I’ve been playing with partial seams. They add a lot of interest to my work. People say, “Wow! How did you do that?” Actually, it’s not true. No one has ever noticed my partial seams. But I know they are there, and enjoy looking at those sections. Something new I’ve been trying is to weave sashing with partial seams. It’s like putting a puzzle together. I am working on my third piece using this trick.

My first attempt was “Appreciate Everything” and I wanted to weave this philosophy into my life more deeply, so felt weaving the sashing between blocks was appropriate. I thought using a cross cut stripe would make the woven look stand out, but it was not distinct enough to be noticeable. (I know it’s there!) However, this exercise made me realize the possibilities.

Then I tried it with “Spring Weaving”, and worked to make the “warp” and “weft” distinct with different shades of green. The sashing really stands out in this piece.

I went back to stripes for my current project, but cut them lengthwise. I wanted each stripe to be different as it plays into the look and meaning of my piece. Lengthwise stripes are tricky, as I have to be more precise than I’d like when piecing, so will probably not use stripes again in this way. Weaving the sashing can seem awkward when I’m in the middle of the process, but in the end it feels satisfying having made it work. And I think it looks amazing.

I blame my latest work with sashing on this storm drain at my neighborhood park. Sashing between blocks normally does not appeal to me, but there is something compelling about this drain. It’s in my brain and now in my work.

Weaving Partial Seams