Fixing Folds

The starch spray I had been using only held temporarily and gave the fabric a slight orange twinge so I've had to stop using it. I have worked out that I don't need to spray my fabric with the starch before forming. I can sandwich it between the two folded paper and put it in the heat press and that still makes the form. I have been testing fixing my folds so that it's a more permanent fixture. I've taken on the process of shibori by putting my fabric folds in a steamer for 10 minutes. I've had a challenge with putting them in the steamer. I need to have something on the fabric to hold the fold while its in the steaming process. I thought that I could sandwich it like I do when putting it into the heat press but the paper will ruin. I thought With acetate but then I was worried that the steam wont be able to actually effect the fabric. As I have been testing ideas with the folds I have also been exploring various ways I can keep it together. I've used pins and stitches but they left holes in the fabric. I've used paper clips but they left dent marks in the fabric where they sat. The last thing I tried was wrapping the fold with thread loosely which seemed to work well and not make any marks in the fabric.

Tuck Foot and Elastic Thread

I have been in the workshop and using the tuck foot to play with patterns of lines with small tucks. I preferred the gaped tucks in small groups to the block of lines as it showed a more reoccurring pattern of lines that looked better than a continuing set of lines. I also introduced elastic thread to my stitching and made some crinkly effects and scrunched it up with the tuck patterns. This could be interesting with some laser cut fabric. I then tried the elastic thread with different stitch patters to see the effects I the different stitches. I picked a favourite stitch and used it like the tuck to make lines of scrunched up tucks. I liked this stitch as it had threads going across the lines that were quite nice and better than just the plain lines.

Translated Images

This weekend I've been working on my sketchbook and drawing. I've been trying to replicate my images into samples. I took this one images and related it a process that used tucks. I made this sample by using tucks to make little flaps in the fabric similar to the image. I want to carry on translating my images but I'm worried these are a bit different to my folding samples and I really want this all to tie in together.

Dyed Folded Fabric Pt.2

I carried on with dyeing my folded fabrics but this time I coloured the fabric yellow first and then dyed the folded piece with blue making it green but darker on the edges. This was much different than I expected as I thought the inside would be yellow and the outside areas would be blue or green.

Dyed Folded Fabrics

I have been feeling a bit stuck yet again so to try to overcome this I have been in the workshop to expend on my folded fabrics for what else I can do with them. I have attempted a new process of making them by sandwiching the fabric between folded paper and then pressing it. This has made it so much more easier and faster than before. My only ponder is how thick can I have stuff in the heat press, if not very much then I wont be able to make very wide pieces. I was able to make three folded samples in the morning and after lunch I made up some procion dyes to try dip dying them. When I get the folded samples wet it washes the starch off and it loses its form.  So to stop this I have to pin them and starch them after they are dry and press them again. I'm thinking of trying to steam them into their form like shibori. When they are pinned together the dye only effects the outside areas and leaves white sections inside. I made one completely blue, one white with blue edges and a yellow one I am going to do blue edges tomorrow morning. I quite liked the blue colour with the folds, I might want to try a more grey colour. I still want to try different processes with the folds to see what I can create.

Research: National Museum of Ballet

Today I've done a bit of research. From a nice recommendation of the National ballet museum of Canada I've been looking at tutu and dresses. I found three very nice tutus that have really interested me. I was first interested by Adrian Wu's tutu for it's large-scale sculptural form and translucency. I then saw a tutu by Skanda Lin that I really liked because it used similar fold patterns to my work. Finally I was interested in the tutu by Metatecture that used sensory activated L.E.D. lights in the construction of the tutu that changed by the movement of the wearer. I really like the use of light within textiles and might be something I consider.
National Museum of Ballet

Adrian Wu

Skanda Lin

Metatecture

Group Tutorial: Kate

Today I had group tutorials with Kate and four jewelers  With each tutorial we all came to the same conclusion that neither of us know what we want to do or like what we got. I am frustrated. I've hardly even started and made much but i'm already stuck and in a rut. I'm finding it hard to know what i'm doing and what i'm making. I find it so much easier when I know my outcome or can jump into experimenting but I am lost in it. After making my folded fabrics I've kinda accomplished what I was thinking about in terms of samples and I came to it so easily. Now I just don't know what to do with them or how to expand. I think I need colour or stitch or something as I have just lost my passion at the moment and I just need something that will excite me. As I don't know what to do with my sample I am going to try to make it on a larger scale in order to inspire and challenge.

Translucent Tucks

Today I have been making tuck samples in a different fabric to my other samples. I tried a translucent fabric to implement my tucks into give it a whole different effect to the technique. I layered a piece of the translucent fabric on top of cotton and made tucks into it. This was thicker but the sheer fabric gave it a bouncy feel when touched. I also made tucks again in the sheer fabric but on both sides of it. This was different to my other tuck work as it's not a flat piece. I think it looks quite different in the sheer fabric giving it a different quality that is lost when you can't see through it with other fabrics.

Folded Fabric

Today I've been busy in the textiles workshop testing folding and forming fabrics with starch spray. I tried a few different types of fabrics to find out which materials work best. Cotton is too thick and isn't as malleable or and silk organza has a loose weave and doesn't hold a fold It very well. The silk habati worked best as its a finer fabric so it bends while also holding the folded pattern. The process to fold the fabric took a very long time as it wasn't as easy to hold its shape unlike paper until it went under the heat press. I still want to try a moldable polyester fabric and I was also going to try a fabric with stabilizer on it. I'm really impressed with how the folded fabrics have turned out. I'd like to possibly try with the addition of print or stitch. I also want to try dying it when it's folded up to see what effect I'd get. I'm assuming it will look like a geometric tie-dye. I was recommended to look at the work of Angharad McLaren, a weaver that also forms her weaved pieces with folds similar to the ones I'm using.

 Cotton

Silk Organza

Silk Habati

Angharad McLaren

Tutorial with Kate

After panicking and being on the verge of tears from not knowing what to do with my ideas and how to start I thought best to seek out help with a tutorial. I got a tutorial with Kate to get me on the right tracks with my work. After discussing we figured that I need to get myself into the workshop and sample instead of obsessing over doing drawings. It's not that I need to be drawing with pen on paper, I need to be sampling and making with my ideas and not thinking that I need to put a tick next to "initial drawings". It was suggested that I could use some of my images to print and combine it with my idea to create folds in fabrics like I did with paper. Also that I can draw with stitch instead of with pencil. So obvious why didn't I think of it sooner.

Tutorial with James

My tutorial with James today was very insightful. He looked at my proposal and picked up on some points that I shouldn't pin myself down with my outcome and leave myself room to wiggle and explore different ways of producing my ideas instead of just making a flat quilt. My trip to the first cut exhibition could open up a range of ideas that contrast to my proposal.

I really need to develop some imagery from my images I've collected. I need to go out and draw things related to my themes. From these images I can then continue to sample. I'm going to attend a workshop with him tomorrow for drawing with images.

I will continue to research ad look at magazines like Vogue and Elle to look at current trends that relate to my themes. Apparently folds in clothing is really fashionable right now so it's a great opportunity to find some great research from fashion designers. I was recommended to look at designers like Maison Martin Margiela  and Issey miyake.