Terry Mattison, Portland Handweavers Guild, Longview, WA
Winner: Best Garment Construction, sponsored by Eugene Weavers Guild
The Virginia Harvey Award for Best Use of Color in a Woven Work, sponsored by Seattle Weavers Guild
Name/Description: Lichen Tunic
Made For?: Woman
Size: XXL
Fabric Construction: Woven
Fabric Construction – Other:
Woven Structure: Dornick twill, 8 shafts. Parallel countermarche loom (Louet Delta)
Yarn Details and SETT: Warp: 2/18 Wool/silk blend (80% wool20% silk). Weft: 2/30 Merino woolSett at 35 epi
Handspun Details:
Stitches:
Special Treatments: Yarn dyed by myself. I used Lanaset acid dyes: 3 primary colors and black to create a palette of 14 colors. I varied the depth of shade for a few of them. I wound the warp bouts into two groups: the wider bouts and the narrow framing bouts and layed them out to paint them before setting the dyes. The spring green bouts were vat dyed.
Textile Finishing: I carefully wet-finished/slightly fulled in my front-loading washing machine on the delicate cycle. Then I placed them in the dryer on low heat for a few minutes until slightly damp. Lastly gave them a good press and hung overnight.
Textile Challenges: The warp was slightly sticky/fuzzy. I had sampled on my table loom and a more open sett did not produce the nicely fulled fabric I was was going for. So I had to deal with that for several yards!
Garment Construction: I love this pattern as it has so many options for future modifications but for a designer pattern I found the construction wanting. There was no facing or finishing where the collar meets the body pieces and the collar itself called for thin hems around. I found myself figuring out how to line the whole thing which was quite the exercise! I really should’ve made a practice piece first! I did lengthen the front of the garment as well.
Lining: The lining is purchased silk habotai that I had to dye because I couldn’t find the right shade of green anywhere. Pattern called for interfacing at center front pieces which I used. I also used a lightweight woven interfacing in the collar as it was a floppy mess without.
Special Features:
Pattern: Butterick B5891, Katherine Tilton
Garment Challenges: I had to piece the collar as it was a long serpentine thing, to be cut cross grain. It was an odd shaped piece and I didn’t have enough fabric to get it cut and seamed so the center collar seam would match the center back seam exactly. I was super bummed out about that. Creating new pattern pieces for the lining was something I had to do, that was a bit of a learning experience.
