Experimentation with machine stitch and pleating

Today I began experimenting with machine stitch as this is an area I have not explored before, as I am using hand stitch as well I thought they would compliment each other. It is also a much quicker method of joining together materials which will be useful as i am on a tight time deadline. This idea of experimenting with machine stitch came from researching Jan Beanley and Jean Little John, as they both work by expressing landscapes through the mediums of stitch and embroidery. Their compositions are very creative so instead of narrowing myself to only a few skills I thougth I would develop my range of techniques to make my material seascapes much more interesting.



First of all I started experimentation on the sewing machine by adapting its functions, I was able to create a loose loop stitch which I find very aesthetically pleasing. This could potentially be used as representing broken waves.

My tutor then showed me how to create pleats. I really liked this method and thought it was really effective. It was rather time consuming however I think the other all outcomes worth it. I would like to develop this method further.

 I was inspired by the book ‘The Art Of Manipulating Fabric’ by ‘Colette Wolff’ to try some smocking. This at first seemed really complicated but after I tried out a few testers I became rather refined at the method. I like how I can create very different outcomes with this technique purely depending on the fabrics I use. For example I can create really neat samples using shirting fabric but when I use thinner creased fabric I get a messier more unpredictable outcome. I think I prefer the untidier sample as its more interesting.

I then began to create larger smocking samples using thinner material as I wanted an uncontrolled sample which could hang unpredictably. I much prefer using thinner materials as I think it represents the nature of the sea much more realistically than stiff materials.

Again from the book ‘The Art of Manipulating Fabric’ I was given the idea of couching as I wanted some more techniques to try out. I like the texture and visual quality this method produces. If I had a complex composition this would be useful to help break up sections and add balance within the work. However, I found this to be a very time consuming process taking well over a day to produce just this sample. As I am under a time limit I think this method would be risky to continue as I might not finish my work on time. If I was to continue with this idea in the future then I would definitely include this technique, yet I would use subtler thread as I think the colours used here are rather childlike

After creating a range of samples I was able to start building up compositions. I was advised by one of my tutors to use more subtle, sophisticated colours so I took this into consideration when producing the seascapes. I was simply pinning together various materials and samples to see how they worked together in the composition.

One I was happy with the arrangement and tones I joined them together using the technique embellishing which I experimented with before and hand stitch.

The only problem I encountered when making my pieces was that the needles on the embellishing machine were too flimsy. I found myself breaking the majority of the needles after about only 10 minutes of using the machine. So I tried to resolve this by using only thin materials and going very cautiously yet they still seemed to break off. The barrels needed to replace the broken ones were expensive at 14 pounds each. And then it was the delivery time period I had to wait so this set me back on my producing of my seascapes quite a lot. I decided to limit my use on the embellishing machine as much as I could which I was disappointed with as I really like the effects the machine creates. I relied more on hand stitch to join my materials together and only used the technique of embellishing for aesthetics of the piece.

 

Final Major Project

Today i was researching into different materials and their qualities. I begun to work with fabrics by attatching them to more robust materials. In my first experimentation i attached a type of bonded fabric (name unsure) to the back of sample piece i had previously sewn together, this stiffened the sample to a certain extent yet it held no lasting form. I then tryed with hessian, again it stiffened the sample piece slightly but didnt hold a form. However these materials did make the fabrics more robust and durable.

I then experimented with PVC, instead of simply attaching the material to the back of the sample piece i blended it with the different fabrics sewn together. This technique deffinately added more strenght to the fabrics and was able to hold slight form. This material is more robust than the previous experimentations therefore an improvement, however i still dont think its rigid enough to hold a form for an excessive amount of time so i shall continue with experimentations.

I moved on to having the idea of using wax to create a solid form, although this worked effectively the concequences were that the wax completely changed the qualities and the surface texture of the materials. They are no longer soft to touch and each fabric feels the same instead of having unique textures. Also the colours of the fabrics are deepened to a darker more subdued tone, there is less character in the individual fabrics. Apart from the faults that i have pointed out i have found that this method creates a solid robust form that is durable and long lasting and that will keep to the form of the body. So this could be an effective approach in later work.

 

Because the wax changed the surface texture of the fabrics i tryed to find a way to keep the qualities of the materials the same. I decided to experiment with wire, i incorporated it into the sample by weaving it throught the fabrics. Weaving the wire adds another visual quality to the sample piece as it stands out from the materials. This technique turned out to be effective because it holds the form for a long duration. However i think the sample could be improved if the wire was slightly thicker, this would make it stronger and more durable. I tested out another wire sample but this time instead of weaving it through the materials I folded the materials over and stitched the wire in. This way i was able to put more wire in which gives it a more solid form but it didn't improve the aesthetics.

Investigating different type of stitch allows me to consider what i could combine into my work. At the moment i have limited knowledge on only 3 types of stitch - french knot, straight and blanket stitch which i have integrated into the samples.

Taking primary research of the setting seascape will allow me to create a colour pallet based on the actual colours/tones. I have used my imagination in previous work on how the colours should be at a sun set but these photographs will enable me to produce a more realistic colour pallet. I have taken photographs from the start of the sunset to the end to show how the colours can change so rapidly and how different they become in just a short space of time. There are some beautiul tones including radiant yellows, oranges, purples, blues, greys, whites and creams. From these images i shall use paints to produce colour pallets of different tones, which ill work from to mix dyes to start applying to fabrics.

 

Today I created colour pallets to try and produce similar tones to the ones in these photographs. By doing this it allows me to know what dyes, when mixed together, produces what colour. I started off with blending watercolours but soon realised that the colours created wern't vibrant enough, the media is to soft to make a good enough representation of the seascape. The same goes for the pastels that i experimented with next, unfortunately again the nature of the material is to soft. I want expressive tones which stand out to the viewer, which is not what the pastels or watercolours delivered. Acrylic paint turned out to be the most effective media to produce a colour pallet as it generates dramatic vivid tones, similar to the dyes. So i have made a larger colour pallet out of the acrylic paints as this is what i shall be referring to when making my dyed fabrics.

Over the weekend i had visited charity shops and fabric shops to purchase a range of materials so i wasn't solely relying on the fabrics at college, giving me a broader choice when it comes to producing my final piece. I made a fabric sample book in the form of a concertina and layed out the different samples so they can be touched enabling one to feel the difference in each fabric. I then dyed the materials, mixing around the colours to create different tones of greens, yellows, blues, reds, oranges, purples, greys and browns. I also kept a note of what dyes i was mixing together so in later work i can relate back to this. Generating this sample book is going to benefit me in later work as i can select which fabric i think is more appealing by textural and visual qualities, then select which tones i prefer to produce these on a larger scale for my final major.

I decided that furthur experimentation was needed, incorporating the fabrics which i purchased over the weekend. I started off by mixing tone to try and recreate a sunset which i had previously captured in a photograph. The fabrics worked well together however i think the yellow lace (number 1) would have improved the composition if it was brighter as it doesnt quite express the vibrancy of that sunset. The material the lace is created from finds it difficult to mingle with the other fibres by the process of embossing. If i was to use the lace again it would have to be stitched to hold it in place. Embossing creates a beautifully raised texture on the fabric, it blends the fibres of different materials together by punching several needles through at a high speed. This is one of my favourite methods for joining materials together as i think its very aesthetically pleasing. The felt (no.26) took a while to attach to the other materials, again if i was to use this in my final major i would have to reinforce it with stitch. Even though the lace didnt work the other fabrics took to embossing really well (no.18, 28, 24, 14,15, 25, 31). I think i have tryed to make this sample piece it too picturesque and too representative of the photograph, to improve the other samples i will make them more abstracted.

I have created another sample by purely embossing again. By doing this it allows me to see which materials work best and which dont, enabling me to make a better decision in what fabrics i will be using for my final piece. All the fabrics in this composition work well, they wont need to be reinforced by stitch and the fibres blend with one another nicely. However, i will most likely incorporate stitch into my final work any way as its more visually and texturally exciting. I have tryed to be represenative of a moody sky here as the sun hides behind the clouds.

The tones in the blue fabrics all complement each other nicely. They all work reasonably well when embellishing, allowing the tones to blend into one another making the composition feel complete. This sample is representative of the sea as the tones are quite subdued compared to the bright tones in the sky in the other samples. Dark purples and blues are used to try and create a gloomy appearance; however I have used some lighter colours which contrast to the dark. The bright turquoise adds that extra something needed to bring the composition together. However, I think I have made the sea to light; it needs to be darker to let the attention be kept on the sunset. The photographs depict a dark sea where the sky is filled with amazingly vibrant colours so when I develop this I will make sure the sea is much plainer. Too much detail in the sea will detract attention from the main feature, being the vibrancy of the sunset.

I have made this sample very simple just including two fabrics (no.8 and 29). However, I tried to include a third (no.5) but the material would not be held to the others by using the method of embellishing. So I won’t be using this fabric when it comes to developing my final piece. The other two fabrics joined together really effectively. The embellisher took away most of the detail from the first fabric as it had originally been printed on. I think this gives it a more interesting appearance. These fabrics are definite possibilities to use in further work.

I have produced a green sample, yet I won’t be using the colour green in my work I just wanted to see how the materials blended. Unfortunately no.7 didn’t blend very well to the other fabrics so I shall avoid using this again. Hessian also found it slightly difficult to blend yet I think the thick texture works well in the composition filled with thinner materials. So I will still try and use this but it might need to be reinforced with stitch.

 I wanted to see if I could develop other methods of bonding the materials together. I decided I would experiment with the heat press, so I put the materials in between a plastic folder and heated them for about 15 seconds. This method did bond the materials and plastic, unfortunately the plastic completely takes away the qualities of the fabrics as there is no texture anymore. It also detracts the appearance and leaves a more faded version of once bright tones. I don’t like this method of using a plastic folder so I won’t be using it again in my development.

After experimenting with a plastic folder and it being unsuccessful i decided to use a thinner material such as cling film to join the materials together. This worked much better as you can hazily see the fibres and tones in the materials, it doesn’t detract attention away from the qualities of the materials as much. The only problem is that it’s not as sturdy as the plastic folder sample.

Because the plastic makes the qualities of the materials difficult to see and unable to touch I decided to just put a folded plastic folder to the back of one sample and then put it in the heat press again for about 15 seconds. This allowed one to still touch the fabrics and see the sample directly instead of having the appearance of looking through a hazy window. It stiffened the fabrics well, however it wouldn’t be an effective way of bonding the fabrics, and I would have to join them beforehand. I prefer this sample to the others as I think it would be more durable.

On this last sample I decide to again use cling film however keep it under the heat press for longer than 15 seconds, so it might bring the appearance of the materials out more.  Again It didn’t really work it still appears like looking through a hazy window. The orange and black composition contrasts effectively yet the plastic lessens the brightness of the orange.  I experimented with weaving wire through the materials and then bonding using the cling film in order to stiffen the sample and enable it to hold a form. This worked well but I don’t think I’ll be using this technique again as I want the texture of the materials to be a significant part of my work.