ADDENDUM TO CHAPTER 10: Design an Accessory

 

 

After receiving Sian’s comments I have prepared two more pieces relating to the cuff bracelet .  Firstly, I have done a more detailed sketch of the final concept.

This sketch shows the key design elements as follows:

• Monoprinted background, trying to vary the shading for the different segments;
• Medium weight couched gold outlines for the segments (not too thin);
• Vermicelli machine stitched background in each segment;
• Large central beaded feature;
• Two radiating beaded spokes which complement the central feature;
• Lightly scattered random beading in the non-featured segments, most probably a combination of seed beads and spangles;
• Gold cord couched around the edge of the cuff;
• Multicoloured  seed beads clustered around the edge of the cuff.

Secondly, I have done a section of heavier clustered beading around the edge of  the cuff, using  multi-coloured seed beads. I think this effect is far better than either of the earlier samples and I plan to incorporate it into the final piece (thank you Sian for this great suggestion!).

CHAPTER 10: DESIGN AN ACCESSORY

1. Selecting the accessory
After considering various types of accessories, I decided to make a bracelet. This could have taken various forms - a coil, a series of flat decorated panels joined by a cord or elastic, or a cuff (a curved band which wraps around the arm). I decided to make a cuff because it reminded me of a partial spiral in form and it provided a reasonable sized surface to design and embellish. I found a cheap cuff bracelet in a shop which had a nice wavy shape rather than just straight sides and so I decided to try to use this shape for my accessory (left in first photo).

2. Bracelet construction
I have considered three techniques for making the bracelet.
Technique 1: Adhering the decorated textile shape to a preformed metallic base with glue. I investigated whether I could purchase blank metallic shapes for this. They were not readily available in Australia and I did not want to wait for some from overseas. Also, I was not able to find any blanks in the wavy shape I wanted to use. I could have covered the commercial bracelet I had purchased, but it was fairly heavy. I kept this as a fall back option if I could not find anything else that was suitable.
Technique 2: This involved using pelmet Vilene to stiffen the cuff and then sewing artists' wire around the edge to help the bracelet hold its shape. It worked to some degree but the wire was a bit flimsy and deformed easily, so I discarded this approach (centre sample in above photo).
Technique 3: I found an internet site which suggested using a shaped piece of aluminium cut from a soft drink can as a stiffening for cuff bracelets (www.ehow.com/how_5925197_use-aluminum-cans-bracelet-blank). I tried this a piece of soft drink can, sandwiched between two layers of pelmet Vilene, but this was still a bit light and bent fairly easily, so I hunted around for some thicker cans which could still be cut fairly easily but were a bit more rigid. Eventually I settled on a tin used for a brand of canned tomatoes.

Method and OH & S comments: It is important to take care when cutting and shaping an aluminium can. Wear safety glasses/goggles to protect the eyes as small metal pieces can fly off. Wear thick rubber gloves to protect the hands while cutting the tin as the edges may be sharp. Carefully cut the tin with kitchen scissors into a shape a bit larger than required, then use some smaller scissors to cut the rough shape into the final shape you require. Carefully smooth the edges with sandpaper so they are no longer sharp and dangerous. Also use the sandpaper to roughen the flat surface of the metal, then glue a shaped piece of pelmet Vilene to either side of the metal, using PVA glue. Wrap the 'sandwich" around a bottle or other cylindrical object about the diameter of your forearm and hold in place for several hours with masking tape or a wide rubber band, to form the final curved bracelet shape. This can then be covered with your embellished fabric.
Technique 3 was the most successful (sample on right above), apart from purchasing commercial metal blanks. I decided to proceed with this for my piece.

3. Design of Concept 1








I cut a cardboard template with a hole in the shape of the cuff laid flat. I then looked at various samples I have made during the module and laid the template over them. Some of the ones considered as concepts and then discarded, are shown above. I decided to work up a design based on sample 9 (right), which is a root spiral. Forms of it often appear in nature (e.g. ammonite fossil - see Chapter 1, nautilus shell). I chose this because I thought the segments were suited to the shape of the cuff and would allow me to achieve an interesting balance between colour, shape and texture in the piece.

I drew out the selected segment of the design and incorporated some modifications. These included:
- merging some of the segments in the outer circle so that they were larger and less fussy to embellish;
- adding some more lines to complete the inner circle as this seemed to give a better focal point to create something interesting in the centre of the bracelet.
The next photo shows the chosen segment and the simplified line drawing based on it.





















Base fabric: I had recently attended a workshop with Isobel Hall and become interested in some of her techniques for creating interesting surfaces from paper (Reference: Isobel Hall and Maggie Grey, Mixed media: new studio techniques, d4daisy books Ltd, 2010)). I decided to experiment with painted woven paper baby wipes as the base fabric for the bracelet surface because they give a surface which is fairly strong but flexible enough to stitch through. One limitation is their size, making them unsuitable for large areas - but in this situation a single wipe was large enough to make one full size bracelet.

Concept 1 (below) was made with one wipe which had paint applied and then some spiral marks in a blue crayon (these tended to blend in a bit after the fixing). After that I painted on a layer of a sealer called "Impasto Medium" (Matisse) which stiffens the fabric. Another option which was also satisfactory was Modge-Podge (Plaid brand). Gold encaustic wax was smudged onto half of the wrinkled surface, so I could decide whether this was worth doing in future or not. I have also included a picture of some other painted samples which I have prepared, which will be considered for the final piece.



















Embellishment: The photo of concept 1 (below)shows several variations that I trialled for embellishing the bracelet surface. First I tacked the design outline from a tissue paper drawing, then added machine stitching to the painted base fabric, experimenting with different metallic and non-metallic threads in purple and gold in different segments of the design. I used a vermicelli pattern as it was small enough for the little segments and not too intrusive. This was important because I wanted to add beads as the main highlight on top of the stitching. I thought the pattern worked well and will probably use a combination of two colours in the final piece.

After the machine stitching I tested two ways of outlining the segments. The first was by couching a purple-blue gimp and the second by couching a gold thread. The gold thread was more effective, but it tended to buckle a little, so in the final piece I will need to use a slightly thicker thread and place the couching stitches closer together.

Finally, I experimented with some beading options for the stitched surface. I decided that the central part of the spiral should be treated as the focal point and found an effective combination of aqua glass droplets with gold bugle beads. The segments which radiate out need less intrusive beading, but also something to link them to the central feature. I tried a few alternatives, and thought that all had possibilities. Using the aqua beads/gold bugle beads at the end of the two large segments that leading to the edges of the bracelet gave some continuity but would not be suitable for the entire piece, so two of the smaller fillings could be used in the other segments to provide balance and contrast.

Edges: This sample shows some variants that could be used as edgings for the bracelet. One was a plain gold cord, the second was a gold cord wrapped with a contrasting thread and the third was small beads added in clusters or singly to the cord. My preference at present is the wrapped gold thread with single beads spaced along it, however a final decision will be taken when the piece is nearing completion.


4. Design of Concept 2: I was not entirely happy with the way Concept 1 looked on the arm, so I decided to experiment with another approach. I realised that the wavy shape made the design more challenging because the centre of the shape was not a true mid-point or focal point for the bracelet and it needed to be divided into thirds which harmonised. Therefore I explored a design which would have 3 embroidered spirals along the length of the bracelet with stronger beading in the centre third and related but less dominant beading leading out to the edges. This came from the 3 spirals in a row on the shibori-dyed fabric in the top picture.


The base fabric used for this sample was a monoprinted baby wipe as before and machine stitching in random spirals was added to give some texture to the background, before adding the hand stitching on top. I think this approach has possibilities, especially the consideration of the design in 3 sections. However I would need to work up the embroidery further for a final sample and perhaps explore using the dyed fabric or a monoprinted fabric with 3 spirals along its length.


5. Final design for accessory
Although I think both designs have possibilities and could result in attractive final pieces, I have decided to revisit concept 1 because I think it is a bit more impactful. However, I will also incorporate some things learnt from concept 2. I plan to enlarge the central feature of the spiral so it roughly occupies the centre third of the design. I will also simplify the "spoke" segments in the outer ring so the design is not too busy and use a heavier weight gold outline for the segments, with the couching stitches placed closer together, so that it will add emphasis and the lines will not distort. I may add some hand stitching if I think it will add to the final impact.

Authentication: Here is a picture showing me working on the selection of beads for concept 1 and also trying concept 2 on my arm before it was embroidered.

CHAPTER 12: RESEARCH THREE ARTISTS

1. ZANDRA RHODES - FASHION DESIGNER
Zandra Rhodes is a British fashion designer known for her glamorous, extrovert and dramatic designs which are full of vitality. Born in 1940, she developed a major interest in printed textile designs through her art studies and then moved into creating and selling clothing using her own designs, which were considered very avant garde in the 1960s. Since then she has become well known for designing fashion garments and stage costumes for the "rich and famous", including many performers, celebrities and royalty, but in recent years has also designed some more affordable ranges for department stores. In the past 10 years she has turned her talents to designing flamboyant sets and costumes for some opera productions and has also established a Fashion and Textile Museum in London, to feature the work of fashion and textile designers from the 1950's onwards.


The main thing that stands out with Rhodes' work is the cohesiveness of the entire design. There are four main elements that contribute to this. Firstly, vivid colours and bold patterns are used very effectively to create a dramatic effect. The colour palette in each garment is often restricted to two or three contrasting hues and tonal variation is used to enhance the contrasts (for example designs 1 and 2 above).



Secondly, she uses a lot of repeating patterns in her printed textiles, often alternating a couple of pattern repeats. For example the black and white pattern repeats in design 3 are simple, yet very effective photo Vogue. Many designs have been inspired by ethnic themes e.g. North American Indians, Africa, Mexico, Egypt.









Thirdly, many of her garments feature sheer flowing fabrics, and the shapes of sleeves, necklines and hems seem to emerge from the design of the fabric (see design 2 above). Sleeve edges or hemlines may feature unusual treatments, sometimes with added tassels, to maximise the impact of the patterned textile (see for example design 4, below left, which shows a dress recently exhibited at the Mingei Museum San Diego, January 2011 ).






















Fourthly, embellishments such as spangles, studs or beading may be used to complement the pattern (often following the pattern lines) or emphasise the body line and folding, pleating or ruching the fabrics is also sometimes used to add texture. Her punk-inspired evening dress called Conceptual Chic, now featuring in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, was considered very revolutionary when it was created in 1977 due to the deliberately holed ("distressed") fabric and the use of beaded safety pins, ball link chains and diamante embellishments(photo 5, above right).

Overall, by studying Zandra Rhodes' work, I think a lot can be learned about using various design elements to complement each other and strengthen the finished piece.

References
Zandra Rhodes' website: www.zandrarhodes.com
Carolyn Benesh: Zandra Rodes - The art of significant loveliness. Ornament 34(3), 2011
Vogue.com.au: Zandra Rhodes Runway Gallery S/S 2007, http://www.vogue.com.au/fashion+shows/galleries/zandra+rhodes+ready+to+wear+spring+
summer+2007
Mail On Line August 26 2011, Big can be beautiful by Jenni Murray
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/people-pages/zandra-rhodes/
http://www.mingei.org/exhibitions/details/523

2. DEIRDRE HAWKEN - HAT MAKER

Deirdre Hawken is a milliner who trained in Theatre Design at Central Saint Martins college and now uses traditional millinery techniques to design and make couture fashion headpieces as well as a range of quirky, inventive and amusing art hats. These are inspired by modern cuisine and the way it is presented. Every component is hand dyed and hand sewn.

Her high fashion hats seem deceptively simple but have a very stylish and well-balanced look due to her careful combination of shapes, embellishments and colour (top left). Most of the hat bases are fairly small and head-hugging, with the eye drawn to the embellishments, such as feathers, voiles with cut out shapes or flowers which are often used to give height to the piece. The colours are kept simple - either a single colour or two contrasting colours.

Hawken's art hats, on the other hand, are more flamboyant, using a wide range of shapes, colours and materials to depict the chosen fruit, vegetable, confectionery or patisserie. Sometimes the hat base is part of the design feature (for example radish hat photo 2 above and mushroom hat photo 3 below) and at other times is merely a support for the food being represented. The mushroom hat is very interesting due to its use of leather and chamois in its construction.







The broad bean salad headpiece 2010 (photo 4 below), which is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, shows how various materials and construction techniques can be combined to achieve the final result. Dyed silk taffeta, organza and silk velvet have been used to create the hat base, crinkled leaves and cheese shavings. Then the beans and peas were made from epoxy resin which was hand painted and attached to wire and the pea shoots were created from pieces of wire covered in florists tape.



References
http://www.deirdrehawken.com
http://acupofkettle.blogspot.com/2011/01/deirdre-hawken-millinery.html
http://www.saatchionline.com/art/Unknown-broad-bean-salad-headpiece/72542/308647/view
http://www.saatchionline.com/art/Unknown-pavlova-headpiece/72542/308649/view
Turning heads Exhibition, Knitting and Stitching Show 2009?
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1176974/hat-broad-bean-salad-hat/

3. ARTIST OF CHOICE: KAREN TORRISI - PROFESSIONAL BEADER

Karen Torrisi, based in Sydney, has been beading professionally since 1994. She began her own atelier after training in the Australian Fashion Industry, followed by study of beading and embroidery in Australia, London and with the beading school, Ecole D' Broderie d'art Lesage in Paris. She views using beads to embellish a surface as like a painter filling a canvas. She states on her website: "I love to use colours in my work and the fact that with beaded embroidery you begin with a clear palette and you finish with something that is sparkly, textured and alive, and visually delicious." Karen now focuses on commissions for selected designers & costumiers.








Her work has an international flavour and has featured in several films (e.g. Moulin Rouge, Star Wars II and III, & Superman 2006), and stage productions (e.g. Chicago, Phantom of the Opera (photo 1), The Lion King (photo 2)).












Garments featuring her work have also been worn by several high profile people, such as the gown that Olivia Newton John wore at the Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games (photo 3).









The scope of Karen's work is very broad - ranging from traditional work on bridal gowns and dresses commissioned by well known Australian designers (e.g. photo 4 design on George Gross evening dress) to more edgy designs, such as some of her stage creations and recent work done in conjunction with a final year fashion student, Melissa Smith (photo 5). She has also written a book entitled "The Art of Making Hand Beaded Bags" and has publishes beading designs and kits for T shirts, cardigans, beaded bags and other accessories.

.




































The high standard of Karen's work was recognised when she was selected as an open finalist in the Hand & Lock Embroidery Prize in 2009 and her work was judged the Highest Australian entry in that year. Her piece (below) was based on the brief Modern Goddess, Sunset Jungle. It features several hues of green accented with brightly coloured lush hibiscus. Sequins, glass beads and Swarovski crystals are combined with silk ribbon embroidery, French knots, chain stitching and flat stitches to create a highly textured 3 dimensional appearance.



















Karen also teaches hand beading skills, including tambour beading and is a guest tutor at the NSW Embroiderers' Guild. Earlier this year she ran a workshop titled Craft Punk at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, where beads, found objects, shapes and techniques were used to make a creative appliqué shape to adorn clothing, or other items (see photo of sample to right).












References
http://www.karentorrisibeading.com.au
http://www.handembroidery.com/2009/
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/whatson/craft_punk.php
Steve Dow: Made 2 measure - The beader. Sydney Morning Herald, The Sydney Magazine, 30 April 2009, p34.

CHAPTER 9: RESOLVED SAMPLE

9b: The worked sample



Here is the worked sample based on the design outlined in Section 9a. I followed the basic plan but made a few modifications along the way, taking into account Sian's comments and also some refinements that seemed appropriate as I progressed.The main changes were:

- I added another thin strip of monoprinted fabric in the top left corner as the printed areas seemed a bit sparse when they were applied to the machine-embroidered background.
- I used more machine stitching than originally envisaged and varied the thread colour and thickness, to build up the background and integrate the printed strips with the background fabric.
-I also incorporated some colour change in the background, from predominantly yellows in the top left corner to more blues, greens and purples towards the right. However I did not overdo this as I did not want it to dominate the piece. On reflection, I think I could have added a bit more colour to the bottom right corner.
- I started off making Dorset buttons to insert into the circular area at the top of each spiral cord, but in the end I cut away the worked centres and just left the rings, as I thought the effect was too heavy when the rings were filled in. I then decided to work a small coiled bit by hand inside each circle to compete the spiral effect.

9a: Developing the Design







The starting point for the design was this wrought iron banister photographed at a hotel in Italy. The spiral form used here is the clothoide or cornu spiral.
I had produced a monoprinted fabric featuring these shapes earlier in the module and thought this would be a good place to start.














However I thought using this fabric "as is" gave a background that was a bit too busy, so I came up with the idea of cutting it into strips, which would be placed diagonally across the background of hand dyed lemon cotton fabric. This gave a hint of the banister which was the origin of the design but also suggested movement, as the spirals moved in a line across the page. I did a mock up of the background with paper, using the Fibonacci sequence as a guide for the width and spacing of the printed strips. I envisage that interest and texture would be added to the plain yellow parts of the background by machine stitching more of the chosen spiral shapes in a matching or variegated lemon thread, but taking care to place them in diagonal lines which followed the printed strips.

I then considered what to add on top of the background. After trying various ideas, I decided that I would apply approximately 3 cords which partially repeated the basic spiral shape from the printed fabric. To give a sense of movement, these would be larger, displaced from the diagonal lines of the background and the tails would represent unravelled spirals with trailing ends. However I thought it was important that the basic linear form was retained and not overcrowded or muddied too much - hence the restriction on the number of spiral cords to be applied. The mock up below gives the general idea using cords that I had on hand, but the final ones may be a bit different. The head of the spiral with be embellished by adding Dorset buttons - again the ones shown here were what I had on hand and have been used are to illustrate the concept and are not the final ones for the piece. I looked at other button options, but felt that the open nature of the Dorset buttons fitted with the decision to retain an open feel to the piece and not swamp the basic linear aspects of the design. I will also add further rows of hand stitching to emphasise the spiral outlines formed by the cords.

CHAPTER 8: BEADS

The work in this chapter explores various effects which can be achieved using a wide variety of beads and application methods. I found it most enjoyable and had a lot of fun, starting with the collecting of various types of beads and then experimenting with different designs and techniques.

a) Beaded Sampler
This sampler was worked on hand dyed silk, divided into 20 squares each about 5cm X 5cm (4 squares across, 5 down). The silk was mounted on a backing fabric and held in a frame for beading. In the text below, when I refer to various squares I will number them from the top by row and then count across from the left.



In some squares I tried to work with the spiral theme, using the beads in various ways to form linear patterns (e.g. in row 1, squares 2 & 3, I applied bugle beads side by side and end to end, to give different effects). In row 2, square 1, I tried a design a bit like some of the Greek meander mosaics, using square spangles and in row 2, squares 2 & 3 I used rocaille or seed beads applied in 2 different ways.

I like being able to depict specific shapes like this, but working these samples made me realise just how precise the placement of every bead needs to be to obtain a high quality result. Looking at mine, the main thing that can be said is: Needs More Practice!

Having looked at the use of beading in haute couture, I was interested to do one or two samples where beads were applied to lace. Row 3, rectangle 2, shows some delicate beading I applied to some fine antique lace given to me by a friend, Cheryl Martin. In this sample I tried to enhance the lace with translucent sequins, pearls and seed beads, but not overwhelm it. A different approach was used for the coarser piece of old tatting in row 5, square 2, where I applied some painted shells in a more "fun" style.


Larger beads and irregularly shaped beads can give some wonderful effects if clustered together, often mixing different shapes colours and sizes (see for example Row 2, square 4 and Row 4, square 1. Irregularly shaped beads can be a bit tricky to stitch down. For example the painted shells shown here had a hole at one end, but I found that I needed to anchor them with threads following the grooves in the shell to get them to stay in place.

Two techniques for attaching objects without holes, like Shisha mirrors, are shown in Row 4. In square 3, the more traditional method of holding the mirror in place with stitching (chain stitch woven round and round in this case) was used and then seed and bugle beads were added around the outside to enhance the effect. In square 2, the mirrors and other beads and sequins were placed under a fine net and then beads stitched over the top to hold everything in place. The technique of using a fine fabric to hold down some beads and then stitching others over the top was also used in Row 5, square 5. A piece of very fine chiffon was placed between the two layers of beads, and is almost invisible. It is hard to tell which beads are on top and which are underneath.

This picture shows a few other more experimental panels. In Row 3, square 1, the purple "beads" are made from cut up pieces of a plastic document wallet and bits of painted Tyvek which was gently heated by waving a dry iron over it until it started to buckle and contract. Row 4, square 1 consists of a mixture of painted wooden beads and buttons, piled on top of each other. Row 4, square 2 combined glass beads of various sizes and shapes, with some white plastic disks. The purple decoration was added to the disks using a marking pen, and then purple threads were used to anchor the disks over the purple pen marks.

b) Beaded Edges


This series of pictures shows various attempts to create different types of beaded edges.

The simplest and easiest used seed beads with/without bugle beads applied in a single row. I then tried a couple of looped versions which I found on the internet. The net pattern on the right was delicate, lacy and quite attractive, but the looped sample on the left was not good at all. I think this was partly due to the tension, but also the instructions may have needed modifying to join in the loops slightly differently.


The tasselled edges below were far more pleasing and all worked out fairly well. In the sample on the left I experimented with different types of beads and combinations. However my favourite was the sample on the right where the longer strings alternated with the shorter ones, giving a very pretty finish.

CHAPTER 7: SIMPLE BUTTON MAKING

In this module I experimented with several ways to make buttons or related items in various materials and shapes. These could be used functionally or to embellish a constructed textile in a non-functional manner.

a. Coiled and Bound Shapes
The two buttons on the left were made from coiled wire wrapped in a braided fabric and then fine threads were wrapped or woven around the coils to add further interest. The coiled wire is harder to work with but the results retain their spiral shape very well.

The three samples on the right were made from layered strips of different coloured felts which were lightly glued then rolled to give a multi-coloured coil. They are fairly simple, but give a nice spiral impression.

The two samples in the middle were made from coiled felt which was then bound with multicoloured threads to give little wrapped bundles. These samples were easy to do and gave quite attractive results. They could be useful for some projects.

b. Wrapped Shapes This picture shows several samples made by wrapping a core shape in some wadding, covering with a piece of stretched stocking and then an outer fabric wrapped with threads as a highlight. I found that Balsa wood was a good material for the core. I bought a bag of various shapes and also some flat thin strips. It was easy to cut them with a Stanley Knife into nay desired shape or size. Various fabrics were used as the outer wrap. Some were commercial samples and others were coloured before use. For example the fabric at the bottom had been hand dyed fabric with monoprinting applied. The threads were chosen to echo the main colours. The square button top right was prepared from a textured and coloured fabric which started as a white baby wipe. This technique was learned at a workshop I attend a few months ago with Isobel Hall. These wrapped buttons have good possibilities for many applications, including jewellery.


c. Dorset Buttons
In these samples I experimented with different techniques such as buttonhole stitch, wrapping with fine threads or fabric wrapping to cover the ring shape (starting from a metal ring or a rubber washer). I then tried several ways of filling in the centre of the button to create more interest. These included weaving or winding threads in different patterns and adding beads to embellish the item. Overall I was very pleased with these samples.

d. Fabric Toggles
In this section I tried many different types of fabric, fabric combinations and different winding techniques to produce a variety of shapes. Some fabrics, such as felt, had non-fraying edges. Others were machine stitched to hinder fraying or deliberately frayed to add to the effect. I added some small beads to embellish the edge of the mauve net sample as its regular edge looked a bit plain. Winding other threads around the toggle shape also made some of them more interesting.


e. Experiments with Tyvek
This picture shows several buttons made with two different experimental techniques using Tyvek. All started with Tyvek painted in various colours with acrylic paints. The samples on the left were made by rolling strips of Tyvek into toggle-like shapes, wrapping various threads around them, then applying heat with a hot-air gun until they started to shrivel.

The items on the right were made by machining circles of painted Tyvek to felt circles with circles of a plastic mesh at the back. I then gently applied hot air till the Tyvek started to disintegrate and the felt circles started to distort because of the shrinking of the plastic mesh behind them. This technique was my own idea, and grew out of one demonstrated at Isobel Hall's workshop.

Overall I liked the results of these Tyvek experiments and could envisage various uses for these buttons as embellishments for bags, jewellery and wearable items.

CHAPTER 6: SIMPLE TASSELS

a. Simple Tassels by Hand


The first picture shows some of the simplest tassels I tried. The ones on the left and right were done by wrapping the selected yarn over cardboard, tying off the top, then wrapping either the same yarn or another cord around the bunch of threads about one third of the way down. A twisted cord or wrapped cord was used at the top as a hanger for the tassel and the lower ends were cut to form the skirt. The one on the left, which was the first I tried, was too small and out of proportion, so after that I worked with longer lengths of thread. The second one, on the right, has better proportions. The tassel in the centre, which I thought gave a more interesting and pleasing result, was started the same way, but after tying off the neck, the head at the top was divided in two and button hole stitch worked selectively in bands around the loop. The bottom end of the skirt was left looped as well, which looked good with the textured yarn.


The second picture shows some more experiments in forming the head of the tassel. The one on the left was formed from a multicoloured twisted yarn. The threads were divided into three bunches and then the centre third of each bunch was joined by plaiting to form the head. The plaited ends were bound separately and then bound together, to form the neck of the tassel. The loose ends of the yarn were knotted to finish off the skirt. The tassel on the right was made from strips of sari offcuts. The fraying edges of the fabric added to the effect. Three bundles of strips were bound randomly in the middle with yellow-gold thread, then the three banded pieces were twisted around each other before the neck was bound. The binding was not bold enough for the intensity of the fabrics, so I finished off the neck with a fatter gold cord. Looking at the photo, I think the skirt could have been a little longer and the cord bound a bit tighter, but it actually look all right "in the flesh".




This photo shows more experiments with different materials and ways of forming the tassel. The left one used a mixture of silk ribbons and gold cord to form the skirt, which was tightly bound at the top and pulled through a gold mesh ball to cover the neck, finishing with a gold curtain ring at the top. In the centre tassel I experimented with beads to form the skirt and neck, then finishes with a rind at the top which was covered with thread using buttonholes stitch and then small beads added as decoration. Detached buttonhole stitch was worked on the neck of the tassel on the right and a beaded lop was added to form the head. I was pleased with these tassels overall, as I think all were interesting designs and the proportions seemed fairly good.


This photo shows two attempts to produce decorative necks, which proved to be trickier than I had anticipated. For the one on the left I used an old cotton reel, padded it with wadding, covered this with a stretched piece of old stocking to give a smooth surface and then wound a cord made from twisted gimp around it. This proved to be easier said than done and I ended up having to use a few stitches to help hold the cord in place. I think the end result looks quite good, but I would probably use a softer, more firmly twisted cord next time round. In the second one on the right I wanted to get a double bulge effect on the neck. The top part was worked with detached chain and some wadding stiffed inside and then a second binding added further down. On reflection I think the skirt should have been longer and not so fat, and the top part of the neck should have had extra padding so it bulged out more.

b. Tassels by Machine


These three tassels were quite easy to make. I only made one size as I didn't have good equipment on hand to make larger wire frames. I thought the head of the purple one in the centre was a bit boring with only machine stitching. The blue one on the right is better because the variegated threads and the knot add interest. I added a few beads to the head of the one on the left to complement the gold and purple braid I had used to bind and decorate the neck and was pleased with the result.