digital embroidery

sample 1
 

I am looking for a way of embroidering small text for the holding tab and labels for the ties.  I have been looking for a suitable font - plain, rounded, fine.  I tested 10 fonts  - 7.5 mm, 0.40 density, satin stitch -  onto a sturdy cotton.  The most easily read was Cordial upc (top right).



sample 2
 

The second sample was 0.5, 0.40 density, satin stitch onto the same sturdy cotton and whilst it was reasonably successful, the digital embroidery machine did struggle.  I tried it again onto a fine cotton lawn but it couldn't cope (see sample 3).  




sample 3

Back to the drawing board for labels - I am reluctant to purchase purpose made woven/printed labels because it goes against the ethos of this project.

sample 4

I started digitally embroidering the ties, quite difficult because they are long and narrow and need to be carefully positioned.  Sample 4 shows the resulting embroidery which suffered from not being in a stable position.  I tried again using a backing paper to hold the tie steady and got a much more clearer outline (sample 5). 


sample 5

As usual I am treading a tightrope between being blatent and being subtle.  And, as usual, a mixture wins.  I am hoping that my 'mixtures' don't look undecided and unfocussed.
 




will it be okay?

 As I have mentioned before, I have thought long and hard about who my customer is.  What will be unique about my ties - well made with messages about feminism....if anyone wants 'well made' they can buy them on the High Street...if they have subtle 'messages' would anyone wear them?  If the messages are subtle they won't be interesting enough for exhibition pieces?  This has been my problem all along.  Add this problem too - in my effort to show a variety of processes - digital prints in different materials, colourways and scales; screen prints, different materials and scales....I am concerned that I have produced a range that - although they all share the same motifs - are disparate and the exhibition will be messy.  I think I will have to group the ties according to process/design/material for the exhibition.

Anyway, I have decided to use embroidery stitches on the seams of my ties - they are hand made and each one is completely unique.  I am not going to mimic factory made mass produced ties.  So there! 

Yesterday I skyped Craftivist event to a group of six people.   Three women, three men.  One man joined in (the first man to agree to take part, others have declined) and because another felt left out he joined in my drawing/writing his message.  Feedback was that it did promote conversation and the youngest woman found it enabled her to talk more easily to an elderly relative because they were sharing the sewing experience. 

expressive print

Thursday may possibly have been my last session in the print room because I need to assemble the ties now ready for embroidery.  I used the time to print on silk - to use for the tippings in the ties.  Lots of colours, layering and expression.
 
It was an progression from the earlier open screen prints inasmuch as I am using the same colours, not to a set design, although I used screenprinted project motifs instead of splashes of colour pushed along with a hairdryer.
 



 My thoughts about the display of my ties have centres around unifying them using digital embroidery on all the ties, using the same font and size of text.  However, having revisited  .... book, I am reminded that I want the ties to have a more surprising and unexpected element and I will revert to the plan to make the ties more diverse in style.

Next I need to design business cards which will double as swing tags.  I will use the same design for labels which might double up as the holding tab on the ties.  I have decided not to develop a web site - it is an unnecessary expense at this stage.  I will however, use a one of my blogs as a public showcase.  The other will remain a study blog.



more screenprinting

Yesterday I screen printed some more ties - again in a more expressive unplanned way.  I used discharge on the fabric to make the background more interesting - then screen printing in colour (cherry red) over the top before screening.  The results are unpredictable and vary acording to the base
 - brushed cotton (top right) is a little blurry and I want to try again.  I want to achieve a brushed effect but I think I need to try a simpler motifs and perhaps not so layered.

The wool delaine (bottom right) doesn't take the discharge and print so crisply.  It is quite difficult to manipulate due to its natural springy quality. 

Linen is beautiful to print onto but it doesn't take discharge.  It frays easily and after printing, the steaming and washing takes its toll so I aqm stabliling the fabric with machine when joining the seam which joins the front to the back.


Dyed raw silk is the easiest to work with.  It has a crisp quality - it takes dye, discharge and print clearly.

getting organised

With pieces of materials, pens, pins, needles, sketchbooks and a rising sense of panic - time to get organised.

A systems of plastic bags with a tick list inside each one.

Feminist ranting everywhere (quite rightly so too) about the comments made  in the press about the Government reshuffle which included more women in the cabinet.  Some reporters have concentrated on the appearance of the women - and Peter Hitchins (columnist, Mail on Sunday) saying that Cameron would have strategically chosen attractive women. 

craftivist event at the Forum

Yesterday I held a Craftivist event in the Forum.  Nine people attended - all women.  

Interestingly, the discussion resumed - by email - in the evening with attendees following up comments and agreeng or disagreeing with comments that had been made at the event.

Am I pleased with how it went?  I had some good comments but I didn't feel that the conversation flowed as much as it did last week- but maybe that is because I separated from the main group to talk to three late comers to explain the concept of craftivism, how it fits into my project and the stitching element of the session. 

I think the  explanations got in the way of the discussion, I think the sewing can be a concern - three people took their sewing away with them to finish it (one in particular was worried because she 'couldn't sew').  I think more helpers would make it easier.

One success is the little mobile telephone bags I made using the textiles I have designed or printed for this project.  This offers both useful market research and  also makes use of leftover pieces of fabric - thereby avoiding waste. I have consistently received 
positive comments about them.
 

Three of the women who attended were committed feminists and may have found the main group too lightweight - they left earlier than the others, although they did ask whether we would be meeting regularly because they would join us again so they must have thought it was okay. 

Nontheless, I had good comments from everybody, especially the group who stayed later.  Their discussion was varied, sometimes strayed away from the subject - but always returned.  Again it was noticeable that once people started stitching the mood calmed.  I didn't want to give out evaluation sheets at the end of the session, but when questioned people said they had enjoyed the conversation, they had learned things and they had enjoyed themselves.  Again, several people said they would like something similar on a regular basis.

an experimental day

I've been dyeing and screen printing ties with discharge - the wool delaine is good to work with, it dyes and discharges well. Some have been redyed after discharge which gives a good two tone effect. 

Today, however,  I decided that I wanted to screen print more complex designs so I spent the day experimentally screenprinting.  The image on the left was achieved by applying uneven pressure when pulling the dye paste to give different gradations of print depth. The image on the right wa achieved by printing and overprinting using dyes and discharge.
 

 and oveerprinting a range of colours, images and irregular shapes.