Dearest Sewing Companions,
Here is a synopsis of this labour-and-love-full jumpercoat project number two. It has taken several months of relatively intensive sewing activity, a lot of humming and hawing, a ton of overthinking and unstitching - and a pinch of criticising myself around how I should 'work to pattern', when my own inimitable intuitive approach is in fact the only one I am able to perfom!
The base of the jacket began with a red jumper/ sweater which I loved, and wanted to form the shape of the jacket around. As with the previous sweatercoat from last winter (inspired by Katwise and her brilliant creations), I wanted a flared skirt of rainbow-ish nature. And I used an old white scarf to edge aspects of it...
And I wanted interesting cuffs. Plus, I was playing with the idea of a hood, but wanted a between-seasons jacket... then the autumn came super late and seemed to careen into winter very quickly, as it usually does here - less subtle season changing than I know from my nature Scotland! - and I didn't feel the need to keep it a light coat.
As it began to take shape, as I added the skirt, I really didn't like the overall form AT ALL: this happened with the previous coat, and left me in a state of extreme self-criticism around 'I can't do this'. Which didn't stop me!! I just kept tweaking and adding things, piece by piece, to correct what I wasn't enjoying about it.
That took a long time, and many very-complicated steps, which I didn't all document!
Once the main structure of the garment had been formed, I particularly disliked the lower-hanging waist - I have beautiful ample hips and culo and so was keen to flatter them, and to emphasise my curves, rather than the rather square shape that had formed.
So I added first a red waistband made out of three bottoms-of-woolly-jumpers, and from there also used complimentary trims from some of the colours in the skirt part, to create a kind of space-filler/ enhancer between waistband and skirt top.
I used this same technique at the very end also, to 'fill in' the wide white band at the bottom of the skirt: I like how it somehow balances out the colour, chiaroscuro, form and weight of the garment.
So in the end, the coat became more layered and solid than I'd originally intentioned, and I love how the weather confirmed those myriad decisions that led to the weighter-ness! Yesterday I saw the first snows on the high mountain tops of the Matese range behind us, and felt right in the coat having super-snuggly qualities! I also decided against a hood, as I own multiple hats that I wish to use more. :-D I love pairing a colourful coat with the right hat!!
Most of the latter stages of the coat's creation were done by hand, including multiple long runs like the several stitching efforts along the bottom hems - the infilling of the lower border, for example. The layers of fairly thick wool wouldn't get close to fitting under the presser foot of either of my sewing machines!
This meant a very long and slow process, and I was questioning this too; whenever I niggle at myself, I like to observe it and make conscious effort to release attachment to that as a guiding force. I love the process of releasing negative conditioning, and growing into our full healthy, wild potential! It is a fabulous feeling of continuous change and improvement, taking back of power, energy, wealth and vitality!
Like art, sewing intuitively in particular has a potent capacity to act as living metaphor (also known as 'alchemy' or 'magic'), which gives it huge power to heal and release for us, as women. Womb-ones have huge capacity to absorb and alchemise all that is thrown at us, and our culture enslaves us by taking advantage of the first aspect, but then keeping us in fear and tension so that we never get to release anything, and then we are trained to see this accumulated/ painful state of extreme tension as 'the norm'.
I love that we live in a time in which we're challenging that, and changing the dynamic altogether: reclaiming our Right Life, and our ability to do the magic that we're meant to be doing, instead of being used as a battery for the machine. Again, I love the process of bringing light into the occulted aspects of women's power: there is so much to reclaim - all within us - all available to us - all free and meant for us...
I love making this garment, as I am loving moving out of the tension of having striven and overworked all my life - for little or no reward. I love moving into Gift and gift economy, mutually-beneficial relationship and collective co-creative expansion. As our communities grow and consciously support each others' creativity, we become akin to homeopathic remedies for not just the human collective, but the planet and beyond. Our well-being, as it shines and thrums, is the true medicine that has been hidden from us... and we find it through simple, domestic activities like this.
Sewing our second skin, making it unique and inimitable, taking it out of the bondage of 'fashion' and 'trend', even of social norms of shape and colour-combinations... I love this process of rebirth-into-self, through one stitch being placed next to another, through old (sometimes quite ugly!) garments being cut up and repurposed into something brilliantly inventive. I love the process maturing and the mastery flowing into my fingers and out into the cloth. It isn't easy, nor always even pleasurable, however the whole procedure is incredible rewarding - and a coat comes out of it, which will bring endless fun, warmth, protenction, identity-clarifying, conversation-starting, joy and purpose to my future.
This particular project marks an acceptance too, that I'm taking time out of my regular studio practise (painting), and allowing myself to play, experiment and resolve multiple issues that have been irking me around my art career. The colours, shapes, energy and healing want to come off of the canvas and to walk out into the world; to come alive. It feels good to accept this, and to let go of the jibing psyche of worry around earning money, paying bills, etc. It feels RIGHT to embrace what Needs To Come Into Being. Not just a great sweatercoat, but all the beautiful mystery around it!
