I have just returned from a wonderful weekend spent with friends from my 2015-17 Handweavers Diploma Group. Since completing our diploma, we have continued to meet and share weaving experiences, and set new challenges for ourselves. This year, we had embarked on a ‘Weaving to Wear’ challenge, where each of us set out to weave fabric which we then made into clothing. Just as before, we approached the challenge in different ways, using a great variety of methods and materials – the end result can be seen in our current exhibition hosted at the Handweavers Studio in London.
We are most grateful to Lesley Willcock, an experienced weaver and dressmaker, who mentored us through the process, and to Dawn Willey and the staff at Handweavers Studio for supporting the exhibition.
(from top left: woolen jacket and accessories – Jane Stockley; wool/silk top – Sandra Gruescu: indigo top – Jill Riley; safari linen/cotton top – Alison Stattersfield; linen/silk jacket – Lucy Robinson; woven bracelets – Sarah Fitzalan Howard; longline tweed jacket – Janice McGonigle; wool/silk jacket – Lesley Willcock)
We all learnt a lot from the challenge, and from each other – we are no longer daunted at the prospect of cutting our precious handwoven fabric, and we have shown that it can be made into a great variety of garments to wear. Looking forward to our next challenge now!
Jane Stockley 