My tutor has been on holiday, and I've been taking the opportunity to finish some other projects that, I hope, will have a bearing on my course. I've been very nervous about my work recently, and it's taken a bit of a drop in pace. I've put together a little gallery here. I have been working on my theme book, and it's seen quite a bit of progress - 70+ pages of workings-out, sketches and reference photography trips. Seen here in this post, however, are some of the 3D projects I've been working on.
Firstly, either side of this paragraph, another appliqué raven that I was commissioned to make as a present for a friend's son after I showed her mine. The original piece of coursework is seen on the left. I tried a slightly different working method with the new crow, and I'm not so happy with it as I am with the original. I worked out which part of the crow was the largest 'slice' and drew on two copies of that slice, adding paper when necessary. I cut out the template, trimmed the paper to the next slice, usually 2-3mm smaller than the last, and cut that one. I stacked them all together as they appeared from the scissors so as to check they were still in scale. This is opposed to my method with the earlier version, where I started from the smaller layers and cut around them larger each time, using the last layer as my template. However, my new crow turned out quite a bit larger than the previous, and the face didn't narrow into the beak as nicely.
Above: a scale comparison.
A close-up of the face, where you can see the second new technique - no whip-stitching used whatsoever, thanks to every layer being pre-cut. This made for much easier assembly, as each piece could be truly appliquéd.
Detail of the back of the crow. I was pleased with the regularity in the 'feathers' and the stitching, and thought was worthy of another photo.
As I know the next part of the course is to do with weaving, while I take a break from the more serious work, I decided to use an old tapestry frame as a loom. I think I've pictured the set-up for this before, so I'll just show the recent additions. I used a tutorial over at this blog of traditional weaving techniques to set up a continuous string heddle system, made my weaving sticks from bamboo garden canes, and my shuttle and beater from thick cardboard, reinforced with glue, and wrapped in cling-film to reduce friction. The heddles were something I had to look into, though the rest of the equipment was improvised by me, which goes some way to explaining why the weaving got to difficult towards the end of the frame! Here are my first couple of rows complete:
And here's the finished product - obviously, as the warp threads were held in place by being sewn to the frame, and as they were fairly thick wool, there was a little stretch in them, hence the curvy shape of the finished edges.
Towards the end of the frame, there wasn't enough space left to move the weaving equipment, so I carefully unwound it, and removed the card that opened the shed (in opposition to the string heddles). I took my largest tatting needle, about 4-5" long, and threaded the shuttle's remaining thread into it. I carefully pulled it through, replicating the weave above. I made a few mistakes along the way, and had to unravel back to them, but I think I can say I didn't miss any.
The tatting needle on the last row.
A close-up of the cloth.
The next thing I'd like to show is this odd little piece of work, on a completely different scale to the others. I was struck, recently, by the possibilities of 'invisible' nylon mending thread. I made a tiny loom with polystyrene packaging and pins (though unfortunately, my camera malfunctioned and I lost the pictures of it set up), and 'wove' with a needle and some short lengths of embroidery floss. It's not actually as flimsy as it looks, and I'm hoping that (and I've mentioned this in my theme book) I'll be able to use it to create an interesting stained-glass effect. Here, I wove with one colour. I was planning to use a contrasting colour, perhaps a dark red, in the centre of the weave. However, from a distance, it looks like empty space, which in itself is a worthwhile effect.
When I removed it from the 'loom', it held it's shape nicely, and I stitched it to a thick felt frame, for better display.
Project number four I'd like to show off is this 1890s hat base, made from a little garden wire, some off-cuts of velvet and polysatin, and a chevron-printed blouse from a charity shop.
A side view.
And the very lovely lining.
I'm very pleased with it - the idea is to finish the crochet project I spoke about earlier (that was, using authentic Victorian pattern books to replicate the look of the time) to use as decoration. More updates on this soon.
Projects five and six can be seen either side of this paragraph, and represent something of a cheat - a pattern to follow! These hoods were both made as presents for friends with new babies, and therefore are displayed on one of my bead jars! I thought them worth including here because I learnt a new technique whilst knitting them: they feature a drawstring, the casing for which is knit in one piece. This was similar to my project earlier in the year, the double-knit scarf. A practical feature, yet one I would never have thought could've been achieved so easily in knitting. Alternating knit stitches with yarn-overs, the two sides easily stayed separate, forming a tube, until being joined at the 'nose'. I finished off both foxes with button eyes and noses, and some 'i-cord' drawstrings, as seen in the pattern.
The fox with more sensible eyes.
Here's something else I've been doing in my spare moments. I haven't felt too bad whilst doing it, although it feels quite far from the folder work, because it's only an extension of that: it's textile work, it's creative, it's personal expression, and it incorporates the three artistic virtues of practice at the design stage, practical practice at stitching, and being patient whilst working through the more repetitive elements of the craft. However, whilst I feel great wearing such a ridiculously heavy costume (8kgs - I weighed each piece on the kitchen scales separately), I do feel a little silly talking about something that was really quite a lot of fun as though it was a very serious exercise. Ah, but I was forgetting:
I upgraded a bag to match, as well.
Here's a full-front view, on my dress-making stand.
And finally, a view of the less decorative back. All the components were made from recycled/salvaged components of my old outfits and other pieces found in charity shops. It was sewn together almost entirely by hand by myself, getting in plenty of practice at using my thimble properly, in the tailor's manner (thimble on the middle finger of the hand, using the side to push in the needle, and the forefinger guiding it). This was necessary because of all the metal components, which made it impossible to sew by machine.
An update! Once I'd realised there was only one day of work left in my hat, I took the time out to finish it so I could present it here before submitting my assignment. I'm very happy with it indeed, though I have yet to acquire the requisite skills necessary to the historical hairdressing to support such a hat. For the moment, here are some pictures of it 'as is'. Above, the back - a combination of Irish crochet motifs of curling Asters and Chrysanthemums, an abstract base or 'ground' forming the centrepiece, and three differently styled butterflies. At the top left are some leaves from an anonymous Russian pattern found online.
A front shot, again showing off that pretty lining. Edging around the velvet crown of the hat, from the top down are three roses, each of a different pattern, in large, medium, and 'bud'. These were the most time consuming elements of the hat, and so take pride of place. They come complete with calyx(es) and picot-edged leaves. Then comes another butterfly, another leaf, this time in a grape-vine fashion, and finally, a stem of bluebells.
Here's a better view on the butterfly.
Roses, as seen from above.
A better view of the bluebells.
And finally for this section on the hat, two of the butterfly hat-pins I made earlier. They look rather out of scale in this photo - they must be about 3cm across. I'm thinking of adding some ribbon ties to the hat, and then I think I can call it complete.
Lastly, I've been up to the attic to fetch down my yarn 'stash' for the next assignment. Whilst I was there, I came across lots of my plastic strings used in the great 'scoubidou' craze. I think I may include some of them in the weaving project.
