Module 3 - Chapter 3 - Fabrics and Threads

My colour scheme, as chosen in Chapter 2, is Magenta & Lime.

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A collection of beads, sequins, fabrics and threads that I already had in my 'stash'.

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Purchases from the Festival of Quilts at the NEC. Threads, beads and buttons in magenta and lime, plus plain fabrics and threads to dye.

 



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I collected a selection of buttons, curtain hooks, tile spacers, washers, matchsticks etc that I thought might make interesting embellishments. I put these into a jar with a small amount of magenta acrylic paint, and gave it a good shake. The result was very pleasing!

I set aside an entire day to dye my fabric and threads. At 9am I started to prepare the soda, salt and dye mixtures. I used turquoise and lemon yellow to achieve lime green and a citrus greeny yellow. I tried to mix a darker shade of green, but only achieved an ugly mid green, so used avocado as a darker shade of lime.

For the pinks, I used scarlet, fire engine red, magenta and marine violet.

The threads were a selection of silks, cottons, rayon floss and string.

The fabrics were cotton (pfd), cotton voile, silk dupion, habotai, noil, and linen and were all cut to approximately 'fat quater' size.

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'greens'

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 'pinks'

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 'pink and green mixtures' mostly random dyed. Top row centre, and bottom row left were dip dyed.

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 threads

12 hours later, I was still ironing my fabrics dry, but have never enjoyed ironing so much before! I was exhausted, having spent more than 4 hours just rinsing out the dye, but the results were amazingly rewarding!

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 Monoprinting was fun. I printed some with one layer, some with two layers, and some with three layers of paint (acrylic mixed with fabric textile printing binder).

Module 3 Chapter 2 - Design Work (Spiral 'Warm-up' Exercises)

The complimentary colours chosen to work with throughout this designwork are cerise and lime.

Papers were sponged randomly with shades, tints and adjacent hues of cerise and lime, and then cut up to translate some of the images from Chapter 1 into the following 2-dimensional shapes.

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Of all of the above 2d translations, I find the buildings to be the most interesting. The Gherkin has very interesting spiralling lines, and Orbit (the viewing gallery building from the Olympic Games) is fascinating with its double spiralling effect.

Carefully using a craft knife, strips of corrugated card were cut and rolled to make 3-dimansional spiral shapes.

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 Sixteen A4 sheets of paper were coloured and then monoprinted once, twice and in some instances, many times with spiralling print designs to create complex and exciting layers of pattern.

I mixed acrylic paint with fabric textile printing medium (binder). This kept the paints workable for longer.

My favourite method of creating pattern was by rotating a small square of sponge scourer. This gave a lovely rose pattern. Ideal for a first layer of print.

Twisting a zig-zagged cardboard comb in round swirling patterns gave a good effect, and hand drawn scribbles with a rubber blending tool was very successful as a final print.

Lime green paint was not very noticable over layers - very subtle, however I did find it useful for bringing prints back to a lime colour if the had gone too 'milky'.



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Spirals created on the computer in Illustrator.

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 Spirals created on the computer in Photoshop

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My current thought for an accessory is a bracelet, spiralling around the lower, or even upper arm, with a beaded chain somehow loosely spiralling and hanging, inspired by Orbit???????



Module 3 Chapter 1 - Research for Spirals - Man Made & Natural

NATURAL SPIRALS

MAN-MADE SPIRALS

SPIRAL DRAWINGS

SPIRAL RUBBINGS

 

the rubbing on the left is from the back of a chair, top right is a home-made rubbing plate made from spiralled string glued to card, bottom right is a rubbing from a fire surround. 

Evaluation of Funtional 3D Embroidered Item

The completed embroidered assessment piece for Module Two is a zebra inspired bag based on the design topic of tone and animal markings.

How do you feel about the resulting conclusion?

I am extremely happy with the bag. I feel that I carried out each process to the best of my ability, from design to pre-production and experimental samples which helped to eliminate any potential construction problems.
I learned a lot of processes throughout the module, many of which were utilised in the construction of the bag, which made it a very exciting process.
I think the bag is very attractive and I will be proud to carry it.

Is it fit for its purpose - give reasons?

As a final assessment peice for Module Two, it is fit for its purpose as its design is based on zebra markings. It uses fabrics contrasting in both light and dark tones.
As a bag, it is funtional, quite strong, and large enough to carry a number of items.

If you were asked to make it again, what changes would you make to the way you designed it and the way you made it?

If I were to make the bag again, I would probably include a zip closure.
I would also probably rethink the tassles at the ends of the bag. In retrospect, I think they were probably rushed as they were the final stage, and lacked the attention and planning that the rest of the bag received. I would have probably stitched some tassles, frayed some, and varied the lengths making them more of a dramatic feature.

Health & Sefety Considerations

Bleach: use in a well ventillated area to avoid breathing in fumes. Wear rubber gloves to protect skin. Store away from children & pets.

Dyes: wear mask to avoid inhalling particles. Keep away from draughts. Wear rubber gloves to protect skin. Store upright with lids secure. Keep well away from food preparation areas, and also away from children & pets. Clean tools after use.

Paints & inks: keep tools specific to painting and dyeing seperate from kitchen utensils. Keep away from food preparation areas. Store upright with lids secure, away from children & pets. Clean tools after use.
Adhesives: always read manufacturers instructions before use. Use in a well ventillated area, away from naked flames. Keep away from food preparation areas. Store upright with lids secure, away from children & pets. Avoid contact with skin. Clean tools after use.


Knives, scissors and Rotary Cutters; Never pull a blade towards you. Keep fingers well away from the path of a rotary cutter, and fasten closed after use. Put tools away after use and store well out of reach of young children.

Pins and needles: store well out of reach of young children, and ensure that no pins or needles are left lying around on floors or work surfaces.

Iron: always unplug after use, and do not leave unatended. Store away when cool with flex lightly wound.

Sewing Machine: unplug and keep covered when not in use.

Storage of Work, Tools, Materials & Equipment

Design work in progress: kept flat, in a large folder.

Completed embroidery: wrapped in acid free tissue paper inside a box.

Completed design work: kept flat, in a large folder.

Papers for design work: kept flat in a large portfolio.

Inks and paints for design work: kept upright with lids secure, inside store cupboard.

Other items like glue, bleach & sprays: as above.

Embroidery work in progress: Inside a workbox with needles, scissors etc, kept in store cupbooard away from children & animals.

Fabrics: folded neatly, wrapped in acid free tissue paper and kept flat inside storage basket.

Threads: In special clear storage boxes for easy viewing, seperated into colour groups.

Beads, metal threads etc: In acid free tissue paper inside storage box in store cupboard.

Dyes, paints etc: kept upright with lids secure, enclosed in container inside store cupboard.

Sewing machine: kept upright on table in workroom, covered when not in use.

Other electrical equipment: On shelves in store cupboard, flex lightly wound.

Chapter 13 - Artist Study