DESIGN BRIEF ; FANTASY HAT.
In considering ideas for a three dimensional item of apparel I returned to my original sketch book- 'Life at the Margins: where land and water meet'.
I considered again the sketch of Sea Defences Along the Wash, reproduced below. It was an image I worked with in the design phase of this module, especially using abstracted fragments and altered digital imaging.
Image 1. (A4 sheet)
Image 2 :
A4 sheet
The image produced here captured the essence of the original sketch , emphasising the black frame of the two narrow triangles, but without the crescents and zigzags of the abstracted fragments and computerised distortions.
The centre panel was made from bubble wrap overpainted with a mixture of gesso , Procion MX dyes and Setta Silk paints. This gave a good texture and colour palette and the bubble wrap sample was robust enough to use in this simple design. It was clear, however , that ,even with limited stitching,etc., the paint surface did not form a good enough bond with the bubble wrap to stand up to the handling which would be necessary if I were to use it to make a more complicated item.
The clean lines of the sample appealed to me as did the colouring and black frame in the original sketch. I began to consider, therefore, how I might be able to achieve a surface which replicated the textured form of the bubble wrap and the colours in the original.
My first though was to use Tyvek but, having looked at a previous sample of this material , although it gave a similar bubble texture, it did not have the quality and 'feel' I was looking for in making a hat which would be wearable.
I turned my thoughts ,therefore, to manufacturing a special fabric for this piece. In looking through my threads, ribblons and wools etc.I came across three sample balls which had the kinds of colours I was searching for and which all had a textured surface.
I used soluble fleece and an 'invisible' filament and machine stitched rows of the group of three threads on to the fleece background.
Image 3 (A4 sheet)
This image shows the original threads on the left and the resulting fabric on the right once the backing fleece had been washed out.
This achieved a richly textured surface but also a fine , lacy effect which gave the lightness I was looking for in the construction. At the next stage of the design trials I will experiment with ways
of further stiffening the base while not adding to the weight and density of the fabric.
I feel that a closer approximation to the bubbled surface might be achieved by overworking the fabric with hand made french knots in thick silk thread in toning colours. Once again this will be for experimentation at the next stage.
Once I was confident that I could achieve the fabric I was searching for for the main body of the hat I then took my design on from the original images.
Image 4 (A4 sheet)
I decided to build the hat on to a purchased , teardrop shaped, fascinator as I felt that this would give the necessary foundation for the rest of the structure and was similar to the shape I am tryi
ng to achieve.
In the bubble wrap sample the black , framing triangles were placed with the apexes reversed. On reflection , for the best shape for a hat , I decided that it would be better to place the triangles in the same direction . The fascinator will be attached with the narrow point facing the apexes of the triangle. The triangles will be made from stiffened black satin and it is possible I may add a narrow black veil along the front. The triangles will be made so that they are capable of being folded up or down like wings. I decided to do this in order to give the maximum number of variations in the configuration of the hat, to suit the mood of the wearer. Thus they could be flat, both folded up, both folded down , folded with one up and one down etc.
On each side , along the fold line of the triangle, but extending beyond it, I have added two narrow black trimmings. The decision to do this was prompted by the very narrow triangles in the 'design recipe' and also by the work on abstracted fragments ,extending beyond the frame of the original drawing. the actual formation and construction of these features will either be in bones ,or fine straw ,or covered wires, depending on experimentation and the availability of materials.
Image 5 (A4 sheet)
The top section of this image shows the triangle and trimmings in more detail , while the bottom section shows additional thoughts on the central crown section of the hat.
In order to add greater height to the construction I will create smaller curving shapes in the same fabric but edged with different coloured stitching to bring out the individual colours . It will also have the effect of introducing some of the curved shapes which were present in the original design recipe , developed from the sketch. These will be over stitched, this time by machine, in a pattern of zig zag blocks, firstly to increase rigidity and secondly to introduce the final ' zig-zag' element present in the recipe.
Image 6 (A4 sheet)
In arriving at the design brief above I considered other potential configurations once I had manufactured the fabric. I looked closely at the paper drawings and fabric sample produced from the distorted digital images at the design stage. I looked at the possibility of using a round shape as the foundation ,again with a purchased fascinator at the base. It was then possible to cut a circle from the maufactured fabric or ,alternatively, to use one of the muslin tissue samples prepared in the same way as for the design stages of module 1. I could then use a circle of black satin or fine felt to cut a spiral which would then be wired in order that it could be pulled up to give height to the design .
These ideas are illustrated in the image below
.
In the event I rejected this for the following reasons-:
1. I felt that I had explored the abstracted and distorted images sufficiently and wanted to return to the simplicity of the original sample.
2. I was pleased with the formation of the constructed fabric and its composition, with its long lines of ribbon , lends itself more to an elongated, rectangular shape rather than a round one.
3. Apart from the ability to adjust the height of the piral trimming there is less capacity to vary the shape of the finished hat.
4. The circular design, although reflecting the distorted image, does not contain as many of the elements of the original ' design recipe.
Time taken for design, fabric manufacture and experimentation 13 hours.
Image 2 : A4 sheet
The image produced here captured the essence of the original sketch , emphasising the black frame of the two narrow triangles, but without the crescents and zigzags of the abstracted fragments and computerised distortions.
The centre panel was made from bubble wrap overpainted with a mixture of gesso , Procion MX dyes and Setta Silk paints. This gave a good texture and colour palette and the bubble wrap sample was robust enough to use in this simple design. It was clear, however , that ,even with limited stitching,etc., the paint surface did not form a good enough bond with the bubble wrap to stand up to the handling which would be necessary if I were to use it to make a more complicated item.
The clean lines of the sample appealed to me as did the colouring and black frame in the original sketch. I began to consider, therefore, how I might be able to achieve a surface which replicated the textured form of the bubble wrap and the colours in the original.
My first though was to use Tyvek but, having looked at a previous sample of this material , although it gave a similar bubble texture, it did not have the quality and 'feel' I was looking for in making a hat which would be wearable.
I turned my thoughts ,therefore, to manufacturing a special fabric for this piece. In looking through my threads, ribblons and wools etc.I came across three sample balls which had the kinds of colours I was searching for and which all had a textured surface.
I used soluble fleece and an 'invisible' filament and machine stitched rows of the group of three threads on to the fleece background.
Image 3 (A4 sheet)
This image shows the original threads on the left and the resulting fabric on the right once the backing fleece had been washed out.
This achieved a richly textured surface but also a fine , lacy effect which gave the lightness I was looking for in the construction. At the next stage of the design trials I will experiment with ways
of further stiffening the base while not adding to the weight and density of the fabric.
I feel that a closer approximation to the bubbled surface might be achieved by overworking the fabric with hand made french knots in thick silk thread in toning colours. Once again this will be for experimentation at the next stage.
Once I was confident that I could achieve the fabric I was searching for for the main body of the hat I then took my design on from the original images.
Image 4 (A4 sheet)
I decided to build the hat on to a purchased , teardrop shaped, fascinator as I felt that this would give the necessary foundation for the rest of the structure and was similar to the shape I am tryi
ng to achieve.
In the bubble wrap sample the black , framing triangles were placed with the apexes reversed. On reflection , for the best shape for a hat , I decided that it would be better to place the triangles in the same direction . The fascinator will be attached with the narrow point facing the apexes of the triangle. The triangles will be made from stiffened black satin and it is possible I may add a narrow black veil along the front. The triangles will be made so that they are capable of being folded up or down like wings. I decided to do this in order to give the maximum number of variations in the configuration of the hat, to suit the mood of the wearer. Thus they could be flat, both folded up, both folded down , folded with one up and one down etc.
On each side , along the fold line of the triangle, but extending beyond it, I have added two narrow black trimmings. The decision to do this was prompted by the very narrow triangles in the 'design recipe' and also by the work on abstracted fragments ,extending beyond the frame of the original drawing. the actual formation and construction of these features will either be in bones ,or fine straw ,or covered wires, depending on experimentation and the availability of materials.
Image 5 (A4 sheet)
The top section of this image shows the triangle and trimmings in more detail , while the bottom section shows additional thoughts on the central crown section of the hat.
In order to add greater height to the construction I will create smaller curving shapes in the same fabric but edged with different coloured stitching to bring out the individual colours . It will also have the effect of introducing some of the curved shapes which were present in the original design recipe , developed from the sketch. These will be over stitched, this time by machine, in a pattern of zig zag blocks, firstly to increase rigidity and secondly to introduce the final ' zig-zag' element present in the recipe.
Image 6 (A4 sheet)
In arriving at the design brief above I considered other potential configurations once I had manufactured the fabric. I looked closely at the paper drawings and fabric sample produced from the distorted digital images at the design stage. I looked at the possibility of using a round shape as the foundation ,again with a purchased fascinator at the base. It was then possible to cut a circle from the maufactured fabric or ,alternatively, to use one of the muslin tissue samples prepared in the same way as for the design stages of module 1. I could then use a circle of black satin or fine felt to cut a spiral which would then be wired in order that it could be pulled up to give height to the design .
These ideas are illustrated in the image below
.
In the event I rejected this for the following reasons-:
1. I felt that I had explored the abstracted and distorted images sufficiently and wanted to return to the simplicity of the original sample.
2. I was pleased with the formation of the constructed fabric and its composition, with its long lines of ribbon , lends itself more to an elongated, rectangular shape rather than a round one.
3. Apart from the ability to adjust the height of the piral trimming there is less capacity to vary the shape of the finished hat.
4. The circular design, although reflecting the distorted image, does not contain as many of the elements of the original ' design recipe.
Time taken for design, fabric manufacture and experimentation 13 hours.
No comments:
Post a Comment