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.

Not an official hiatus, just a sorta hiatus. I'm going to post-pone putting up the Monday Moods for a little while as I gather up more ideas. Never fear, I'll add some more eventually, but I'm working on another project at the moment, so being able to go outside to find inspiration has been diminished. As the items develop, I'll be sure to let you know. On a side note, I'm currently working on projects to connect handwoven items with store-bought fabric. Not certain if it will be entirely handmade (i.e. cutting out the pieces and the like) or up-cycling other items found at thrift stores. We'll see; it should prove interesting.

One of the hardest things I do is not so much difficult as it is not a habit ... yet. What is this, you ask? Keeping a journal. The Swatch Journal A journal?! If you've visited here on a regular basis, you'll probably remember I'm also a writer by profession (check out the blog, here ) Subsequently, writing should be something I do naturally, but it isn't. The primary reason is simply the process involved with writing the journal. Today, I'm going to focus on three different journals a weaver keeps: a swatch journal, idea journal and finished projects. For each of these, you'll need a journal, pen, pencils, glue and whatever else you want to make the journal yours. The journals may be a book, like the ones I'll show in here, or they can be a notebook, or even a file on your computer, tablet or phone. Swatch Journal or the Weaver's Journal This journal, like the one shown above, is a record of what I've woven. In this journal, I keep a r...

Not much going on today in regards to weaving, so I wanted to let you see a beautiful Fibonacci scarf in black and orange.

On Wednesday, I introduced the concept of creating a color palette. Today, I'm going to focus on the next step: choosing yarns. Once you have the palette, you need to choose the yarn or fabric based upon the theme. If your local store doesn't have colors available, the Internet often provides a good choices as well. For me, I like using my local weaving store's yarn supply, so while I have a palette available, it is often a guideline for the colors. In the Rocky Weed colors above, I don't have those exact colors, but I have a close proximity to each color.  One way you can expand your colors is by thinking a little outside the box of colors. For example, in the selection of yarn colors I have, I don't have any grays, but I do have blues and greens that would work for gray. The next step is to mix the yarns together. At this point, you can travel many paths, but two primary ones are whether or not to include textural inspiration from the photograph. In...

If you've been visiting the Bryony Studio site for any length of time, you have noticed the Monday Moods color palettes. Part of the reason I started them was to provide a color scheme for people to have. The other reason was to show how we can find inspiration from anywhere around us. Case in point, the last two or three photos ( Old Painted Walls , Brownstone and Speckle Stone ) are all off my back porch. Other photographs come from trips around the area or abroad. When weaving, some of the hardest parts is choosing colors. Most people have a standard color scheme they prefer for fashion, home interiors, vehicles and whatever else strikes their fancy. In my family, it falls into the blue  family. Accents tend to be brown, especially wood tones, or the occasional pop of color from whatever quilt I made. For me, I tend to work with purples and grays - two of my favorite colors in fact. What I find difficult is blending the warmer colors. Nature provides us a variety of c...

I've recently posted about how I'm using cotton for my warp and chenille for my weft in a series of scarves, ponchos and wraps ( here ), but I haven't mentioned using chenille for both warp and weft. There is good reason - I rarely do. Rayon Chenille Scarf This is an up-close photograph of a chenille scarf I wove a year or two ago. Notice the lovely sheen to it. Compare it to the cotton/chenille mixture below in a side-by-side shot: Rayon Chenille and Cotton/Chenille Scarves While the cotton/chenille scarf is beautiful, the full chenille scarf is both more luxuriant and softer to the touch. It also drapes better, almost like a silk, howbeit a fairly heavy silk. The other major difference between the two scarves is the weight - the full chenille is heavier. Over Appleumpkin weekend, I had a lady place an order for a scarf: it had to be purple, and she preferred the full chenille scarf opposed to the mixture. I purchased my cones of yarn (a pound was needed...

First, some news: the Saturday Artisan Market at Canalside didn't go as planned for the second time this month. We're on the terminal end of the Erie Canal before it goes into Lake Erie, and wind is always an issue. The last two Saturday Artisan Markets have had sustained winds in the 20 mph range - not good for tents, let me assure you. However, we will be there (providing the winds die down) the first three Saturdays of October should anyone want to come visit. I'll be at Appleumpkin in Wyoming NY this weekend. Now, the news aside, onto the scheduled post: Moonlight over Deep Waters. So, this poncho (which I think is gorgeous by the way) was partly inspired by my book, Azure Maris . The book cover is a link that leads you to the Amazon website where I do earn a little money off the clicks. For those who haven't had a chance to visit my Bridgette ni Brian site, and learn about Azure, she is a mermaid princess-priestess from the kingdom of Deep Waters. The po...

Probably like many people, I like the feel of soft and luxurious chenille. I have a purple scarf I wove up last year made with rayon chenille for both warp and weft. It has a nice weight and drape to it, but I don't have as much yardage on one of my chenille cones of yarn as I do with the 8/2 cotton I use. A couple years ago, I saw an advertisement in Handwoven's magazine about a bath towel using chenille and cotton (weft and warp respectively). The idea stuck, so I ended up trying it out on a smaller scale. Rayon Chenille and Cotton Cones The rayon chenille has 1450 yards/pound while the 8/2 cotton has 3300 yards/pound. The colors are respectively, Spruce and Teal. The chenille runs about $10 per pound and the 8/2 cotton at $8 per pound at Daft Dames in Akron NY, my local yarn store. Chenille is one of those yarns that needs to be woven securely in that there are now loose strands. Once going through the wash, the chenille will lose the fuzzy part that makes the chen...