Material Matters

My first exposure to cashmere, and fabric "hand feel" was with my mom at TJ Maxx when I was a kid. She loved to show off her skill of finding a bargain 100% cashmere Ralph Lauren cardigan squashed among all the other hanging sweaters. This was before clothes were designed for outlets, and "irregular" garments had (often) imperceptible differences to the full-priced flagship store version. Maybe a season behind, but a navy blue cashmere cardigan in 1997 was just about the same as a navy blue cashmere cardigan in 1998.

And they lasted. I recently found a stash of said sweaters (I knew because the tags had a cut through them) at my mom's house, and they are just as good, with a cute fit and carefully considered buttons, as they were back then. The armholes are nice and high, the gauge fine - 14gg or 16gg with a dense tension that didn't wear through as quickly as they do now.

Since my days wandering the aisles with my Maxxinista mother I've collected a variety of odd yarn cones and yards of fabric, remaindered from completed runway seasons. The shades of white, grey and accent colors couldn't be carried over to the next season and in many cases went to local fabric stores in NYC or into the hands of lucky little assistants who made friends with patternmakers or atelier managers.

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I love how fabrics feel to the touch, and how they drape, billow with movement, carry a form, or hug a shape. In most of the soft sculpture dolls I've made it's the material that has driven the shape, and I've been able to use the fabrics and yarns I've collected. I've also found lovely materials locally, like wool from Maine, which still has the lanolin and makes for a lovely little sweater or booties.

There is a life to the fabrics and materials we touch, and wrap around us. And there is value to high quality, long-lasting materials.