Patchwork Clothes

February 14, 2015 by sewruth 40 Comments

When you hear that phrase, what do you think of?

Tree huggers and hippies? Charlie Chaplin and the Kid?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe the 1970s –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Late ’90s flirt with bohemia –

YSL and Giorgio Sant’Angelo again 1970

Certainly colourful, flowing, full skirted and wide bell-bottomed trousers – oh the things we wore!

Everything comes around and this year, patchwork is back! Albeit a little more refined perhaps and with a 2015 price tag.

Gucci patchwork S/S 2015

 

Gucci silk patchwork joggers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gucci silk patchwork jacket $7,200

The late, great Koos van der Akker shared many of his design with us via Vogue but I have never been brave enough to try one.

And catwalk trends this year are harking back to the 1970 vibe – which ultimately means patchwork and colour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now to my quilting class and my idea to sew a patchwork scarf. Scarf made, and a skirt, and a bag!

I believe this is called a French braid and the fabric selection is designed by Minnick & Simpson for Moda and called Lexington: the colours include whites, creams, tans, and blues.. Do you really want to know about strip sizes and patchwork techniques? Nah, we’ll just look at the pictures…….

I bought an extra 1.5m of the large flower design and made the best skirt in the world – V1247, lengthened, as always. I used up every scrap of my fabric: the skirt has a patchwork inset around the hem. It is lined with a heavy muslin and the patchwork bit is lightly quilted to it.

And with all the bits left over, you sew these together and create another 1/2m of fabric and I got a matching bag – Japanese Knot, downloaded from here.

So far I’ve worn the skirt and scarf with a big tough Ziggi biker jacket and navy boots to make it seem a little less twee and because it is winter and cotton skirts in February are really not such a good idea. So while Lizzy is making winter clothes in summer, I’m making summer clothes in winter.

Now, I know this isn’t actually possible…..but…..I buy little bitty bits of fabric, sew them together and end up with more yardage than I started with!?

See, I knew those quilters had the dark forces on their side and now I have the proof.