#patch-work

When we left off, I had a batch of tie-dyed discharged fabric samples. A running stitch insured that the edges don’t fray. Then I began to patch-work the pieces together to make panels of the jacket.  In the bottom image we see parts of the discharged portions of the fabric were unraveled and rewoven with red thread.  Bits of simple embroidery are used to pull the shapes together.

Cotton arms wrap around my legs

Coaxing me back into lumpy pillows.

I grab the warmth it gives me, sigh as it

Whispers stories about thread and bearing

Gifts to those before me who have

Huddled in heat and safe.

Whenever I tossed, it clings to torso,

Shifts with reluctance that I have moved;

I close my eyes and count the hugs it squeezes,

It, soft, saying,

“Please don’t wander from my grasp,

The Thrills of War

  This was by far my favorite artifact I found at the Museum of the Confederacy. This undershirt was worn by an officer who was shot three times in the chest and survived the wounds. As a trophy of the combative affair, the fellow patched the holes and continued to wear the shirt!   I go crazy for little details like this...I think this is a perfect example of the great mantra "If You Love it, It will Survive!"