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Twist & Shout: |
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| H E L E N S A U N D E R S | ||
Become a fiber artist and style-setter with this fun jacket. Using plaited bias strips for embellishment, soft loose ripples form, delighting the eye of the beholder. |
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| Introduction A Blank Canvas The Fabric Palette Mix It Up Basic Sketch Start Plaiting Finishing Touches Create A Masterpiece |
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| Introduction | Plaiting is formed by intertwining two or more strands together. Braiding
is a form of plaiting. In the fashion world, plaiting has been used with ribbons or strips
of fabric to create decorative accents for necklines and cuffs. The featured jacket was made with silky polyester fabrics, which work well for this technique because they hold their loft better than silk. Sections of flat fabric were applied under the arms to avoid wear to the bias strips. The yoke was made from a pre-crinkled black polyester. |
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| A Blank Canvas | A jacket with few pattern pieces and minimal fitting works best for this
technique. The plaiting strips are stitched to a base fabric which may be visible between
the plaited rows. Choose a firm coordinating, mediumweight base fabric so there will be
minimal distortion when the plaited rows are applied. Cut the jacket pattern pieces from
the base fabric following the pattern guidesheet. |
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| The Fabric Palette | Choosing the fabrics for plaiting is a fun and creative process. For this
jacket several neutral prints were chosen. Whether working with neutral or multi-colored
prints, the challenge is to choose fabrics that work together. Select rectangular pieces
at least 25"x36", or purchase 3/4 yard of each 45"-wide fabric. To combine several multicolored prints, start with two fabrics with different color combinations that share one common color. For example: one print has brown, yellow and blue; the other has blue, green and red; both prints have the same blue color. Lay one fabric aside and find a new print that shares a different common color with the remaining fabric. Continue this process until 12 to 15 different fabrics have been chosen. Lay them all together to see how they coordinate, making any adjustments necessary. Pick neutral prints in the same manner. Select prints similar in scale so they will blend together. Avoid white fabric; when mixed with prints and colors, white spots will jump out and distract from the overall effect. |
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| Mix it Up | A rotary cutter, cutting mat and a long transparent ruler work best for
cutting the 1 3/4"-wide bias strips. |
 Fold fabric to find true bias.  |
 Find the true bias
by folding down one corner at a 45° angle and aligning the edges. Cut along the resulting
fold . |
 Cut 1 3/4"-wide strips.  |
Place the fabric on
the cutting mat, refolding it to align the cut bias edges. Lay the ruler over the fabric,
lining up the 13/4"-line with the bias cut edge and cut . Repeat this process, working from left to right.
Refold the fabric as needed to continue cutting strips. |
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| Basic Sketch | Mark the jacket base fabric pieces with guidelines for the plaited rows.
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 Mark plaiting rows and cover flat fabric
areas.  |
Decide on the area
to be covered with flat fabric at the front, back and sleeve underside. Mark a line
7/8" from the last plaited row that will be applied. Lap the flat fabric over the
base fabric, matching grainlines, trimming edges even with the raw edges and overlapping
the marked line by 1/2". Turn under the 1/2" and edgestitch in place; baste the
raw edges together 1/4" from the edge . |
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