What does a Folkwear pattern have in common with Slow Stitching you ask? A little over a year ago I pulled a large piece of rusted hemp fabric from my stash and began to add embroidery to it. Here is the link to the original post where I posted early images of exploring spontaneity through stitch.

At that time I had already cut and joined most of the individual pieces for the Michiyuki jacket. The embroidery was intended to add visual and tactile texture for interest. Simple line designs in running stitch were to lead the eye across the piece.

All good things require time, energy and inspiration. After my initial investment of time, I abandoned the project in April last year to focus on the church commission and some much needed personal wardrobe enhancement for the summer.

Two weeks ago I pulled the partially assembled jacket from my sewing cupboard and committed to finishing this UFO. Looking at it with fresh eyes I realized that the hand stitching was successful and I just needed to line the jacket and complete it at this stage.

I sewed on the buttons a couple of days ago and am very pleased with the overall look. I particularly like the way the back seam has turned out with the additional embroidery.

Following are a few close-up images to show you how the rusted textures and added embroidery support the overall design.

As I am tidying up the studio today I am busy pulling other unfinished projects from my stash. Individual pieces for another jacket, completely different from the Japanese Michiyuki, are pinned to the dress form. Upon inspection, I decided to add some hand quilting to the printed fabric. Stay tuned and check future blog posts!

Hope everyone had a productive and creative February. Enjoy your bonus day tomorrow!!! Looking forward to connecting in March. Happy weekend, everyone.

28 Feb This entry was published on February 28, 2020 at 10:53 am. It’s filed under Art, Contemplative art practice, Creativity Update, Design, Journaling, Special Project, staying in touch and tagged Blog, blogging, Design, Folkwear Pattern #143, Inspiration, Japanese Michiyuki, Learning, rusted fabric, rusted hemp fabric, Slow Stitching, slow stitching project, writing. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.