Kathy Hutchinson

I create wearables and accessories from fabrics that I weave on multiharness floor looms. Many of the woven patterns are my own designs and some utilize traditional weave structures. The main materials that I work with include yarns made from cotton, silk, rayon, and bamboo fibers. Some of my pieces feature hand-dyed colorations achieved through the process of warp and/or weft ikat-- a resist-dye technique which I work with silk threads that make up the warp or weft bundle. I tie off sections of these thread groups with closely spaced wraps of heavy cotton twine. This blocks the dye from penetrating areas of these fibers when dipped into the dye liquid, one color and one area at a time. Some colors are allowed to overlap when portions of the thread bundles are retied. Some of my handwoven fabrics become scarves and shawls and some I sew into finished garments, in a variety of sizes and styles. All my pieces are designed to be comfortable, colorful, and stylish.