Hi; I’d love to see any examples people have of clothing they have made with, or inspired by, and of the course projects. I’m struggling a bit with the concept of weaving soooo many towels!! I know it’s all sampling and a learning experience, but I know I’d go into it with more oomph if I had an idea for a top or jacket at the end of a season rather than just another pile of towels! Even if I still made the towels - just some inspiration would be great! Thanks!

there is a Facebook group that is about sewing hand woven fabrics.

Somewhere in this forum, one woman wove and sewed a top. I wish I could remember which season. I keep thinking it was lace.
You are making cloth so weave it as wide and as long as you need then treat it like yardage of fabric.
Wash and iron your fabric the way you would treat the finished garment, then cut and sew your pieces.
Virginia West and others also have written books for methods using cloth with minimal cutting by simply folding and sewing.
Vav magazine and handwoven magazine have the occasional article on clothing as well.

Hi Karen,

I have made a dress with my woven fabric. My warp and weft were 8/2 cotton. After laying out the pattern pieces, I traced around each pattern piece. I sewed a zigzag stitch inside of the traced lines before cutting along the traced lines to prevent unraveling. My pattern was pretty basic with minimal curves and detailed cuts. However, if I had to do it again, I’d use thinner yarn as it was a bit stiff with little drape. I’ve found that 16/2 in warp and weft gives a nice drape, better for making garments. My problem is that I’m not a great seamstress, so I don’t see much handwoven clothing in my future. My daughters enjoying sewing so I’ve been passing fabric off to them.

Good luck,

Marty

I have made garments with my handwoven fabric. I’ve used threads as fine as 40/2 cotton, but I find 16/2 or 20/2 to work very well. Linen is great too! I have a tendency to use setts that are too close which results in less drape. I’m currently experimenting with different setts in Jane’s 16/2 cotton. I’d also like to try a cotton warp with a tencel or bamboo weft. I don’t have any issues cutting out or sewing. I cut out, then serge the edges with a narrow 3-thread overlock. If you don’t own a serger, you can use the overlock stitch on your sewing machine. I find a zig- zag stitch sometimes distorts the fabric edges. Don’t give up! It’s all a learning experience.
Weave on!
Denise