M5, CHAPTER 4: FABRIC INVESTIGATION

 

1. Fabric Collection & Properties

1.1 Sources & description

Natural fibres: Cotton, linen & bamboo are made from plants whereas silk and wool are protein fibres from an animal source.  Rayon (viscose) is made from treated cellulose and because of this behaves more like a plant fibre than a synthetic. It is sometimes classified as semi-synthetic. These materials can generally be spun or matted into sheets like paper or felt.

Man-made or synthetic fibres:  Polyester is the most commonly used synthetic fibre. It is favoured because of its crease resistance.Nylon is a polyamide made from petroleum. Acrylics (acetonitrile)  are made from natural gas and petroleum. Polyurethane (brand names Spandex, Lycra) is a long chain polymer which is elastic and used to give stretch to fabrics, often blended with polyester.

Blends: Combinations of fibres are used to try to take advantage of the desirable properties of the components. For example  combinations of cotton, which offers breathability, and polyester which  is crease resistant,  are likely to require less ironing than cotton alone but be more comfortable to wear than 100% polyester.

Batting: Batting is generally a non-woven layer of  fibre. Examples included some made from natural fibres (wool, cotton, bamboo) or synthetic, generally polyester. Polyester batting can be sourced in various thicknesses to give different effects when used.

Support materials:Examples of these non-woven, synthetic support materials include different thicknesses of Vilene and Vliesofix Transfer Adhesive.They are generally used to stiffen or support other fabrics to be stitched, moulded or shaped.

1.2 Creasing  & Stretching

Cotton: Cotton fabrics tend to crease when crushed. Those with firmer weaves e.g. Calico, Homespun, Lawn,Voile & Chenille  creased more readily and did not stretch much in any direction. Those with a looser weave, such as Osnaburg and Cheesecloth, stretched on the diagonal but not much horizontally or vertically and creased less. The cotton interlock knit stretched diagonally & horizontally with the knit and creased less.

Silk: These samples creased a little when crushed, but less than cotton. Those with firmer weaves e.g. Noil, Habutai, Crepe de Chine, Organza & Georgette, creased more readily and did not stretch much in any direction. Those with a looser weave, such as Silk Scrim and Chiffon, stretched on the diagonal but not much horizontally or vertically and did not crease as much.

Linen: These samples creased when crushed and did not stretch much horizontally or vertically. There was a little stretch on the diagonal  if the weave was not very tight.

Wool: The wool crepe sample creased a little when crushed but not as much as the linens and cottons. It stretched a little on the diagonal but not horizontally or vertically.

Rayon (viscose): The rayon felt creased a little and did not stretch much in any direction.

Synthetics: Examples of synthetic fabrics made from 3 different materials – nylon, polyester,polyethylene-  were collected. On the whole the fabrics were crease resistant. Nylon (polyamide) tends to be spun into fine threads and was found in knitted lingerie, tulle & lace. It can stretch diagonally(e.g. tulle) or horizontally & diagonally if knitted. Polyester is very versatile and examples collected included fine & coarse weaves as well as knitted  fabrics with a pile (e.g. Polar Fleece and Polyester Velvet). The finer weaves tended to crease more and did not stretch.The more open weaves  stretched diagonally and the ones with a knitted base were very stretchy horizontally and diagonally. The Tyvek (polyethylene spunbonded) could crease but did not stretch. It is mostly used in protective clothing as it is impermeable to water.

Blends: Fabrics made from blends of different materials tended to reflect some properties of both, and their behaviour largely reflected the major component. For example a fine cotton/polyester weave behaved more like a fine cotton fabric but creased a little less. A polyester/urethane (i.e. Spandex or Lycra) knit was very stretchy and crease resistant.

Batting: Not particularly stretchy. Thicker polyester types can have pieces or layers peeled away.

Support Materials: They can crease and do not stretch much.

1.3 Fraying & Withdrawing Threads

Cotton - interlock, lawn & flannelette: Edges of woven cotton fabrics frayed readily. The effect depended on whether the weave was fine(e.g. lawn) or coarser (e.g. flannelette). The knitted (interlock) fabric did not fray readily. Threads could be withdrawn easily only from the woven fabrics.

Silk-organza, georgette, noil, habutai : The edges of these fabrics frayed readily, but the effect depended on the fineness of the weave. It was possible to withdraw threads from these woven fabrics but it was more difficult when the threads were very fine.

Linen & Wool: The edges of woven linen, linen blends and wool crepe frayed readily. Threads could be withdrawn readily from these woven fabrics.

Rayon (viscose): As the rayon felt was not a woven material it did not fray readily and threads could not be withdrawn from it.

Synthetics & synthetic blends - polyester velvet, polyester spandex blend, polyester polarfleece, nylon tulle, polyester cotton blend: These fabrics did not fray readily, except for the polycotton blend.Threads could not be withdrawn from the polyester knits (e.g. velvet, spandex blend, polarfleece) & nylon tulle. However they could be withdrawn from the woven polycotton blend.

Batting: Battings could not be frayed but polyester or wool batting would pull apart if sufficient force was applied.

Support Materials: These non-woven  materials did not fray.

1.4 Burning with a Candle Flame

Cotton- interlock, lawn & flannelette,  Linen & Rayon (viscose):

Cotton, linen and cellulose based fabrics, e.g rayon, burn readily but do not melt, leaving a fine ash residue which crushes easily. May smell like burning paper. Rayon tends to burn longer after the flame is removed. Cotton generally has an afterglow.

Wool: Wool crepe shrinks away from the flame as it burns, and does not melt. It smells like burning hair and leaves ash or black beads which are readily crushed.

Silk-organza, georgette, noil, habutai:

Silk shrinks away from the flame as it burns, and may extinguish itself. It does not melt, but leaves ash which is readily crushed, sometimes in the form of a black bead. Its smell has been described as like burning hair or charred meat.

Synthetics:

Synthetic fabrics (e.g. nylon or polyester) or blends with a high percentage of synthetic fibres burn away from the flame and melt, leaving a hard edge that feels like plastic. Nylon edge is like white beads, whereas polyester is black. Smoke may be very black with a chemical smell. Silk / polyester blend burns like a synthetic but has a crushable black ash on the edge.

1.5 Applying Soldering Iron or Hot Wire

Cotton- interlock, lawn & flannelette: Hot implements lightly scorched the fabric but did not cut it. Small cuts could be made with a hot wire, but this needed persistence.

Silk-organza, georgette, noil, habutai: The soldering iron scorched the silks, and cuts could be made with the hot wire, especially in the finer fabrics.

Linen & Wool: The tools lightly scorched the fabric but did not cut it. The hot wire made a cut in the fine wool crepe with a bit of effort.

Rayon (viscose): The tools lightly scorched the fabric but did not cut it.

Synthetics & synthetic blends - polyester velvet, polyester spandex blend, polyester polarfleece, nylon tulle, polyester cotton blend: Holes and cuts could be readily made in these fabrics with the soldering iron or hot wire due to their synthetic content. The finer fabrics cut more readily.

Support Materials & Tyvek^®: Thin Vilene^® and Polyethylene Spunbonded (Tyvek^®) could be cut easily with a hot wire. Thicker materials such as Pelmet Vilene did not cut very readily. The next photo shows how a decorative effect could be obtained by making holes in Vilene with a burning satay stick.

1.6 Response to Heat Tools

Most synthetic fabrics distorted readily when a heat tool (blower) was applied,  whereas natural fabrics like silk just scorched. Polyester polarfleece scorched and distorted on the fluffy front side. The "back" side was not discoloured and had an interesting buckled appearance.

A hovering dry iron could also be used to buckle or distort some synthetics. Very interesting effects can be obtained using this method with Tyvek^® if you control the distortion carefully. With the nylon knit, the top surface could be partially removed.

References

http://quilting.about.com: How to do a fabric burn test

http://info.fabrics.net/fabric-facts/fabric identification: Fabric identification: The burn test

http://www.ehow.com/how_7859531_identify-wool-acetate-silk-polyester : How to identify cotton, wool, acetate, silk an d polyester

http://www.madehow.com/Volume-4/Spandex.html: Spandex

www2.dupont.com/Tyvek/en_US/‎: Tyvek Home Page

http://www.createforless.com/buying-guides/sewing-and-quilting/quilt-batting: Quilt batting – types and choosing the right one.

2. Decorative Edges

Decorative edges were created using various distressing techniques such as  cutting, fraying, applying a hot wire or soldering iron. The method was selected according to the properties of the fabric observed in Section 1. In some samples, 2 techniques were combined.

Edges 1:

Polyester woven blend frayed & threads withdrawn; Polyester woven blend frayed and edges cut at angles;Rayon felt cut with pinking shears; Silk chiffon frayed on one side and self gathered by pulling a few threads on the other side to make a ruffle.

Edges 2:

Tyvek^® - scalloped edge cut with scissors, then holes poked along it with soldering iron;Wool crepe pleated & cut at angles across the pleats;  Polyester woven blend frayed & threads withdrawn to fray one edge, then holes made with soldering iron; Silk chiffon - pieces cut out with soldering iron & edges frayed.

Edges 3:

Polyester cut with hot wire; Tyvek^® cut with hot wire; Nylon knit cut with hot wire & twisted; Nylon knit fringed & scalloped with soldering iron.

Edges 4:

Polyester/Spandex^® blend rolled and knotted; Polyester/Spandex^® blend twisted and coiled back on itself like a twisted cord;Nylon knit cut along edges & slashed in middle with pinking shears then twisted; Polyester satin - fringe cut then twisted & knotted;Polyester woven blend frayed, threads withdrawn in two directions & sections bound together with some of the removed threads.

M5, Addendum to Chapter 3

Following some feedback from Sian I have tried a few more paper relief ideas, with varying success! Overall though it was a worthwhile exercise to do these to extend my thinking for later work.

Sample 2A: The original had some big lumps of “ice” with spaces in between. In this sample I added some small pieces of twisted polythene bag to add some contrasting texture by representing the smaller fragments of floating ice. I think this improves the overall effect.

Sample 6A: Sian suggested that I scrunched up the paper more to add texture to the rounded surface. I took a sheet of  thicker cartridge paper, then scrunched it, opened it out and re-scrunched several times. The very scrunched up paper was then mounded over the  humped area. The effect is quite pleasing but moves away a bit from the original picture. I guess this does not really matter as it is just a starting point for the design.

Sample 7A: I tried cutting some circles out of tissue paper than folding and roughly pleating them so the pleats radiated from the centre to the edge of each circle. The circles were then formed into overlapping mounds padded with tissues. I  liked the look that was achieved with this approach as well, but have to be honest and say I preferred the original puffy version.

Sample 8A: In this sample I tried to create  a version focusing on the  roughly padded oval shapes in the original photo. I aimed to represent the smoother tops and the striated sides of the shapes. Instead of using twisted tissue cords for the striations, I decided to try pleating the paper to achieve a more grooved look. I then inserted a padded shape into each pleated oval to give support and represent the smooth tops.

I think this approach was also reasonably successful and opens up various options I can experiment with later in the module using fabric .

M5 CHAPTER 3: TEXTURE AND RELIEF IN PAPER

I chose to do the collages in this section on black backgrounds as my subject matter was primarily white or bluish-white. I tried to experiment with different materials and manipulation techniques in my work. Some were more successful than others, partially due to the limitations of the techniques and the materials as well as my skill. However I was pleased with some of the results and can see the possibilities for translating these into textile samples later on.

Sample 1

In this sample I tried to reproduce the rough, angular surface of a glacier. I started with two layers of tissue paper which I machined together with wavy lines. I then gathered the stitching to create a ruffled effect and made cuts in the top layer to simulate the rough, angular shapes. I liked this result and think with more work it could make an interesting textile piece.

Sample 2

In this sample I tried to recreate the impression of brash ice which is an accumulation of small bits of floating ice. I used pieces of foam packing to represent the ice. These pieces were folded in half and gathered by hand with a running stitch which was pulled up and the pieces twisted to vary the shapes. I liked the effect of the distorted foam pieces and think this idea could also have possibilities for future textile samples.

Samples 3 & 4

The next 2 samples show attempts to recreate the rippled and indented effect I observed in the following photo of an eroded iceberg.

In sample 3 I tried to pleat tissue paper with a smocking pleater and then pad it underneath with a wad of butchers paper. This was only partially successful, so then I tried passing thin cardboard through the smocking pleater to get better definition of the ripples. The ripples were certainly better, so then I tried to achieve a raised effect by cutting, layering and buckling the cardboard (sample 4). It wasn't possible to pad it underneath due to the thickness of the card. I think this was moderately successful, but I think I could probably achieve a better effect later with pleated and padded fabric.

Samples 5 & 6

These show two approaches to recreating the textures observed on the surface of an iceberg. The challenge was to use a mixture of materials to show 2 different textures, the rounded fluffier looking ice on the left (though it's not really fluffy) and the striated or grooved sections on the right.

I think sample 5 was more successful than sample 6. In sample 5 I used crunched tissue paper for the rounded areas and pleated gift wrap for the grooved section. In sample 6 I used crumpled butchers paper for the rounded area and pleated tissue paper for the grooved area, but it was a bit too static.

Sample 7

This is one of my favourites. The starting point was a section of the dimpled surface of an iceberg, which reminded me of a pile of fluffy balls (or maybe suffolk puffs?). The sample was made with circles of tissue paper which were gathered and stuffed with crushed paper or plastic bags. The outside surfaces were pushed in to give the dimpled effects. I can definitely envisage this sample translated to fabric.

Sample 8

This photo of an eroded iceberg top with gravel embedded into it is also one of my favourites. I experimented with ways to achieve the 3D effect. This sample was done using the domes of an egg carton to give a relatively stiff form. The domes were covered with layers of Kleenex tissues, then strips of ordinary tissue paper rolled and looped around to simulate the eroded rings. Overall I think this effect is reasonable but may be improved with more experiments with different types of fabrics.

M5 CHAPTER 2: PAPER RELIEF INVESTIGATIONS

a) Tearing and Folding Different Types of Paper

Samples of several different types of white & brown paper and card were collected and tested to determine how they tore & folded. Each sample was treated in 3 ways: (i) random tearing into small pieces, (ii) attempting to tear along a line using a ruler to hold the paper in place, (iii) hand folding a piece into pleats. Some observations are noted below.

Gift wrap, shiny on one side: easy to tear in a line and to pleat.

Kleenex Tissue: gave wispy edges when torn, did not give crisp folds, but stayed in place moderately well after folding.

Cream textured card: difficult to tear evenly, folds stayed in place but card tended to spring open.

Brown paper gift wrap: easy to tear in a line and to pleat.

Thin brown cardboard box: Tore in a line moderately well and pleats stayed in place.

Brown paper parcel wrap: easy to tear in a line and to pleat.

Baby wipe: very wispy edges when torn, slightly rounded folds, but stayed in place quite well after folding.

Handmade paper: difficult to tear evenly, reasonably easy to fold and folds stayed in place quite well.

Butchers paper: easy to tear in a line and to pleat.

Tissue paper: easy to tear in a line and to pleat.

Cartridge paper: easy to tear in a line and to pleat.

Polythene garbage bag: Tended to stretch and distort before pieces could be torn away, moderately difficult to pleat evenly, but bag stayed in loose folds when glued.

b) Scrunching Different Types of Paper

Various types of paper were torn into sheets roughly A4 size and then scrunched up to fill a rectangle about one -ninth of an A4 sheet. Some observations are noted below.

1. Polythene bag: easy to scrunch but tended to spring back and only retained its shape with glue to hold it down.

2. Butchers paper: easy to scrunch, stayed in place fairly well, though a bit bulky.

3. Baby wipe: did not scrunch very well, tended to go into loose folds and had to be held in place with glue.

4. Tissue paper: easy to scrunch, squashed down readily and stayed in place fairly well.

5. Handmade paper: moderately easy to scrunch, some tendency to fold, stayed in place quite well.

6. Textured gift paper: moderately easy to scrunch, stayed in place quite well.

7. Cartridge paper: easy to scrunch, stayed in place fairly well, though a bit bulky.

8. Gift wrap, shiny on one side: easy to scrunch, squashed down readily and stayed in place fairly well.

9. Kitchen baking paper: easy to scrunch, squashed down readily and stayed in place fairly well.

Conclusions from sections (a) and (b): Thinner papers are easier to fold, and tear more accurately and can be manipulated very easily. They also scrunch readily and stay in place longer. Thicker papers/card tend to be more springy and do not stay in place as well. Synthetic "papers", such as polythene or baby wipes are more springy, hold their shape less well, and cannot be torn very accurately. Nevertheless some interesting effects can be obtained with the torn edges and crumpled forms.

c) Manipulated Tissue Paper

Tissue paper was manipulated in different ways to learn more about the effects that could be created.

10. Strips folded over several times and knotted.

11. Torn strips held together and one end twisted to hold the strips together like a broom or duster.

12: Small sheet folded into pleats in 2 directions.

13. Small sheet folded, pushed together at one end and fanned, then holes punched randomly into some of the folds.

14. Small sheet loosely and roughly gathered, then twisted in the centre to create a bow.

15. Torn strips pleated in different directions from the middle and then twisted around each other.

16. Circle torn with a hole in the middle, then gathered with a running stitch around the inner and outer edges and folded in half.

17. Four half circles placed on top of each other and gathered together with 2 rows of running stitch. Some of the outer edges were then partly cut away to give a ruffled effect. I thought this result was quite pleasing.

18. Tissue paper gathered with a smocking pleater then cut into thin strips. Three strips were bundled together and one strip wound around the middle to hold them together.

19. Five rows of thread using a smocking pleater were gathered up horizontally and the bottom half of the paper was left ungathered. The plain area was then torn into strips vertically and each strip was twisted around to give an interesting decorative edging.

20. Tissue paper was gathered with a smocking pleater and cut into strips at 90 degrees to the stitching.

These strips were then twisted around each other. Some of the small pieces of thread fell out during the process leaving some holes as decoration.

Conclusions from section (c)

Thin papers which hold their shape when folded or pleated can be used to give crisp or more formal effects. If gathering is used, as in example 17, a more flowing, informal result is obtained. Thin strips of  pleated papers can be bent and twisted into more interesting shapes (e.g. examples 18 & 20), whereas wide sections can be used to give undulations and ripples (e.g. sample 19).

MODULE 5, CHAPTER 1: TEXTURE IN LANDSCAPE

For my research in this module I have selected the theme of "Texture in Glaciers & Icebergs". I have been lucky to visit both Antarctica (2008) and Alaska (2013) on my recent travels and have a good collection of photographs to draw on for inspiration. Glaciers are slow moving bodies of dense ice, often flowing between mountains, like a river. Icebergs are formed when bits of the glaciers break off, or calve, and fall into the sea. I am fascinated by the endless variety of shapes and textures that can be found in these icy bodies. These shapes and textures reflect the journey that the ice has taken. The ice often deforms due to its weight, creating deep blue crevasses and peaks. Rippled areas are common, due to erosion from movement of the ice between mountains and rocks. Glaciers may pick up small rocks and gravel along the way. These become embedded, adding colour and texture to the surfaces. The appearance of the icebergs also changes as they melt. They may become top-heavy and rotate in the water, revealing new eroded surfaces which were previously below the water line.

In my mind, many of these textures lend themselves to interpretation in textiles. I can immediately picture layers of manipulated fabric, with folds, creases, peaks and troughs, combined with stitching to embellish and hold the fabric in place. Although I think this may be a difficult challenge, it is something I have wanted to tackle for some time. So here is the start of my "Glaciers & Icebergs" series.

I have selected five of my favourite photos as starting points for this section. it was a difficult choice as I had several others that were equally fascinating. The ones I chose illustrate a range of shapes and textures observed in the ice. In each case I have shown the original picture and then a cropped one beside it, focussing on one textured area. In some cases I have experimented with manipulating the photo further, by rotating it 90 or 180 degrees, converting to black and white or sepia, or enhancing the image by increasing the contrast, reversing the black and white areas or applying a drawing feature. These were done using the program Paint.NET. All of these manipulations change the impression conveyed by the image, offering interesting possibilities for development of a textile piece.

Image 1: Antarctica, glacier meeting the sea

1.1 Original photo

1.2 Cropped image focusing on the icy pillars and crevasses. I chose this area because the shapes were unusual and interesting.

1.3 Image converted to black and white, increasing the focus on the shapes and contrasts.

Image 2: Antarctica, iceberg with rippled sides

2.1 Original photograph

2.2 Cropped photo with added "oil painting" special effect to bring out and soften the ripples in the ice

2.3 Photo in 2.2 cropped again to focus on the bottom right area. This shows the textured detail of the ripples more clearly, revealing that they are quite uneven and lumpy.

2.4 Pencil sketch feature applied to photo 2.3 using Paint.NET. This suggests some stitching which could be added to manipulated fabric shapes, to bring out some of the contrasting surfaces.

Image 3: Alaska, glacier flowing into the sea

3.1 Original photo

3.2 Image cropped and rotated. Note the different textures in the ice in this picture compared with image 1. The contrast between the rock and the ice, and the gravel trapped in the folds of the ice also add interest.

3.3 Ink sketch feature and increased contrast applied to image 3.2, using Paint.NET. This enhances the textural impression of the various surfaces.

Image 4: Antarctica, iceberg with oval erosions and embedded gravel

4.1 Original photo. I chose this one because the shapes were were very interesting and totally different from any of the other icebergs.

4.2 Photo cropped and converted to black and white. This gave an interesting image which would be ready for interpretation in fabric and stitch without any further changes.

Image 5: Alaska, iceberg

5.1 Original photo

5.2 Cropped photo focussing on one interesting textured area

5.3 Different effect created by rotating the picture 90 degrees, converting to sepia tones and increasing the contrast a little. This image lends itself to interpretation in a natural or unbleached fabric, perhaps with quilting and padding added to create the 3D texture.