(oops! i didn't get anything posted for you yesterday so i owe you two today.)
have you ever wondered, "which side of this fabric is the right side?"
my rule is that whichever side i like best is the right side.
but what if you like both sides?
then use both of them. :D
this is not my idea--it is actually an idea that is used all over the world, wherever there are seamstresses with not much fabric but a lot of inspiration. like the women documented by ann at she wears shwe shwe. ann lives in "joburg" (johannesburg?) south africa and documents the women she meets wearing clothing made out of traditional shwe shwe fabrics.
these fabrics are pretty but what interests me the most is that the women treat each face of the fabric as usable yardage. they use the "right" side for the main fabric in a piece, and then use the reverse side as contrast--brilliant--it will automatically coordinate and most contrast pieces can be cut from the scraps.
this is yet another example of how the rest of the world is able to "have" more than we do, while having so much less--if both sides of the fabric are "right", then every yard of fabric offers two yards of options! double your stash without having to hide twice as much from the people who think you are too involved with your fabric.
at she wears shwe shwe ann is careful to make sure the women know that she is respectful of them and their traditions, and not just some tourist gawking at their clothing. she gets permission from each woman before photographing her--takes the time to get to know each her, to find out more about what she is wearing (who made it? what design decisions were involved? what would you like us to know about you or your clothing?), she even makes sure to get contact information from them so she can send them copies of her pictures.
this is lizzie, and she had her dress made "in town". while the style of dress might not be popular here in the states, it shows several examples of how the reverse side could be used to good effect, and even how the facings themselves can be turned to the outside and made into design details.
i'm going to challenge myself to use this idea this week--to make one small thing using both sides of the same fabric. i can't seem to locate any authentic shwe shwe fabric here in nashville :) so i guess i'll just have to make do with some authentic joanns fabric instead. who's in? leave me a comment and a link and let's see what we can insprie each other to do.
