On the day I returned from a “Design Outside the Lines” retreat in Sisters Oregon in June of this year, I found out my mother was very ill and was not going to make it. She passed away in Ireland less than three weeks later just two years after my Father. It was a huge shock as it all happened so fast.

A few days after her funeral, as I was leaving the farm I grew up on, I stopped and took some photos of the land that I had just inherited. It is in the area called the Burren in the west of Ireland. While looking back at those photos recently I remembered at one of the first sewing retreats that I attended, Diane Ericson spoke about ‘Memorial Garments’ to mark some major life moments. It could take many forms but I used fabric, beads, etc. from my stash that I thought gave life to my idea. I used Diane’s FaultLines pattern which I had wanted to make for a long time. While somewhat indulgent, I feel I made something meaningful that I would like to share. First some of my pictures and then a short tutorial of the sewing process.

I was inspired by the colors and I already had everything I needed to make the garment. The main fabric was from a personal home decorating project. It’s rayon and had the weight and texture that I liked. The undershirt is a poly blend that I had for a while. And the hand painted silk is from Fabric Depot in Portland. I only had a yard but I did not end up using it in the garment, but it works great as a scarf. I finished the edge on my Serger and I may make a camisole eventually as I really love the print. The whole garment is lined in green dupioni silk.

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I lined the main Jacket pieces leaving only the armhole edge open.

I then hand-sewed the jacket together overlapping the seams. It was easier to manipulate the design and fit while hand-sewing.

I lined the collar piece and played around with it and liked how it looked using the back side. I can still put a scarf through it. I love to use different embellishments in one garment. Beads are one of my favorites. (The silver ones reminded me of the rocks on the Burren.)

I used the same beaded treatment on the back and on the sleeve opening.

I used two layers of fabric for the undershirt and the rolled edged on my serger to finish the edges. I went over the edge a second time without using the blade and I liked how it looked. I will definitely use this pattern again; it has so many options. Check out more ideas on www.dianeericson.com

I hope you enjoyed my little piece of Ireland.