Vanessa Thorpe

My piece has come as a result of my background in tailoring and my love of velvet.  As Bradford has a rich history of cloth production, I thought it would be fitting to weave some fabric to make a jacket and to use local yarn producers. The inspiration for my jacket is taken from some samples of velvet which had been woven into fine fabric using a technique that has been lost. I wondered how I could recreate this with my limited weaving knowledge.  I experimented using overshot for the first time as I could recreate a flower design in a different yarn to the base fabric.  I have used an overshot pattern called Small Honeysuckle and I used chenille to give the velvety appearance. I also took a draft design from one of the students’ workbooks and have had this printed on to the velvet lining.

Materials

Wool whose production from fleece to finished yarn all happens within a 50 mile radius of Bradford. Chenille is from other local companies.

Inspiration

Velvet woven samples. Denholme Velvets. 

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