Just a little update on my last post about the sweater that took me 3 years to finish. So so happy with the results, I got full points for my creation! Lots of people took photos and the volunteers gave me tons of praise. It’ll still be on view tomorrow until 5:00 so make sure to see it if you’re going!
The title is technically a little bit of clickbait. My cardigan is made out of my own handspun (see last photo) and one of these plies was dyed using natural sources that I grew myself. This includes madder root - which I waited 3 years to harvest - weld, woad, marigold - which needed 3 years worth of harvests to get a substantial amount - and pokeberry. I also bought pokeberries from Basking Meadows Farm, and was gifted marigold from the same source.
If you take out all the time it took for me to grow and harvest dyeplants, this cardigan took approx. 4 months to make. That includes hand-carding 10 oz of Coopworth locks from Malik Family Farms. After carding all that wool, I decided to go with a commercially dyed Targhee wool top from the Wee Chickadee Wool Co for the other ply.
The whole design is self-made and I do not have a pattern for it. I made up the whole thing while I went, which isn’t too hard if you do the whole cardigan top-down and in one piece. That’s what I’d recommend if you want to recreate this design. The sleeves have some boning in them so that they maintain their structure.
This cardigan is also submitted to the Maryland Sheep and Wool skein and garment competition, under the Junior Chesapeake Fibershed category. Keep your eyes peeled for this cardigan if you‘re going to the festival - my work usually gets displayed since there aren’t that many other people who submit for the junior category (under 18). There’s a lot more I could get into, but that’s the gist of my process. If you have any questions, let me know.
The title is technically a little bit of clickbait. My cardigan is made out of my own handspun (see last photo) and one of these plies was dyed using natural sources that I grew myself. This includes madder root - which I waited 3 years to harvest - weld, woad, marigold - which needed 3 years worth of harvests to get a substantial amount - and pokeberry. I also bought pokeberries from Basking Meadows Farm, and was gifted marigold from the same source.
If you take out all the time it took for me to grow and harvest dyeplants, this cardigan took approx. 4 months to make. That includes hand-carding 10 oz of Coopworth locks from Malik Family Farms. After carding all that wool, I decided to go with a commercially dyed Targhee wool top from the Wee Chickadee Wool Co for the other ply.
The whole design is self-made and I do not have a pattern for it. I made up the whole thing while I went, which isn’t too hard if you do the whole cardigan top-down and in one piece. That’s what I’d recommend if you want to recreate this design. The sleeves have some boning in them so that they maintain their structure.
This cardigan is also submitted to the Maryland Sheep and Wool skein and garment competition, under the Junior Chesapeake Fibershed category. Keep your eyes peeled for this cardigan if you‘re going to the festival - my work usually gets displayed since there aren’t that many other people who submit for the junior category (under 18). There’s a lot more I could get into, but that’s the gist of my process. If you have any questions, let me know.