Saori Blue Jacket of my Handspun Yarns

I wanted to create a Saori inspired jacket of handspun I had accumulated the past couple of years. The fabric was inspired by the color way for the 2012 Carolina Fiber frolic dyed by Sarah DeRoo (aka Copper Corgi). I also purchased some of her blue hand dyed silk fiber which worked in nicely after the 8 oz of the Fiber Frolic handspun disappeared. The predominately wool fiber was used in the body and the silk appears in the sleeves and bodice. Inspired by the Japanese Saori book I purchased from Denise Prince, I designed a jacket that would drape well, have an uneven hem and utilize the fringed warp. After stay stitching all of the edges, I took a deep breathe and started cutting. I hand basted the entire jacket together to make sure it fit and the angled sides draped well. It worked! So I started sewing it together flat felling the raw edge seams. Once it was sewn the next step was adding the finishing touches. That involved crocheting the edges of the color and the cuffs with a warp thread and the yak handspun held together. I finished it off with 3 buttons that I made at the Clay Spot last year. It will spend May and half of June at our Fiber Guild of the Savannahs’ show and sale at the Coastal Discovery Center at Hilton Head, SC. Then next Winter I can start enjoying it when the temperatures get cool here in Savannah. Kudos and thanks go to my brother Jeff who passed away in October. He is my inspiration as he was a talented artist exploring color in spectacular ways. Jeff was the one who suggested that I start adding the complement to my color ways… Thus the orange. And it works, doesn’t it? It’s just the punch it needed!