Adding to the jackets

I am still working away, slowly, on my jacket.  I have now sewn up the seams and have to decide whether or not to cut the edges and then sew a blanket stitch around them all.  That is what Raewyn recommended. She said to sew it from the back so that the stitching is not too obvious but still gives an attractive edging.  It will work as a sort of embellishment.
Some of the embellishments that are on the jackets were added as the felting process happened but some were added on at the very end.

You could even add a collar after the jacket was finished, if you wanted to.  I haven't made a collar but may end up making one (I still have enough wool roving to do this) as I think it will look better with one.
Crochet could be added as a further enhancement along the edges but I don't think I have the patience for that.

Still working on the felted jacket

Since I've been home from the workshop I have not done the finishing off.  I don't have that much to do to finish it but I don't have the inspiration of the other ladies to egg me on.  Plus, I am finding plenty of other things that need doing.  I suppose that is one of the huge advantages of going on a 4 day workshop - you are away from all the usual distractions and are with some very focussed people.
I will get to it this week-end - I hope.

It was good to see the felted jackets change from bulky-looking objects - despite the softer than usual drape of the felt - to well fitted garments.

Felting excitement.

Yesterday I attended a talk by Raewyn Penrose at the Brunswick campus of RMIT.  She was talking about her felted clothing and had some samples for us to handle.  I couldn't get over the softness of the felt and its drape.  One of the interesting things about Raewyn's work is that she comes from a tailoring background and likes to make clothes that fit well.  So she is not afraid to cut the felt.  The pieces were lovely.

Raewyn has been invited over from New Zealand to show her work in the Fabricate Invites 2010 exhibition being put on by the Victorian Embroiderers' Guild.  It is opening tdoay at the Malvern Artists' Society, 1297 High St, Malvern, Victoria, and runs till May 2nd.

Raewyn is running a workshop in June, at Crockett Cottage 43 Studio in Mansfield and I have booked to attend.  I am feeling even more excited about it now that I have seen and handled her work in person!

Textile Fibre Forum magazine had an article about Raewyn's work in Issue 4, no 96, 2009.