I have been very interested in the idea of "craft" and handmaking. There has been a discordance in the art and design realms concerning the definition and validity of the term "craft." Stemming from my love of folk art and handmade objects, I pushed myself to create as much as possible by hand in this garment. I first loosely hand knit different shapes and lengths out of yarn, abut half of which I had spun from wool roving by hand with a drop spindle. I dyed the samples using both natural and synthetic dyes. I laid the pieces in shapes I felt were interesting and often resembled objects associated with hand making, such as baskets, bowls, and vases, and used a felting machine to attatch them to the solid wool base. I hand sewed the patterned pieces together using an exposed basket stitch. The buttons were created by pinching clay (leaving my own fingerprints) which I then painted black before sewing to the top.