Autumn Leaves Metallic threads assessment piece

IMAGE 1 (SIZE 25INS X 18INS) AUTUMN LEAVES ; METALLIC THREADS ASSESSMENT PIECE IMAGE 2 Close up of bark

Time taken overall 80hours

Costings

1 metre canvas backing £4.25

1 Sheet Abaca fibre £2.65

1metre Solufleece £3.25

Equivalent of 3 reels thread £9

Approx .5 metre fabrics £3

Module 3 Chapter 12

IMAGE 1 Metlllic Assessment Piece: Background , further version This is the next version of the background for my Autumn Leaves , metallic assessment piece. The additions here are -; A number of different thicknesses, colours and textures of thread have been added in sections across the piece , following the arched lines of the design. Voids have now been left in place of some of the painted leaves A further piece of painted bondaweb, in a leaf shape, has been stitched through in the top left hand corner . A series of hand sewn 'seeding' stitches have been worked in red metallic thread to give a further impression of a fragmented outline around the voided leaf in the centre. In the bottom left foreground, fragments of painted bondaweb have been hand stitched through to represent a fragment of leaf lying on the ground. The top edge of this fragmented leaf has been hand stitched and embellished with copper embossing powder. The central vein has been worked as a coil of two kinds of metallic thread. I think I am now ready to superimpose the root, trunk and branch structure on to the piece and then to work further foreground leaves etc. Chapter 12 Textile artists who use construction techniques.

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Experiment in construction I was particularly interested in the work of Ferry Staverman , Angela O'Kelly and Jason Cheng who all have taken ideas of repeating motifs arond a central core.

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Wire framework 13 inches X 2.5 inches)

I cut two sections of inch square wire mesh and laid one over the other to give .5 in x 1in rectangles.

I then used a metallic/ mohair thread to wind over the edges, both to cover the metal and ,also, to bind the two pieces of mesh together.

I then made a ' sandwich' of two lengths of deep blue satin taffeta with two thicknesses of iron on vilene to join them together.

From this stiff sandwich ,using a template of a butterfly wing,' I cut out a series of identical shapes. I painted the edges of the wings with silver paint and then stitched each one in place along the length of the covered wire mesh .

I then oversewed the edges again with the metallic /mohair yarn , threading it between the butterfly shapes and the wire framework . This gave an added stiffness to the shapes and helped them to stand out at rightangles from the framework. I then made the wire framework into a circle/ bracelet shape and stitched the ends together.

The finished piece has a diameter of 3.25 inches.

Timings

Research into textile artists 5hours

Construction of wire framework and bracelet 9 hours.

Photography, editing , typing etc 2.5 hours

background, metallic assessment piece.

IMAGE 1 Experiment with painting bondaweb on fibre background IMAGE 2 Experiment with stencil and skeleton leaves within painted bondaweb samples

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Painting of full size bondaweb panel . Place over stretched curved wires to give the flowing curve of tree. Skeleton leaves placed underneath and real leaves placed on top.

IMAGE 4 ( SIZE 64 X 45 CMS)

Painted bondaweb fused to abaca fibre background.

Revisions, Chapter 9,and metallic leaves

IMAGE 1 Reworking of flounce samples. Black and white organdie now overlaid with lacy white flounce with black net centre, replacing solid blue flounce of original Paisley print now has additional gathers in toning chiffons and sari fabric. IMAGE 2 Reworking of honey comb rolled edge sample. Red glued fabric now has grid/ smocked pattern sewn over it.

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Reworking of flower pattern sample on grid. The grid is now formed from space dyed fancy boucle yarn stretched across the grid lines of the bacground black fabric and couched down. The random dued nature of the thread echos the 'hit and miss' crayoning of the origianl drawing over the mesh.

The leaf patterns are worked in stem stitch. The flowers are worked in needle lace in random dyed threads within a gold long and short buttonhole stitch petal edging. The stem is padded with piping cord and oversewn in chain and stem stitch. The centres are worked in gold metallic thread.

CHAPTER 9. DESIGNING FROM THE EDGE ; STAGES.1,2,3 and 5

IMAGE 4 SIZE 50 X 65 cms

Stage 1

Using a fragment of fabric ,the image was scanned into the computer and then used in paper form to form the 10cms x5cms central piece.

Stage 2

This was then enlarged on to an A4 sheet. The black paper was laid on to a sheet of fine mesh to represent the base weave of the fabric of the sample. Patterns were then drawn to enlarge both the solid and openwork circles within the design.

Stage 3

In further enlarging the design on to the large black sheet the background grid was formed by using oil pastel over wider garden mesh. Using acrylic and metallic paints ,different interpretations of the solid and openwork circles were worked across the surface. A few arched strokes were worked around the edge to echo the feathery nature of the original .

IMAGE 5 (SIZE 50 X 65 CMS)

This a second working of the same process but this time working on white paper and emphasizing different aspects of the original.

The central portion remains the same but on the A4 enlarged sheet the yellow background was worked in watercolour over a raised stencil. This was then worked over with water soluble pencils. The balck lines were to echo the coarser threads which joined the motifs in random fashion within the sample. The small motifs were drawn in pencil.

In the further enlargement the black lines were painted in thick acrylic. One of the resulting corner quadrants was worked in differing shades of green acrylics to represent the solid motifs. In the other three corner quadrants, acylics were used with different methods of application to give the appearance of some of the different textures within the fibres of the original. These included -:

stippling with a stiff half inch brush in the top left hand corner

Swirls with a cocktail stick in the top right

Random lines with a narrower brush in the bottom left. IMAGE 6 (SIZE A4)

A practice sheet for the enlargement of an extremely small portion.(stage 5)

IMAGE 7 ( SIZE A2)

Stage 5

An enlargement of an extremely small section in four colourways for a panel. The outlines were worked partly in thick oil pastels and then in watersoluble crayons on wet paper , spread with sponge brushes.

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A re-placing of the painted sheets above this gives a different central motif and the diagonal lines of each piece of the panel now give an elongated diamond frame around the centre section.

IMAGE 9 SIZE A2

Experiments with proposed backgrounds for Autumn leaves metallic assessment piece.

The background fabric is nautral hessian ,stretched and sewn on to a wire frame.

Top section is a selection of metallic threads and Anglelina fibres which could be couched down/ ironed on to the surface.

Bottom is a crinkled metallic fabric.

IMAGE 12 (SIZE OF FRAME 41 x 63 CMS)

Experiments in constructing metalllic assement piece ; Autumn leaves.

Some experiments in fabric and stitch for the Autumn leaves metallic piece.

Main outline drawn on to fabric and then edged with couched down fine wires.

Trunk is formed by felt over quilt wadding. This was covered with ruched layers of metallics and organzas , burned through to reveal the layers. So far just the right hand side of the trunk is sewn with ridged bark patterns through all the layers. Two metallic wire rings have been sewn in to represent knots on the trunk.

Two different leaf constructions have been added . One is formed by heat layering copper dyed organza and gold mesh. This is then stitched round the edge with buttonhole stitch to the background fabric. Copper wire has then been couched down to form the veins.

In the green sample a leaf shape has been drawn on to the background and filled in by fine threads of green wire. The leaf has then been over laid with stem stitch leaves in metallic thread and , using the same thread, attached to the background in buttonhole stitch.

Within the embroidery ring there is a experiment of creating roots, with piping cord being covered by copper thread

Chapter 8 ;To the Edge.

IMAGE 1 (Size 24 inches square) Reworked resolved knitted sample of sails. Sample now mounted and stretched on white painted wire mesh. Leading edges of sails stitched to mesh and long edges wired and curved away from mesh to denote wind in sails IMAGE 2 (size each picture A4) Reworked design idea for metallic final assessment piece. Design idea from copper tree in fountain at Chelsea flower show. Outline structure on bottom picture.

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Individual metallic painted leaves applied to outline structure . Design curved to represent blowing in the wind linking in with original ideas previously presented. CHAPTER 8 TO THE EDGE

IMAGE 4 (SIZE each sample A4)

Using a richly embroidered textile sample, 4 different design interpretations were added.

In the top sample of this image ,florists' cellophane and gold film was cut into flower shapes and applied to a black paper background. Connecting stems were made from covered wire.

In the bottom sample bondaweb was painted to give a more impressionistic

interpretation of the original fabric sample. The leaves were then drawn on in greater definition using oil pastel.

IMAGE 5 (SIZE each sample A4)

In the top sample, copper ageing/tarnishing paint was used on thin card as a base colour, with the green effects obtained by the application of ageing solution. Gold acrylic paints were used for other highlights.

The bottom sample was worked in oil pastels on black paper. The paper was first placed over a plastic grid to replicate the openwork lace of the original sample. Individual flowers and leaves were then applied, again with oil pastel ,and gold wax crayon for highlighting.

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A fine wool sample in shades of red and beige was frayed at each end. The frayed sections wer then re-applied and secured by seam binding through the centre of the sample.

IMAGE 7 (SIZE ,TOP SAMPLE A5 BOTTOM SAMPLE 13 INS X 4INS)

The top sample was made from a fabric which I constructed from silk throwsters waste in black and gold. The sample was then faced/lined and bound around the edge. Stencil cut black organza flowers were then added around the edge, with a black bead at the centre of each flower. Skeleton leaves were then appliqued on and a machine embroidery butterfly was made for decoration.

The bottom sample was made from an offcut of the background black and white silk which was frayed out. The weft threads were used to form the flowers and the warp threads (which were very much stiffer) were then bunched together to separate the flowers. Black sequins were then applied to the flowers. The flowers were stitched to white broderie anglaise mounted on milliner's veiling and the whole was then appled to the same black and white silk fabric.

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A honeycombe pattern was made in a cotton fabric using half inch tucks which were then caught together at regular intervals, offset across the fabric. The edge was bound with dyed scrim which was used to cover quilt wadding which was then wound with red wire. The bottom section was made from offcuts of a variety of white fancy yarns which I dyed using procion dyes in three colours of red. The different composition of the yarns meant that they each took on a slightly different colour from the dyes. The threads were then mounted on a glue fabric in a dense pattern at the top of the sample and gradually teased out to form a more openwork effect at the bottom.

IMAGE 9 SIZE (each sample A4)

The two samples were made from the same fabric which I achieved by gluing a mixure of commercial and home dyed threads on to glue fabric. Each sample related to my overall shoreline theme. The top sample included sections of casette tape and was overworked with hand applied sequins to give an impression of different colours glinting in a sandy/pebbly shoreline.

For the bottom sample I cut and stitched shell shapes and applied them as a facing to a plain beige background.

IMAGE 10 (SIZE A3 OVERALL)

The top sample is a double edged faced flounce mounted on dyed /printed black and white cotton organdie made at Summer School The bottom sample is a faced edge using fabric made in the method described in image 8 but using blue dyes. The fabric was then cut into wave like shapes, linked in overlapping rows to from a faced edge. The curved surfaces were then hand stitched with a loose buttonhole stitch in thicker white thread.

The right hand sample is a series of assymetrical flounces closely grouped together and stitched through their centres on to a stip of cotton fabric IMAGE 11 (SIZE OF EACH INDIVIDUAL SAMPLE A5)

The top sample is a fragment of fabric which I constructed with the addition of a stitched edge using some of the original fabric threads . this was worked on soluble fabric which was then subsequently washed away to leave an open work design.

The bottom sample is a fragment of furnishing silk which has elements of a Paisley design. Individual paisley motifs were then stitched on to black fabric shapes using a textured gold thread in the bobbin. The shapes were then applied along the edge.

IMAGE 12 (SIZE EACH SAMPLE A5)

In the top sample a striped metallic fabric was edged with a thin coil of copper wire and then triangles were knitted down from the wire using a sparkly toning metallic yarn.

In the bottom sample a fragment of silk was extended by working machine stitching in toning shades and larger ,but similar, motifs on soluble fabric within an embroidery frame. The fabric was then washed away and the stitched sample attached to the original.

IMAGE 13 (SIZE, EACH SAMPLE A5)

The top sample is in three pieces . The top is stiffened silk overworked by machine stitching. This is bound to a section of the same silk which was worked with fine piped pintucks. The piping cords were allowed to overhang the edge of the sample and were then enhanced by loops of fancy white yarn.

The middle green and white sample is a fragment of silk faced by white felt on to which pale green organza was secured by a series of machine stitched patterns. The organza was then cut away from some sections of felt , leaving others intact.

The bottom sample was a section of printed needlecord ,faced by dark brown lining. The lining was stitched into in a series of circles, secured to the needlecord by 'stalks'. The circles were then covered with frayed chenille/silk yarns and the connecting sections were cut away. ..

IMAGE 14 (SIZE each sample A4)

The top green sample was a length of gross-grain ribbon faced with an insertion made from chiffon ribbon woven through lengths of cord wound around a frame. The bottom edge is formed by the application of squares of toning chiffon and these are replicated along the top ribbon.

The bottom sample is again a three stage insertion. The centre section is a length of furnishing fabric from which a number of shapes have been cut, around lines in the pattern. These shapes have been filled in by sections of toning fabrics. The top edge is bound with thread made fabric whilst the bottom edge is faced with a toning gathered ruffle.

IMAGE 15 (SIZE each sample A4)

This is section 3 of Chapter 8 .The translation of one of the designs into a textile sample. I chose to work on the bottom design of image 5 and this is repeated below.

IMAGE 16 (SIZE A4)

The backgound fabric was a stiff black fabric and this was worked over in a grid pattern of fine machine zig zags to replicate the original design pattern made by crayoning over a plastic grid.

The flower shapes were cut out of felt and a central section was then cut from each felt shape. The outer 'petals' and inner centres were then covered by space dyed fine ribbon which was couched down in lines around the shape. Once covered these felt/ ribbon shapes were embellished by hand sewn, button hole stitch edging in gold thread. The same gold thread was then used to from a radiating pattern out from the centre of each circle. A needle lace edging was then worked in gold thread around the edge of each of the smaller centre circles. the hole in the centre of the outer ring of petals was then filled with circles of wadding to pad out the shape and this was then tacked into place. The covered inner circles were then placed over the wadding and the needle lace edging was pulled down over the sides of the wadding and stitched into place around the edges of the centre circles.'Lazy-daisy' stitch petals were then worked into the centres. The outer edges of each of the flowers were then stiffened with a fine wire being sewn in on the reverse.

The green leaves were worked on a double thickness of pale green organza, sandwiched with Bondaweb. Each leaf was wired down its central vein and the wires were left trailing so the they could be used to secure the leaves to the backgound with satin stitch stems. Small gold flowers were then stitched into the backgound fabric between the larger flowers and leaves and the centres were filled with a fancy lurex yarn.

The edges of the sample were decorated with very fine hair -like strands of wire.

Timings for samples

Paper /paint original designs 8 hours

Fabric samples 24 hours

Textile sample from original design 12 hours

Photography, typing etc 6 hours.

Chapter 6 Option A Knit Structures.

IMAGE 1 Reworked samples from previous chapter Left sample. Hand coloured double sided paper folded and plaited. Right Sample .Stencil with Markal Paint sticks sponged from edges repeated across watered silk background.

IMAGE 2 (SIZE 16INS X 24INS)

Top left sample knitted with alternate bands of size 14 and size 1 needles.

Top Right sample . Returning to the colours and themes of the Scottish hill side in my colour study,a fabric of garter stitch diamonds was knitted and then dipped in dilute PVA .The sample was moulded and dried over large size bubble wrap to resemble colours and contours of the hill side.

Centre sample. For this sample I used a length of braid constructed for the previous chapter which was formed from lengths of wool and ribbon, stitched randomly together. I then knitted into the edge of the braids using the constituent threads and worked individual shapes around it.

Bottom Sample. This sample was worked first in sand coloured fine string with a variety of coloured pebbles knitted into it in differing threads ,using a bobble stich. The sample was then covered over by a mesh knitted from blue silk and filament to represent water flowing between the pebbles.

IMAGE 3 ( SIZE 16INS X24 INS)

Top left sample Knitted in green soft nataural fibre garden twine interwoven with geen organdy ribbon. The sample was worked into bands of sequin waste.

Top right sample. The background yarn was a fine nylon sparkly fringe. The yarn teasle heads were worked into the knitting in a contrasting , tea dyed ,mohair plus finge threads. The real teasle heads were then inserted into holes made during the process of knitting the background. The centre sample was made by knitting casette tape and narrow strips of organza around silk tops and lengths of throwsters silk waste in toning colours. ( I'm not sure if it plays a tune!!!!)

Bottom left sample. This was knitted from electrical wiring

Bottom right sample.This is 12 strands of machine embroidery threads in a variety of colours knitted on size 4 needles.

Samples photographed on dyed scrim. IMAGE 4 ( SIZE A4)

This sample was constructed by knitting feathers and beads into a fine cotton stocking stitch background. The bottom shafts of the feathers were knitted in with the yarn while the top feathery sections were left free.

The two large beads in the centre may be eyes peering out from a feathered head!!

IMAGE 5 (SIZE 16 INCHES BY 8 INCHES)

I wanted to construct a sample to demonstrate the potential of a flat piece of knitting to be transformed by shaping and stiffening. The first stage was to knit a piece of stocking stitch fabric in fine white crochet cotton with a series of slits knitted into it. After this was completed ,stitches were picked up along one edge of each of the slits in turn and a number of rows of stocking stitch was then worked in a white cotton fringed yarn using increasing size needles . (This meant that the knitting was being worked at right angles to the original. and would balloon out from the background.)

A centre row of garter stitch was then worked to form a ridge for the eventual fold and a number of matching rows of stocking stitch were then worked on decreasing size needles. Stitches were then picked up along the opposite side of the slit and the 'gusset' stitches were then grafted seamlessly on to these and cast off on the reverse of the fabric.

IMAGE 6 (SIZE 16 INCHES IN HEIGHT 2.5 INCHES DIAMETER)

Once each of the slits had been completed by the method described in image 5 the sample was then wound over a cardboard tube ,covered in cling film, and the seam stitched down. The whole sample was then sprayed with starch and left to dry on its tube.

IMAGE 7 (SIZE 16 INS LONG 2.5 INCHES DIAMETER.)

Once dry, the sample was removed from the tube and formed rolling surf on a wavy dyed fabric.

IMAGE 8 (SIZE 18 INCHES SQUARE)

Retaining my water theme I then embarked on a sample based on the sail shapes from my early sketchbooks.

I used a wire frame and wound this with a woven pattern of white cotton threads to represent rigging.

Starting at the top of the wound threads I then knitted a small number of stitches into the centre section. I then worked in knitting down the sample keeping one edge straight and increasing along the other edge.The sample was worked in fine white mohair on large needles and a series of holes were worked to reveal the supporting threads. On each row some of the background threads were picked up and incorporated into the knitting to ensure that the two elements of the structure were meshed together and that the shape was maintained.

A couple of rows of Tussah silk were added to form a row of stitching near the bottom of the sail.

The bottom inch was worked in ribbing and a final row of bone tooth-like beads were added.

The stitches were then picked up along the straight edge of the sail using a mixture of torn threads linked together to give the appearance of a tattered edge.

At the top point of the sail a pennant ,knitted in fine silver wire ,was added.

IMAGE 9 (SIZE A4)

To demonstrate a fused/ bonded sample I utilised the remains of a 'sandwich' of white acrylic felt with metallics and organza from which I had cut discs to form braids in the previous chapter.

I knitted an openwork mesh background using two fine threads of gold lurex with one fine copper wire thread. The fact that wire was an element of the knitted thread ensured that the holes in the mesh were well defined.

I made the background mesh bigger than the felt and then turned the edges to the front ,using a soldering iron to fuse the edges of the knitted mesh to the felt and organza. A similar method was used to fix the remaining circles to the background. Markal paint sticks and metallic acrylics were used to colour any remnant of white felt and beads and sequins were added both for decoration and to give additional fxing between the two layers. the sample was mounted on the rewoked stencilled fabric seen in image 1.

IMAGE 10 ( SIZE11INCHES X17 INCHES)

For my resolved sample in knitted structures I decided to design something entitled Foreshore using a variety of knitted strips and shapes to represent seaweed and sea creatures on a knitted honey-comb background.

This is the diagram with the shapes and threads, together with the proposed assembly. .

IMAGE 11 ( SIZE 15 INS X 10 INS)

The sample was worked in a number of stages using knitting and crochet techniques. The first stage was to knit the basic background in sand coloured cord using an open honeycomb stitch. Once this was complete stitches were picked up along the edges using a number of different dyed fringe and yarns. I made three spirals using a technique for a twisted spiral scarf but with a very fine crochet cotton rather than a heavy mohair yarn. Shells, sea urchins and bladder wrack seaweed were knitted and then fastened to the background. At two corners stitches were picked up using silk noile and an open work ladder stitch. Some of the holes in the ladders were then filled in by knitted dyed ribbons in toning colours.

A seaweed cluster was knitted on a stem of yarn surrounded by a cluster of knitted bobbles which were then edged with a fine crochet border .

Dead Man's fingers wer made by using a lon knitted thread of a single stitch in green space dyed yarn ro cover fine wire. These were then added at popints along the edge.

Timings for Knitted Structures

52 hours

Photography and typing 3 hours.