
1 minute read
Heidi Lantz-Trissel
Handspun Handwoven Cotton Shirt
Stream: Embracing
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Spun and woven from cotton bred by me and grown by my daughter Betsy Trice in Hadensville, VA. Sewn with Coats and Clark cotton thread. I used Kona Cotton PFD to make the bias tape used to finish the neckline.
This white cotton was bred from a cross of green and brown cotton that eventually evolved into white cotton with naked seeds. If green doesn't have all the genes it needs to express as green, it expresses as white. The naked seeds, which are usually recessive, came from the brown in the cross.
I intended to make this shirt in my signature style with a seam down the front, an opening at the neck, and a shoulder lining that served as facing for the neck and opening. I was short of fabric, probably resulting from me weaving in twill for the shirt. The intended lining was plain weave. I changed the design and used the plain weave as the center panel of the shirt and have no shoulder lining.
Cindy Conner
I started spinning cotton I grew in 2011, adding flax to my garden in 2016. I learned to weave when I made my first handspun garment in 2015. I am working on creating a whole homegrown, handspun, handwoven wardrobe for myself and am excited about teaching others to do the same. My book Homegrown Flax and Cotton: DIY Guide to Growing, Processing, Spinning & Weaving Fiber to Cloth is being published by Stackpole Books and will be released July 1, 2023.