Bryony Studio

Creating accessories for my dresses and tops are part of the enjoyable part of weaving, though currently, I haven't actually made a set. Sometimes, I have extra fabric leftover from other projects and need to create items for it. Clutch The above clutch was an example of leftover warp. I ended up using up the chenille weft for the warp, and still had close to 20" left on the warp which I didn't want to waste. Thankfully, I had some wool yarn which went with the warp and weft. Since I had wanted to experiment with Danish medallions again, I decided to use this warp for the experiment, though the wool didn't felt as much as I expected it would. This is an example of beautiful items made from little pieces of material. The material is too small for a scarf, but not useful for much of anything else. At this point, I tend to use the fabric to make purses. One thing to remember when using handwoven fabric for a purse is the need for a lining, otherwise items might

Last week, I showed you a dress from material I wove. This week, I'm going to focus on patterns versus no patterns. No Pattern To the right is a photograph of my sister modeling a dress I made from handwoven fabric. In this case, the dress was used with no pattern (i.e. I designed as I went). It is created using five panels, three of which are eight inches shorter than the other two. The longer panels form the front of the dress, and include the casing for the halter strap; the shorter pieces form the back and sides. Benefits For using handwoven fabric, it's fairly easy to say one major benefit is being able to simply design. Knowing how much fabric I had, I could divide the fabric into the panels, adding and subtracting as I went. This works out well when I have fabric, but not exactly certain what I want to do with it. Problems For this particular style of design, having a dressmaker's dummy is almost a necessity. It helped me by giving me a model that didn'

With summer right around the corner, one of the things I've wanted to explore is clothing. I had a photo of a poncho two weeks ago, modeled so graciously by my younger sister, but ponchos are good for spring and autumn, not so much for the summer. For summer, I always want something comfortable. I live in Western NY, and while we may not have the endless heat and humidity the South might have, it does reach into the 80 degree mark regularly. Add with that our bountiful sunshine, something lightweight and comfortable is a necessity. Handwoven garments (even on my rigid heddle loom at 12.5 dpi) are perfect as seen in this photograph below: Green Striped Summer Dress I normally work with plus-sized fashion, partly because that is where I fall in my own sizing, but also because I find little for the plus-sized woman who wants beautiful handcrafted items. While my sister isn't plus-sized, only a few adjustments were needed for the dress to fit her. This is one of beautifu

Last week I mentioned the new series "Beyond the Scarf", and its focus on creating items beyond straight garments. Two Scarves, Wool and Cotton Scarves, of course, can be practical, useful items. I live in Western New York (near Buffalo), and a good scarf in the middle of winter is a valuable accessory, but I can only wear so many scarves at once, and with my coat, I only need one or two scarves, yet I enjoy weaving. Now, however, I'm working on ways I can move beyond simple scarves. Some of the items I've used scarf width (10" at the max) material for include: Dishcloths Runners Purses/clutches Totes Dress Coat Shirt Some of the items are easier to make such as dishcloths - all you need to do is cut them down so they form a fat rectangle. After the cloth is hemmed, it should form a square. Purses, clutches and totes are all easy to make as well, depending on how items are made. I often use my scrap fabric for clutches, but for purses and tot

Over the winter, I've been working on weaving up lengths of fabric, trying to decide what to do with most of it. Beginning on Tuesday, I'm going to start a new series called, "Beyond the Scarf." What I found frustrating when I was learning how to weave was the many 'beginner' projects included items I never used - table runners, table mats, scarves and other items. I've always enjoyed making my own clothes, and surprisingly, very little fabric is needed to make clothes. This poncho was made from cloth woven on a rigid heddle loom, but I've learned I can create other items that are both attractive and beyond the boxy cuts we usually associate with handwoven fashion.

It's been a crazy little while focusing on writing books, but I've been able to have some time to weave. Currently, focusing on producing lengths of material, primarily for scarves. Over the past year, I purchased a bunch of cones of yarn, and while I used most of them, I have some half-filled cones of yarn. To that end, I've been working through the yarn to see what I can create. It's proved interesting seeing how I can use the yarn. Unfortunately, it seems when I finish the warp, I need more yarn for the weft. Such is the problem with weaving. Also, I'm working on creating cotton warp with chenille weft projects. It'll be interesting to see if I can use the cotton/chenille material for clothes. On a side note, the book I'm currently working on has a main character who is a weaver. Some of the items I'll be focusing on over the next few months is creating items connected to the book.

One of the things most weavers have after awhile is a collection of leftover yarn. It's easier to purchase cones of yarn, but I rarely use all the yarn for a project. Now I have bits and bobs of various colors. Not all the colors go together, but sometimes they do. In this case, since it's getting close to March, and I had a lot of green, I opted to play with the greens. Ended up emptying two more cones just in the warp. I chose a rich forest green as the primary color (both for the warp and weft). With the forest color, I alternated another four colors: serenity, olive, teal and sea green. Out of the five colors, serenity was the only one not technically green, but was actually a pale blue. You can see it in the photograph above (second color on the left). While weaving, however, the blue blends in with the other colors quite well. I put on about five yards of warp, which should turn into a couple of scarves, one of which could be extra long. I won't know for cert

Two weeks ago, I warped up my loom with a new length of material. Weaving the lace at 10 dpi left an open and airy fabric, very lightweight and beautiful. As you can see, it is rather open, though not as much as I thought it would be. I have about six yards of material. Four of the pieces I wove off at shorter lengths, intending them to be made into a skirt later. What I hadn't expected was the shrinkage after washing the material. What was originally about twenty-four inches shrank to a little over eighteen inches. Yet, despite the surprises, I think this will wind up making beautiful garments. I think it would make a good summer top, or with a contrasting layer underneath, it would make a wonderful gown or skirt. I look forward to see what I can use this material for, and how it could be made with different materials.

One of the things I love about weaving is the ability to experiment. It's fun trying different fibers, weave structures and color combinations. Currently, I'm working on an open weave structure based upon weaves from previous designs. The original version was like the ones above: lace weave done in cotton at 12.5 dpi. I had woven something similar at a wider spacing (7.5 dpi) with cotton and wool. The photograph below shows what happens with wool and cotton.     What I wanted to discover is if the same process would work at a 10 dpi. In other words, would I be able to make an attractive fabric with a wider lace design? Ideally, the project will turn into a dress, but I'll have to see how it washes up first.   Hopefully, it will turn out somewhat like I thought it would be. 

So I ended last year with a warp, a beautiful burgundy warp of chenille and cotton. My intention was to turn it into a tunic of some sort, but it ended up being a Christmas present. Ah well, sometimes things happen, I've learned. One of my biggest surprises for Christmas was receiving a dressmaker's dummy. Very excited about this because now I can start to design clothes with the material I weave up. I currently have material on the dummy as I write, but I'm still mulling over the design. I have great respect for fashion designers who can make beautiful garments for the masses. I'll post photographs later on. I hope everyone has a happy new year.