been my inspiration. 

I do periodically find myself immersed in a creative project on the computer using digital photos and Photoshop. And yes, I get a bit compulsive when I'm working on one of these projects, I hardly come up for air. I have this thing . . . I don't want to stop until it's perfect, especially when it's a commission.

But today, when I finished the computer part of the project, all I could think of was my loom waiting patiently in the corner.

The rhythmic throwing of the shuttle and the beating of the threads into place were just what I needed. No need to think. No need to obsess. No deadline. Just "throw the shuttle, beat the threads, throw the shuttle, beat the threads, throw the shuttle, beat the threads . . ." Ahhh, this is my meditation. This is the space I need right now. This is the way it's been done for centuries, one thread at a time produces a cloth.

And this is where the woven cloth and technology meet.