Lectures – Kayleigh Mace

Casting, moulding and 3D printing

Kayleigh — Sun, 11 Dec 2016 17:18:41 +0000

Today we had an introductory lecture to casting, mould making and 3D printing to explain more about what could be done at the University and different ways of doing things. We were talked through the different techniques you could use, what materials are used and what could be achieved. I found this talk really helpful particularly as it gave me a chance to know more about the 3D printing facilities in the University and what could be achieved. I was able to talk to Ryan who delivered the lecture after about what it was I was hoping to achieve and the capabilities of the machine he has. The one in Bonnington is smaller and could produce small designs but if I were to take it further and produce something larger I would need to seek permission to use the larger machine in Newton. The has given me an opportunity to think more about what it is I want to create and to what scale whether it is multiple pieces or one large piece which, is something that I will need to consider with the design development.

Trapping objects and 3D printing

3D printing knitted fabrics

Casting, moulding and trapping lace

E-textiles

Kayleigh — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 16:17:13 +0000

Today we had a lecture with Sarah Walker about smart textiles. This was followed by a workshop looking at the basics of e-textiles and how to make circuits. Smart textiles is playing an important role in my work this year so the lecture was of particular interest to me. A lot of the designers and research she was showing was the same as my own which makes me feel I am on the right track but it did include some new people I can look into. As Sarah did her MA at NTU specialising in multi media it was great to talk to her about embroideries role within smart textiles and the reactive dyes for printing which she also worked with. She mentioned she would be available for tutorials later in the year so it will be great to see her again once I have started to develop more of my own ideas for feedback.

Partaking in the workshop after was my first opportunity to work with conductive threads and re learn how to make a circuit. It's given me plenty of ideas of what I can do within my technical development and how it could be used in my project. The thread can be used in a sewing machine which is great and can be hidden with other non conductive embroidery threads. I need to look into different led lights to see what's available as the ones we used today may well be too big or the wrong shape for some of my ideas for example using them with large bugle beads to create a fibre optical look. All in all I'm excited to see where I can this and how it could fit into my project.

A basic circuit...

Conductive thread test...

David Telfer

Kayleigh — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 22:46:32 +0000

On Monday we had a lecture and workshop by David Telfer who works for Suns. He discussed his work with minimal seam development and zero waste fashion from his degree through to his current position. Having always been told the importance of working along the grain of a fabric it was interesting to hear someone talk about working with the space of the fabric and not really considering the direction of it. He worked with developing simple patterns and creating designs with minimal seams to simplify pattern cutting. From that he worked with companies including north face to create a zero waste pattern cut design the final result of which was exhibited as part of an exhibition. He talked about the pros and cons of zero waste and about how although it saves material it makes grading almost impossible so doesn't work for mass production.

Following the lecture we had a workshop looking at creating our own minimal seam patterns and zero waste designs. Using his t-shirt templates we were encouraged to alter the pattern whilst keeping the final shape to see how far you could push a minimal seam pattern. Also from tracing top blocks onto calico and cutting just the neck and sleeve lines we were encouraged to create a design on the stand from cutting excess material and adding it back in details.
Although I'm unsure how much of this I could take into my own project it was a great new way to look at pattern cutting. The most appropriate perhaps was the exercise on the stand as you could manipulate the design through draping and pinning. This is a technique I could use in my final garment giving me the freedom to work with an embellished piece of fabric on the stand and could work better for me than traditional pattern cutting depending on the final design.

Lisa Salama Presentation

Kayleigh — Wed, 26 Oct 2016 10:13:46 +0000

Last Thursday we had a talk by Lisa Salama who until 6 months ago was the Head Embroidery Designer at Mary Katrantzou and now works freelance. It was great to hear from particularly an embroidery designer about how she got into the industry, how her career has developed and the path she has chosen to take now. It was also really inspiring to hear someone talk about the same ideas and have the same perspective on embroidery as myself and, that she was lucky enough to have a job where she could push those ideas. As a designer I enjoy pushing the boundaries of embroidery, questioning what it can be and its great to hear that there are companies in industry who really value that approach. Although she did say the design approach was becoming more commercial at Mary Katrantzou but the designs are still more experimental than most. Lisa talked about how the design was pushed to the limit for the show pieces and then toned down for commercial sale, which was something I hadn't thought much about in the past. I also thought it was interesting that Mary as a designer does not respond to embroidery artwork drawings and prefers samples to see how a design would work which is generally how I work when producing design ideas. Lisa also spoke about how her job had changed from simply designing in house to then being responsible for overseeing production at the factories and how important the critical path was for production. After listening to Lisa's presentation and having a small group tutorial with her afterwards I have come away with some key points to remember when producing my work which are the following:

Don't get too emotionally attached to an idea - I've been informed designers can and will change their minds last minute sometimes resulting in you having to start again
Be open to material ideas - Anything and everything could be a potential material!
Be open to techniques - especially industrial ones, Vacuum forming for example.
Make your own components - Don't just use beads/sequins for decoration and to fill designs.
Make people question how something is created whilst keeping it pleasing to the eye.
Source from everywhere - Ideas/inspiration/materials, everything!
Consider finishings - We were informed this was a key element in fashion.

It has made me more eager than ever to start some sampling work and with embroidery inductions taking place this week I'm excited to be able to start using the industrial machines available. From then I can see what I can start to come up with and just need to remember to see the potential in everything...

Lectures – Kayleigh Mace

Casting, moulding and 3D printing﻿

E-textiles

David Telfer

Lisa Salama Presentation

Casting, moulding and 3D printing