Waverley Mills invited us to work with their Craft Packs and explore what could be created from them. It was a fun opportunity that encouraged some experimentation and creative thinking. We enjoyed leaning into the challenge of working with the mixed selection of materials in the pack.
Based in Tasmania, Australia, Waverley Mills is the country’s oldest working textile mill, founded in 1874. The mill is known for producing woollen blankets, throws and scarves using Australian merino wool, alpaca and recycled fibres. With a strong focus on sustainability and heritage, Waverley Mills combines traditional weaving techniques with contemporary practices, overseeing the entire process onsite from raw fibre through to the finished product.
Each Craft Pack contains approximately 500 grams of recycled wool offcuts, including blanket ends and smaller pieces. The fabrics, colours and sizes vary from pack to pack, making each one a unique starting point for a project.
Fabric: Waverley Mills Craft Pack
The Craft Packs are a lucky dip of what you will receive, which is such an exciting prospect!
When we pulled these pieces from the pack, there were a variety of colours which looked like a combination of the Textured Throw in Natural, Herringbone Throw in Ginger and Smith’s Lane Blanket in Watermelon Check.
We loved the tonal mix of these colours and how they would look in something panelled. The mix also had a great combination of textures with the herrigbone and the waffle effect.
Pattern: Simplicity 9896
Simplcitiy 9896 came to mind as an option as a base for this project for the panelling detail.
It is a semi-fitted cropped jacket with raglan sleeves, a stand collar and a panelled bodice.
Due to the size of the pieces of wool in the pack we had to get a little creative with how we cut and sliced the panels but the inspiration from the jacket remained.
For the construction of the jacket, we needed some extra fabric, so we spent some time considering what would be a suitable mix with this stunning material from Waverley Mills. We came across an old cream blanket that blended well with the colours from the Craft pack and was also 100% wool.
We used this wool blanket to fill in the gaps of the bottom half of the sleeve, the back panel and a small section in the front. To highlight the design lines, we also added flat piping detail along the seam to emphasise the panelled lines.
We also adapted the front closure of the jacket to be an exposed zipper.
Finished Project
Photo Credits
Fabric: Wool Craft Pack gifted by Waverley Mills
Patterns: Simplicity 9896 provided by Sewdirect Australia
Photos by: James Christie Media
