Karen Sieradski, Eugene Weavers’ Guild, Eugene, OR
Winner: Best in Show
Name/Description: Open Cardigan Jacket, called “Medallion”
Made For?: Woman
Size: XS
Fabric Construction: Woven
Fabric Construction – Other:
Woven Structure: The fabric is a weft-faced twill using Handweaving.net #56663. It requires ten shafts and ten treadles. I wove the fabric on a Macomber floor loom.
Yarn Details and SETT: I used 8/2 cotton warp in gray and 8/2 Tencel weft in soft jade. It was sett at 24 epi and a near to 24 ppi as I could beat.
Handspun Details:
Stitches:
Special Treatments:
Textile Finishing: To finish the fabric I washed it by machine with soap and cold water, including a rinse cycle and spin cycle. I laid it flat to dry, then pressed it with a steam iron on the wool setting.
Textile Challenges: I had no trouble weaving the fabric for “Medallion”.
Garment Construction: “Medallion” is an open cardigan style jacket. It is a loose-fitting style with set-in sleeves. The interfaced fabric lent itself well to shaping by steam iron, tailor’s ham, and clapper. The hem is sewn by hand, and the lining is attached at the sleeve cuffs by hand. The back of the garment has a partially stitched inverted pleat that, while attractive, is a point of weakness. I reinforced it at the vulnerable place by stitching a small rectangle through all thicknesses.
Lining: I applied a light-weight iron-on interfacing to the entire yardage after wet-finishing. The lining is a commercial satin. Although the commercial pattern is described as an unlined jacket, I prefer lined coats and jackets for ease and beauty.
Special Features: This jacket was a gift for my daughter-in-law. I call it “Medallion” for the many appliques of medallions that decorate the surface. Many years ago, in Japan, I visited a kimono factory. For sale among other beautiful textiles were 14′” wide samples of brocades used for obi sashes. Woven of silk and metallic threads, they were gorgeous, and I had to have them. I knew they could be cut into beautiful appliques, but did not have a plan. After I had been weaving for a few years, I decided to weave yardage to serve as the ground for the appliques and make jackets for gifts and for sale. I chose the jade color in the jacket fabric weft and in the satin lining to enhance the jade in the brocade medallions.
Pattern: The garment is based on Simplicity B6796, size 8. That is approximately ready-to-wear size 4-6.
Garment Challenges: Before attaching the cut-out pieces to the jacket fabric, I had to create a composition of them on the jacket front and back. I took my time with this. When satisfied with the composition, I pinned the pieces through the fabric and into a tear-off stabilizer in the back. I used a close zigzag stitch–satin stitch–to attach the motifs to the jacket fabric. Circles are challenging to appliqué evenly. It must be done slowly and carefully. At times, the metallic thread of the brocade fabric would cut my sewing machine thread. I had to take care to place the needle precisely where it was unlikely to encounter more than a minimum of metallic thread in the motif.
