Themed Sketch Book - My Gardener's Delight

Sketchbook 3

Project 9 Stage4 Developing design ideas into weaving

I have chosen the design from part 4 -my trip to the Seychelles (happy memories!)

First of all I coloured the graph paper and decided on my colours and materials, I then put my wools & threads on a card.

As recommended I put several thicknesses together of the fine threads, I think the weft yarns did cover the warp really well, I did find the bottom of the piece was slightly wider than the top. I think this was to do with my tension or the warp thread maybe wasn't strong enough.

Learning Log for Weaving

Did you have enough variety in your collection of yarns and other Materials? Which kind of yarns, etc., did you use most? How do their characteristics affect the look and feel of each sample?

I did use double knitting, Aran & Acrylic wools, String & Tapestry threads most of all, My best weaving was using the String and the Aran wool.Working two threads together also worked well giving a deeper effect in colour. When you use one single strand at a time it gives you a subtle colour change. When you use fine threads this gives great contrast and depth. I did use most of my materials and I think I had enough variety of yarns & materials.

How did you find weaving in comparison to the other techniques you've tried? Did you find it slow or too limiting?

I have to admit I have not enjoyed this section at all, I found it very slow working and fiddly. In fact I would go as far as saying I hated it!

How do you feel about your finished sample? Are you happy with the relationship of the textures, proportions, colour and pattern to the finished size? Is there any part that you would want to change? If so, try to identify exactly how and why you would change it?

I am happy with all the examples I've done, I like all the colours, textures & materials I used, also they all turned out as I had planned.The only thing I would like to change is my tension - the samples did go ever so slightly narrower at the top. This is something I would try to correct in the future!

Was there any stage in the whole design process that you felt went wrong? How would you tackle this process differently another time?

I wouldn't say it went wrong, I think lack of experience was the issue with the tension, and the more practice I have weaving would then help sort out tension issues.

Reflective Commentary

With regards to Weaving I have found it very tedious and slow going, I have made a good effort at improving my weaving techniques (which were zero when I started) so I thought the final task came out quite well, even though it was still slightly narrow at the top. I did enjoy mixing colours together and working from my design. It was very interesting seeing how different materials came out, for example tights were very gathered like a smock effect. String was very neat and hard wearing, Ribbon gave a delicate effect, Wool gave you no gaps on the warp. I loved the soumak techniques to give surface texture also the curved wefts this allowed you to design in your picture.

I've enjoyed the rest of Part 4 Textile Structures especially Stage 2 Experimenting with structures, I loved making hand-twisted ropes & braids.


Library Book's used

Textile and Weaving Structures

Tapestry Weaving

Textile Techniques In Metal

Knitting & Stitching Show - Glasgow (10th March 2012)

I went to the Knitting & Stitching Show at Gasgow SSEC. It was a excellent show with plenty of exhibits with a wide range of styles and techniques.They also had on display The Art Of Lace which was very interesting.

The dresses used on Downton Abbey were also on display, alot of work had gone into both displays and the time it would have taken to make these garments must have been hours!

Project 9 Stage 3 Experimenting with different materials

I used different types of materials in the above sample, I had some plastic strips from boxes, plastic, tapestry threads,tartan material, viola, cord, tights, two types of string, and thick wool. Certain materials such as wool or string hide the warp, but using other materials showed the warp.When I started this example I wasn't convinced it would turn out well, but actually its not that bad.I loved the string effect best especially the knots.

Project 9 Stage 2 - Basic tapestry weaving techniques

Weaving has been the most challenging and for me I found it wasted a lot of hours and went for my eyes after a certain amount of time. This section has not been my favourite! but I didn't give up.

First Sample

 Weaving is something I had never done before, so I did some research first on the Internet (you tube had some good examples) also I went to the library they had "Tapestry Weaving" by Kirsten Glasbrook this was very useful. On the weaving above I had a go at plain weave,cuved wefts, soumak & ghiordes knots.I'm not sure if my tension was correct, I did manage to keep it fairly tidy and the warp didn't show on the example. I think my favourite effect was the soumak technique, it came out like a carpet effect.