In preparing for our trip to Africa (next week!) (follow
here!) I learned that women in rural Kenya are quite conservative in their dress. Women do not wear pants or anything that is tight fitting. I needed to find some long, loose fitting skirts to sustain me for our 3 week trip. I did look in a few stores before deciding to make the skirts myself... but apparently skirts this season are widely available in two different styles: short and shorter. This made my decision easy: I'll just make a few skirts. This coincided nicely with the work I was doing in my independent study printmaking class. After choosing a simple pattern and deciding on fabric (the spring linen was on sale at Hancocks!). I decided to give the skirts a new life and make them a bit more personal by printing them with original designs. Using the same basic process that I used on my
quilt:
I carved various designs from the rubber stamp material and went to work printing with the textile printing inks.
So these are the 3 textiles I created for the skirts. Mums, gingko, and a bird motif. Mostly fairly simple patterns that each repeat in a different way. The gingko pattern (printed on the heaviest weight linen) is a simple grid type repeat. The mum design (printed on a lightweight linen) was simply a large flower, about the size of a plate, and I masked out sections to create overlaps. This was the pattern that was easiest and most fun to print. I was able to design as I went, creating voids between flowers and overlaps.
The bird motif, which is printed on a rust colored cotton knit, was the biggest headache. The design was intended to be continuous, lines that were fluid meant to unite the individual repeats of the patterns. This was a pain to design and almost impossible to keep consistent and straight while printing. But after review the areas that don't line up aren't all that noticeable and, as my husband said, I'm the only person who will ever know the flaws of the print.
There are a couple of nice things about the skirts. Its a nice medium to work with because a long skirt accommodates a large pattern easily. I wasn't burdened by trying to repeat a small 2"x2" design on yards of fabric. I each design is roughly in the 7"x9" range. I cut the pattern pieces for the skirts first and then printed (so I didn't waste time printing areas that would not be used). Each skirt took about 2.5 hours to print. And as I mentioned, a nice long skirt is forgiving and I think the inconsistencies of the heaviness or lightness of the ink, and the areas that don't line up, all add to the handmade charm and nature of the product.
And this leads to a comment about process. The process of printing on fabric by hand is still widely practiced in Africa and India. The act of creation and participation in this process was a nice way of meditation and preparation for the trip. There is something so basic and fundamental about textiles and clothing... a universal need and a universal method of expression. I was engaging in a process that is not unique but a natural instinct, and greater than myself.
The final product! Nicely modeled on my
dress form. I did go ahead and make a skirt without any printed pattern because at heart this simplicity appeals to me, and it's also quite practical. I also used another variation of the pattern for the odd skirt. Each pattern is really simple: side seams, elastic waist, and a hem. I probably spent as much time printing each of the skirts as I did constructing them. I was weary at first, during the printing and the construction, that I wouldn't like them... but the patterns have grown on me. I hope (and this is the true test), that I will wear these again, outside of my trip. That is always the sign of success for homemade clothing, not whether it fits well, or if it is well made, but if it is used.
