A Renaissance for Your Ethnic Treasures
Miao silk embroidery from Southwest China
If you happen to be a fiber fanatic, you undoubtedly have a special collection of small treasured ethnic pieces in your stash: Guatemalan or Andean weavings, Molas*, Hmong needlework, Japanese kimono remnants, Bedouin embroidery, etc.… Most likely your collection has been there for some time! Maybe it’s time for their rebirth and transformation into your own creations.
Since these pieces have such unique techniques, color, texture, and shape, they are often difficult to* incorporate into contemporary works. Recently I have been experimenting with new approaches to creating wearables with ethnic art. I’d like to pass on some guidelines I have developed from my own and others’ experiences.
1. Select the piece or pieces that interest you most for your project. Take time to consider the many details of the artist’s work. Explore the colors, lines, angles, thickness, curves, symbols, energy, fabric (silk, cotton, wool…), and theme. If possible, become acquainted with the cultural region and the fiber techniques utilized. As I work with ethnic treasures I like to feel a bonding with the person who created such a piece of beauty!
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| Miao Embroidery illustration French Knots and Silk Folding |
2. Decide what type of item will best display your treasure: a wall hanging, table runner, pillow, jacket, blouse, skirt, slacks, shawl, hat, or coat. Starting with a small item is best, if you’re a novice. Personally, I prefer clothing because I can share the art with others.
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| Five Continents Vest |
3. Find or design a pattern that will provide the best options to show off the uniqueness of your ethnic treasure. Usually a design with simple lines provides the best showcase. I have enjoyed using the Plaza jacket pattern from The Sewing Workshop because of the ease in working with its rectangular shapes. The pattern appeared in Threads March 2006, page 68.
4. What will be your primary fabric? Keep samples of the project handy as you look through your fabric collection and other sources. Consider color, texture, weight, comfort, and use of item. When you have found the fabrics and notions display everything on your work table and play with possibilities of construction: joining, overlapping, framing….. I often like to experiment with making bias strips of some of the fabrics as possible design options
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| Winter Flowers Vest |
5. Explore sewing techniques that provide fabric manipulation and embellishment for your project.
a. Echo the spirit of the ethnic treasure into your fiber creation. I try to echo with the use of color, thread, line, repetition, and subject matter. Repetition of these elements helps provide integration and unity in the new piece.
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| Indigo Cloche |
b. Windows (which essentially serve as fabric frames) are one of my favorite techniques and serve as an attractive showcase for pieces of varying size. Detailed instructions for these easy to make openings are found in the Threads January 2006 article entitled “No Fear Welt Pockets” on page 68.
Photo shows the use of windows in my silk jacket entitled Miao Miao which features the delicate embroidery of the Miao people of Southwest China.
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| Miao Miao Jacket |
c. Sleeve and collar embellishment panels are a unique choice of design if you are making jackets, coats, or shirts. Women of Southwest Asia often display their best embroidered handwork on sleeves and collars. The indigo Guatemalan fabric of the jacket combines well with Vietnamese Hmong embroidery in the Folkwear pattern 134.
d. Throughout the project, check continually for integration of the elements, balance and unity before undertaking the next step. Do all the parts come together to reflect a strong unity and harmony? Does the eye keep moving as it views the various elements.
e. Small remnants are useful on pockets and tucked into
Appropriate seams. I enjoy being whimsical when I use leftovers to decorate the lining!
f. Give your creation a name and include the source of your ethnic pieces somewhere in the labeling. It will be a sweet memory for you and others viewing your work. View B
g. Enjoy sharing your fiber art with the world. Before a recent journey to Southwest China, I made a jacket (illustrated in view ?) decorated with pieces of the Miao people’s fine satin stitch and French knots to wear in the Miao villages. They loved seeing me dressed in their own embroidery and as I walked along the streets many people smiled and gave me thumbs up. It was a perfect fiber passport and provided an entre into the lives of the many Miao fiber artists.
May your treasures enjoy their Rebirth!
I would appreciate any ideas from your experiences and/or questions.
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