There are ten tops available for the foreseeable future — these are made by hand via a detailed, intensive process so please allow roughly four weeks after purchase for your top to be shipped via express delivery 🤍 You will receive an email asking for your waist measurement or you can leave it in your order notes 🤍
This indigo blue top is hand-sewn, hand dyed and hand finished. It's an incredibly detailed process that produces an incredibly unique piece. No elk tooth top is exactly the same.
The process begins with plain rose petal fabric; made from waste rose petals used for perfumes and soaps-- it's woven into a fabric as light as air and soft as petals. I then cut the pattern and hem all the edges.
I then use a hand drawn stamp to ink all the elk teeth into place- it's time consuming but rewarding to see it begin to take shape before I use a resist dye method of batik to preserve the white of the elk teeth.
Using my own handmade indigo vat- I dip the shirts into the dye and allow the fabric to be saturated with dye in gradients. After several dips -- I let it sit overnight for the strongest colour before the long process of boiling the wax out of the fabric begins.
Once the wax is removed- I then hand-wash and dry the piece before pressing flat. (note: this fabric is similar to linen and will need gentle presses to keep it neat.)
I stitch the mother of pearl buttons that secure the piece at the side before adding the label and then the piece is ready to go.
The process for these tops is a love letter to textile design and dressmaking. It emulates how long it would take my Ancestors on the Plains to create a piece; from sourcing the fabric, readying it and adding the adornments. These pieces require gentle handwashing to preserve them but they will last you a lifetime with the proper care!
