Module 5 - Chapter 5 - Quilting, Padding & Stuffing

I used image 50302a from chapter 3 as inspiration for my quilting lines in this chapter.

50501

Wadded Quilting with fine polyester knitted fabric (swimwear lining) over cotton wadding using running stitch.

50502

Wadded Quilting with fine polyester knitted fabric over shredded newspaper using running stitch. Newspaper exposed at edges as design feature.

50503

Wadded Quilting with nylon net over feathers, using running stitch.

50504

Wadded Quilting with nylon net over threads run through the overlocker. Whole shapes have been filled with random, overlapped cross stitches.

50506

Shaped Quilting with silk habotai over 'funky foam' shapes. Stitched with chain stitch.

50507

Shaped Quilting with nylon net over pumpkin seeds. Stitched with rows of horizontal straight stitches. I originally used a straight running stitch for this sample, but thought the parallel rows of stitch was far more characterful and contemporary and contrasted well with the smooth rounded texture of the seeds that are visible under the net.

50508

Padded Quilting with fine polyester knitted fabric. Stitched with twin needle on sewing machine & stuffed from the back with polyester stuffing. Think this might be slightly overstuffed as shapes have been distorted, but I guess the distortion could also be used to creative effect. This is the first time I've ever really played with the twin needle. I found that the flat area between the two rows of stitching contrasted well with the puffy, overstuffed areas.

50509

Padded Quilting with silk organza. Stitched from the back with herringbone stitch (to give a double row of running stitches on the front), and threaded with sari silk. I really enjoyed this sample. Its very neat and precise and was much easier to control than I had imagined. 

50510

Corded Quilting with silk habotai. Lengths of string were stitched between channels of 'twin needle' machine stitching. I have ordered a pin tuck foot for my machine as I think it would make it easier to control the direction of the string during this process.

50511

This is the previous sample from the back. I think this is much more attractive, probably because of the contrasting shades and the contrasting textures of the rough string against the soft shiny silk. It would have probably been quite interesting to do a combination of backwards and forward facing channels.

Module 5 - Chapter 4 - Fabric Investigation

I collected as many different types of fabric as I could in white or natural colours. Some were from my fabric stash, some (many of the man-mades and rubbers) were from work. Some I ordered online to increase the selection and diversity.

050401

050402

I then carried out test on a selection of fabrics to see how each behaved:

050403

SILK NOIL

construction: finely woven

creases when crumpled
no stretch on warp/weft
stretch on bias
edges fray easily
bias frays with some difficulty
threads unpick from centre of weave easily
a crumbling ash was formed on the edge when burned
burn marks were made on the fabric with a soldering iron

050404

LINEN SCRIM

construction: loosely woven

creases when crumpled
no stretch on warp/weft
stretch on bias
edges fray easily
bias frays easily
threads unpick from centre of weave easily
a crumbling ash was formed on the edge when burned
burn marks made with a soldering iron were difficult to see because of the openness of the weave

050405

COTTON ORGANDIE

construction: firmly woven

creases heavily when crumpled
no stretch on warp/weft
stretch on bias
edges fray easily
bias frays quite easily
threads unpick from centre of weave easily
a crumbling ash was formed on the edge when burned
burn marks were made on the fabric with a soldering iron

050406

LINEN

construction:  woven

creases when crumpled
no stretch on warp/weft
stretch on bias
edges fray easily
bias frayseasily

threads unpick from centre of weave easily
a crumbling ash was formed on the edge when burned
burn marks were made on the fabric with a soldering iron

050407

WOOL BLANKET

construction:  woven

does not crease when crumpled
no stretch on warp/weft
stretch on bias
edges do not fray very easily
bias does not fray very easily

threads unpick from centre of weave quite easily
a crumbling ash was formed on the edge when burned
burn marks were made on the fabric with a soldering iron

050408

COTTON VELVET

construction:  woven

creases when crumpled
no stretch on warp/weft
stretch on bias
edges fray easily
bias frays easily

difficult to unpick threads from centre of weave
a crumbling ash was formed on the edge when burned
burn marks were made on the fabric with a soldering iron

050409

NYLON LYCRA

construction: knitted

does not crease when crumpled
stretches well both vertically & horizontally
stretches well on bias
edges do not fray easily
bias does not fray easily

difficult to unpick threads from centre of weave
fabric melted away from flame when burned and created a hard edge
fabric was melted away with soldering iron

050410

POLYESTER SATIN

construction: woven

does not crease when crumpled
no stretch on warp/weft
stretches well on bias
edges fray very easily
bias frays easily

threads unpick from centre of weave quite easily
fabric melted away from flame when burned and created a hard edge
fabric was melted away with soldering iron

050411

TYVEK

construction: spun bonded

does not crease when crumpled
no stretch on warp/weft
no stretch on bias
edges do not fray
bias does not fray

no threads to unpick
fabric melted away from flame when burned
fabric was melted away with soldering iron

I then decorated fabric bands with inventive edges.

050412

It was interesting to see how the different processes gave exciting textural qualities to the fabric strips.