Saori Weaving - Hat

Now that I've completed most of the public project for my grant, it's time to begin the work that this grant is primarily for: my personal growth as an artist. I'm beginning on a small scale and this hat seems the perfect vehicle for beginning to learn how to use Saori weaving in garments.  One of my goals was to integrate various fiber arts I love, and this little cap combines weaving and knitting.

First I hemmed the ends by zigzag stitching each end twice, then turned the edge under and did a straight stitch - these ends are the cap edges.

Then I used black carpet warp and gathered both selvedge sides by crocheting across twice, once right into the weaving, every 1/2 inch or so, then into the first row of crochet, every inch or so.

 I made two fan-shaped pieces of knitting, using short rows and one of the yarns in my weaving, Noro Furin, so they are both different in colors. I used these pieces to cover the gathered edge and anchor it in a semi-circle, so that the hat shape appears.
 It's very neat on the inside as well, as the fan covers the gathered edge on the inside.  I machine-sewed the inside part and hand-sewed the fan on the outside.

I'm now making a long length of Saori woven fabric, about 12 feet, which I will use to make 6 more hats. It suits my sometimes short attention span to weave a whole different set of colors every 2 feet or so.  I am making enough for each hat so that I can make the side pieces in weaving on some of the hats.
As for my public project, the Earthpeace Banner Project, I'm working on all the photos I've taken and updating the page.  I hope that will be the subject of my next post!

Namaste,
Zann