Fibreshed Melbourne

The Challenge!

To make an outfit from locally sourced raw products, that have or will be processed locally, with products that are local, and then made locally.

In Australia, our local Fibreshed range is within a 500km radius, which covers Victoria, some parts in NSW, and Tasmania… so not too bad….. for Wool & Alpaca!

Ok, so I am a seasoned knitter, crocheter and a professional seamstress, so there was never any doubt that I would make the garments… ‘Made Locally’ tick!

I have also now been spinning for 2 years, so I can contribute to the yarn making, I also have a carder for processing….. wait on just a minute…. My lovely Second hand Spinning wheel it a Castella, made in Gladydale Vic, from locally sourced Blackwood, , but where do all those metal parts come from? My Carder is an Ertoel, a company in Doreen, it is an old one, but where did all those parts come from?... are you with me, here? There is no stipulation as to where the tools are from, and boy when you start thinking about local it does your head in a little.  

Ok, so I have the wheel, the carder, 3 loom(one is from an old Melbourne company too), heaps of knitting needles, I have knitting machines, sewing machines…. I also have a stash of fabric & haberdashery to last a life time or 2. So I could safely never buy anything again!... and I figure if I already have it, it is OK!

So if the larger % of the garment is local then it is acceptable to me to use up some items from the sewing room to complete and make the finish product wearable and will last…. Therefore also considering ‘Slow Fashion’ another great philosophy.

Here is the Link with more information on Fibreshed http://www.fibershed.com/

Here is the Link with more information on Slow Fashion https://slowfactory.com/blogs/news/9032951-the-slow-fashion-movement

Moving right along, I was gifted some alpaca and sheep’s fleece… great! local, and free!… but not free of dust and augh dead flies and cocoon… should I ditch this… no, because my mother always told me to ‘never look a gift horse in the mouth’!.... so I can try and spin it, I can also try and felt it. Will it be a special treasure…. maybe not, but is was free!

Now I also took a trip to the ‘Bendigo Sheep and Wool show’ back in 2015, ooooh spinner and knitter’s heaven, and so many local products to be purchased too! So I added to my fibre stash some Alpaca bumps from ‘Fibre Naturally’ and some raw corridale fleece from North East Yarns.

I also picked up some very old cones of natural yarn, made at the old Yarra Falls mill in Abbotsford. This mill was taken over by Australian Country Spinners, it is no longer there and all production is in Wangaratta. This little purchase was perfect, if you remember I am a new spinner so getting all this yarn ready to make an outfit was always going to be a struggle.

As it turns out, creating a whole outfit that could be worn in its entirety did not happen, and rather I made items to add to my wardrobe and pair up with existing items.

Firstly, the Alpaca from Fibre Naturally (which was a dream to spin from the bumps), spun, plied and knitted by me, from I pattern I wrote for an Australia company. (Oh I forget to mention I write knitting patterns too). Now this little gem, would have been better with smaller needles, but I was really pushing the gauge to officially make my first hand spun top, rather than loads of hand spun wraps, cowls & beanies. This top has been worn and worn, and would make any 'Slow Fashionista' proud. I even made a Shawl Pin from some Myrtle wood that was from a tree we sadly had to cut down.

 

Secondly, the Corriedale fleece from North East Yarns, was flicked, spun, plied, washed, knitted all by me, and the pattern was mine too! Now this was some feat for me…. My first hand spun from rare fleece to a full man size Jumper!

Next up, I joined the Fibreshed Knit-a-long and using the cones of natural yarn from old mill, made the Radiator Wrap Then with some left over and knitted up a pair of wristlets, again one of my patterns.

 

The old factory yarn on the cone was brilliant, so managed to knit up a skirt that will match nicely with the Wrap…. I am now looking forward to Winter as I think it will look rather nice with some black tights to keep me warm.

Finally, the fly bite fleece! I am always up for a challenge, and this sure was. First I washed it and it was so yuck! Then I picked and carded it, this took a few sittings. Then the spinning, this was not the spinning dream that the Corriedale was either. It took forever, and to be honest as I spun it, I decided that the colour that was a non descript grey… well more of a dirty grey, again yuk!

After the spinning I thought I might just experiment with some natural dyes, this was not so successful, and the wool had Alder cones thown at it…. not much change, Alder leaves and branches, still nothing exciting, loquat leaves thrown at it… ok a little colour, not bad….. that was just for 2 skiens. I had 2 more! So to the trusty old eucalypts! The final result of the 2 was not great, but it was 100% better than the natural colour.

Off to the loom, then just plain wove my way to some nice chucky … but nowhere near enough cloth to make anything. So what do I do?...This fleece was not going to beat me! ....I know!, I have some left over Corriedale. So back to the loom and voila, a jacket. Buttons made by me out of some red gum I found in my husband’s wood pile.

Now this is where I stretched the Fibreshed rules. If I am to make a jacket that will stand the test of time, I was going to sew it… and line it!.... However, no new notions or lining were purchased… I dived into my stash and used some of my stash to make a garment that is worth the trouble it took to make it.

I must add that I just cut this without a pattern, with the no waste, Saori style clothing ideals in mind.

 

Now for what I did not get done…

I felted some gifted Alpaca, I have started to make a bag and am using the scraps to breath new life into some old clogs. I tried to rush this through but it needs time.

I have some lovely Gotland and English Leister spun and ready to use.
I also have loads of nice bits and pieces to spin, all local.

I was also just gifted some more alpaca, so my poor sewing room looks pretty grim.

Oh and some Slow Merino fleeces to process, but I want to take my time on this one.

I also have a husband that loves to collect wood for the wood pile, and I keep raiding it and making buttons and other cool stuff.

…….. but the worst thing is I was gifted more of that non descript dirty grey fleece…. Aaugh!!!!, the only saving grace, is that at first glance I do not think it has Fly Bite, but I just stashed it, and am trying not to think about it... remember 'Never look a gift horse in the mouth!'.

So I have my work cut out for the next year to make some more garments, and reduce my stash, in at the same time…. But the hardest thing will be to ‘NOT BUY MORE STASH’!

Yarn Art Trail 2016

I have been pretty quiet on my page as I have been flat out working on the Longbeach Storybook Yarn Art Trail, here are some of the pieces I have put together or facilitated, from components made by Primary School parents, young playgroup kids, Messy Church kids, parents, grandparents, friends from the local school and church parish. It has been fun, tiring, and stressful with the horrible weather we have been experiencing, They just have to last outdoors till the end of the month and I will be happy!

Bobbin Lace Making

Today I ticked off learning 'Bobbin Lace Making', well a taste of the very basics.... but I made a leaf and I am pretty happy with it, and look forward to finding some time to make another one (a better one) and then try the sampler with more stitches.

The Taster session was held at the Victorian Branch Australian Lace Guild. I have been wanting to attend their open day for some years now, however something always prevented me from getting there. This time I booked and paid for ticket in advance, so nothing was going to stop me.

The guild members were very patient and helpful, and while I only had a small window to cram in this new to me craft, they have a big library of books that I could have easily spent the 2½ hours looking through these alone, then there was the trade table, so it was a blessing I had to rush off or I would have a very big hole in my pocket...... not to worry they have a bigger trade day in a month, so look out!

Now lace making had always looked a little daunting to me, and I have tried many crafts, however it was actually not too hard. Of course I have to work on tension, and I am sure I crossed instead of twisted and vice versa, but as my mum always said "a blind man would be glad to see it".

Will it become a new obsession, well no, I really do not have time and I have so many other projects on the go, and the stash to start 100 more.... but..... I do have loads of crochet cotton, and I do have all the materials to make a working cushion, and I have pins..... and I could make some Bobbins at 'Ladies in the Shed' when we learn to use the lathe... so until then I just have to admire all the beautiful hand make bobbin lace that others make, so I am off to Pinterest to make a new board for all the lovely work of others!

Meanwhile here is the proof of my efforts.

Hairpin Lace

Lately I have been working on Hairpin Lace, a project for an upcoming magazine, so I feel I cannot reveal all of it. So it got me thinking about it's history. Google did not offer much in the way of a conclusive answer, however I did find this interesting Snippet....

...from 'Smart Crochet' magazine... "Katherine of Aragon (1485-1536) is given credit for inventing hairpin lace. Through the years it has been known by various names- "Kat Stitch", "French or Wire Ground" and "Six Pointed Star Ground".

Then I came across some much later reference for inventors applying for patents for Hairpin Lace Tools/Loom, both Americans one in 1948, and one in 1952. Now I am not one for all this legal jargon, I rather craft, but they look rather similar and both still very Hairpin looking! They also look rather similar to the image in the DMC 'Encyclopaedia of Needlecraft' (1884). All I know is it must have been a tough gig to be an inventor over the last couple of centuries. So thank you to the 'inventors' or rather the 'improvers of tools' for the improvements that make life so much easier for the crafters now.

While I have a set of Vintage Hairpin Lace tools in various sizes (and all very small too) ,my go to tool is the 'Clover' brand tool. Which total comes apart (the best improvement of all), thus making if very easy to use and to make very long lengths that can be threaded onto yarn to keep if neat and ready the next step!

There are some amazing designs using the lace made with the hairpin, and many are not for the faint hearted, however simple designs look amazing too, so give it a go!

200 Years of Australian Fashion

My brother and sister-in-law had a big birthday, so for a treat we had a lovely lunch at South Bank, then the boys went off to the football, and the girls went to the Gallery to take a look at the '200 years of Australian Fashion' Exhibition.

What a treat it was too, so many wonderful fabrics, designs and most of all the details. I mean who would have thought to use Walnut shells to decorate a hat, and my what a wonderful hat it was and the shells just made it extra special!

The exhibition flowed from the first known Australian Made dress to the current trends from Australian designers, with some unique accessories along the way, I particularly liked the Parasols, must be the ancestors genes coming through again.

So take a brief stroll through history, and if you can make the trip to Melbourne to take a look at all the garments, as this is only a small snippet of some of the wonderful garments!

Lost Trades

The week-end before last I went to the 'Lost Trades Fair' in Kyneton. What a great event and what fun it was to watch! The Event included; blacksmithing (interested due to my Great Grandfather and beyond), Saddlery (my Grandfather's trade), A Fletcher, Armourer (with Blacksmithing in my ancestors, surely there were a few suits made for Knights!), bookbinding, instrument making, gunsmithing, rope making, boat building, Wood turning, general wookwork, bee keeping, plus much more of the traditional men's crafts, and then there was the crafts that these days are more for the ladies (that being said there were men doing some of these at the fair as there would have been years ago too).... Spinning, Weaving, Millinery, Shoe Making (which I so want to get into), and an antique Sewing Machine stand.

Now this stand was not just your run of the mill treadle Singer machines, but fancy embroidery and a Cornelly Machines. These days one really just considers that the embroidery machines are a new things, as they are now affordable for the domestic market. Well some of there are affordable, some are way out of my reach.

This now has me thinking what did my ancestors on my mother side use in the first Umbrella & Parasol Shop in Melbourne, that also made ladies accessories.... (this is an assumption as many of the children including my pop have their occupation as glove maker, bag maker etc, in the early years of their working life)

 

 

 

So here are a few pics of these fancy antique machines, and an original advertisement for the Umbrella Shop. Presumably some of these types of machines where in use at the shop. I will have to try and investigate, but sadly there is no one around to ask first hand anymore.

 

 

Odd (for me) Blend

There are some colours I would never think of putting together in a blend, until I see some inspiration via nature or just by change.

 

This blend was from Red, Brown, Lime, Mint and off white, yep not my normal colour combo.

 

So first the blending board, then the wheel, through the loom and through the Sewing machine.

 

The bolero is all one piece, and inspired by the relaxed Saori style of garment construction.