Akiko Ike - Knitting a Chunky Silk Vest
Akiko Ike - Knitting a Chunky Silk Vest
Date: Saturday, September 28, 2024
Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM (with lunch break for 30 minutes)
Price: $175 for a Non-Member / $150 for a Member with discount code
Kit fee: $100 - $175 price varies depending on the size of the vest one wishes to make. The kit includes a variety of kimono silk yarn from Japan curated by Akiko.
*Kit fee must be paid directly to the teacher in USD cash.*
Class Description: The ever-popular Japanese fiber artist, Akiko Ike is coming back to Cedarburg to teach another workshop! If you know how to knit and love to work on a unique project, this workshop is for you. Akiko will show you how to make a chunky silk vest using vintage Kimono silk lining. The color choice will be determined by Akiko as her supplies come from her old Kimono. Each student will purchase silk balls (Kimono lining washed, torn by hand, and made into thin strips) to make a vest. Akiko will get you started on the project, show you all the steps, and you will finish on your own at home. This workshop is not for a brand-new beginner, but if you know how to knit, it’s an easy fast project.
Recommended skill level for participants: Not for a brand-new beginner. Need to know how to cast, knit, and bind off without help.
Supply List:
Four knitting needles - US equivalent of 10 ½ (6.5mm) or Japanese size 15
A pair of scissors to cut silk
Needle caps
Other knitting supplies you use
Teacher Biography:
As a clothing boutique and gallery owner in Niigata Japan, Akiko Ike started big running stitch projects which she calls, “Chiku Chiku,” after she turned 60 years old. She loves fabric, and over the years, many stashes of Japanese “Boro” ended up in her possession. They include antique indigo-dyed cloth diapers, kimonos, farmers' and fishermen work clothing and banners, and old (Boro) cloth used in Japanese households and mended many times over. She wanted to preserve these, and found ways to transform them into distinct, one-of-a-kind, free-style art pieces.
Her works have appeared in many venues throughout Japan since 2006. In addition, she has been invited to hold workshops and exhibits in Nantou, France (2014) and Brisbane and Adelaide, Australia (2015). Since 2015, an Australian group of Chiku Chiku stitchers make their pilgrimage to Niigata, Japan, on a regular basis where Akiko holds workshops. In 2023, the WMQFA hosted her first solo Chiku Chiku exhibition in North America.
