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Meet the Maker: Ladies Fancywork Society

The Ladies Fancywork Society are a local-to-Denver crochet street-art group. We've had the pleasure of working with them many times over the years, from their iconic pink deer that hangs over our mantle to window displays to xxx-crafting get-togethers at the MCA. 

Group shot of the Ladies Fancywork Society

(Photos courtesy of Ladies Fancywork Society)

When they reached out to us about a new project they were embarking on, we were so excited to see what they came up with. They usually work with acrylic yarn which holds up great to the snow, rain, and sun that most of their works are subjected to. When they had a chance recently to collab on a fashion show, of course they came to Fancy Tiger Crafts to get their hands on some fun yarns ideal for garments. Here is a report from the LFS's foray into fashion design for Denver Fashion Week!

How did it come about that Ladies Fancywork Society went from large-scale outdoor installations to being a part of Denver Fashion week?
This year 303 Magazine did opening night of fashion week a little differently, by pairing a handful of street artists with designers for a collaboration line. We have never thought about making clothing with our art (weird, I know!), but when we saw Madi's work with her line, Rebellelion, we knew this mash up would be a dream. She is known for her denim jackets, embellished with all the patches and vintage flair, and we loved all of it!

Custom jacket in process by the Ladies Fancywork Society
You typically use a basic acrylic yarn for your outdoor installations for maximum longevity, but for these garments, you were able to use some different fibers than your usual. Do you have any new favorites yarns or fibers to work with?
Like you said, after 12 years of having installations that need to bare the elements, we learned quickly that acrylic was necessary for our large-scale outdoor installations. It is always refreshing to be able to work with yarn from FTC! We are kinda obsessed with the mini Hedgehog skeins! Such a great way to have SO many colors--and as you can see, we LOVE color. Is rainbow a favorite color?

Ladies Fancywork Society in their typical element on a roof
What is the inspiration behind your favorite pieces?
Our inspiration behind our favorite pieces definitely comes from the world of our monster installations. We wanted to make wearable art. We wanted to have our models wear eyeballs so that not only them, but the audience also felt like they were being watched. We have a slight obsession with texture so making sure there was a lot of different stitches involved. Creating the winged jacket basically became a mini installation of our streamers we love people to interact with.

A grid of completed looks for the Denver Fashion Show(Photos by Cam Parsons)

Do you think there is more fashion design in the future of Ladies Fancywork Society?
This was a whole new world for us! You never know! We love doing huge installations for people to be able to interact with--clothes are interactive too so we aren't saying no.

Ladies Fancywork Society flexing their creative muscles

Anything that you want to share about projects you have going on right now?
Recently we have been expanding our work in 2D form! As you saw on some of our designs, we are loving making huge doilies and using them as stencils. We have a mural unveiling on Friday May 3rd at PS Design 2921 Walnut St. Keep your eyes peeled for more of these doilies around town!

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