Make a cloth of tubes
Fabric tubes are easy to make and versatile to use. You can weave with them, bind unfinished edges with them, or sew them together to create a new self-lined fabric.

To turn wide tubes, some folded and some wrinkled, into a jacket front, sew or baste each tube to the preceding row. As a bonus, this technique also makes the garment reversible.

To turn wide tubes, some folded and some wrinkled, into a jacket front, sew or baste each tube to the preceding row. As a bonus, this technique also makes the garment reversible. Add texture to the fabric by scrunching it and then securing the wrinkles with fusible interfacing (1). If you’re only wrinkling a small piece of fabric, twist the fabric and pin it to the ironing board. Spray with starch or sizing. Press and leave until dry.

Next sew the textured fabric into tubes (2). Then sew the tubes side by side for the effect shown below. Silk charmeuse, hand dyed, texturized, sewn into strips and then assembled in a row is reminiscent of an ancient Asian wall. The buttons are pewter.

Lois Ericson (DesignAndSew.com) has taught creative sewing techniques for decades and written many books on the subject.

Photos: Sloan Howard