MORE ON THAT BANYAN... 13/9/20

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For the vocalised text, try clicking just  HERE

I'm at that awkward stage shared, I am sure, by many artists and craftsmen: I am ready to start my project, but uncertain (not quite the right word) how to begin. It's a bit like being faced with a large sheet of white paper and not quite knowing where to start making a mark: cutting fabric is so VERY final !!
So, as mentioned in a previous post, I have been playing around with mild tints for the chintz lining: instant coffee (left in the photo) Earl Grey tea (centre) and Rooibos (right). The results were, unsurprisingly, quite different: Coffee left very little mark once I'd washed the fabric; tea was the strongest - a rather greyish beige - and Rooibos was vaguely rusty. 
Really hard to tell from the photo, as the tint IS very subtle: all I want to do is slightly knock back the rather bright white, so I think I'll stick with my dear old mother's tried and tested tea!
Because the silk is only 72 cms wide (and not overly cheap) I have had to work out very careful 'placements' for the pattern pieces. It took me a while to realise that my original layout made no allowance for pattern direction PLUS I'd made a basic error of mathematics (never my strong point!), so I have had to sketch things out again... and again... and again...
The pattern is a very simple one, based on a north African folk shirt, which I have used many times before for shirts and, most recently, a rain jacket (green nylon, lined with silk - well, why not?!).
Oops, my battery is getting low, I'd best sign off... but I hope to start working properly on the banyan this week, with cutting out all the pattern pieces. That's just the START!!!

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