How do I care for my garment?
- For any garment that is lined, you must have it dry cleaned.
- For other garments, like your Wilsall Wrap, your shawl, your scarf, or your Montana Collar, you can either have it dry cleaned or you can hand wash it easily.
- To hand wash: Use a couple of drops of Dawn Liquid Dish detergent in a sink of water (must be Dawn and the plain, unscented kind).
Add the detergent after the sink is full (this creates fewer suds). Swish the scarf or shawl around in the water. Soak it if you wish. Rinse thoroughly, the last time with about 1/4 cup of distilled white vinegar, if you wish; this helps get the soap out.
Roll in a clean colorfast towel till just damp. Do not wring. Hang or lay flat till nearly dry (a good place to hang is over a shower rod or something else smooth and rounded). Press on setting just below the silk setting on your iron till dry. No need for a press cloth.
Alternately, you can use the product Soak Wash and follow the instructions on the bottle. I wash all items in Soak as part of the finishing process.
How is my garment finished before I get it (wet finishing)?
Wet finishing is the process by which fabric coming off my looms is transformed into the drapeable fabric you know. Once raw edges are secured by twisting fringe or stitching, for the first washing only I use SoakWash and wash the fabric on a very delicate cycle in my washing machine. This one-time treatment changes the fibers from the somewhat stiff threads that they were on the loom to soft, flowing threads that fall into place among their fellow threads because of the action of the machine. Once the fabric is just the slightest bit damp, I press it, then crate with this fabric the wearable art you may own. Please do not use your machine to wash your garment. It is a one-time process—wet-finishing—with a specific purpose.
How much does shipping cost and how will my item be shipped?
- Shipping is included in the price of each item.
- Your item will be shipped via First Class Mail and will be insured.
- Most items ship within a day or two of your order
- View the Etsy shipping policy.
May I return an item that just isn’t right?
Absolutely. Just return the item within 30 days and send it the same way I sent it to you. Please return it in the same condition in which it reached you.
Can you send my item as a gift?
Yes, I will wrap the gift and add a note that says whatever you would like it to say. Just fill that in at the payment stage.
What fibers do you use in your wearable art?
- Silk: The silk I use is hand-dyed in Canada or I hand-paint it in my Montana studio. The sizes I typically weave are 20/2 or 60/2, a very fine thread that I normally blend with other threads of the same size to make fascinating color combinations. The 20/2 is often uneven spun which moves from thin to thicker and back again throughout the length of the thread. The result is that light catches the thread differently at different parts of the thread, creating “movement” with light.
- Tencel: Hand-dyed in Canada or hand-painted by me in my Montana studio, this Tencel has a wonderful, flowing hand. I like Tencel for how it takes dyes and creates vibrant colors or soft colors, depending on the saturation desired. In shawls and garments especially, Tencel has no equal for stability and luminescence, particularly when blended with silk or bamboo.
- Bamboo: While we tend to think of bamboo as stiff, this bamboo is anything but that. It is soft enough for a baby blanket and strong enough for adult garments. I like to blend bamboo with silk, tencel or more bamboo for shawls and garments that have excellent drape, are warm and durable. The bamboo I use is mill-dyed into a range of saturated colors from yellows to dark purples.