Needle Felting Samples

 For our felting samples we started with some high density foam, a wet felt background, needle holder and some carded felt.

 

Then our tutor gave out the needles as they are very sharp and can be dangerous. 

Then to felt, you get the material background place that on the foam and then use the needle to stabb the carded felt to the ground. On my first sample I did stripes left to right first and did brown striped top to bottom. After that I use the circle from inside some sissors to get some perfect round black circles. 

 

This is my final piece you can see the stripes and the circles. I used these colours as they go with the rest of my colour sheme which is autumn colours white and black. 

Second Sample: 

I used a bright blue background and greens and browns to make this tree I made this tree as it is a natural thing and I'm using nature things for my project. I also used these colours as they go with my colour scheme. 

Wet Felting Samples

First Sample

We did wet felt samples in the textiles workshop.

For my first sample I did the base layer green. 

This is the felting before wet felting with it. 

ou start with the first two layers of felt. One layer top to bottom and second layer left to right. But it does shrink about 20% so make it abit bigger. 

Then place a layer of net over it and covered the whole thing in water then pulled the net off thing makes the felting stick together.

 

After I had removed the net and rolled the felt in bubble wrap. I then rolled it back and forward for 4 minutes, I repeated this step 4 or 5 times. 

 

This is after rolling, I then put all my samples in cotton and poured boiling water over them.

Another Sample:

 

Weaving Sample

This is my weaving sample. We first threaded wool through the wholes at the bottom of the these 14 sticks. I then start to wind my wool an materials like thick wool through this in a figure of eight. After I had filled the whole thing I then put the sticks up through the weave and knotted then so the weave couldn't come loose. 

 

After I had done all this my weave finally ended up like this. 

Knitting Samples

First Sample:

We first learnt how to cast on as this is how to start knitting. Our minimium stitches was 20 so I did 30 with 4.5mm needles, these were bamboo needles.

 

I did a few rows with this, I then discided I wanted to change the colour and I did the rest with that blue colour. 

 

I changed colour once more. This is my first knitting sample, at the end I used a light green, navy blue and a darker green. 

Second Sample:

This is my second sample I used 10mm on this pierce but I did use fine wool this is why it's looks slightly messy. I really like this sample because it's looser and it's abit messy I love this effect.  

Other Samples:

 

Nature Vs Made Man

This project is all about Nature Vs Man Made. So these are my mood Boards ... 

 

My first mood board is all buildings. I used a grey background with this as I thought many buildings are grey and most of these castles are grey. 

This is my second Mood Board this is a nature sheet I like the pattern of all these things because you could use it just about any where, out of all these patterns I like the flower and the giraffe print I also like the black and orange strikes from the frog. 

This is my last mood board the is also a nature. I found all these leaves and scanned them because if I was to use the real ones they would decay I have also used brown wool on this sheet this is meant to look like branches so the leaves don't look like their just flotting. This sheet also has pictures of flowers I used these as they fit in with the nature theme I also used brusho paints for this background. I drew flower as I love the doodle look on flowers. I also stuck on flower on the right side of this sheet I did these with watercolour and black pen I cut the petals out as I nought it would look better. 

 

This is a picture of all my Mood Boards together. 

Knitting Samples

This is my knitting sample. We learnt how to this in class and spend all day doing some samples. For these first samples I used a 4.5mm needles and I started with 30 stitches. I also used bamboo needles for these samples. 

 

On this sample I discided to use colours three different samples as I thought a range of colours would look good and it would show different technique.

These are two of my finally samples as I did do three others at home. But these are the ones I did in college. I thought to used these colours as I think they show both the nature and man made themes. 

 

I'm really enjoyed this technique as I thought it showed lots of skill and it was relaxing. As I liked this knitting so much, when I got home I borrowed some knitting needles and did even more samples are home in those other samples I used different types of wool (e.g. Thicker and thinner and then I also tried different size needles). I was so impressed with myself for managing to do this technique and do it well. 

Evalution

 

My initial ideas for the project of "All the fun of the fair" were to use a ferries wheel, games & game stalls as I felt these images represent a fun fair the most. To document my research I decided to use a sketchbook, this shows all the research, ideas and development I did in the holidays. My first idea was to use a spider diagram; I think this is a more interesting way to show my ideas.

My methods of research took time and lots of scrolling on the internet, and sketching. We also went on a trip to Scarborough to do some primary research. We walked up & down the seafront where we took photos of the relevant images that we needed for this Fun fair project. These were the shadowing, shapes & colours of the beach & sea. We also looked at old & new arcade games which showed different images & colours that we could add to our project.  

I believe I managed my time well, sometimes I got stressed because I was doing most of the research at home in the 6 weeks holiday and didn’t know if the research was enough. Mostly I would be thinking how I could do my work & then spend most of my Sundays putting it all together. Sundays in our house are always quiet and the best time to work.

For my artist research I looked at Daniel Heath because he is a designer of fun fairs using textiles. Daniel produced some screen printed pillows and I liked these because they were very bright and the pattern showed up very well. During my research I could not find anyone else I really liked, but Daniel Heath seemed to only do bedding.

I approached my tracing with care and concern because I knew this would be turned into my screen so didn’t want to rush it. I took inspiration from my mood boards, visual sheets and internet research. But as I didn't want to make my tracing and screen print too busy I used a lot of the same objects just in different sizes. I did some Batik samples on paper but most samples like devore and puff binder were on fabrics. I liked using puff binder the best as I liked the final effect it had on the fabric.

My experience of the sewing machine was both good and bad as I tried two sewing machines to see which I could use easier. I first tried the Bernini and I liked it I just couldn’t work it, to me it was a little confusing. Then I tried the Brother machine and it was a lot easier to use. I liked using the Brother as I could use the foot peddle easier and get the right speed I wanted. I also found it  more comfortable to operate. When I did my sewing machine testers I used the brother sewing machine for my straight stitch/different stitching technique sample and I used the Bernini sewing machine for my free machining sample. I found the layer and burn difficult as I had to use the sewing machine without the foot on, and had to have the feed dogs down, this made it a lot more difficult to control and meant most of the lines weren't very neat at all. For this technique I used a wooden hoop, organza and bondaweb.

I loved my experience in the print room as it let me create different things and use and make different things. I used lots of materials like, calico, Devore, batik, puff binder, brown paper, masking tape, newspaper, tissue paper, cartridge paper and found fabric. Also while I was in the print room I used things like a pressure washer, fabric, a screen, a squeegee, wax, an iron, pigment ink, procian dyes and brusho ink. I loved being in the print room as I could practise my ideas instead of thinking of what to do. Another reason why my experience in the print room went well was because I could just create my ideas for my samples there and then if I wanted as all the materials were there for me to try out and use.

In the whole project I used a lot of experimentation, but in the textile workshop is where it really came out. I experimented a lot as I haven't used the textile workshop before apart from in my first year but that was only one quick lesson. But the things I enjoyed most were screen printing, batik and puff binder I liked using these the most because the puff binder stands out and makes the pattern look 3D. I also experimented with the sewing machine too as I haven't even used one before. So this whole experience has been a massive learning curve.  

I enjoyed lots of processes in this project; I mostly enjoyed puff binder, batik and using the sewing machine. The reason why I like this so much is these are the most unusual techniques. But I didn't enjoy the layer and burn as I couldn't control the sewing machine very well and I couldn't get the pattern I wanted. Also I used embroidery thread on the sewing machine and as I was using the sewing machine without the foot or the feed dogs the embroidery thread kept snapping so this is why I didn't really like using this technique but I did think it was good to learn how to do it.

I manage my work load in the summer holidays by dedicating every Sunday to working on my sketch book I also found and thought of ideas though the week. But when I got back to college it didn't go so well due to the death of my grandma this meant I took a week off for bereavement. However I catch up and now I'm back on track and very proud of the work I have achieved.

Layer and Burn Sample

This is my layer and burn, it's a technique we learnt and used in our project. For this technique I used a wooden hoop, organza and bondaweb and an iron. For the first step I ironed bondaweb and organza together the heat from the iron bonded these fabrics together. Then I got a wooden hoop and stretched my fabric round it this keeps the material tight and stretched so I was able to sew into it with the sewing machine. Then I got the brother sewing machine out and tried to do some kind of pattern but as I had to take off the foot and lower the feed dogs I didn't have much control from the sewing machine. So I had to control it myself this means you could get a very neat pattern. 

 

This is my my layer and burn in the wooden hoop ready for the sewing machine. 

  

The fact that I couldn't get a good neat pattern is shown here. 

 

The is my sample after sewing with the sewing machine and heating it up with the heat gun. 

This is the final sample piece for Layer and Burn. 

Final Piece Final Stages

This is my final piece, to get this effect I used lots of stages. I have one blog post that shows the first four stages of creating my final piece. The final stages we're repeat pattern printing and sewing with a sewing machine. 

To create my repeat print I used my tracing to make sure I put my screen in the right place, then I printed to create an amazing pattern. 

Then I used the sewing machine to give it some more texture and show my sewing machine technique, I used different stitches to show I can able to use the sewing machine with all the different stitching techniques. Using all these different techniques creates different eluminating patterns. I stitched on outlines in my repeat pattern to make different object stand out more than others. 

  

Caption: this is my final piece on the sewing machine. 

I really like my final piece as it bright and I love the pattern. I think it's eye catching and different. 

  

Caption: This is my final piece for the 'Fun of the Fair' project.

Final Piece Stages

The stages of my final piece for our fair fround project. 

The first thing I did was dye my fabri with turquoise and red/pink.

 To get this technique i took my fabric and splashed ink were I wanted ink. Then i took the fabric and scrunched it up so all the colours/inks blended together to make this amazing pattern. 

Then I let it dry and pressed it with the heat press. Then I washed it and this lets some of the ink out so my fabric this made it look a little lighter. You washed the fabric like this in cold and warm water. 

 

The fabric looks lighter now is been washed and pressed. The fabric is dry and its ready to print screen on. 

The fabric really looks good and I love it because it stands out its not really tie dye and its not all dyed the same colour either. I printed on my fabric with black ink as I thought it would stand out on the fabric really well. I really love theses colours together. 

I really love this print as it stands out and i love these coolours together. But this isnt my final print as I did a repeat print pattern, and I am also going to use the sewing machine on his to make things stand out more on my print. 

Screen Prints on Different Fabrics

These are Screen Prints on different fabrics, the reason why I decided to use different fabrics is to experiment. The top left image is a shirt sleeve that I have printed with black ink. The top right images is calico inked then washed and pressed then printed on it, I love he effect before I printed on it I used pink and purple inks to create this pattern/effect. The bottom left screen print I also used inks to create this background, I used orange, blues and greens. I love making this type of backgrounds. I printed on this fabric with a purple fabric, after I printed with purple and it had dried i think I should have used a darker colour as the purple doesnt stand out very well. But overall I do love these prints because I experimented and used and learnt different methods and techniques. 

Samples

These are three Batik samples and one Print sample. To get the batik effect you use hot liquid waxed and draw with a tjanting tool on the paper, then you use one colour and cover the page in colour dyes then draw wax on the paper again this hold that first colour then repeat the process if you want. Then let all those inks dry and then iron off the wax with some newsprint repeat until the newsprint becomes clear. I love this technique as it gives a really nice and bright effect. The bottom right print is cartidge paper printed and then inked on top in strikes. I love this effect too. 

Screen Prints on Paper

These are my paper screen print. The top left print is just Cartridge paper with a Light Blue printing ink. This print is bright and the lights are good. The top right print is a repeat print in a grey/blue ink. On his print some of the colours have faded and some of the line are thicker and more definded. The bottom left is a good print. Its a bright red ink but some of the lines arent very definded and some are definded. I have found wih this screen is some of the line dont come out very well. The bottom right print is a repeat pattern. I used the screen in different directions so that it creates a repeat pattern effect. I really like this print because I used my screen differently. 

Screen Print Samples

These Screen Print samples are all diferent. The top left sample is an inked background, hen i washed it and pressed it and then printed on it. I love this effect and I think this is one of my best prints. The top right print is some found fabric (this found fabric is scraps I have found and dont have anymore of), onthe fabric I have printed and then printed into the print wih glucose paints. I painted into the print to bring some colour and to try a different idea. The Bottom left image is some fabric I have sewed together on the sewig machine and hen printed on i thought the stitches would add something different to the print. The bottom left image is 3 different types of paper these are tissue paper, newspaper and cartridge paper I also used masking tape. I decided to use these different things because I wanted to see how the print would look on different papers and tape. These different prints I like because I tried different ways to make the print stand out and also like these because i like usig different textiles and learning what works and what doesnt work. 

Devore Samples

These are my Devore samples. This method gives a see throw effect. To create this effect I used Devore Velvet, Devore Silk, Decore Azeta and the Devore mixture. The only problem I found with the Devore Azeta is pushed the mixtured throw the screen too hard, this made the pattern very thick. I also found problems with the Devore silk I didn't push the mixture throw hard enough so it didnt print well either. This had made it faded and not very clear. But otherwise I loved this process because it gives an amazing effect and an amazing texture to the fabric. 

Puff Binder Samples

These are my Puff Binder Sample. Puff binder is a way to get a different effect, it makes the fabric stand up when heat is applied. The top to images are just normal puff binder on fabric. The bottom left image is coloured puff binder, to get this effect you mix together the colour you want and some puff bind mixture and print just as normal. The bottom right image is puff binder half way through the heat process, this shows you how it looks before and after the heat process.  

Free Machining and Line Stitching

 

This is my 'Free machining' and 'Line stitching' samples I used a A4 sheet of calico. For my 'free machining' sample I used a wooden ring and stretched my calico over it, after I did this we removed the foot then i started 'free machining'. I decided to draw my initials and hearts and a boarder round it.

Then I got a different place of calico and did some 'line stitching', I did this by putting in different stitch types and doing a line of stitches. This work will go in my Tech file along with all my other stitching.  

Mood Boards & Visual Sheets

These are my Mood boards and Visual Sheets. These are where I get all my ideas from for my Screen printing, the bottom two sheets are mood boards. I first started to think where I want to go with my project. The bottom left sheet is a colourful modern sheet, all the bright colours and pops of colour. On the bottom right is my old style sheet this is where I used old style colours and photos. The two top sheets are my Visual sheets, these are an extension on my Mood boards and  when I created even more ideas. These Visual sheets helped me even more with my screen prints. 

My First Blog Post

Hello, My name is Charlotte Ward and I'm currently studying BTEC Textiles and Surface Pattern at Barnsley College. I would like to travel the world with Textiles and Surface Pattern to learn and understand different techniques. This is going to be a blog that will contain all the work I do in and out of class. I will update this blog when I do pieces of work. This will show you what I do and how it is done. After this course I would love the continue with Textiles and Surface Pattern to learn and develop my technique.