Jill Altmann Design

 

In this post we move through the "Show and Tell" portions of the last Sage Weavers meeting.  This photo above is an example of the kind of art that is created by Jill A. in her weaving and dyeing studio. Jill has used natural dyes in  her work for a long time, but recently her emphasis is in using natural dyes that she grows in her own gardens.  

The handwoven top has many layers of complexity.  Jill wove the cloth  using a technique known as "woven shibori".  As the cloth is woven, there are  added threads which are pulled to create resists in the fabric when it is dyed. Sometimes these threads are in the warp and sometimes they are woven as weft pics.  Jill used a variety of dyes including coreopsis flowers and more.  The silk scarf was also dyed using resists which accent and go with  the top so beautifully.  The rust coloring in the scarf comes from Madder roots.  

Jill is  a great fan of indigo dyeing.  She attempted to grow her own plants a year ago, but air conditions and falling ash due to forest fires, weren't conducive to growing dye plants.  She hopes to attempt this again in the future. Jill is an expert in  indigo dye vats,  and has used some advanced techniques that include the addition of henna.  The photo to the left shows some of her indigo dyed cloths and yarns.  

The photo at the bottom of this post illustrates some of the details in color and weave structure that go into Jill's garments.

You can visit Jill's website for more eye candy from this talented weaver, dyer and seamstress.  https://www.jillaltmanndesign.com/

MzFiber comes to Reno

Eileen Lee of MzFiber traveled to Reno this past week to present a program on making clothing from handwoven cloth.  Eileen started weaving a few years ago on rigid heddle looms.  Soon she was giving lessons and then forging ahead on a couple of 8 shaft looms.  She is now interested in making clothing from her handwoven yardage and had all sorts of tips for our guild.





One of the first things that Eileen experimented with were shawls and the difficulty women have wearing them.  They are constantly slipping off your shoulders and you always need one hand available  to grip them.  Eileen started with putting a button closure so that the shawl would be connected in the front or be worn off the shoulder.  Then, she experimented with making ponchos by connecting two rectangles together with a knitted center piece.  She found that men also loved to wear these and did some custom commission work for a male customer.

 

Eileen recommends simple patterns with a minimal number of pieces.  Let the handwoven cloth shine and be the focal part of the garment and save more complicated patterns for commercial yardage.

 

 

Sometimes the intended use of a fabric, doesn't match Eileen's original vision.  In the photo below, the blue apron was once a shawl.  She didn't think that the stripe/plaid really made the cut as a shawl, so she turned it into this elegant apron (don't wipe your hands on this one☺)

 



Two close colors of yarn in warp make fabric richer in appearance 

A closely sett plain weave with a painted warp makes elegant fabric for a garment.





raw edge finishes for handwovens

interfacings, seams and buttonholes

 

Guild members enjoyed Eileen's presentation and want to thank her for showing us her techniques and her handwoven creations.  She has a Facebook page if you want to keep up with what is on her loom.

 



Diane Palme Workshop - Garments from Handwoven Cloth

Diane Palme presented the Reno Fiber Guild with a one day workshop about making garments from handwoven cloth.  The class was very well received and many attendees wanted to thank her personally for all the information she passed on to them. This post is a compilation of comments from attendees (fonts were changed to separate individual comments).   Diane also has a good blog with more information about her personal journey in making clothing from her handspun and handwoven cloth; please visit and browse her posts.

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What a great Kick Start to creating a garment for Convergence. I especially appreciated Diane's presentation skills. A very compact but thorough look at sewing with handspun, handwoven yardage.

One of my many take-away keepsakes is that my handspun yarn has weaving value and is fixable (over, under and not-plied issues). Yay!

P.S. I just picked up a copy of Handwoven Magazine--May/June 2014 and it fell open to an article by Diane (pg. 24) titled "Sampling by Design." - Gloria J.



First of all, Diane’s energy and enthusiasm for spinning, weaving, and teaching is inspiring! I need her vitamins.

Diane was both well organized and well spoken. As for the aspects that I enjoyed the most: a) learning about her use of handspun singles, steaming and sizing. b) What? Mixing values? c) refresher on the color-wheel components.

I did wish there had been time in the lecture to address specific handwoven yardage (s) that was brought. A day and $’s well spent. - Suzanne W.

I appreciated Diane's "engineering" approach to spinning and weaving and then turning that product into clothing. She made all of us feel comfortable and took our questions and comments well. It was a day well spent. Thanks to all who made it possible. - Gayle V.


I really enjoyed the class! She was an excellent teacher! Had many take aways! Sampling for me has always seemed so wasteful of time and materials, but I get it now! I too, was delighted to learn more about using my hand spun yarn. And I loved the color lesson and the little color wheel we got - very helpful. I bought 2 Vogue patterns this morning (on sale today on their web-site) - one a vest, the other a jacket in three different lengths. Thinking about making the vest for Convergence.

I think the best advise she gave us was to just try it out! I am looking at my stash with new eyes!

Thanks to the program committee for bringing her to us! And thanks Gloria for the reference -I think I have that issue of Handwoven as well. - Shelley N.

　

Diane’s ability to keep the "ball in the air" as she worked her way through the various processes about weaving, sampling and making that cloth into clothing was amazing. There was never a lull in her presentation and there were so many ideas and tips coming forth, that my mind never wandered from the subject at hand. I learned many things from this one-day workshop on making clothing from handwoven cloth; here are just a few things that I will carry forward.

1. Use a lighter colored warp and cross it with a darker weft

2. Warp five colors at once, then randomly select which ones to thread in the heddles.

3. Sample multiple setts before you decide on cloth for your garment.

4. The advice to "go for it". Yes, I know I can sew a vest and I know I have yardage for a vest. All I need is a kick in the pants to get going and actually make a vest!

A big huzzah for this workshop. Thanks, Diane. - Beryl M. 

Glad I was able to sit in for a couple of hours! A delightful woman with many skills under her wing- A well thought out presentation-interesting to see how her "roots (engineer)" played out in her work. She gave out a lot of practical information that probably was over many heads until they get down to making clothing from their own fabric. The best advice was to CUT-it is very freeing OR NOT TO CUT and play with rectangles, seams and simple design lines to create the shapes (tucks, darts, bias, etc.) She does need to purchase a serger as should most who want to sew with their handwovens , unless selvages will always be a part of the clothing design (gets rather limiting). Many of Lois Ericson's patterns (like Folkwear) are very useful, and remember, she was a weaver first, before a writer, teacher, and pattern drafter. - Jill A.

　
Thank you for bring this class to the guild. I am renewed with enthusiasm to get going on expanding into weaving material to make clothing. I was thrilled to sit there and learn new things and hearing everyone’s perspectives. Thank you for your part in making us more educated. - Sarah C.


What a great event! Diane really sparked my imagination and I'm looking forward to exploring some of her ideas. She was efficient, very knowledgeable and had a number of good suggestions. Thanks Beryl for your time and energy in arranging for her to come. - Laurel B.

Diane’s confidence and methods for using handspun singles as warp encourages me to try singles as warp again. I have always been reluctant because of the prevailing theory that handspun singles were only appropriate for weft. I guess I will jump in the deep end to see if I can make it work for me.

The discussion about color, color interaction and theory was very enlightening and will be helpful in future decisions. I have always liked to strive for complex color combinations and Diane’s presentation should help me implement my ideas.

The discussion in reference to what an appropriate handwoven fabric should be for use in sewing was very enlightening and very thorough. It is definitely time to move beyond plain weave and color and add a little more pattern in my cloth.

It was a very good one day presentation/workshop. A lot of information was provided with theory and practical experience to instill confidence in trying new projects. Thank you Diane for the presentation and thank you Beryl for facilitating the workshop. - igor

 

Diane's workshop was so enlightening and informative. Gave a whole new angle in looking at my looms. New ideas, new possibilities, new ways to use my handspun, and singles!!!!! as a warp. What an idea. I always figure singles were not strong enough. Now I don't have to ply all my handspun. And when I do, I can weave beautiful fabrics and make beautiful clothing. Totally a new angle to weaving handspun. Thank you Diane and Thank you Beryl. - Virva P.


The Diane Palme workshop was amazing, and very helpful. Just what I need as I stare at my large stash and try to remember what projects I had in mind when I bought all that yarn! Obviously most never started, let alone completed. Her organization of the material was outstanding, and her delivery rapid fire but very understandable. I'm amazed that she could keep up the pace. All the review sections were helpful, but particularly, the data on singles use in warp. I've always avoided it, and put something like cottolin in the warp and then 2 ply in the weft for garment cloth; but now I'll be braver. Would have liked a bit more on weights of cloth and yarn most suitable for different types of garments and shapes (I'm tired of all the things you can do with squares), and tailoring. But I'll just have to read more and observe construction more. I also took more notes and wrote faster that I thought I could--something like 32 pp! Bravo Beryl and all for organizing this. - Kay F.

Thanks to Diane, Beryl and all attendees. This workshop was just what I needed to remind me of how much valuable weaving and garment design and construction techniques have been stashed away in my brain. Looking forward to seeing everyone s results and progress. Nancy P.

Dee Jones Retrospective - October 9

The Reno Fiber Guild is pleased to have Dee Jones as their speaker for the October 9th meeting at the South Valleys Library.  The meeting will start at 6:30PM.

 

Dee is a prolific weaver who has sewn dozens of garments using her hand woven cloth over the past 25 years.  Since she is also an expert quilter and knitter, she often incorporates these elements into her  garments.  A fan of Lois and Diane Ericson, she likes unusual button closures and embellishments.  Dee also puts a surprise decoration on almost every garment lining; something for the wearer to secretly enjoy.

 

Dee will describe her design process with a slide show and handout.  For extra fun, Dee is letting the attendees try on vests and jackets for a mini fashion show. Wear a simple top and join us for a fun filled evening.