FLEECE TO FROCK

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32707, 9 September 1971, Page 7

FLEECE TO FROCK

A .Christchurch spinner and weaver, Mrs Mary Bartleft. has played an important part in a recent project to produce a New; Zealand-made wool gar-i ment. from the fleece to the finished product. Mrs Bartlett worked with ai fine merino fleece for the! outfit. The fleece she! used had won the “Golden Fleece” award in the annual contest of the Royal Agricultural Society. It was bred by Mr J. C. McArthur of Clyde, Central Otago. The wool required special treatment. The sun failed to melt the rich grease from the wool, and the only alternative was to wash the lot. Mrs Bartlett decided to texture the garment length with a delicate lace weave since the finished product was to remain its natural white. It took a day to set up the 42 inch loom, involving the placing of 756 warp threads. Two days later she had transformed the fleece into fabric three a half yards, 33 inches wide. Heather Paul, an awardwinning designer, designed and made the finished garment—a tail-i ored. over-the-knee dress and belted jacket. The photographs show Mrs; Bartlett at work on the merino fleece, left, and Wellington model Carol Waghorn modelling the finished, fashion garment