Midwest Sustainability Summit Feature:
Four outfits from the Rust Belt Fibershed One Year, One Outfit project, Cohort Two.
Along the Way
Amanda Purnell
Shetland Wool knit dress and Tunisian crocheted belt with Suri and Huacaya Alpaca knit scarf all in natural colors. All materials and major tools for this outfit were sourced within Ohio during detours from planned travels. From Burr Oak Farm and Yesterday's Ewe's yarn shop in London came Shetland Wool roving. From Bluebird Hills Farm in Springfield came both Suri and Alpaca fleeces. From my Dad's own hands in North Jackson came my very own one-of-a-kind spinning wheel. Engaging in the Rust Belt Fibershed's One Year One Outfit project is truly a journey and the wide variety of unexpected discoveries that will be found along the way--about the outfit, its creator, and the community surrounding them--are the most meaningful outcomes.
Linen Bikini Set
Emily Kichler
Crochet is my favorite form of zero/minimal-waste design, because it allows for so much intricate detail without the waste of cut-and-sew garments. I began creating intimates patterns, because pretty much any other garment can be found in a thrift store these days. The Rustbelt Fibershed's One Year One Outfit project helped me delve even deeper into this concept by introducing the knowledge and experimentation of local fibers and dye materials, which can all be returned again to the earth at the end of their use. While this project is very much a conceptual representation of ideals, I am excited to see how the idea grows and evolves.
The flax used to make this bikini set was grown by the Rustbelt Fibershed's Linen Project, hand-processed, and then hand-spun. The cattail reeds were also locally harvested and processed, all within a 40 mile radius of Cleveland, Ohio.
More of Emily’s Designs: ravelry.com/designers/emily-kichler
Seasons
Amber Rose Ostaszewski
With this outfit, as a part of the One Year, One Outfit Challenge, I set out to capture the seasonal quality of materials and processes in the Rust Belt Fibershed region. The woven hat, made of daffodil leaves is meant to evoke spring, which is when the leaves were collected, and dried before plaiting. The dress, made of hand-processed, handspun linen and dyed with indigo, exemplifies the summer, and the overdress, made of knitted shetland wool dyed in a variety of yellow, orange, and brown botanical shades is meant to provide warmth for the fall months, while alluding to the colorful fall leaves of maple trees. The essence of winter is captured through the felted handbag, a dense, heavy textile technique, and dyed red and brown with pokeberries and walnuts, which provide food sources for birds and other local animals during the cold winter months.
You can find out more about Amber and her work at https://www.amberroseostaszewski.com/
Day or Night Look: 44, Flirty, and Fun
Anna Kiss Mauser-Martinez
Alpaca sweater, merino wool skirt, and dogbane clutch
For my One Year, One Outfit project, I sought to construct something highly wearable yet immensely stylish - a fit for the office or the theater - and no roughspun resembling burlap sacks. The sweater, knit from undyed Huacaya alpaca drapes with intriguing complexity, contradicting its simple construction. The softness and lightness of the fleece makes it as cozy as a well-worn sweatshirt. The skirt, crafted from undyed Merino wool, embraces one's curves with sultry allure, yet feels like it was made for binge watching. A clutch woven from dogbane cordage with a deer bone latch marries rugged practicality with striking elegance. Blending natural colors and elements with arresting but uncomplicated design, my work aims to project the accessibility of slow fashion.
