Ann Williamson

Handmade Designer Women's Apparel

Skirts

New Skirt and Jacket

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My left over pieces of kimono silk are too beautiful, too amazing, too gorgeous to throw out.

Especially the bits and pieces of meisen silk. Meisen, a fabric that is woven, printed with a design, then unwoven, and then, rewoven again.

Yep, rewoven.

When it is rewoven, the threads do not line up back to the way they were. The printed design looks soft and out of focus.

My scraps and leftover bits pile up until I have enough for a new project. This time it was a full skirt with a matching jacket. It’s is all meisen, mostly in black and white with bits of red and, for a little extra, navy blue.

A detail shot. It’s not an out of focus photo, it’s the fabric.

I build my full skirts in sections, piecing each panel, one at a time, until I have 16.

Here they are, laid out on my floor, ready to be sewn together. There’s not enough room to lay it out into a full circle, so I spread it out into a giant ‘U’ shape and remember that the two sides will be next to each other in the final version.

A close up of the jacket. They wasn’t quite enough of the ‘dotted’ fabric, so I added in the stripe, sort of like a peplum.

This skirt and jacket, lots of scarves, other jackets and tops are listed in my web-shop.

Check them out here.

Full Skirts

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They’re so classic. So pretty. So Comfortable.

Almost a full circle, my full skirts are sewn with 16 panels. Each panel wide at the bottom, narrower at the top for less fabric and a more flattering fit.

The silver skirt above is sewn from a beautiful kimono silk with just enough sheen to show off the piecing. It’s worn with a jacket appliquéd with my little square dots. The ‘turtle back’ design in the jacket fabric inspired the piecing in the skirt.

Below, a skirt sewn from a ‘meisen’ striped silk. I did not match the stripes on the seams because I wanted to add a subtle vertical element. It works, don’t you think?

It’s shown with a ‘hitoe’, my unlined jacket/blouse, printed with a bold pine needle and branch design.

Black and white with bits of red, you cannot go wrong with that color combination.

These and so many more jackets, coats and scarves will be at my show here in Portland. Coming up! The weekend after Thanksgiving, December 7 and 8.

New for ACC SF 2019

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A couple of new pieces for the American Craft Council show in San Francisco. It’s next weekend!

Just finished, a silver colored full skirt and jacket.

I used a gorgeous Meisen silk with a tortoise shell pattern for the jacket and appliquéd little blue squares to highlight the design.

For the skirt, I pieced this oh so cool kimono silk to mimic the tortoise shell patterns of the jacket. As the skirt moves and light hits in different areas, the shapes are revealed.

Also ready to go, the shawl collar coat with appliquéd squares that I was working on last week.

Hokusai waves for the collar and a speckled print for the coat. What can I say, these fabrics are so beautiful.

The collar is soft like a scarf and can be adjusted so it lays out flat and wide or folded and pulled in close. As it moves, a little surprise, bright purple under the collar.

These and all my other jackets, coats, skirts and scarves will be up and on view at the San Francisco ACC Show. Next weekend, August 2, 3 and 4.

See you there!