Phoenix Rising – first muslin

After finishing the chocolates yesterday, I went out to the dyepots to dye the cloth for the next Phoenix Rising muslin. I started with this:

and added some low-water immersion dyed fabrics:

I let them batch and rinsed them out yesterday night. This morning I got up before dawn, excited to try them out. And here’s the end result – my first muslin.

I like this a lot – it’s my favorite of all the mockups I’ve done. The dark blue makes the fiery colors really “pop”, and is spot-on thematically (the depressive blues vs. the fires of mania). The color gradation makes me think of something being set on fire, and the transition from the bodice to the dangling strips of fabric feels natural. I really, really like this.

Next step will be to cut the dangling strips into irregular “flames,” as the strips are too rectangular and regular right now. I will also try singeing the edges. I like the idea of singed edges, both thematically (being burned by fire) and because it would save me from the problem of finishing the edges. (Hand overcast hundreds of inches of edge? Egad!)

I am a little worried about the swing of the skirt – the idea is for the strips to flit about as the wearer moves. However, if I put it over another skirt, I’ll lose a lot of the motion. I think I will make the bottom pants, not a skirt, and make them out of a dark blue crinkled fabric. Haven’t decided yet whether to make them fitted or loose-fitting. That will come out in other muslins.

Another possibility for getting “swing” into the skirt is to add some light beading, especially at the bottom. I’d have to be careful for fear of distorting the flame shapes, but four or five beads would add a little bit of swing without being overly obtrusive. I would probably also add some beading to the top, perhaps beaded fringe. More things to test out in muslins!

I am very, very happy with how things are going!

Speaking of happy, here is a delighted Tigress, who has learned that – O joy! – if she brings her cat toys back to us, we’ll throw them again for her to chase. Yes – we now have a cat that plays fetch! Here she is, playing her new favorite game. (And yes, that’s one of my paper pirns she’s chasing. Who knew that weaving tools were so versatile?)