M5 Chapter 5 - Quilting, Padding & Stuffing

This chapter was about being experimental with quilting techniques, looking at fabric, padding and stitching.

Wadded Quilting

 

5.1 - Machine quilted cotton with bamboo batting, straight machine stitching and free motion machine stitching. This was a more traditional approach.

 

5.2 - Newspaper as wadding with straight machine stitching and free motion machine stitched pebbles using natural colour threads of different thicknesses.

 

5.3 - Pulled threads as wadding with fine muslin, free motion machine stitched pebble design.  I then snipped some of the 'pebbles' to free the threads.

 

5.4 - Close up of 5.3. The pulled threads under the pebbles just showed through to make another texture.

 

 

5.5 - Hand made felt with pulled wool tops as wadding with a net top layer. Hand stitched with straight stitching.

 

5.6 - Close up of 5.5. This made a simple design with a looser textured background.

 

 

Shaped Quilting

 

5.7 - Pipe cleaners bent and twisted, held in place with free motion machine stitching. This resulted in a pliable sample.

 

5.8 - Buttons from a re-cycling centre trapped under a sheer top with free motion machine stitching.

 

5.9 - Close up of 5.8. The free motion stitching worked well here.

 

5.10 - Strips of foam board, free motion machine stitching to hold. Almost any shape would work with this method.

 

 

5.11 - Close up of 5.10. I added some silky ribbon, couched with straight hand stitches.

 

5.12 - Trapped cockle shells under synthetic velvet, held with chain stitch (hand)

 

5.13 - The velvet stretched well over the shells and defined their shapes.

 

Padded Quilting

 

 

5.14

 

I started these sample by machine stitching some shapes and parallel lines. I use yarn for filling the parallel lines for 'Italian quilting'. I made some more solid by adding more yarn and some softer by using less yarn for padding. For the irregular shapes I used wool tops for stuffing, inserted by snipping the back of the shape and then stitching. This worked well with the larger shapes but for the narrower irregular shape I used the previous method.

 

 

Corded Quilting

 

5.15

 

5.16

 

5.17

 

I used a variety of threads but only had a narrow set twin needle and therefore the threads did not catch very well and the cords were not very raised. I'm going to revisit this exercise with a wider twin needle, which I have ordered.

Japanese Quilting and Sashiko Stitch

I love Japanese quilting and it's use of sashiko stitch. Used originally for clothing and quilts to keep warm, it has developed into a contemporary art form in the present day. Peasant farmers and fisherman could not afford cloth to replace clothing, and patched onto torn and worn clothes with sashiko stitch - small running hand stitch. Clothes that were beyond patching were layered and stitched to form quilts and bedding. I find it interesting that little or no wadding was used in these quilts but they were still warm.

 

5.18 - Layered scraps held together with sashiko stitch using sashiko thread and long needle.

Some Unusual Historical Quilting

On a recent visit to the Greenwich Observatory I spotted this suit. It was made for and worn by Nevil Maskelyne, Royal Astronomer in the 1760's. The suit was made from linen, wool and silk to keep him warm whilst outside observing the stars. It was heavily hand quilted and beautifully made. I particularly liked the shoes joint to the trousers in one piece and have never seen a garment quite like it, or so well preserved.

M5 Chapter 4 - Fabric Investigation

I started this chapter by collecting samples of all the white/natural fabrics that I had, which turned out to be quite a lot. I sorted my samples into groups.

 

4.1 - Silks

 

4.2 - Man made, polyester/nylon

 

4.3 - Cottons, wool and linens

 

4.4 - Specialised fabrics for manipulation

 

4.5 - Unknown composition

For these I was unsure of the fabric composition although I suspected they were cotton or cotton mix.

As these investigations involved burning and melting I ensured my work area was clear of anything not in use, used a large tile for my soldering iron and heat gun and had a damp cloth nearby. I also ensured the area was very well ventilated.

These are the results of my investigations:

 

4.6 - Some of my fabrics after investigation.

 

4.7 - The investigation of the unknown composition fabrics indicated that they were most likely cotton or cotton mix.

 

4.8 - Specialised fabrics after manipulation.

 

 

The next exercise was to look at edges and form bands. This was similar to Module 2 Chapter 8 about different ways to form interesting seams. I used a variety of fabrics tearing, snipping, twisting, gathering and so on.

 

4.9 - Including edges from an old top, gathering, frayed edges of old curtain fabric, organdie snipped and scrunched.

 

4.10 - Linen strips, cotton, withdrawn thread, silk and scrim.

 

4.11 - Melted edges, Lutradur and Tyvek.

 

This is a bit addictive and I have a nice lot of samples. I found the melted edges turned out far better than I anticipated and the soldering iron gave a precise 'cut' with practice.

M5 Chapter 3 - Texture and Relief In Paper

For this chapter I had to choose six textures to observe, and translate the textures into a relief surface using paper. It was quite difficult to choose because I have a lot of source material. Fortunately because I have plenty of time to work on my module at the moment it meant my paper relief investigations were very fresh in my mind. I decided to try two paper reliefs for each chosen photograph, one on a black background and one on a white.

3.1

 

For the close up of the oyster shell I used handmade paper. I tore and creased and folded to represent the broken layers of shell. If I had a more layered handmade paper it probably would have torn into shell like layers. I added some rice paper to represent the smooth areas.

 

 

3.2

 

For the close up of the broken cockle shells I started by crumpling and pushing tracing paper which felt crisp and sharp in relief, much like the broken shells felt. I then looked closely at the shapes within the photograph and layed small stacks and rolled and folded small pieces of papers.

 

 

3.3

 

For the lichen I glued, scrunched and tore tissue paper first on black paper and then on white paper. It was difficult to produce the small bumps that I initially wanted but I felt I had captured the overall feel.

 

 

3.4

 

I used two types of paper - a fibrous bark type paper pulled apart and twisted and knotted tissue paper. These samples could be built on again, and again.

 

 

3.5

 

This is a close up and manipulated rusted part of a jetty post. I started by using a layer of scrunched tissue overlapped with a layer of stitched, scrunched and torn tissue. I then used fibrous paper agin and pulled, pushed and twisted the paper.

 

 

3.6

 

For the mud flats photograph I inversed the black and white which gave a different viewpoint. I used tightly twisted strips of tissue paper and twisted and flattened printer paper. I kept the feel of the mud flat shapes but felt the paper relief was quite different.

 

I enjoyed this chapter, the first two chapters pulled together and gave me lots of options. I found when I worked with white paper manipulated onto a white background the sample was more carefully placed and considered. The samples on a black backgound were much looser. Both methods produce usable results but it is a good exercise to bear in mind for future larger pieces of work. 

M5 Chapter 2 - Paper Relief Investigations

I started by gathering a variety of white papers. I found I had more than I realised! Plenty for investigating through samples. For each paper I tore a strip, folded a piece and scrunched a piece.

2.1

2.2

2.3

2.4

2.5

 

This was a really useful exercise as the paper all behaved in a different manner not only because of the weight and type of paper, but in how it was used. The next sample was to rip, fold and scrunch to fit A4 size into a ninth of an A4 base paper.

 

2.6



This was trickier than it seemed. The thicker papers, for example; khadi paper, were particularly difficult to fit into the space. Again this was a useful exercise and will help with manipulating fabrics.

The next exercise was to manipulate tissue paper to produce samples of relief surfaces.

2.7

2.8

2.9

2.10

 

And then onto adding pleats. I do not own a pleater so used long machine stitches and a gathering foot on my machine. The tissues held up well to stitching and pleating.

 

2.11

2.12

2.13

I have a big pile of relief textures. I have kept everything separate currently so I can group ideas and samples together during the module.

2.14