September was a write-off - for sewing - as I was overseas for three weeks. But it was still textile related - a textile tour of Morocco, with nine other like minded souls. I really enjoyed the trip and Morocco itself, however there wasn't enough textiles for a nineteen day trip - to my mind anyway. It was a cultural tour, with some textile bits included.
While in Morocco, I purchased a "little" bit of fabric - two large pieces of stripey fabric, not actually yardage but I will use it as such. I have a tunic top in mind for the blue fabric. It feels like it may be rayon. And a number of pieces of embroidered linen from a women's embroidery cooperative in Midelt. Their work was such high quality.
Also in Morocco, I purchased a hall runner rug, in the "map" design from the southern part of the country. The rug is 2.7m long. And I picked up a few other textile bits and pieces.
Blue rayon thread on the bamboo bobbins they use; two sizes of knotted thread buttons - one set of all blue, and a bag of multi-coloured ones; and a sample of sfifa braid.
In Fes, we watched Bouchera demonstrate how she plies the threads, makes the sfifa and finishes it by damping it and flattening the braid with a bone tool. The sfifa was knotted using her fingers, with the thread in a cat's cradle arrangement. I've done a quick search online but couldn't find any demonstrations of how it is done, but a cat's cradle is the best analogy for it. The sfifa braid is applied to women's kaftans and men's jellabas, usually around the neckline and down the front, with the knotted thread buttons there as well. Bouchera makes the braid to order, working with the tailor or seamstress making the garment it will decorate. Depending on the complexity of the braid, it can take Bouchera over an hour to make one metre of braid.
I did visit a couple of patchwork shops in Australia in the last month and purchased 5.5m of fabrics - most on special. None were for specific projects but filled a gap in my stash or just looked pretty.
The white looking one is a very useful tone on tone, great for backgrounds. The top two are fat quarters for kids' quilts. I only paid full price for the FQs, others on special.
September 2022 fabric tally
Purchased 5.5m of patchwork fabrics. I'm not counting the Moroccan fabrics in my tally! (MY rules.)
No finishes in September.
Fabric used: - 0 m Fabric acquired: + 5.5 m
2022 fabric tally so far: + 31.75 m
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