Sofa Throws Jackets ...

As a Designer and Seamstress, it is not uncommon for me to visualize a completely finished garment, merely by viewing a piece of fabric.

In the late Fall of 2002, I came across an awesome SALE, where I purchased this incredible 100% Indian Cotton Woven Sofa Throw, one of the 5 Throws I'd purchased that day.

Upon spying this most amazing, hand-woven, Oeuvre d'art ... most people would see ...

... a lovely Sofa Throw.

Me? I saw a warm cozy Jacket! A lovely, warm, Jacket that made a statement, and one which could be worn throughout all 4 Seasons!

Upon espying this beautiful work of Art, that was transported thousands of miles and a culture away, I was determined to make it work!

The challenge? To take this awe-inspiring woven piece of art, and if at all possible, transform it into the Jacket I had envisioned in my mind's eye. This was too powerful for me to resist. I had to try, even if it meant ending up with a pile of useless scraps on my cutting table.

Was it possible? Could create the Jacket I had seen in my mind, from this one, very small, 50" x 70" piece of 100% Indian Cotton Woven fabric disguised as a Sofa Throw?

In itself, this piece was a magnificent piece of Art, and to cut it seemed a shame. But, then the Designer part of my mind kicked in!

Having spent literally days ... moving, turning and twisting the pattern pieces around on this one piece of fabric, I was finally able to make my first cut.  I was determined to make a garment to compliment and display the rainbow of colours that had been hand-woven into the cloth, and have them meld together throughout the piece without the end result looking baroque, or 'busy', when completed.

This Jacket is the result of my vision. From it's inception, to the finished product, this Jacket has undergone a number of changes since the time that most Seamstress' would have long considered it a 'finished piece'. Such was not the case with me. The last transformation was recently when I added a piece of black, satin, twisted cording between the edge of the collar and the facing, to give the collar more dimension and definition.

To make it possible for one to wear this Jacket through all 4 Seasons, I chose to line it with black 100% cotton flannel. The flannel would give it a little extra body, so the garment would hang without looking stiff. I had designed it complete with side-slash pockets on each of the side seams, and put an inside breast pocket for added storage, upon which I had stitched my 'nom de plume' ... "Stitch".

In the event I were ever questioned as to the origin of this garment, all I had to do was pull open one side of the Jacket, and there, for all to see, was my 'designer's mark' to identify that I, myself, had created this simply astounding piece of wearable art.

I had purchased several other designs of Sofa Throws at the time I purchased this one, but found it difficult to put my scissors to this beautiful piece, as I had considered just mounting it on a wooden dowel, and hanging it from one of the bare walls in our new home. At the time, I had no such wall, so this made it much easier for me to turn it into a Jacket.

Since I had purchased a number of different beauties of this sort, I chose to leave this particular throw intact, and try my hand at creating this Jacket from some of the other pieces I had purchased. Following is the result of some of those Throws I had purchased:

The Tapestry Jacket ~ Sold

The Aztec Jacket ~ Sold

The Tiger Jacket ~ Sold

Be Well,

'Stitch'