Rattle Ya Dags

Remembering cold winters in the hills above Hokitika and Greymouth, searching for my Great-great-Uncle Sam's grave [mum was sure he was buried in Blackball but was she ever wrong - he's buried in Naenae]  by picking bits of wool off fences while out blackberrying with my nana and grandad.

We'd drive miles up and down the coast with Nana and Grandad in their Morris 1100 looking at parts of our family history. All these memories inspired this outfit. So that explains the sleeves.

The candlewick is a whole other story...Growing up in the sixties, we all had candlewick bedspreads. I hated mine and used to lie on my bed and try and pick all the tufts out. I’m surprised any candlewick survives today because I'm sure I'm not the only kid who did that. And Mum was wise to my tricks - pulling my old bedspread apart wasn't going to get me a new one.

This candlewick has been redyed and made into a wrap jacket.
 

Technical Information: 

Hand dyed handknitted sleeves attached to a modified candlewick dressing gown. The kilt is made from an old picnic blanket with hand dyed handknitted panels.

The socks are cotton with knitted lace trim [also hand dyed].

These photos are courtesy of 2009 Hokonui Fashion Design Awards

Rattle your daggs in a Kiwi Kilt won the 2009 Hokonui Heritage Centre Kiwiana Award.

Rattle your daggs also won Style Pasifika 2010 Flava Urban Street Wear