This month, we're so pleased to welcome Storyteller Lorna Parker to the Twig + Tale blog, sharing her story about creating a beautifully-textured Trailblazer Vest. Inspired by her local woodland, Lorna used freemotion embroidery to create a stunning, quilted vest featuring a leafy oak tree.
Read on to read more about Lorna's method for creating this wearable work of art.
When I think of texture in terms of my sewing life I am drawn to things like a deeply crinkly double gauze or a sumptuous chunky corduroy, but for texture month it had to be texture I create myself, through quilting.
During the launch of the Trailblazer Vest pattern, I made my eldest child a simple quilted version, that by happy accident had the deepest quilting lines I’ve ever achieved – so much so that it almost resembled a puffer jacket (you can still see him on the webpage listing!). That was the sort of effect I wanted to revisit, but in a more complex, textural way.
It was also important to me to make something that was monochromatic and could work in a capsule wardrobe. I wanted a garment that can be worn in harmony with others rather than patterns clashing with patterns.
And so it was that I decided to combine the textural inspirations from our local oak woodland with some cotton canvas to create what I hope will be a timeless staple.
I started with some scraps of wadding and cotton fleece and experimented to see how many layers, of which bases, would give good depth. It was also a low stakes opportunity to practice making leaf shapes using free motion embroidery. I settled on a double layer of fleece and was content I could create good leaves, so then it was on to a design for the back of my vest.
Using a chalk pen, I sketched out a tree across the whole central panel of a yokeless version, pinned together my layers with quilting pins and was ready to roll. My free motion embroidery was done on an old Bernina machine using a darning foot, a stitch length of zero and dropped feed dogs. With this setup you can move your fabric around under the foot in any direction to draw with the stitching, no hoop required. It takes a bit of practice but once you find your rhythm it can be a deeply relaxing and zen sewing experience – and should be possible on most machines. I recommend letting go of the idea of perfection and feeling your way through a project.
After the first pass of stitching across the back panel with the tree complete, I fell out of love with my project! It didn’t look the way I imagined it would and I was beginning to regret putting forward this project as something to share with you, the Twig and Talers.
Fortunately I had started sewing early, so I hung it where I would see it each day and lived with it for a few weeks until inspiration took over again. I went back and added more leaves to my tree, more texture, and then went around each two or three times, often only loosely following where I went before. It was love again and I was ready to sew on. The moral of the sewing story is be kind to yourself and take your time.
After the quilting was complete, the rest of the construction was as per the pattern instructions. Sticking to the plan for a plain colour, the entire outer and the windflap is green canvas – but who could resist that oak leaf linen for the lining? It was a charity shop treasure – a table runner – and something the shop assistant was very sorry not to have spotted first. Throw in a handful of antique brass snaps and a chunky zip and all the ingredients of a classic were there. The quilted outer has enough thickness for body, without being too bulky or stiff, and the inner is just beautiful.
Finally I couldn’t resist a little finishing touch by making a zip pull out of a tiny scrap of old leather jacket. It brings a smile to my face every time I wear it, and helped me on the way to a first place at the local town show too.
The texture of the quilting lines has elevated a classic garment to something very special without being over the top, and I like the fact that it is ‘business on the front, party at the back’. I’ll be wearing it as I yomp around the woods this autumn, feeling every bit the part.
See more of Lorna's work here.
Read more articles from the Twig + Tale Storytellers here.
