Thyme Soft Green Italian Knit from Velvet

The Velvet clothing line is known for their soft fabrics. I was thrilled to find this unusual double sided Italian knit collection: (cotton on one side, wool on the other). When I tossed a piece into the washer/drier, something amazing happened!!! The wool shrank, causing a gorgeous puckered overall effect, a cross between rushing/smocking and a persian lamb-like texture. In the photo, the shrunken sample is at left.

The color is a soft gray-green/celedon.

We now call these the 'shrinky-dink' fabrics and have been experimenting with shrinkage. Here are our findings: The fabric shrinks about 50% in length and width. To keep the overall shrinkage/texture more uniform, machine baste the fabric folded along the selvedge and at the cut edge. Toss in washer/drier. Katherine made her vest V8777 in the black, hand stitching the seams so it can be worn reversed. When I showed this fabric to a workshop class, they were so excited I sold out right away. On my to-do/to sew list is V8430 as a vest...will make it in a big size, raw edges machine stitched 1/4" from edge, then toss the entire thing in the washer/drier. We can't wait to see what other sewists do with this amazing fabric.
Italy
cotton/wool
46"