Module 3 - Chapter Two kite

Plain Edges

Straight and curved edges stitched onto a background

I have been looking through Val Campbell-Harding's book 'Edges and Finishes' which I found inspirational.  This is certainly going to help me as I go through this Module.  I haven't included many images from my resource library on this blog as I am concerned about copyright issues.  Many of the images from books and the Internet require strict permission to reproduce in any form so I am very wary.  However I have taken some photos of books that I have been using for inspiration.  My favourite is the Museum of International Folk Art book which contains some fabulous images. 

We were lucky to have some visiting Tibetan monks at Salisbury Cathedral who created a Sand Mandala, entirely made from tiny grains of coloured sand. The Mandala represents a beautiful temple to which the monks invite Buddha to come into to give advice and wisdom.  They then invite the Buddha to leave at which point the Mandala is destroyed and the sand dispersed in the river to spread kindness and compassion throughout the world.  This is to remind us of how transient life is.  I have posted some photos of this on my blog below.  It's not folk art but it's beautiful none the less.

Resource Library

Cut Edges - straight
Page 21 Module 3

Kite shapes - straight edge

Cut edges - straight

This first piece of work comes from the form of a simple kite found on the Internet which I have drawn.  I chose a dark pink felt for the background fabric which was printed with acrylic paint from a stamp I had made.  These printed shapes were then enhanced with straight stitching (foot on).  The printing is not particularly good as I had problems with making the stamp.  I had tried to make a stencil but got in a pickle.

Five kite shapes were then cut from a contrasting felt and I spent some time trying to arrange them in the most effective way.  Arranging the shapes is difficult as I am trying not to copy the examples in the module.

The shapes were applied with Bondaweb to the background fabric and stitched with a twin needle using straight stitch (foot on).  I selected two contrasting thread colours for the stitching.  The bottom shape has been placed a little askew which was unintentional, I had wanted the shapes to be quite straight.

Using a twin needle is a first for me and I soon realised that pivoting at the corners was not possible but learnt to raise the needles just at the place I needed to turn direction and then placed the fabric in the right direction to continue stitching.  During this process I managed to break on set of needles. 

I am pleased with the overall design but twin needle work needs more practise.  I chose foot on for the stitching as this seemed an easier option.  I haven't tried using free embroidery with twin needles.  I should experiment but I haven't yet. 

 Satin stitch edges - Page 22 of Module 3

 

 

The shapes for the above piece of work were sourced from the Internet from which I drew 5 different sizes of the same shape.   I played around with the placing the shapes until they looked right.  I can't exactly explain why I have placed them in the position they are in other than that there appears to be a sense of space and distance between them and it seems a pleasing arrangement. 

 

The background fabric on this piece of work has painted Bondaweb in orange, red and green applied to a blue cotton.  I made the mistake of placing some pieces of Bondaweb the wrong side up and had a bit of a sticky moment!  As a result the cotton fabric has  rough bits of paint on the surface but it all adds to the texture.

 

I chose a bright red cotton for the five different size straight edge kite shapes which were applied with Bondaweb to the background fabric. 

 

By reducing the length and width of the zig zag the stitches formed a satin stitch which fitted to the different sizes of the shapes.  I chose to use the same colour thread as the red cotton for 3 pieces and then a contrasting yellow for the other two shapes to add interest.  It was difficult to achieve accurate stitching with the satin stitch at the corners.  I had to watch whether the needle finished on the left or the right, depending on whether to turn inwards or outwards.  It was difficult to judge where to stop stitching before turning direction in order to achieve a sharp crisp corner.

 Curved Edges - Page 23 of Module 3

Curved shapes (The Vikings are Coming!)

Curved shapes from the shape of another kite have been used on this third piece.  A purple cotton batik has been used for the background.  I haven't used any other stitching other than a grid of straight stitch in white thread, as the dye from the batik has created a suggestion of cloud in the fabric which I wanted to keep.
The curved shapes are all the same size but have been cut from 2 shades of green felt.  These colours contrast beautifully against the purple background.  They have been applied to the background with Bondaweb and then straight stitched with foot on using a twin needle along the edge of each shape. The thread colours are purple and green.  It was a little bit easier to use the twin needles this time but still need more practise.  I have named this piece 'The Vikings are Coming'!

Curved edges - Page 24 of Module 3

Drawn from fairground Dodgem car

Velvet and satin stitch

The shapes and colours in the above piece came from part of a design from a picture of fairground dodgem car (found on the Internet) which influenced me to use a luxurious fabric for the curvy shapes. These have been stitched to a background of turquoise cotton with gold and orange painted Bondaweb applied to the cotton.

I cut five different size shapes in red silk velvet, although they are not all entirely the same shape, particularly the smaller ones.  However the shapes are all part of the drawn source.  These shapes have been stitched to the background using satin stitch in a contrasting orange for the 3 larger shapes and a lime green for the smaller shapes.  These colours contrast with the red velvet but the green thread helps to connect the whole to the background.

The large shape (2nd from the top) was not too badly stitched, but the other shapes were very difficult to judge and keep a nice smooth line of stitching.  Sometimes the bobbin thread got caught in a knot on the small turns.  Need more practise.

I really love the sumptuous colours of this piece.

Torn and frayed edges with fabric and paper - Page 24 of Module 3

Fabric

Sizoflor, sari ribbon and paper

I wanted to try a different background material with this piece and to get some practise in using the heat gun so decided to use Sizoflor.  I experimented with a small piece to see how it would react to applied heat and it melted away very nicely. 

I sandwiched two pieces of lilac Sizoflor between a piece of gold sheer fabric (I hoped that little bits of gold would show through, which they do a bit) and then selected an automatic pattern which I stitched diagonally across the fabric sandwich, altering the width and length of the stich as I went along. The heat gun was used to melt away the edges of the fabric and then applied heat over the entire piece.  As the fabric dissolved I could see that the stitching was holding the whole piece together, so I have been able to see that it is possible to burn off more than I thought, unlike with the sheers in chapter one of this module.  In fact I melted one piece of Sizoflor right off but stitched it back on to the main piece.

Sari ribbon, organza and paper were stitched to the background fabric, using the automatic pattern of the background but much reduced in width.  I chose the colour of the strips of applied fabric first so these determined the colour of threads in the background.

I wonder if the piece of work would look more dramatic with a background of black felt which would show between the melted pieces of Sizoflor.  I could have used much more stitching and made it look very elaborate.  It all depends what this technique is used for I guess.

Paper

Black snippets and torn paper

This final piece of stitching is made up of a background of black snippets applied with Bondaweb to black felt  with a straight stitch grid, as in Chapter One of this module.  I have used a painted fibrous paper torn into strips and attached to the background with an automatic pattern using red thread.  The paper edges have been wetted (is that a word?) and roughed up a bit.  I'm not sure I like the painted paper as it seems to blend into the background too much.  Also the red thread could be bolder, perhaps a cable stitch would have worked better? 
 
There are loads of different and decorative papers about and it would be fun to try different types of paper with different backgrounds.  It would be fun to try all of the above samples with different backgrounds, fabrics and colours, there is an endless variety of ideas - if only time were endless!

Module 3 - Chapter One

Creating Backgrounds

Stitched Backgrounds - Page 6

 

The colours suggest working from dark to light from the depth of the door colour to the silvery pink highlights on the paintwork.  Matching the colours with the transfer paints was not completely successful, however I matched the threads as best I could.  I used a white felt for a stabiliser as it helped move the satin through the free machine embroidery process.  I used a zig zag stitch changing the width and length accordingly to help fill the space and add texture and highlights.

 

I worked from dark, through to medium and finally light tones as I had with the colouring and the painting.  As I stitched I couldn't imagine how it was going to work out, even with a plan, but gradually it began to take shape.  I found the planning process very helpful in guiding me through this exercise.  I found using colour as the plan much more helpful than drawing. 

 

Colour Inspiration Image - Creative commons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0
'Detail of a Gypsy Caravan' by Muppet K  used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.

 

Pencil draft and transfer paints





Fabric with transfer paint applied. I couldn't quite replicate the colours from the coloured pencils.



Chosen threads

Dark tone stitches

Stitching the medium tones

 

Final piece after stitching highlights

 

Second Stitched Background - Page 12 

I looked through some patchwork blocks and African motifs for this exercise.  I particularly liked the Seminole pattern used in many forms of patchwork.  This design is named after the Seminole native Americans who use this patchwork design in much of their clothing and textiles.  

 

 

The final pattern came from playing around with the shapes and mirroring the layers of pattern to create a 3D effect.  Using graph paper to draw the final design helped with the accuracy of the 3D structure.

This has been stitched on black felt using chiefly cable stitch in orange and outlined with further cable stitch.  Straight stitching has been used to mark the pattern within the cable stitching.  Presser foot has been used throughout. 

 

I love the 3D effect, and turning the work to landscape gives a different effect too.

 

 

Automatic patterns - Page 13

Automatic stitches have been stitched layer upon layer on these silk velvet pieces of fabric.  I think it further enriches the appearance of the velvet.

 

 

 

 

What if - stitched backgrounds

Page13

Sinamay stitched and manipulated

 

Sisoflor with automatic stitches.  This is a lovely paper to stitch, very delicate and like gossamer.  I didn't paint it as it was already coloured a delicate lavender.

 

Some scrim with layers of automatic zig zag stitches

 

Sheers - strips

Page 14

Some colour ideas from a folk art book for inspiration for sheers below.

 

 

Sheers applied to black felt prior to applying heat.  Much nicer than the outcome below!

 

 

 

Oh dear, I think I need more practise with the heat gun, not such a successful outcome - never mind.  

 

 

Sheers - snippets

Page 15

Sheer snippets sandwiched between 2 sheer layers and fixed with Bondaweb

 

Fabric Snippets - Page 16

I think the black fabric snippets have created a very interesting background an almost ready piece of art!  I got to thinking that different photographic images could be printed on fabric and cut up and stitched in a similar way.  Examples could be buildings, faces, family, animals, plants etc.

 

 

Angelina - Page 16

Angelina fibres have been hot fixed to the black felt below.  I think this is my least favourite background although the effect reminds me of a picture of outer space!



 

Painted fusible webbing/transfer adhesive
Page 17
I think this process is very interesting and creates a beautiful subtle surface, although the lines of straight stitching below would look better a little close together.  I chose a vibrant orange batik which helped to give another dimension to the background. I used violet and gold acrylic paint applied to Bondaweb and then peeled off and applied to the material.

Printed and Stitched Background
Page 18
I looked through a book of patchwork blocks for a simple form and chose a sailboat piecing idea to create my stamp. They look like angels and it gave me an idea to create some little shapes for Christmas cards (if I've got time!)

I have used hand dyed felt and applied the print with blue, yellow and gold acrylic paint. Some images have been overprinted with another colour as I think it adds to the texture.  I have used mainly zig zag stitch varying the width and length with machine foot on throughout. 

Module 2 Chapter Ten

3D Manipulated Structure

Page 137 of Module 2

Here we are then, my final piece of work for this module.  A lot of the work is not actually down here on the blog, most of the work was done in my head by thinking about it a lot before I got started (which seemed to take ages).  One mistake I have made is to think that I could use automatic stitching as well as free embroidery (didn't read the instructions carefully enough).  So the orange seed heads have been made using entirely automatic stitching.  Of course I could achieve a close texture by using granite stitch for example, if you need me to redo the seed heads am happy to do so.  Just let me know.

• Draw shapes of flower, leaf and seed head.  I used a previous drawing of a flower and seed head, then drew a leaf shape.  These shapes were then manipulated to create different shapes that still bore a relationship to the original.

Flower Shapes



Leaf Shapes



Seed head shapes

An initial idea for design

• Make up a paper model.  I made several cardboard templates of different shapes and made up a variety of paper models to see which would work best.  I played about with these shapes a lot trying to work out which would work and look best and how they could be joined together.  My final choice was to construct a wreath by using leaf shapes as a base and then made my final choice of flower and seed head shapes. 

First idea for design layout

Second idea for design layout

• Decide whether to use paper or wire mesh.  Decided to use khadi paper as I find it easier to work with.  I also like to paint and print on it.  It has a lovely feel when a coat of acrylic wax has been used.  I painted the papers using a lime green for the leaves and violet for the flowers. I then stamped them with my original foam stamp using in Chapter 2 of this module and then applied a final coat of acrylic wax. These colours just came into my head although I had been mulling over the whole design for a while.  It took a while to work out what colour to use for the seed head.  I thought of black and then blue, black would have been OK and blue horrible. In the end I decided to work with the colour of the original but just more exaggerated and then decided on orange. 
• Threads and Colours. I wanted the work to have a harmonious feel so I used colours that blended in with the painted paper rather than using any that would clash and create a contrast.
• Add stitching to create the textures.  I used a mixture of free machine embroidery and automatic stitches to create texture on the painted and printed khadi paper.  The images I had chosen had simple shapes and the stitching was not complicated to do.   All in all I wanted to create an open and broad feel and wanted the stitching to have a loose feel and not too heavily textured for the leaves and flowers.  So I used vermicelli and feather stitch using free machine embroidery.  However I wanted a little bit of a contrast so chose to give a more heavily textured feel to the seed heads by using contracted automatic stitching on the orange paper.  Whilst I was stitching I had scraps of violet paper on the desk, and on a whim just incorporated them into the stitching.  I didn't know if it was going to work out or not, but it just felt that it would. 

Painted and stitched paper for leaf and flower

Painted and stitched paper for seed heads with scraps of flower paper

• The final piece of work. I am very pleased with this final piece of work.  I think the colours have worked really well, although they are bright it has a restful quality, maybe because of the lime green of the leaves.  I have tried to create a relationship between all the components and I feel this has been achieved.  Using wire mesh would have helped to create more interesting shapes but it is not a medium I enjoyed working with.  It does seem important to work with materials that you have an empathy with and that must help in the creative process. 

Resolved sample of wreath laid flat

Final work hanging on wall

Different angle

Close Up



Close Up



Reverse of work

 I have thoroughly enjoyed Module 2, although it has taken me longer than I anticipated to complete it.  Thank you Janet for all your kind and valuable feedback and now it is onwards and hopefully upwards to Module 3.