Transfer Printing Workshop with Cas Holmes

Good Evening Bloggers,

I was fortunate enough to join Cas Holmes for a 'Transfer Printing' workshop which focussed on creating collages with depth by overlaying images and text.

We experimented with a range of different transferable materials on different papers and fabrics.

We experimented with layering the transfers to create unexpected effects.

We then explored compositions by layering up, cutting out and moving around sections of fabric, paper and prints.

This is the part I found the most tricky. It is very hard to cut into a beautiful print or even a photocopied image on paper just in case once cut, it seems wrong. I guess the trick is to have confidence in your ability to make choices and if you make the wrong choice this time, learn from it. Cut pieces which may not work in this composition, could work in another so keep hold of them!!


Cas working on her composition which included a beautiful Japanese bowl shape.

 

I laid out 2 composition ideas, both about A3 size. Cas told me to work on a smaller scale initially as a tool to help plan a composition - something I find hard to do as a painter who prefers to work on large and massive size canvas!!

 Once I sized down the scale of my work, I finally began to create a piece that I felt was worth developing. I layered up factory printed fabric and dyed lace with transfer printed translucent synthetic fabric on top. I love the way the viewer can see glimpses of the images underneath.

I roughly stitched down the fabrics on the machine then began hand stitching a few details with embroidery threads.

The final piece is not yet finished and I still have a couple of bits pinned on temporarily whilst I 'live' with them and make decisions as to whether or not they can 'move in'!! Cas would say they are being 'Auditioned'!!!

I had a very enjoyable day, learned so much and feel exhausted (too much thinking and decision making). I cannot wait until Thursday when I have some time at home to work on another composition using the prints made today.

Thank-you for reading and commenting on my Blog,
Claire x

Chinese Dragon Dress - Final part (4)

Good Evening Bloggers,

Although I finished this dress a while ago, I have only just had chance to update my blog. It will be a short and sweet one!!

I continued adding fabric pieces to fill out the hanky hem. I then added lengths of lace here and there. I created a 'u shape' with the pale pink piece of lace and secured it with a pink diamante button (purchased in Istanbul). I also added the gold and blue band around the 'v shaped' waist to define the waist and hip shapes.

The detail on the bodice was added next after lots of draping and pinning different decorative trimmings. I eventually decided on a range of trimmings, each with a small amount of gold colour in them, again these are from Istanbul.

 

The area I am the least happy with is the back of the dress. I may well go back to it one day and rethink. I began by hanging a few pieces of fabric 'hanky style'. They looked a little 'lost' and 'flat' so I pulled them into 'u shapes' and secured them under the gold waistband. It reminds me a little of a 'bustle' at the back of the dress.

The shoulder straps are both different pieces of lace and underneath them are bra straps which are adjustable for comfort.

Chinese Dragon Dress - Part 3

Evening Bloggers,
I am afraid I have had to write part 2 and 3 of this blog both on the same night. Having been away on holiday for 3 weeks, I had no time to write part 2 sooner. At this point, I had already worked on the dress for approximately 15 hours.

First I removed all the pieces I had pinned onto the skirt. This was a little traumatic as I quite liked the overall effect but it had to be done in order to progress properly. Now the bodice was complete, I decided to add a long zip in the back. This is the zip from the original blue dress. I liked it as it was already decorated with sequins. Adding the zip at this stage was helpful as it can be time consuming having to pin the bodice onto the mannequin each time it is removed and replaced (many, many times!) The zip assists in holding the bodice on quite firmly.

Next, I hand pleated the blue and green skirt pieces around the waist giving a little fullness in this area and attached them to the v-shaped waist on the bodice. I extended the zip down through the skirt.

I was not happy with the way the front of the skirt hung where the blue and green fabrics joined so I added a v-shaped piece of another fabric between them.

At this stage, the skirt looks very uninspiring in my opinion - time to continue my favourite pastime...... experimenting with different colours, textures, shapes and pinning fabric scraps together!!


I considered bringing the hanky hem scraps up above the v-shaped waistline but once I had pinned a few pieces there, I realised it would not work visually. With the hanky hem spilling down from the waist, it gave me the opportunity to emphasise the V-shape by adding a lace or decorative trimming. I pinned many different ones on before making my final decision (surprise, surprise).

Now with the layers being added, I am happy the dress is beginning to become more shapely and visually interesting. There is still a long way to go though!

Total hours work today - 4.

Chinese Dragon Dress - Part 2

Evening Bloggers,
I have been working on this dress for approximately 1 month now. Not constantly of course!! Most of the time it sits staring at me from my mannequin in my studio willing me to get on and finish it!!

In part 1 I managed to get most of the front and back of the bodice in place. Now to complete the bodice and work on the skirt part.

I started pleating, draping and pinning parts of the existing blue dress I wanted to recycle around the waist and skirt area. I decided the waist needed to be more fitted and flattering and discovered a cotton doyley I had hand dyed a while ago. As the embroidered cotton fabric is quite stiff it worked well and pulled in the waist nicely. I had found the missing jigsaw piece for the bodice at last!! I stitched it together carefully.

Phew, this was the end of a mind numbing day having had so many decisions to make - as always.

Total looking, working and thinking time today 5 hours.

For a bit of fun and light relief, I started draping random pieces of fabric around the skirt area. Amazingly the random shapes and colours started to work well and some new ideas were born!!

 The skirt would now be created using an existing green skirt and the blue dress underneath with other pieces of fabric cut in diamond shapes stitched on top to create a 'hanky hem' effect.

These pieces are just pinned in these photos and will all need to be taken off, cut to shape and zig- zag stitched to minimise fraying if I decide to use them when I come back with 'fresh eyes' another day.

Total draping, looking and thinking time - 2 hours!!

 

 

Chinese Dragon Dress - Part 1

Hi Bloggers,
I have always loved sewing and at the age of 16, when I first left school, I worked on a factory line making children's clothes for Marks and Spencer. I soon got bored of stitching collars on all day or over locking cuffs on all day and I was looking to broaden my horizons. I found myself working in small industrial unit making 'one off' designs for a company called 'Anna John Fashions'. This was a little more exciting and we actually made jackets for Michael Jackson's roadies on his 'Bad Tour' amongst other bits and pieces. The problem was, we still rarely got to make a whole garment we just took responsibility for making a certain part of the garment. Hence, I never really became competent or confident at making clothes. I ended up working for many years in a 'Soft Furnishers' making sofas curtains and cushions. These, I can make with my eyes closed, but clothing - well that is a totally different ball game.

25 years later, the lack of dressmaking experience has come back to haunt me. I am currently running a GCSE Textiles course in a Kent Secondary school and will also be teaching AS Textiles from September. Many of the students want to make clothes (and have some very fantastical ideas) so I have had to face my fears!! I have made a couple of skirts and a tunic top recently but have not yet tackled the dreaded dress! The purpose of this particular blog series, is to create a resource for these students. I want them to follow this particular journey from the conception of an idea, through the trauma of the need to make constant decisions and changes without really knowing if they are going to be the right ones!! Hopefully, this will encourage my students to be imaginative, creative and most of all realistic. For me, I hope to achieve a reasonable conclusion and a wearable, interesting dress.

So, this is how day 1 went in a visual diary form (with a few words of explanation)

Ok, so first, I had to look through my fabrics and find a selection of approximately 5 - 10 different fabrics that might work together (forgot to photograph the bundle - great start!!)

I love the idea of recycling and found this dress which I intend to chop up and reuse.

 I then started draping different fabric pieces together on the mannequin to see what colours and shapes could work together. I found this very frustrating and could not make decisions about what actually did work. The problem is that at some point, these largish pieces of fabric need to be cut down so that they can be pinned together but I didn't actually want to cut them down prematurely only to find I had cut the wrong shape or too small. At some point, a decision needs to be made.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I soon  realised that I needed to shape the bust but was not sure where to start. I checked out my wardrobe and found a shapely Joe Browns dress. I placed this on my mannequin and drew around the bust shape onto the mannequin using chalk. I added an inch around the top of the bust as the dress is cut a little low for my taste. I also chalked out the top section at the back of the dress onto the mannequin.

 

**NOTE TO STUDENTS - Of course, unlike myself, you will have produced a number of designs prior to making your garment so you will have very strong ideas about the shape and style of your garment. My ideas are all in my head and made up as I go along. I can get away with this as I do not need to keep a sketchbook like yourselves to show how my ideas have developed. Sorry, I know that is cheating but I need to get on with the 'making' so I can show you how to do it!! **

Working from the chalk lines on the mannequin, I made a pattern for the 2 curved bust shapes. I then selected 2 fabrics and cut them. I added 3 tiny pleats at the bottom of the cups to allow for female curves. I top stitched the seam joining both curves together with the seam facing downwards to ensure the curve sat nicely across the bust and to add extra strength to this area. So far, so good - 3 hours work so far. Phew!!!

 

I then cut the 2 back panels after making a pattern with scrap fabric and joined them onto the front panels. Then I began draping fabric again to figure out what to do with the skirt part of the dress. I quite like the shape this front panel creates, especially with the extra length at both sides but it is just to much of the same fabric for my taste and also a little to 'safe'. I want to create lost of small, tattered sections.

 I looked back to the Joe Browns dress and considered the shape of the main front panel. I made a pattern for it, pinned it on and then decided to disregard it for this particular dress, I felt it was the wrong shape. Instead I added a similarly shaped piece onto one side of the bodice which curved down to the hips. A more flattering shape, I decided, although I need to start reducing the panel sizes if I am to achieve a more 'patchwork' effect.













I picked up a small offcut of the Chinese fabric and realised this could be the first step towards  'patchwork land'. Time for a little more draping and to introduce more of that teal blue dress. The colour needs to be integrated more with the green silks and I intend to do this by adding braids and lace which will flow down from the bodice to the skirt. The teal colour piece will probably end up lower down than where it is currently pinned but I am liking the shape the frills on the bottom are creating. Total working time today; 7 hours.

** NOTE TO MY STUDENTS - HOWEVER LONG YOU THINK IT WILL TAKE TO MAKE A GARMENT - DOUBLE IT AND DOUBLE IT AGAIN!!!! *

Personalised Textiles

Good Evening Bloggers,
Due to noticing a surge of readers of my Blog, I thought I had better get on and write a new article!!!

Recently I was lucky enough to be asked to create a commission piece for a very nice lady. She had seen my delicately embroidered, personalised panels as advertised in many places including my Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/TextileFineArt. She particularly wanted me to include her surname on the piece.

I started by sandwiching shapes and lettering made from angelina fibres, organza, woollen yarns etc between 2 sheets of water soluble fabric




I then pinned the fabric pieces in place and stitched around the outside of each piece. The stitching is really important and the more layers of heavy, overlapping stitching - the better.

I then added extra embellishments and decorative stitching by hand. Once I was happy with the overall composition, I dissolved the water soluble fabric. The panel can be paced on any contrasting coloured fabric before framing. Further examples can be seen in progress at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0MDJp_BwvQ

This bespoke piece of Textile Art is an ideal, unique Mothers Day, Christmas, Wedding, Birthday or Christening gift at an affordale price. It is a delicate hand and machine embroidery decorated with organza, beads, sequins, netting and angelina fibres. The fabrics used are sheer allowing the panel to have both transparent areas and openings. Through these, the background fabric can be viewed (the colour of which is interchangable and can be selected by the customer). I can make these to order for any occasion including Weddings , Christenings, Birthdays etc. These are custom made with your preferred colour scheme and symbols. I can include dates, names and for an even a photograph of your choosing. The size is approximately 30 x 40cm and these are sold unframed. (Please see my Etsy shop for more details and pictures).          

Fashion Design - my 'hanky hem' skirt

Good Evening Bloggers,

I thought it was about time I updated my blog to show you my latest fashion statement!! I started this skirt a good 2 months ago now but it has been 'resting' on my mannequin half finished for the last month or so. I was very excited initially when I started it but then a couple of comments made on Facebook whilst it was in progress put me off continuing with it. When I posted this image, a friend of mine commented that it 'looked like something found in an operating theatre'!!

The thing is, I could see what she was saying
and I wasn't sure what I could do to dull        
the colours down a little. I left it for a while and looked at it sitting loking forlorn on my mannequin every now and then. Eventually the plan came together in my head.

For a moment though, let me go back to the very beginning........
I started at the waistband and worked with fabric scraps. I stitched lots of box pleats into the fabrics pinned around the waist and hips.



      So after a long break and much thought, I decided to add many more fabric scraps onto the 'hanky hem'. As the first layer was quite 'colourful' and a little OTT, I decided to limit the colours on the next layer to darker shades, mainly black. This is the front and rear view of the work in progress. Once I have finished stitching the hanky hem, I am planning to add some further detail on the waist and hips. Watch this space to see how I develop this. In the meantime ask yourself 'Does she even know what she plans to do, or is she bluffing'!!!!!!! Hee hee