Custom Design for the Fabric Arts at the Treetops Studios

The Island Look       Our summers are long, warm and very dry: the winters long, cool and very wet. Modern knitwears are the natural way to adapt your 'look' to life on 'The Island' or, indeed, to any climate similar to ours. But the weather is only part, and perhaps a small part, of the reason for choosing a particular garment. Rainwear excepted, most women's outerwear is actually worn indoors - at work, on social occasions and while shopping or traveling. The garment must still be crisp and fresh after hours in a car or plane or at the end of that 'long day'.

The mention of 'knitwear' normally brings to mind images of heavy woolen garments. That image has been out of date for at least a generation. The light weight T-shirts we wear are usually a fine jersey knit. Modern treatments of natural fibres and progress in natural fibre-synthetic fibre blends allow the designer to knit 'lightness' into almost any garment. For example, the front and back panels of the vest in the illustration are studio pieced batik cotton. The yoke and side gussets are a loose wool on wool knit-weave. The vest weighs only 10 ounces and yet it holds its shape, travels very well and can be worn indoors or out. It was this garment that led us to the our motto:

Custom Design, Custom Knit & Custom Tailoring       We believe that the custom designed and studio produced garment gives our clients the freedom to balance impressions of strength and subtlety. Our knitted fabrics can be soft or severe, bright or calm and decorative, patterned or plain. It all depends on what the client is looking for. Usually it is a specific garment for a specific use. But any project can be the start of that most productive relationship between a studio and a client, the creation and support of a unique, personal 'look'.

The fabric Elaine has mounted on the blocking frame at the right is part of a pure alpaca vest. The dark bands are knitted in a privately spun yarn from the client's own stash. We found a quality commercial yarn with a nearly identical look and feel for the light bands. The overall shape, style and weight - in this case a classic straight cut with muted horizontal stripes in a translucent knit - demonstrates the potential of alpaca for all-season wear. The image you see here is derived from an attachment in the e-mail conversations that are part of the production routine with our more distant clients.      Top

We like to bring a new client into the studio for measurements and a short review of the possibilities of style, fit and fabric. The first visit to a wearable arts studio can be quite a revelation. Most new clients are simply not aware of the choices they can make. The normal operation of the fashion cycle in womens' clothing and the practicalities of retail merchandising, even in a specialized up-market store, make it difficult to develop a personal look. The current style does not have to be ignored: good ideas come up all the time. It is more a matter of working with you to define a personal style and then designing and fitting the garment or garments that show your good taste. Once your customized 'look' is established our project is underway. Working together, we can adapt, and sometimes anticipate, changes in both style and lifestyle. In the long run the personalized wardrobe can be more adaptable and less expensive than a closet full of commercial products that were: 'OK. Sort of.' at the time.

Plain, Decorative and Artistic Fabrics       The impact of fabric artistry can be as wide as we and thee have the time and inspiration to make it. Normally, we stay away from the 'shape of the day' and the 'colour of the moment'. We want to show you what women's outerwear, and specifically knitwear, can say about you. While our styling model is the classic 'Look' of the 1930's to 1950's, we take our decorative and artistic inspirations from anywhere. So long as they suit the image you want to project, we might suggest a 3000 year old Greek key pattern or this month's silk over silk lace effect from San Francisco.

Studio knit fabrics can be 36 inches or more wide. There can be as many as six colours or yarn types in any knitted row. To get just the right effect we often ply several finer yarns together in the studio before we start knitting. Colour and texture can be applied in thousands of standard or custom designed knitted, woven and lace patterns. The four patterns shown below were part of a baby blankets project. Accents and embellishments can be added to the finished fabric by hand.

Transforming a garment into wearable art is a bit like arranging an exhibition in a small gallery space. John is a professionally trained artist with a good critical eye for fit and effect. He can develop a personalized decorative pattern for you, from a single motif, to a motif in repeated patterns, to an original artistic image presented in either an embroidered or tapestry style. With all these possibilities it would be easy to get carried away. We usually try for a subtle impact, in keeping with the classic simplicity of the Treetops Studio's "Island Look". But bending the rules is part of any art, including wearable art. And sometimes you do want to 'turn on the lights' when you walk into a room. Top