Karen Sieradski, Fashion Show Committee Chair

The best part of the 2023 ANWG Fashion Show is seeing how fiber artists bring their skills and imagination to fruition in wearable creations. I can hardly wait to see what Northwest weavers send in!

We have structured the fashion show awards to encourage entries using any number of shafts, with specific categories for four or fewer shafts.  Of course, the structures you can achieve with more than four shafts are also stunning, so we want to see those, too!

The purpose of the fashion show is to share the love of applied weaving with others. My affinity for textiles was a genetic gift from my mother, who excelled at sewing and knitting. She taught me how to thread a needle, and I would raid her fabric stash for scraps to turn into simple garments for my dolls. Through my school days and career years I made blouses, trousers, skirts, dresses, coats and suits. I took sewing classes and participated in shows and competitions. Although I never won an award, I enjoyed the process and loved seeing everyone’s garments.

Over the years, my sewing production decreased as time got scarcer. I would often tell my friends, “In my next life, I’m going to be a textile designer!” Well, guess what? After I retired and took a weaving class, my passion for textiles was rekindled and redirected in the most satisfying way. What fabric stores were for me in the past is what the local textile shop is for me now. That’s where I find my guild, fibers, teachers, and inspiration.

A perk of guild membership is sharing items at meetings, and wearables are especially fun to see and share. That is why the fashion show is a highlight of the conference. It will be a tea room fashion show, in which the models walk among tables where the audience is seated. You may model your garment yourself or designate another person to model it. Volunteer models will also be recruited, as needed. Regardless of who shows the garments, all entries will be deeply appreciated by fellow weavers.

Awards for the 2023 Fiber Connections Conference Fashion Show

• Best in Show
• Best garment made of handwoven fabric with four shafts or fewer
• Best garment made of handwoven fabric with more than four shafts
• Best garment made with felted fabric
• Best garment made with handspun yarn
• Best scarf or shawl knitted with handspun yarn
• Best garment construction
• Best use of design
• Best scarf or shawl handwoven with four shafts or fewer
• Best scarf or shawl handwoven with more than four shafts
• Most innovative garment (unusual materials, structure, color and/or design)
• Best interpretation of conference theme, “Fiber Connections”
• Best use of conference colors
• Judge’s choice

Entries will be accepted beginning in January, 2023.

https://anwgconference.org/archive/2023//fashion-show/

I hope you will plan now to weave and sew for the show!

Stay updated

The Weaving Guilds of Oregon conference steering committee is very busy planning for the upcoming Association of Northwest Weavers’ Guilds Conference at the Riverhouse Hotel and Convention Center in Bend, Oregon, June 11-18, 2023. Please continue to visit our website for information and conference updates. If you would like to receive information delivered to your inbox, please subscribe to the conference blog.