Certificate Module 5, Chapter 7: Tactile Contrasts. Self-imposed challenge of posting every day, day 30, made it!

Well, in truth I must confess I missed four days through lack of time, but the principle remained a good one, in that it made me work and post regularly.  That's something I'd like to continue - but not every day!  I've found it rather stressful, particularly when there have been days that family and other commitments have meant I am busy all day.  I have at times been burning the midnight oil!  However, perhaps trying to do a little work every day and posting once a week might be a sustainable plan.

Here is my sample for today.  I again used the technique Colette Wolff calls "furrowing" in her book "The Art of Manipulating Fabric".  I cut a square of cotton about 3 inches square and another twice the width and length.  I ran a gathering stitch along each side of the larger square and gathered it up to fit the smaller square.  I then caught up the loose fabric with random stitches, only this time I secured each stitch with a bead.

5.7.3

My first thought on reading the student notes for this chapter was "Oh no, not more samples!"  I often find that at this stage in a module, I feel overwhelmed and besieged by the sheer amount of work on seemingly endless little samples.  Knowing that I usually hit this low point helps me to get through it, because in previous modules, when looking at my final assessment piece, I can see that it would not have been possible had it not been for all the samples, which themselves kick off and generate ideas.  So on starting Chapter 7 I just gritted my teeth and decided to keep going.  However, to my surprise, I find I am enjoying it enormously.  Its challenge to make each patch contrast with its neighbour, and the freedom to explore many different ways to manipulate fabric give it more interest than more directed sampling.  I enjoy having my ingenuity tested and I'll enjoy exploring ideas here, particularly now I don't have to post every day and can take a more leisurely approach.

I shall endeavour to post each Sunday from now on with the work I have done (much or little) that week.

Certificate, Module 5, Chapter 7: Tactile Contrasts. Day 29

I've got a particularly busy day in store tomorrow and some of my favourite programmes are on television in the evening, so I know it's not likely that I'll be able to post, so thought I'd do it a bit early.

I'm not sure if I've done enough samples for Chapters 5 and 6, but I feel the need for a change and a new chapter, so thought I'd just get going with Chapter 7.  I made two small parts for the sampler.

5.7.1  

In the first sample (5.7.1 above) I stacked six squares of polycotton from a charity shop old sheet on top of a square of calico and stitched parallel lines of stitching diagonally, using the presser foot as a guide.  I then cut through between the rows of stitching, down to the base layer.  The different colour of the calico made it easy to know where to stop cutting.  I then distressed the surface with a brush.  This is low, soft and fluffy to the touch.

5.7.2

Sample 5.7.2 consists of torn strips of the same white polycotton tied in knots and laid diagonally on a square of white polycotton.  I didn't have time to stitch them down but will do so another day.  What it has in common with 5.7.1 is that it is fairly soft.  The contrast is that it is higher and bumpy to the touch.

Working a small amount every day makes it simpler for me to make a series of small squares and then join them together for the sampler at the end.  I like the idea of using the same fabric for all the samples.

Certificate, Module 5, Chapter 6: Tucks, Pleats and Gathers, Day 28

Celebrating three family birthdays in one week, shopping for presents, baking birthday cakes and visiting, have filled the last few days with so much hectic and enjoyable activity that there has been no time to work on samples or post on this blog.  So today, a quiet day at home, I'm playing catch-up.

I have now completed the sample 5.6.13.  It has been getting me down somewhat, and so I'll be glad to move on to another chapter.

3.6.13(g)  A pintuck formed by working a row of looped edge stitching with detached buttonhole stitch.

3.6.13 (h)  A plain tuck bound at intervals

5.6.13 (i) A tuck stitched with blanket stitch with detached buttonhole stitch worked in the loops at the edge with a contrasting thread.

5.6.13 (j) A tuck stitched with chain stitch.

5.6.13 (k)  A plain tuck ironed to make a box pleat and stitched by machine at the edges with a variable zigzag stitch.

Certificate Module 5, Chapter 6: Tucks, Pleats and Gathers, Day 24

I'm finding the (self imposed) pressure on me to post every day, and to finish a sample everyday, is too stressful and so I'm just timetabling an hour a day.

I didn't get much done in today's hour.  Hand stitching is too time consuming.  However I did get a bit more of sample 5.6.13 done.

Below are some details:

5.6.13 (b)  Tuck pressed to make box pleat

This was a bit boring I thought but I might add to it later to make a bit more interest, perhaps a pintuck at each edge or some sort of interesting edge.

5.6.13 (c) Caterpillars!

In 13(c), I slashed a tuck at regular intervals and then put a brown and a white pipe cleaner in and out through alternative slashes.  It looks a bit like a succession of caterpillars.

5.6.13(d)   Pintuck

The red arrow in 13(d) above shows a pintuck - yes one solitary one.  I hope to have time to add more later.

5.6.13 (e)  Loop edging

I worked part of the pintuck with, instead of back stitch, then an edging stitch consisting of loops covered with buttonhole stitch.  I only had time to complete 4 but I'll extend it tomorrow.

5.6.13 (f)

Because of the random nature of the creases left by the dampening and binding of the cloth, they lent themselves very readily to short tucks at odd angles as in 13 (f) above.  There is also a deeper tuck with several rows of stitching.

That's all I had time for today.  I haven't had an evening to relax since the beginning of September because posting every day, as well as a daily drawing challenge, has meant that I am working late into the evening.  So today, my day has been timetabled and life should get a whole lot more relaxed.

Certificate, Module 5, Chapter 6: Tucks, Pleats and Gathers, day 23

Referring back to day 20 when I tried dampening fabric then scrunching it before letting it dry, the second sample of that didn't work as well as I'd hoped.  Still it did retain some creasing which I was able to use as a basis for some hand-stitched tucks.  I didn't get finished but will continue tomorrow.

5.6.13  partly stitched tuck sample

5.6.13 (a)  close up detail of 5.6.13 above

Certificate Module 5, Chapter 6: Tucks, Pleats and Gathers, Day 22

5.6.12  (a)

Image 5.6.12 above shows the first stage of my experiment with tucks.  Keeping it nice and simple, straight tucks at regular intervals each the width of the presser foot.  As I sewed the needle kept catching in the fabric and pulling it slightly.  I don't know whether it was the synthetic fabric or if I needed to change the needle in my sewing machine, but I quite liked the effect so just carried on.

5.6.12   (b)

In 12(b) above I added some random tucks at an angle to the first tucks.

5.6.12   (c)

In 12(c) I continued adding lines of tucks at random angles until the apparently fragile but actually very tough and springy man-made fabric (piece of an old sheer curtain) became hard to sew through. 

I didn't manage to start on today's sample until 9.30 this evening and it is now past my bedtime, so I'll leave it there, but I'd like to do some more to this if I can - perhaps another day.

Certificate, Module 5, Chapter 6: Tucks, Pleats and Gathers. Day 21

The hessian sample from yesterday worked beautifully.  There was enough dressing in the hessian that, when dampened and pressed into ridges, it set in that shape when dry.

It seemed to me that it was just calling out for  random smocking stitches to scrawl their way across the ridges.

5.6.11

I have tried to avoid using colour for this module, as suggested in the student notes, but in this case I couldn't resist this thread, (a gift from a friend) of hand dyed cotton with the merest blush of faint colour, shading from pink through cream to green.  With the warmer coloured thread appearing to advance and the cooler green appearing to recede it seems to add another dimension to this simple piece.  I like this one very much.

Certificate, Module 5, Chapter 6: Tucks, Pleats and Gathers, Day 20

No time consuming smocking today - that will have to wait till another time.  I had a very busy day today with boring, but necessary domestic admin tasks filling the morning, a quick bite of lunch before off to a regular walking group in the afternoon.  So something quick and easy for my sample today.  I had a look at Jean Littlejohn's book "Fabrics for Embroidery" and found a technique that seemed quick and easy, but interesting.  It consisted of gathering and stuffing little circles on a stretchy fabric.  It was very effective, and I could see that Jean's suggestion of combining them with other textures would be even more so.  (All the same, there was a disquieting feeling that there was something a bit rude-looking about the resulting shapes - or was that just my mind?)

3.6.9  Stuffed and gathered circles on jersey fabric

I found two more ideas that were interesting, both of which involved manipulating damp fabric and leaving it to dry and so I prepared the samples and left them to dry.  In 3.6.10, below the top sample shows pleated damp fabric wrapped around a stick and tied at regular intervals.  This will take possibly a few days to dry.  The lower sample is some hessian fabric dampened and then moulded into ridges and left to dry.  I'm not sure whether or not that particular fabric has the necessary dressing to enable it to retain the ridges thus formed, but I'll find out fairly soon.  If it doesn't work then I can try saturating the fabric in PVA or cellulose paste.

5.6.10 Dampened, manipulated fabrics laid on a plastic bag to dry

Certificate Module 5, Chapter 6: Tucks, Pleats and Gathers, Day 19

I'm in love with smocking!  It is time consuming, even tedious at times and it is so hard to get the stitches even, particularly on the silk fabric I chose to use (I don't know why except I liked the feel of it).  All the same I loved it.  Unpicking the original gathering stitches at the end and discovering the elastic qualities of the resulting fabric was like opening your presents at Christmas.  I can see some mistakes in my stitching and it could be neater, but I am pleased with the results nevertheless and keen to practise more so I can do better.

5.6.8  Completed smocking sample

I particularly enjoyed the chevron honeycomb stitch (see close-up below).  It was quite hard to get the hang of it, but then suddenly it clicked and there was a very pleasing rhythm to the stitch.

5.6.8 (a)  Chevron Honeycomb Stitch

Certificate Module 5 Chapter 6 Tucks, Pleats and Gathers, Day 18

5.6.7

This little, part-finished smocking sample is all I have to show for half a day's work.  Not having access to a pleating machine in my far-flung corner of the UK, if I wanted to try smocking (which I did) and if I was reluctant to spend over £200 on a machine that I would hardly ever use (which I was), the only solution was to do the initial gathering by hand.  I followed the instructions step by step, from measuring out a grid on the wrong side of the fabric, putting pencil dots at all the grid intersections, through seemingly endless stitching to finally gathering up with several attempts to get the gathers to sit evenly.

At last I arrived at the stage where, my book told me, "You have now completed the preparation."  Soul destroying.  I tried a few smocking stitches, with as much unpicking as stitching (It's awfully hard to get it even!) before I finally ran out of time and overdue domestic chores were beckoning (not least some bread rising).  However I am not daunted and I will get it finished.  I want to try the conventional approach to smocking first so that I know it well before I try experimenting with it.  I think it will be fun so worth all the effort.  (I hope!)  I have new respect now for the lovely smocked dresses that Auntie Jeannie made for my sister and me when we were bairns!

Certificate Module 5 Chapter 6: Tucks, Pleats and Gathers, Day 17

Today I had fun with making yoyos, otherwise known as Suffolk Puffs.  I love these!  Circles of fabric are gathered around the circumference, pulled up tight and then flattened.  They can be joined at their edges to make an open cloth, or, as in this case, applied to a ground fabric.

5.6.6  Suffolk Puffs

This was doubly enjoyable for me as it brought back some lovely childhood memories.  I had a much-loved maiden aunt with whom my sister and I would often stay.  The bed in the spare room was huge, high and blissfully soft with a feather mattress and a honey-coloured bedspread made of silky Suffolk Puffs joined together and showing a contrasting cover underneath the spaces.  Auntie Dodie would light a fire in the grate and I would drift blissfully off to sleep with the flickering fire casting pictures on the wall.  I had often thought that I might some day make a similar bedspread myself, but in view of how long it took to do those 5 little samples, I think I've changed my mind!

Certificate Module 5 Chapter 6: Tucks, Pleats and Gathers, Day 16

For today's sample, I combined the furrowing technique with shirring.

5.6.5

In 5.6.5, I worked a central panel in furrowing technique with a border of plain shirring on either side.  I worked the furrowing stitches further apart than I did in 5.6.2 so as to give a looser furrowing appearance.  I found that, although there is a certain randomness to the furrowing process, it is to some extent controllable.  Perhaps a topic for further exploration.

Certificate Module 5 Chapter 6: Tucks, Pleats and Gathers, Day 15

Today's sample shows a narrow strip of shirring, where the two long sides opposite each other are each gathered and pulled up.  The strip is then stitched between two plain strips.

5.6.4

I thought this sample reminded me of a tree trunk and could be used to depict this.

Certificate Module 5, Chapter 6, day 13.

I'm still working on gathering for the moment.  Today's work is a variation of opposite edge gathering, where opposite long edges of a long strip of fabric are gathered up and held in place by stitching the sample to a backing.

In today's sample, I have experimented with alternating between tight and looser gathering so as to form a curved shape.

5.6.3  Curved gathering sample

Certificate Module 5 Chapter 6: Tucks, Pleats and Gathers. Day 13

Today I completed the "furrowing" sample that I had started yesterday.  The stitching took a lot longer than I had anticipated, but was worth it as I thought it a very effective technique.

5.6.2  Completed furrowing sample

After gathering the fabric on each side to half its original length and stitching it to a base fabric, as I did yesterday, today's work was to control the fullness, adding ridges and valleys by a series of random double tacking stitches.  I was very pleased with the texture thus created.

Certificate Module 5 Chapter 6: Getting started

Day 12 of my self-imposed challenge to post every day of September.  

Actually, just 12 days in and I have already missed a day.  But I have decided not to worry about that or let my perfectionism distress me.  The reason I challenged myself to post every day for a month was to try to make myself work and post on a more regular basis and that has worked despite a missing day.

I had a lovely day yesterday, at a drawing workshop in the morning and, in the afternoon, looking at wonderful and inspiring artwork at several locations in our local Open Studios week.  Home just in time to cook dinner and collapse on the sofa to watch "Bake Off".  With the concentration in the morning and lots of driving in the afternoon, I was too tired to tackle anything in the evening.  However today was a quiet day at home, cool and breezy but sunny and I spent a happy afternoon in the summerhouse stitching my first sample for Chapter 6.

I've been referring to Colette Wolff's wonderful and comprehensive book "The Art of Manipulating Fabric" and found it very helpful and informative as well as exciting and inspiring.  I started with a rectangle of fabric which I gathered along all sides until each was half the length it had originally been.  I then marked the target shape on another piece of fabric and stitched the gathered sample down.  This has produced an interesting result already, with a wrinkled puff in the middle.  I used lightweight cotton calico.

5.6.1  All-sides-gathered rectangle applied to a foundation fabric

  Tomorrow I shall take this sample further and follow the instructions for "furrowing" where random tacking  "creates a controlled relief of meandering, swirling grooves and crests from the fabric that balloons between all-sides-gathered edges appliqued to a foundation stay."  (The Art of Manipulating Fabric, page 9)

Certificate Module 5, Chapter 5-6

I think I'm all done with quilting.  It's not that I think I have covered the topic thoroughly, or that my samples are particularly good (frankly I find them all boring), but that I have totally run out of ideas and any affection for the topic.  Quilting has become a great trial to me and I dread every new sample.  I feel that any more quilting I force myself to do will have no joy and no merit.

So, a fresh start and on to Chapter 6.  I haven't had time to do any work today, since I have been on a tour around Aberdeenshire for the North East Open Studios.  We have seen lots of inspiring work, and will see more tomorrow, including some textile work.

The chapter I am about to start concerns tucks, pleat and gathers, in other words, fabric manipulation.  I usually always have trouble with boredom with the seemingly endless samples we have to do for the course.  (Part of my frustration lies in the fact that I have done them all before, more than twenty years ago for the old City and Guilds, Part 1.)  However, at the end of each module, I can see that the final outcome would not have been possible but for these samples so I have to keep going. 

I thought perhaps that if I started a new chapter inspired and eager, it might see me through the work and diligence needed.  I have four books which all have sections involving some sort of fabric manipulation and I thought that if I started by reading them and trying out some ideas that excite me, that this would be a good way of entering this chapter with some amount of enthusiasm.

Tomorrow I have a drawing workshop in the morning and am taking a non-driving friend NEOS-touring in the afternoon so there won't be time to do any work.  However, Wednesday should be a free day at home and so I should be able to get going then.

Here are the four books that will hopefully inspire me:

Certificate Module 5, Chapter 5, Day 9

5.5.26

For this sample I used linen windowcleaning scrim and stitched using herringbone stitch with Anchor cotton perle in a stone colour.  For the stuffing I used bunches of lavender from the garden.  The fragrance while I was stitching was heavenly.

Certificate, Module 5, Chapter 5, Day 8

Well, I managed two samples today, despite spending a good part of the day visiting a couple of studios in our local Open Studios week.

They are both corded quilting, not inspired by any of my photographs of texture in nature, but just exploring the technique.

5.5.22

5.5.23

In 5.5.22 and 5.5.23 (the front and back of one sample) I laid some polyester organza on top of some lightweight calico and stitched channels.  I then threaded a slightly darker wool through the channels and then pulled it up to gather the fabric slightly.  While the colour contrast adds a certain something, I feel the other (cotton) side has gathered in more interesting ways and the textures are interesting, undistracted by the over-straight lines of the wool on the right side.

The technique was pretty quick to work and so I had time today to try another sample.

5.5.24

5.5.25

Again, 5.5.24 and 5.5.25 are front and back of the same sample.  I tried the technique described in the student notes where only one layer of cloth is needed and the stitching creates a channel to trap the cord or wool under the fabric.  Since it was a nice afternoon I was tempted to sit out in our summerhouse to sew this so that meant I was restricted to hand sewing.  Since I had never tried this technique before, I used three different yarns for the stuffing: from top to bottom, chunky knitting wool in a tan colour, fluffy, soft fur-fabric knitting yarn and finally two strands of a fairly thick cotton knitting yarn.  I wanted to see if there was any difference in the look or feel of the cords on the right side.  There was no discernable difference, but I loved the effect of the herringbone stitches on the wrong side as well as the subtle colour differences.  I feel I'd like to explore this technique further stitching around a variety of possible fillings for the channels.  It's been a long day and my brain won't come up with the brilliant ideas for this that I think should be possible, but I shall cook dinner, watch Strictly and see if some clever inspiration will strike for tomorrow!

Certificate Module 5 Chapter 5, part 7

Today, I'm back to have another go at stuffed quilting, once again using the photo of exposed tree roots as inspiration:

5.5.1.  tree root inspiration

5.5.21  Stuffed quilting sample depicting exposed tree roots

The technique works quite well in interpreting the exposed roots but is a bit boring.  Putting in some textural stitching around the smooth padded shapes would make this sample more interesting.  A busy day meant that there wasn't time to do this today but I might add it later and post again another day.

Certificate Module 5, Chapter 5 Quilting, Padding and Stuffing, Part 6

Today, I tackled cord quilting.  In this two parallel lines of stitching are done, holding two layers of fabric together.  After stitching a blunt needle is used to thread  cord or wool through the channels thus formed.

5.5.17  Cord Quilting

It is simple to do and effective and I was pleased with this simple design .

However, the picture that inspired me was 5.5.18 below and what interested me most were the little knobbly bits on the small branches hanging down from the tree.

5.5.18

Once I had converted to greyscale (we were asked to avoid colour in this module) and homed in on the most interesting area, 5.5.19 below was the result.

5.5.19

The back of 5.5.17 was how I interpreted these knobbly bits.  In cord quilting, if a sharp bend is to be negotiated then the needle is brought out of the channel at the back of the work and then re-inserted leaving a small loop.  This makes sure that the shape of the work is not distorted and enables the turn to be negotiated.  (See 5.5.20 below.)

5.5.20 Illustration from Good Housekeeping Complete Step-by-Step Encyclopaedia of Needlecraft 

I used the technique on the back of 5.5.17 above (which was really the main side)  to represent the knobbly bits on the branches.

5.5.21 The completed sample

I have really enjoyed this form of quilting and I think I'll try some more ideas tomorrow.

Certificate Module 5 Chapter 5 Part 5 Another quilting sample

My inspiration for today's sample was a photo I took of a stone wall.

5.5.14  Stone wall

I had used Photoshop to change the mode from coloured to greyscale and to posterise the photograph to simplify it.  What I liked most was the colour variation on the stones and the texture around and between the stones and it seemed to me that trapunto quilting was ideal to portray this.

I chose for backing and top layer a thin, loosely woven cotton that had been a sheer curtain in another life.  I wanted it to be semi transparent so that the stuffing would show through.  I machine stitched around the stone shapes and filled the spaces around and between the stones with free machine embroidery.

Next I considered the filling and I decided on tea.  I opened a few teabags, a mixture of black and green tea, cut a slit in the back of each shape and filled it with tea, then stitched up the slit.

The image below, 5.5.15, shows the result.

5.5.15 after stitching and stuffing

Finally, I tried to get the effect of the variation in colour of the stones by painting over each "stone" with warm water.  Once it had dried I was a bit disappointed as the effect was too subtle and so I then tried dipping the whole sample in water and then letting it dry.  This gave a much more pleasing effect.

5.5.16

I feel that this sample makes much better use of the trapunto technique than my first attempt.  The loosely woven fabric was quite difficult to handle when stitching up the slits in the back and it was a painstakingly slow process to try to spoon the tea (using the handle end of a teaspoon) into the small shapes, but I am pleased with the results.

Certificate Module 5 Chapter 5 part 4

5.5.13 Trapunto or stuffed quilting

I'm not satisfied with today's grubby little nothing of a sample, especially in view of the many hours I spent on it!  I enjoyed the technique, stuffed quilting, otherwise known as trapunto.  Two layers of fabric are laid one on top of the other and the shape to be stuffed is outlined in stitch.  Slits are then cut in the back through which stuffing may be pushed and then the slits stitched  up.  However I think I did it in too small a scale for my large, clumsy hands and it was hard to get the stuffing inside.  One thing that helped was a little tool that used to belong to my late sister-in-law.  I don't know the original purpose of it, but it was helpful in pushing the stuffing into the shapes as well as being a nice reminder of a much loved person and her exquisite sewing.

Mystery tool which helped so much with the trapunto

The image was inspired by an unusual fungus that I saw while out for a walk.  It almost looked quilted.

unusual fungus

While it is frustrating to spend a lot of time on something which hasn't really worked, it has taught me a lot about the technique and that small intricate shapes are not the best to work with.  I think that this particular image might be better suited to a different form of quilting.  I'd like to try this technique again, using simpler, larger shapes and perhaps using machine stitching to outline the shapes since the hand sewing took a great deal of time.

I thought to start with that this sample had achieved nothing, but on reflection, I think I have learned more about the technique than if I had done a sample that worked right first time.  Failures are but learning opportunities after all.