slow progress

I have been working on my reverse applique project, and although it seems to be going very slowly, I am learning a lot along the way. I began by working in the way I've read the Cuna Indians execute the technique using woven cotton, but then had to adapt it to make it more suitable to the knit materials I'm using. I've also decided that it's much easier to sew up a jacket from scratch using fresh material and a pattern than it is to recycle and refashion existing garments...but I'm not after "easier". :-) Working on ways to solve the challenges of this project is teaching me so much, sparking so many ideas for future projects, and is so energizing, I'm having trouble sleeping at night!

Beading

Some bracelets I made last month, playing around with peyote stitch. The first, on the far left in the photo, was stitched in what was basically a tubular odd-count peyote. It was done in orange and violet beads, around one of those colored elastic wristbands all the kids are wearing these days. I came up with the idea after seeing some beaded beads done in peyote that were strung on a cord, and thought that if I worked them directly around the elastic wristband, I would avoid having to use a clasp. Peyote stitch is very stiff, and makes nice stiff beads, but I found that by weaving it "three-drop", with nylon thread, I could extend the length of the bead as long as I wanted, into a tube long enough to circle my wrist, and it would be pliant enough to curve around the wrist.

I wasn't quite happy with the way the nylon thread was visible, and so next, I tried playing around with peyote and a clear, monofilament line. I found that by adding a "floating" bead, the peyote stitch became quite elastic, which was a big surprise. The two middle bracelets in the photo were made that way. In both, I alternated bugle and seed beads, resulting in a triangular-shaped tube. It's elastic enough that the wristband I used in the center of the tube for the first bracelet was totally unnecessary. I made the blue and silver bead bracelet first, before Christmas, and then another one in red and gold beads on Christmas Eve. I wore it to a party that evening, and when a niece admired it, I gave it to her. On Christmas morning, I made one in green and silver, and again gave it away that day when someone noticed and admired it. In both those bracelets, I put a slight twist in the triangular tube before connecting the ends to form a circle, which made them look similar to the double-helix structure of a DNA molecule. I don't have pictures of either of those bracelets, and then the fourth and final bracelet I made using this technique (the gold and violet one in this photo), I connected "flat" as I did with the first one, so you'll have to take my word on the DNA-looking thing.

The bracelet on the far right in the photo is the same stitch, but done in the opposite direction, with the bead sequence of short-and-long beads inverted! It has no elasticity at all in the opposite direction, so I made it with a little larger circumference, as a bangle bracelet.

The molas of the San Blas Cuna Indians of Panama are inspiring me to try some reverse applique.

My thought is to turn an old sweatshirt into a jacket. I love the complimentary combination of orange and blue, and have chosen an old orange turtleneck to line the blue sweatshirt.


This is a sample I did to try out the technique, and my choice of motif...not a traditional Mola pattern, but an image of a bird borrowed from a work by Escher. I thought Escher's work would be awesome rendered in reverse applique.




Beginning...