A progress shot of the constructed-fabric scarf I just made from some of these gray-tan linen strips I showed before.
I posted the image on Twitter a few minutes ago, so here are the specifics:
Size: 80″x9″
Materials: 1.25×80″ linen strips / matching thread / some secret ingredients / 140 flat mother-of-pearl shell rectangle beads.
I’m just territorial enough that I won’t go into production specifics, but anyone who knows fabric will be able to tell. I will say this: it’s way too much sewing for something this basic.
The grid foundation is done, washed to frizz it out further. Now I’m hand-sewing on those shell rectangles for a bit of glimmer. I’d dithered about huge freshwater pearl coin beads, or 5mm flat tourmaline square beads. Both would have meant another $80 to $100 in rather fragile beads. So I settled for creamy natural mother-of-pearl, which can be cold-water hand-washed with gentle soap. That’s only $25 added to the cost.
Given other materials and sheer labor, this will still easily be a $200+ scarf when I’m done. Not cost effective enough for large production, but a fun proof of concept for me. It’s great when the final piece comes close to what I imagined!
And it’s very wearable, even now (so fuzzy).
Added 6-3-2017: I cut my sewing costs a little from my first estimate. The piece worked out very well for a proof of concept, but now it’s time to clear it out of the workshop. So it’s now on sale for $140.00 at my iCraft store here.