presentation boards.

Today i have been working on my presentation boards and thought i would do someting slightly different this time. I used one a1 sized board for my ideas and then used four a2 boards to present my samples on. I wanted to present them seperatley so i could go into detail into where the influences came from and put them into context.

This was my 4th board that i completed due the sample being quite big i'm not sure if i have enough room to add in a fashion silhouette but i may try on Saunday afternoon to complete this,i may cut the sample up a bit more so i have more space. I would have liked to layer up this sample with another technique(sunday afternoon perhaps?)

Detail of sample- i like this sample its layers of plastic, stitch and dyed fabric so it reflects what i have been looking into.I used an accent colour of lime green which i think works really well as it highlights how deep the pinky red really is! It's quite feminine due to curvacious and organic shapes being represented.

This is my board for my machine/hand embroidery/flock/print sample. The figure of the flamingo translates exactly onto the dress, and the french knots become embellishment for the bodice and the wings transform into a feature pleated neckline.

I like this board,it's quite simple due to alot of white background, but i like the mass of colour at the bottom edge,and the mini sample to show where and how my ideas have developed from. The colours and the print translate onto the dress where the little circles are a corset like piece and flares out like flamingos feathers. The colours are taken directly from the fabric sample and the bottom will include machine embroidery as you can see the silhouette isn't finished!

I really like this board as there is alot going on.. My photos are directly taken from my own work, ofembroidery,plastic prints and dyed fabric. All of these techniques that i have already been involved in have come together to create a piece of material. This is an extended version of previous where i have taken that circle idea and have played around with scale and colours!

Detail of fabric.

Close up of material i made in response to looking at flamingos. Flamingos have become my main source of inspiration and are a result of looking at swans and ducks; i kept with the theme of water birds. I love the colours here, red and pink normally clash buut due to adding the orange and white it tones it down and allows the colours to blend just like they would on a flamingo. It has created layers of fabric and colour which is a strong point of interest to me. I really enjoyed making this and after assessment i would like to make this into a feature cushion!

sampling,sampling,sampling

I continued to experiment with my sampling by combining techniques together. This was to extend on my learning as see what techniques work best with one another and how each one can create different textures and add to colour ways.

I played around with adding in accent/strong colours to highlight areas and textures. The orange embroidery thread is of french knots so an area is covered in 'little bobbles' which is really interesting against the flat surface of machine embroidery. I really like using striking colours as it adds definition and draws the eye in!

I have also been playing around with creating feathery textures. Here i have filled in the negative space with little circles stitched in the middle to secure them so they can hang naturally. I used a variety of fabrics to create an array of colour. The paler fabric is printed using the background print of the sample, which then creates a further contrast as the shapes become distorted.

I have also had fun playing with colour again. I used ice-cream colours like pale pink, turquoise and candy yellow and made it vibrant by adding a rich pink red that i dyed using dyrect dyes. This accentuates the colours and highlights the fact that they are very pale, surrounded by the array of feathered textures, some of the machine embroidery detail is lost amongst it all. Which in itself i quite like as it's like another layer to the piece, something of which i have focused on!

As part of creating layers i used the negative pieces of fabric from where i had cut the circles i overlayed this onto some pre-printed fabric to create large circles flat on the fabric,whilst the gaps reveal the bottom layer. In my tutorial, Grainne said i should start to cut out of the fabrics to create transparency and layers; i feel as if i have had fun representing this within my work and it has also allowed me to make the most of my materials!

I finally finished this duck embroidery drawing. I used the devore fabric to create the ducks feathers and pleated them to create feathery textures. It was very delicate and fine, so the pleats aren't very defined which is quite nice as to me they look soft and light.

In my tutorial a thing i noticed was that Grainne started to place all of these drawings together in different compositions,and tryed it myself. You do see something different when they are all placed together. I see an array of textures and colours, and they are of similiar images but all made using different techniques which shows how different each piece can become. I do like my little duck/swan drawings and will give them to my family when they come back from assessment!

Embroidery!

I really enjoy hand embroidery and although it is VERY time consuming,i have made time around working part time to hand stitch into some of my printed fabric...

These photos are close ups of my work before i added another layer on top of this: thermochromic dyes. I wanted to create texture within the prints which i think i achieved with a variety of stitches including chain and long stitch.

This is what my printed/sewing piece looks like, i don't like it as much now i have added the thermochromic dyes onto them. However i do like how it has enhanced the texture of the print, as it shines through subtly (body&neck) but i don't like how the colour is more purple than pink so contrasts with the print and stitch colours!

Close up of embroidered flamingo.

I trialled this piece out with a very contrasting mint green, which i thought refreshed the whole piece and made a statement piece, however now that the thermochromic dyes have been put on i think it does dull it down now.

This is just a cotton sample with pigment dyes and hand stitch. But i think it works well, better than previous due to the colour (i feel) brings out the print more, and they work together to accentuate shapes rather than flatten or dull bits down.

Close up of feathered textured stitch, building on the idea of layers not only within drawings and samples but now within stitch also. I will definetley continue to play around with this idea, i'm thinking plastics to layer on top of a print. This then makes the fabric slightly waterproof, enabling me to use hydrochromic dyes.

Fabric Drapery continued.

Following the last time i sampled some of my ideas in the form of drapery i designed some further designs, also from being inspired by Sonia Rykiels collection (below).

I designed a various of 5 different designs using techniques that i have already trialled such as pleating,drapery, layering,print and embellishment.

Close ups of my designs. I kept a simple colour scheme taken directly from flamingos,and my samples. This consisted of pinks, oranges and nudes. I then took this further by taking it back to drapery but using different techniques such as ruffling and rouching...

With this dress i played around with ruffling up the fabric around the neckline to create a big and bold statement neckline teamed with simple and understated pleating that drapes. This creates contrasting textures along with contrasting colours to distinguish the difference in technique & texture.

This was probably my favourite design; appearance wise due to the alternative neckline. I prefer the right hand photo due to the bold colour statement! I have also added volumne to the skirt, to provide a more fitted shape and curvature to the dress, just like flamingos 'skirt'. Flamingos have more volumne towards the bottom half of their body where the featheres layer up.

I tried drapery around the neckline to add volume to a different part of the dress. I also like how the colours have naturally created a dip dye effect as they rouche together!

My favourite part about doing drapery is the way the colours connect and interact with one another creating it's own personality naturally. The accent colour of orange creates a massive statement along side the nudes and pale pinks, it adds depth to the fabrics and highlights the tones of the colour palette.

Fabric Drapery

With the fabric i dyed i wanted to fit it in with the context for my work: fashion. I am lucky i have a mannequin i could use and i draped my fabric over creating flamingo shapes,and the colours worked realy well together, i was pleased with the outcomes. I made use of pleating my fabric to reveal little layers over one another, and the colours then flashed between. I would love to of made a garment, but the idea of my course is to think about the use of materials and techniques and propose ideas and suggestions for what they could become,as anyone within the industry could take my fabric and create anything they invisage it! I wanted it to be for the body, to represent the idea of feathers are birds 'clothes' and wanted to directly manipulate this idea by creating 'layers' and 'feathery' textures for us as humans to wear...

Basic drapery with 2 colours, working with panelling ideas. This 'idea' doesn't have a structure as such so don't think it represents effectively a bird shape. However it does represent the freedom of the feathers.

Close up of pleated panelling and dip dye effect.

Combining a previous technique of joining together fabric, adding another layer, colour and texture into the mix. Adding this neckline also adds charcter to the piece,and corresponds to a flamingos elegant neck!

This dress has a geometric and sturtured feel. The panelling has working both vertically and horizontally, but this shows a clear image of the colours working together intertwining and blending together freely just like feathers would.

Close up. Also with this drapery i have used a variety of materials such as silk, light and heavy weight cotton so it is interesting to see how each piece hangs. The cotton has a nicer look when it hangs as it drapes, you can clearly see the edging, wheras the silk is light and so cannot hold shape as well.

Aassymetric drapery: I really like this one, it's different to the others and you get a gradual decline of colours and pleating, it is using silk which gives a delicate and light feel to it. This is what i want to achieve as feathers to me are light and layered up to create a rainbow of colours blending together with ease.

I am starting to work myway down the mannequin adding in layers and i have also added in a contrasting piece of material from a previous print of a feathery texture. My eye is immediatley drawn to it, you can see it is heavier than silk and the accent colour is much bolder and heavier than the silk.

Again varying the textures by adding pre-dyed cotton, and devore silk on top of the light silk. The difference between the first layered drapery of just silk and the combination of silk and other heavier fabrics are quite clear and i don't think it works as effectively to turn into a garment that relates to flamingos.

I really like this one! I got rid of the patterned fabric and the layered sample to keep it simple and so that the focus is on the colour and the drapery! I love how the colours all blend together, and in the same colour tone.

Close up of the colours and drapery.

Closer close up. I like it :) It's delicate and the colours easily translate back to a flamingo and the idea of it being free in shape (apart from the structured neckline) i think it represents the bird well. In the wind and within movement (something else i was also looking into) the shapes of a birds feathers is not structured and is free and light. I would love to turn my fabric into a dress, i may play around with some more ideas that it could become!

Stitching into Plastics

I haven't blogged in awhile that's because my work has been full of accidents; i haven't managed to produce some inspirational or successful work which has made me really unmotivated which i hate in itself! Friday 27thApril - i experimented with sewing into different materials such as tissue paper, codatrace, acetate, fabric and bin liner. This sounds like alot of experimenting-but the outcomes were not so great!

This is just free machine embroidery onto fabric, the tension isn't great on it as you can see the bobbin thread coming up which in turn dies create a nice texture adding contrasting lines.

I then applied a sheet of bin liner on the top, then a piece of acetate and finally a last piece of bin liner to mould it together. This was quite succesful as i managed to create layers (feathers and bird connotations) and trap the embroidery stitching within it, making it slightly waterproof as the acetate lay dominant on top!

You can't really see from this image,as it looks basically the same as before; you can just make out where the plastic is due to the little holes it has naturally created around the stitching. This was quite an interesting experiment working with materials and stitch and i would like to have a go using hydrochromic dyes on it.... (note to self).

The reverse to this piece was also quite interesting due to the impression it left from when it was in the heat press. The detail has been captured perfectly right down to the indivdual stitches and texture. It is very different from the front of the fabric due to it being white on white with just the pattern to characterise it! But i prefer it; it's simple and neat and very delicate looking.

I also managed to squeeze in a little observational drawing in oil pastel with some left over paper that had leftover dye on, i thought this added colour and character to it.

I used 3 different oil pastel colours to capture movement and so it is easily portrayed. I mimiced the scale in a photoshop picture so as she got closer she also got bigger! I quite like this where all the drawings come together as one!