Sample 1: Plain apricot background,painted blue middle layer outlined with irregular buttonhole and then top deeper orange layer outlined with contrasting blue running stitch were used for this sample. Whilst I liked the colour combinations in this sample, I thought the top shape was too large for the underneath layer and decided to try a smaller shape next time.
Sample 2: Compared with sample 1,a slightly smaller starfish shape was used for the top layer to see if this improved the overall composition. In this sample I used a painted mustard background, with brown fabric on orange woven paper middle layer (powder bonded. This was chosen to pick up the brown paint colour in the underlayer. The middle layer was outlined with couched gold thread and then the edges of the brown fabric were frayed to reveal glimpses of the orange underneath. A blue top layer (smaller starfish) was added and outlined with gold bars made up of two running stitches. I thought that the colour effects in this sample were pleasing and I preferred the smaller starfish shape on top.
Sample 3: The design was similar to sample 2, but worked in a totally different manner. The base fabric was a decorative bonded and layered fabric with small pieces sprinkled onto an orange background and held in place with orage net. A plain blue layer was placed on top and the shape outlined in running stitch with a single strand of variegated orange thread. The blue fabric was the same as some of the blue pieces trapped in the bottom layer. The inside fabric was cut away to reveal the negative image of a starfish shape from the bottom layer. The third (top) layer was a positive image of the second starfish shape in a lighter and more brownish orange. This was outlined with a different variegated orange couched thread (wavy line achieved by separating strands of a thicker thread) and then the border was worked in herringbone stitch using two strands of the same thread as for the middle layer.I was pleased with this sample, but found it hard to handstitch through the stiff bottom bonded layer. I think it would probably be better to use the machine for this type of approach in the future.
Sample 4: I switched to a different design for this sample to explore some other design possibilities. The bottom layer was a painted light blue "satin" type fabric. The middle brown star was made with two layers (a solid brown covered with gold painted sheer) outlined with running stitch in a variegated orange-brown thread. The top layer was a mid-blue sheer where the inner star shape was outlined with herringbone worked in a light blue thread similar to the background blue colour, and the border was held in place with brown chevron stitch in a similar colour to the middle layer.I was reasonably pleased with the overall appearance of this sample but didn't particularly like the wide points where the blue star joined the border (although I did like the border effect).
Sample 5:The design for this sample was similar to sample 4, but I experimented with moving and reducing the size of the 4 pointed star and joining the border to the 8 armed star. The bottom layer was a brown/orange patterned cotton. A painted blue sheer over a plain blue fabric was used for the middle layer, the 4 pointed star. The outline was made with a couched blue/green variegated thread and then a line of running stitch was worked in a slightly darker blue inside the couched line to emphasise the star shape. The 8 pointed star and border was made from a tan sheer which matched the tan dots on the background fabric. A single strand of a blue/orange variegated thread was used to stitch the top layer. The star shape was highlighted with cross stitch and the border with 3 rows of running stitch, with the middle sections cut away. I really liked this piece. Another time I might experiment with keeping the blue layer under the diagnonal spoke of the brown star and on top of the horizontal and vertical spokes, as this might further enhance the effect.
Sample 6: This sample had 4 layers of fabric applied separately. I tried to separate the painted blue triangular pieces in the second layer so that a bar of the orange background separated each of the blue pieces. However I did not allow enough space between the blue pieces, so this did not work out. A smaller and lighter orange piece was applied with orange backstitch on top of the painted blue pieces to give a blue border to each piece. Then a final blue fabric layer was appliqued on top in blue running stitch (thicker thread) with a different but related 5 point star shape, and the inside and outside cut away to give a final outline shape. Overall I think this design has possibilities, but more work is needed to get each element the right size to maximise the effect. I may return to this later on.
No comments:
Post a Comment