Investigations

After some reflection over Easter and doing some samples, I have decided my product should be a scarf. I have produced some hand and machine samples using fabrics and embellishments suitable for this context.

Here I have hand sewn beads arranged so that they best represent "Plato's Disco" and it's shadow. I like this sample because of the heavy weight of the beads against the light Dupion silk fabric and the way this would affect the drape of a scarf:

This sample is cotton threads sewn down on water soluble fabric which I have then sewn 2/16 ply yarns across the empty spaces. Although I love this sample, the stitching is too heavyweight for use on a scarf and I fear if I were to try with less stitching it would not hold it's structure:

This a combination of the thicker 2/16 ply yarns and the variegated threads delicately stitched on the Irish machine. This creates a very bold impact and I think I will use to embellish the end of my scarves:

This sample is a variation on traditional kantha stitch using colour change thread to create diamond shapes:

Finally this is hand dyed patches of light cotton that I have sewn with contrasting grey thread using blanket stitch on the PFAFF machine:

A lot of the samples I have done produce a messy back so I did some embroidered scarf research to see how others have tackled this issue. I found Siobhan O’Brien, I really like her embroidered scarves.

Here she has used different coloured panels to make a double sided patchwork scarf.

So I have decided to make double sided scarves made up of patchwork panels, I need to buy my fabrics (I have decided on silk linen and dupion silk) and then cut these up into patches to be dyed separately both tonal greys and one side of a scarf to be brighter colours. I then need to get in the machine rooms and construct each side, embroider each side and then finally sew the scarves together.

After doing a narrative workshop with Alice Kettle I have realised how much more value is added to an object if it has a strong narrative. If I were to make packaging I would tell the story of my scarves, where they took their inspiration and the processes I have used to make them.

This workshop also taught me the benefits of collaboration. It was fun and interesting seeing what was inspired in other people’s minds by the objects we were given.

So far all of my tutorials have been with 3D tutors and predominantly 3D students. This has proven very interesting in terms of the kinds of suggestion I've got from them that seem focused on things like the final product and garment structure as apposed to advice concerning techniques, suggesting materials, sampling and alternatives to finished products. This focus is a new perspective and I think it's motivating me to produce a different kind of work.