Workshop

Tuesday the 21st March, I had a workshop at Lady Sew and Sew.
We were doing the Build a Fabric technique. (Check the tab above with a detailed tutorial.)

There were only 2 in the class, so I had time to take a few photos. It was interesting to see how different colour choices developed.

We started with a 'sample'. Taking a few steps so they could get the idea without being too precious about larger bits of fabric. Then one lady continued with those colours while the other lady started with others.

Sue - excellent eye for making contrast fabrics work.



Shaaron - using analogous colours and aiming for some built fabrics to develop a dragon!



What we discovered:
1.Using very thin fabrics at a later stage has a risk of the extra heat burning the fabric.
2.Fabrics with metallic are not so great for adhering, even though they look good. (We were using bondaweb/wonder under.)
3.Colours can really change depending on the background or colours they are next to.
4.They can also look different in different directions when you use something like satin.

If you have a go at this, let me know! Send me some photos to see what you have come up with.

Zoomorphic - 1

And so it is complete and ready to send off...

oh. forgot to take a photo.
open packet...

Here, the complete pelephant and bird - Zoomorphic 1.
Close packet.
Go to post tomorrow.

Zoomorphic

I needed to send a sample of the Build a Fabric technique to Lady Sew and Sew to have on display in the shop.
The only one I had I could send, I can't find. So, maybe it didn't get back from the Needlework Archive?

City Scape

Well, that one was made from the outer trimmings of the Collared Dragon. I still have trimmings left, so I had a look.

I like finding animals/people in clouds and other random shapes. And I often find I can go from a trimming to make something - even clothes. In these trimmings I could see animal-like shapes. So, I started cutting them out.

Okay. I just need one sample, but already I can see I can do a series. And the word zoomorphic kept running through my head.

So, I settled on this one.

And so far have got the bird and the "pelephant"* stitched down. Now to sandwich and quilt it and send it off.

*pelephant = pointy nose elephant

Transitioning back to my work

The National Needlework Archive asked for a sample to show for the workshop I am doing called Build a Fabric. So, that is what I have been working on the past couple days. It has made a good transition from alterations back to my own work.

The workshop is in conjunction with the Kazakhstan project, so I decided rather than making more fabric, to see what I could do with the offcuts from my dragon.

I like working with shapes that are left from cutting out. These suggested a city scape.

After some deliberation on positioning, I fused the shapes where I wanted.

Then I realised it was a bit unbalanced, so I added a sun/moon shape.

City Scape

Then zigzag round the edges of the shapes and some simple stitching. And to finish, a satin stitch edge.
I have added a split hanging sleeve in back (to give more options for how they wish to display it). Today it will go out in the post.

Meanwhile, the next project cooking in my brain is just about ready to start. I need to pull out some fabrics and do a couple trial experiments for techniques.

Workshops

I am putting out a tentative foot for doing a bit of teaching again.

On 28th September I am teaching a workshop at the National Needlework Archive. It is called Build a Fabric. The exhibition of the work made for Contemporary Quilt with the Kazakhstan challenge fabrics - now called '1001 Nights - Textile experiments with Kazakhstan fabrics' - will be on display. So my workshop will be about making the fabric like I did for making the Collared Dragon. Workshops at the National Needlework Archive are found here.

The Collared Dragon

And then next March, I will have a solo show at Lady Sew and Sew in Henley. Mostly about my gowns, but also textile art. I used the same technique in the Midnight Dance by Moonlight ensemble.

So, I am teaching Build a Fabric workshop at the Henley shop on 21 March. And then also a workshop on 22 March about making your own Ramshackle Houses.
You can see other workshops listed for Lady Sew and Sew here. Mine are currently on page 2.

Building a fabric-2

Yesterday my computer time was taken up with writing a newsletter. So, here we are with the next bit of building a fabric.

We had just got to fusing the 3rd fabric and needing to slice up the fabric which was a combo of fabric 1 and 2.

This time the fabric needs to be cut up in the other direction. Perpendicular to the pieces from the first fabric. Again I cut it in 1cm strips.

And then laid them onto the 3rd fabric (laying on the ironing board so I don't have to move the fabric when I have everything placed.)

I staggered the strips.

I rarely use the pieces on the very end. But on this layout, I cut little bits from that strip to place on edges because the 2nd fabric was a little too wide.

To put the little pieces on the edges increases the amount of fabric you can use.

When this fabric layout was fused, I then cut fabric no. 4 a little wider and a few inches longer than the current combined fabric piece. And fused the back of it.

Fabric no.4 is a crepe back satin. So, I used the shiny side up as it 'reads' lighter.

Again, time to slice the fabric, but remembering to go the opposite direction. Stagger the strips on the 4th fabric.

This is where you begin to see how exciting your 'new' fabric is. So many little bits of fabric in many different combinations and coming together in a way you could never have developed if you didn't follow these steps.

Now fuse them down.

One last go! Cut fabric no. 5 a little longer and a few inches wider than your combination fabric. I cut mine from the back of the crepe back satin...the crepe side 'reads' darker. Put fusible on the back.

Cut the 1cm strips from the combination fabric (no.1-4)

Place them on fabric no. 5 and fuse them down.

And for my purposes, this now is the final fabric!

This fabric will be cut into the shape and then mounted on an even darker blue.*

Do you see how interesting this new fabric you have built is? A lot of movement, a lot of texture, and a lot of combinations of the shapes and colours.
I usually use shades and tints of a certain colour, but you can do this with a variety of colours. I wanted to build a fabric to use for a jungle.

After this step, I also cut the strips diagonally.
You can see how this piece could be developed to show the idea of leaves and shades of the jungle.

There are a lot of places in the steps which I covered where you can say, What if I did this? It all depends on what your final use will be. But for the most part, you need to do at least 4 steps. If you are doing more than 5 steps, you need to be sure your fabrics are well fused to one another in the first few stages. Otherwise, they are tiny when chopped up and can easily begin to come undone.

After cutting my shape, when I fuse it to the backing fabric, I also do a bit of free machine embroidery. The fusing is good, but as it is pieces, could easily get caught on things, then pieces can get picked off.
Do remember though that you have several layers in some parts, so take your time and use a larger needle so it has more oomph to push through. Oh, and if you haven't used Misty Fuse, the glue in the fusible areas of the layers may create their own layers.
It may also mean that because the needle is working harder, it gets hot and you might find the glue melting/sticking to the needle, gumming it up. You can still do it, but you may have to have a handy bit of the hand cleaner gel on a bit of fabric to clean your needle off every so often. You will know! The thread starts to shred! (I haven't tried this, but I understand a needle with titanium coating is helpful in that instance.)

Another idea I have done in the past is to layer the whole with a synthetic organza - free machine it down in a close pattern, and then zap it with a heat gun. Some of the organza will melt away between the stitching to reveal the built fabric. It also creates a wonderful crunchy texture where it has melted.

Let me know if you try this!

*This fabric I have built will be used in the piece I am making for the Fly Me to the Moon project. Quilts made to the theme of the Moon will be put into a book to celebrate the 50th year anniversary of the Moon Landings.

building a fabric

If you remember back in January I built a fabric from a variety of fabrics to make a dragon.

Well, now I am starting to build a fabric again, but this is for the project I can not show.

I have started with a selection of colours - dark medium and light - which when together will give the look I want.

In this case, I have been drawn to the shinier fabrics because the thing I cut from it needs to have a bit of a glow. (I have asked if I can actually tell you what it is I am making from this, even though I can't show it. Still waiting for the reply.)

I am starting with the lightest piece. It will end up in the smallest bits, so they will be highlights, if you will.

This piece is an offcut of lining I somehow ended up with in my stash. I have a good collection of bits of shiny and lining fabrics. I started collecting them when I used to do dressing up costumes for the school. You always need things to make a child feel like a prince or a princess! And now they are useful when you need a small bit of this or that. This piece would normally be tossed because it has light fading where it was folded. But that works for me because it means the fabric is not flat - all one colour. Instead it has a subtle ombre affect.

I cut a piece - I am not precise about measurements. You can see from the metric ruler above and the inches cutting mat below and the dot matrix feed paper it is on, that it is about A4/letter paper length. The width was just the width of the offcut!

I put fusible on the back of the fabric with black Misty Fuse. Normally I wouldn't use black under a light fabric, but I wanted subtle texture. I laid it on the paper so you can see the webbing of the Misty Fuse fusible.

 

About fusing with Misty Fuse. It does not come with a backing paper, so work with 2 layers of baking parchment. Always lay the item to be fused between the layers when you fuse. Sometimes your fusible is cut slightly bigger than the fabric (see the left edge of the piece above), so you will have edges of fusible you want to protect the iron from. and of course you want a layer between it and your ironing board as well.

A VERY GOOD TIP: write or squiggle something on the side of the parchment that you are going to have next to the fusible. That way when you use it again, you can be sure not to put your iron onto fusible that remains on the paper. It is easier to see the black, but white fusible is easy to miss...till it is on your iron or ironing board. I wrote "This" this time because I used an X last time and had to keep looking very closely to see which side it was written on! Because the baking parchment is translucent, I can tell if the word is up or down better than if an X is.
Another good tip...let it cool down before you peel the parchment away. It comes away much easier.

Then I cut the next piece which is the lightest of the darker fabrics, and put fusible on the back of it, too.

It has been cut a few inches longer than the first one, and a little bit wider. This is a lighter weight fabric, so it bubbled a bit. Probably because I didn't turn the steam off. But I don't mind. It will be small pieces in the end, and lots of pressing, so any bubbles left will be a bit of texture.
It is a good idea to leave this fused piece on your pressing surface when you have peeled away the paper because you will lay strips onto it and it is not easy to move it to fuse them down if you do the placement somewhere else!

Next, I began to cut the first fabric into strips 1 cm wide using the width of the fabric. I placed them staggered on the second fabric and with small gaps between each strip. Don't be too precise about the placement. The slight unevenness will help the work to be more alive. Or in art speak - have movement.

You can stagger alternate - to one edge then to the other edge,
or you can make the staggering less abrupt by having strips halfway between.

For this one, I chose the second method because when it gets all chopped, it gives some interesting effects.

At this point, the 2nd fabric has already been laying on a layer of baking parchment on my ironing board, so all I have to do is lay the other piece of baking parchment on top and press to fuse.

Once I am sure the fabrics are sticking together, I turn the whole sandwich (baking parchment with fabrics between) over and press again to be sure they are fused well.

The next step is to cut a piece of fabric a few inches wider than this new piece you made and a little longer. I chose the second lightest fabric.

Then fuse it.

More about cutting into strips and placement tomorrow. But if you are following along, don't cut it the same direction as these strips were cut!

CQ-Kazakhstan Project - 2

So...next step on the K-Project.
I thought the best way to integrate fabrics which are so unlike each other is to chop and fuse to make them into ...fabric!

brown to purple

to green/blue paisley

to aubergine

and then

lilac (satin showing here as white) to red

to aubergine

This is a technique I have used in the past for things like this moon. (inside back of the Midnight Dance coat)

It makes it look like you spent ages piecing!

 



So with much chopping and adding of a few fancy fabrics of my own I have two pieces of fabric that should work together. They need one more chopping and then adding to the light green behind them. I am not sure, but I might blend them.

And now I am a lot happier about thinking I can do this!