Embroidery – Kayleigh Mace

New Market Trip

Kayleigh — Fri, 28 Apr 2017 18:34:41 +0000

To further my market research and gain more inspiration I visited London again to explore the latest collections and how they differed from my first visit. There was a particularly inspiring display on at Liberty's which focused on garments that were embroidered and embellished. There were a range of styles on show but the most used technique was digital embroidery. Seeing these garments gave me a good insight into how high-end designers are currently using digital embroidery in their designs and the varying approaches to style that are being explored. It was also good to see the scale and placement of the embroidery which I can use as inspiration for my design ideas when creating final samples.

New Design Ideas

Kayleigh — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 15:05:13 +0000

I had a few ideas that I wanted to test and get out of my system so I could see them with my development work. I wanted to explore manipulation on the surface through altering the materials. I started with creating a 3D surface with the tubular crin weaving it with another fabric. The technique created layers to the surface and could be developed to create a 3D sample.

I then had an idea to recreate a goldwork technique but with acetate folding a strip over a shape. The technique worked well to create layers but not on the base fabric as it distorted it due to its lightweight.

Continuing with the same idea I cut sequin strips and manipulated them on the surface of different fabrics. This created a few potential ideas that could work well in samples. The final one had the added feature of manipulating the fabric when it retreats. This idea means I can use embellishment to create a stretch like fabric from a non stretch fabric.

Finally I looked at using distress as a type of fringing to vary the techniques I was using for the idea. I have layered different fabrics and manipulated the edges by distressing them.

E-textiles light sensor experiment

Kayleigh — Tue, 11 Apr 2017 16:22:13 +0000

I ordered lots of e-textiles bits a few weeks ago and have been testing them to see how they work. I started with a battery holder with a built in light sensor which turns the leds on when the light level drops. I tried stitching a parallel circuit following a shape from my visual research to see if I could work out how to do it.

After I had completed the circuit and checked that it was working I attached clear tubes to the leds so I could test a design idea I had. I wanted to see if the light would travel down the tubes and create a fibre optic look. The tubing is quite stiff and difficult to work with so I will need to find something that is more flexible but for the technical testing it worked ok. I tested the idea in a dark room and these were the results.

The light does travel a bit but not as much as I had expected. I do however like the appearance of it with a subtle glow down the tube. The stitching of the conductive thread has come loose from being handled a lot so this is something I will need to address for the final design. I will also use more flexible tubing and smaller pieces as they are quite long due to it's lack of flexibility. 1 battery will light 5 leds as shown so this will need to be considered in the final design. I will be looking at using 2 batteries to power 10 leds and I'm hoping 2 sensors would react the same to the varying light levels.

Collection Development

Kayleigh — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 11:23:39 +0000

From producing the design ideas I have had I was noticing that some of them were not all working together and that there seemed to be some divides in my work. To get a better picture I decided to put all the samples together and then group them into smaller 'collections' to see if they worked better in smaller groups. I found that not only did this work but it created smaller stories that had a much clearer narrative to them then trying to force all the ideas onto one larger collection. From this I have decided that I will now work with this idea and create samples for each collection. I'm planning on coming up with a name for each collection and tag line to best describe its aesthetic. For now however they are simply numbered with key words to describe the aesthetic and techniques that I plan to use in each.

Collection 1

Collection 2

Collection 3

By doing this I can also see how much of each colour has been used to date so that I can get a better of idea of what more is needed in each collection and how to tie everything together.

Premiere Vision

Kayleigh — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 11:48:59 +0000

I have been fortunate enough to be able to visit Premiere Vision this year in Paris, a trade show that I have been wanting to attend for some time. It was everything i had expected and more and, I thoroughly enjoyed the visit. The show was much larger than I have expected with 6 halls filled with suppliers. I researched which companies were going to be attending prior to arriving and downloaded the app for the event. On this I could select the companies I wanted to see the stands of and it would bookmark them. I could then select to view where they were within the show and it would show on the map exactly where their stand was. There were so many different suppliers that I decided I had to be specific about who I was most interested in potentially seeing and for me this was textile studios and embroidery design suppliers. I am happy to say that I was able to speak to most of the companies I had wanted to meet and was also able to secure contacts to get in touch with regards to potential work opportunities in the future.

An area I wanted to look at was how the studios presented themselves and their work at a studio so that I could get a better idea of how I might present myself and my work. I was looking to see how they finished their samples which ranged from rolled hems to simply being cut which, caused a lot of fraying to the designs. I had also noticed some studios presented their samples on headed cards about A3 in size where as others created garment shapes. Speaking to one of the studios, I inquired as to whether they found this made any difference and they felt it would hinder their work as clients would struggle to see the design being used for anything other than that shape. Another studio that was producing exclusively embroidery and embellishment designs felt however that it was necessary to help buyers see how the design could be used. I could see shaping working for some designs, especially when they are created for the neckline so perhaps it is something I could consider for certain design ideas.

I got the chance to look up close at some of the designs as ask about what techniques they were using. I was surprised to hear that one of the studios was already using 3D printing which I was told is big in the China market. A lot of the embroidery was clearly machine stitched but there were some interesting hand embellished pieces where techniques had been pushed. There were also a range of styles on show, floral's were the most common designs on display but i did see some more abstract and conversational embellishment designs. One studio also provided designs in a few colourways for clients to see, I hadn't thought this was needed but i was informed that some buyers struggle to see past the colours the design is presented in at the show. Looking at these highlighted how studios had grouped their collections too with many creating stories containing 8-10 designs. Some were grouped based on colour and others on what their content was for example floral's or geometric designs. This is something I could consider in my work as I am starting to find that it looking a bit separated at times. Its also encouraging to see the use of new techniques with studios showing how they can push ideas to create something original.

Digital Embroidery Development

Kayleigh — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 16:30:14 +0000

The stitching in the light...

and in the dark...

I love how the colours glow up, there is clearly an underlying green which creates the glow but they do glow in their respective colours and work well to get the idea across. Going forward I will be looking at different scales for this idea to see how the design would differ.

Stitch development

Kayleigh — Fri, 13 Jan 2017 18:41:41 +0000

When I was in London I visited and bought some tubular crin, a material commonly used in millinery work. I had seen an image in instagram from lesage where it had been used within in embroidery and decided that I wanted to experiment with it in my work. It structures means you can easily create 3D surfaces which come out from the base fabric and with its shape it could easily have beads or threads run through it. I started out draping it over the mannequin looking at how many colours to use and the different directions it could go in. Mixing the colours and wrapping them around one another gives more depth to the surface and the large scale makes it appear to be flowing over the body.

From this I have started to stitch down some smaller ideas incorporating beads within it. Using on the wider blue and smaller yellow tubular crins I filled the blue and wrapped the yellow around it attaching both ends with a cluster of beads. Overall the sample is effective in creating a 3D surface to the fabric and the colours work well together. I need to create more on a larger scale to show how it could be used in a design.

I have also spent my time recently learning how to tambour. This traditional couture technique was something I really wanted to learn whilst on my MA and progress my skills in. As it is a staple technique used in couture embroidery I felt it was important to my project to have it within my work. As a first attempt I was really pleased, the stitches are mostly even in length and once I got going with it it was actually quicker to stitch than I thought it would be. I tried a simple chain stitch, attached seed beads and then bugle beads. The technique obviously works best with an open women fabric such as tulle which is something I will need to use for this. To progress the technique I will be doing work with the glowy and UV solar threads to give a modern twist to the idea.

First go on the digital embroidery machine

Kayleigh — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 19:26:00 +0000

Finally I have developed a few ideas to do on the digital embroidery machine, both fairly simple but with a few twists. The first is a large fringing idea working with various threads. As the machine can do the same design twice at the same time I took the opportunity to try it with multiple thread types. The first was created using glowy threads, these adsorb light and glow in the dark on organza. The second is a mix of matte, 40 and 30 thick embroidery thread and I did try a UV thread I had left over from previous work on cotton organdie. The first design worked really well, although there was a bit of pulling in the stitching it wasn't a problem as I would be cutting it underneath after. The second however had a few issues, the UV thread didn't take well on the fabric and started to create holes so it was replaced with the 30 thickness thread. Also a stabiliser wasn't used so when the top stitch was applied it missed some of the threads so we had to go back into the design and make it larger to re stitch it.

The overall results work well for both designs however to take forward I would use the organza and not the cotton organdie to not risk damaging the fabric. Also scale needs to be looked at to see if this is the best scale to work with.

The second design I stitched was sections of a design from my screen. Filled leaves were stitched with a titami pattern to create a flat layered surface and was stitched onto cotton and velvet. The velvet sample I intend to devore onto to create further layers, also the matte thread used on this is a nice contrast to the shiny velvet surface. The cotton sample did have some tension issues and the fabric has puckered. A shiny thread was used to contrast the matte surface and I intend to print over this with the thermochromic ink.

Molly Goddard

Kayleigh — Thu, 05 Jan 2017 22:26:57 +0000

What I like

The Molly Goddard exhibition at the NOW Gallery in London consisted of tulle dresses suspended from the ceiling for visitors to embroider. I really wanted to visit this exhibition to see what different people would embroider and how embroidery as a technique would be interpreted. On arriving i was given a large sewing needle and directed to use the embroidery thread on display to embroider any of the dresses. Instructions on the walls ave directions for different embroidery stitches and stated that visitors should use 1 meter of thread to embroider whatever they liked. A lot of the embroideries were political statements with visitors clearly using the opportunity to express their opinions on recent events. There were also a few illustrative portrait embroiders as well as classic floral motifs. The vast range of styles and designs was great to see and it gave me a new idea of what modern embroidery means to people. The styles may not generally fit into my project but it was certainly inspirational to see how embroidery is interpreted in so many ways.

Here are some examples of the stitch work on display.

And my little contribution...

Hand stitching ideas

Kayleigh — Sun, 11 Dec 2016 17:57:29 +0000

So I've started on some hand stitching ideas working with acetate and organza. I had seen some designs created using quilling a technique I haven't used before and one I had wanted to explore in my project. I started by cutting strips of acetate 1/2 cm and 1 cm thick and attached some of them together using a Casal Guidi technique called single Italian insertion stitch. The technique is used to attach two pieces together with a lacy, open effect however is with the holes being spaced exactly opposite each other it appeared less lacy in style. The top colour of the strips attached was varied to show how both would look on top.

The results below worked really well and the organza held its shape without creating areas of different tension. The gold thread particularly has received a lot of praise since the sample has been displayed on my wall in the studio. It was also noted how nice the shadows it created were when they appeared later in the day due to the artificial light. This is something I need to look into how i could recreate and whether the idea would need to be layered onto a white fabric to create the same effect. It may also be nice however to see if would be appear on the skin if there were no other fabric underneath.

Another idea I worked on was creating a 3D surface by looping the acetate and attaching it down. The idea looked good in the hoop however it did manipulate the fabric when taken out. It is an idea that would need to be stitched onto a sturdier fabric to hold it flat or have weight added underneath to pull the organza flat. I used a clear thread which works well but I do feel some decoration between the loops would allow for it to be hidden.

Going forward I will be looking at scale and quantity of these ideas and, seeing how they work on the body. To do this I will recreate them in paper to allow me to work quickly and create them in larger quantities easier.