The birth of the patchwork fashion began through necessity and as a way to protest current fashion trends. The group responsible for this trend were know by two names the house of Unlimited Devotion or naturally The Spinners. The Spinners were best know for their dance style spinning in circles at the Grateful Dead shows and then falling prostrate on the ground once the song ended. They were formed as a religious group who worshiped Jerry Garcia and the band as a divinity they spun as a way to show devotion hence their name.
They first started by development there designs from any material they could hand sew into a pattern. Maybe their most paramount found was the apron worn by the women. The found was inspired by their reliance about sexuality in a male dominated subculture and as a protest of restrictive women's clothing during that time. The apron was made from any estimate of fabrics with only a straightforward string tied at the back to hold the garment on. They also began to make the "spinner" dresses by attaching alternating strips of cloth that were cut very thin at the top and gradually got thicker towards the bottom to give them the best effect when the girls spun as the music was played.
Hippy Clothes
The Church also began to make patchwork clothing as a way to use their left over materials going so far as to carry sewing machines on the road with them to produce garments for both use and sale. This patchwork fashion was eventually taken over by the jam band subculture and has been turned into what we see today. The Spinners created these designs with a religious meaning to them. Contemporary subculture appropriated their styles but did not bring along the religious point they once held. As with whatever favorite the capitalist were not far behind supplementary distorting the former intent.
This is a small example of what often happens in the jam band subculture the items once meant to resist Contemporary culture are absorbed by it. The patchwork bag is also a favorite item seen at many jam band shows and come in a collection of shapes and sizes. The style is unique with no two patchwork bags ever being exactly the same and the handcrafted factor will keep the patchwork bag favorite for years to come.
Birth of the Hippie Patchwork