
What was being hidden for all those years behind all these scarves?
Eighty-five scarves comprise this swing coat. They were in a plastic tote bin when I broke up my mom’s house. I don’t remember her ever wearing them, but there they were, all ironed and folded and sorted by size. As part of the clearing process, I am going through thousands of pictures in photo albums and when I find one of her, a grandmother or me, wearing a scarf, it is added to a pocket located inside the coat. This garment is fully lined, has side pockets, and is laid out so the individual designs can be seen, the patterns appreciated and the brand names noticeable. One scarf has my grandmother’s name on it from her days in the nursing home.
The layout and construction were the most time-consuming part of this project, each scarf being gathered and attached by hand stitching. Each one is also able to be removed, worn, and reattached so the memories are preserved intact. A variety of words come to mind when thinking about a scarf…. wrap, drape, hide, embellish, veil, tie, knot….