Chapter 6: Use of Bonding in Applique

In this section I generally used Vlisofix, a paper form of adhesive to bond the shapes together to create the designs. I have also used the powdered adhesive method from time to time in the past, but have found that it is only suitable to hold fabrics temporarily (e.g. until they are stitched together). The Vlisofix gives a more long-lasting bond.

Photograph 1: This shows two variations on the starfish theme as well as two other different star designs. These notes describe them starting at the top left and moving clockwise.

a) Painted golden brown background fabric with a blue asymmetric spoke pattern and a sheer border and 4 armed star outline on top. This is a pleasing effect which offers several possibilities for variation which will be explored later in the course. Note how the colour of the orange sheer is changed by the base fabric.

b) Spoke pattern in blue/gold painted Vlisofix applied to pale apricot base fabric and then orange sheer with star cut out placed on the top. Blue glitter star on sheer blue fabric attached in the centre as a highlight. I think the spoke effect has future possibilities, but I prefer samples a & c.

c) Layers of starfish shapes placed on pale apricot background. The middle sheer blue star was enhanced with a darker blue stipple applied with Inktense pencils. This effect was also very pleasing and I could see it could be enhanced with stitches in later exercises.

d) Starfish shape achieved by cut out on top layer to reveal painted fabric background. Further emphasis is achieved by adding the narrow 5-armed star in a deeper version of the base colour.

Photograph 2: This shows two more variations on the starfish theme as well as two other star designs. The samples were produced either with decorative bonded multi-layer fabrics or painted Vlisofix. These notes describe them starting at the top left and moving clockwise.

a) This shape came from the derived star shapes in Chapter 3. The main shape has been cut from the layered fabric with scraps trapped under net. The centre was cut out and another painted piece of fabric was placed underneath so that the criss-cross pattern showed through.

b) This sample used a starfish outline cut from the bonded fabric made from trapped silk tops. The glitter stars, cut from a blue sheer fabric, were scattered on the design to provide a contrast.

c) In this sample I experimented with two starfish cut from different layered fabrics plus a third cut from net, but overall I did not like the effect because there was not enough of a link between the colours and effects of the 3 shapes.

d) The base fabric in this sample had a gold star emblem printed on it. Two layers of sheer cut in the outline of an 8 pointed star were placed so that they overlapped slightly, giving a variation in intensity of the orange. Then another 8 spoked star in acqua blue/gold was placed over the top. I think that this has reasonable possibilities if it worked up further. The colour combination with the gold gave a pleasing effect.

Photograph 3: This shows two other samples where I experimented with cutting out star shapes and then trapping them with a sheer over the top of the entire square. However on the whole I did not like the slightly dull and "grubby" effect that this produced. I prefer more selective use of sheers which do not entirely cover the background.

Chapter 5: Fabric Selection & Decoration

a) Decorated Fabrics
This picture shows some of the fabrics decorated with paint that were produced either using the cut out stamp from Chapter 2 or the other methods that were tested on paper, such as dabbing paint on with bubble wrap, applying through a kitchen strainer (small dots)or through a plastic slide (criss cross pattern). In general I tended to prefer decorations that were not too distinct and were a deeper shade of the base fabric (e.g. the blue on blue, silver on blue, bronze on yellow-orange, gold on bright orange. Some of the fabrics were sheer e.g. the blue stamped fabric on the left, the orange stamped fabric on the right and the criss cross fabric in the middle.

The positioning of the sheers over different background fabrics in the photo illustrates how different effects can be produced depending on whether the base fabric is light or dark. In general, the stamped patterns stand out more if the base fabric is a similar or darker colour than the sheer and a washed out effect is obtained if the base fabric is lighter or a contrasting colour.

b) Dyed fabrics & threads
I had the opportunity to participate in an introductory dyeing day run by two friends from the NSW Embroiderers' Guild. I used this day to produce some other patterned orange and blue fabrics and threads to extend the range of materials I would have available for later exercises in the module. The attached pictures show some of the activities on the dyeing day.

Method
The dyes used were Drimarine K Fibre Reactive dyes, colours Turquoise, Blue 2R, Golden Yellow and Scarlet. The dye mixture consisted of 30 ml dye, 65 ml urea & 250 ml water. Intermediate shades, oranges & browns were produced by experimental mixing of the individual dye solutions. A low immersion method was used, where materials were spread in shallow trays and the dyes were dropped on to the fabrics or threads with a syringe. These were left for 30-60 minutes before the application of soda ash solution (45 mL soda ash to 1 litre very hot water), and then left overnight and treated the next day with hot water and then rinsed in cold water. As shown in the pictures below, I managed to achieve my goal of having some extra fabrics and dyed threads to use for my samples.



Photo 1: Matching dye mixes to some of my sample fabrics
Photo 2: Mixing the dye. Note use of gloves and mask while handling the dye powder.



Photo 3: Some items ready for dyeing - folded fabric with pegs placed at intervals, fabric twisted around rope, fabric scrunched and tied into a bundle
Photo 4: An item after dye was applied - see top right in photo 5 for the result.


Photo 5: Final dyed fabrics, clockwise from top left: blue fabric twisted around rope,blue fabric with rubber bands placed at intervals as in photo 4, orange-yellow scrunch, orange yellow fabric bunched over stones.


Photo 6: Two fabrics dyed by folding & placing pegs at intervals


Photo 7: Bunches of hand-dyed mixed threads
Acknowledgement: Many thanks to Annette Glare and Robin Kaltenbach for their expert tutoring and for taking these photos. Thanks also to Deb Kennedy for some of the fabrics and materials used in the dyeing process.

Chapter 4: Cut & Fold Design Shapes

Using Black Paper
Design Sheet 4


Examples (i) to (iii) started with the same outline of an 8 pointed star. The paper was folded into 4 and then the outline was cut. The inside detail was then varied in the 3 examples.

In example (i) the outline of the outer line was mirrored for the inner line.
In example (ii), after cutting the outer shape, the paper was changed so that it was folded in half. The inside detail was then cut to give 4 diamonds around the edge and a diamond with a star superimposed in the centre.
Example (iii) was cut in a similar manner to example (ii), then extra V shapes were cut into the solid areas to open up the star a bit more.
A radiating 8 armed star (spoke design) formed the basis of examples (iv) and (v). The centre detail was varied in each version and the lengths of the arms were varied more in example (v).

Design Sheet 5


This sheet shows variations based on the 4 pointed star.
In example (i) the paper was folded into 4 and a symmetrical star pattern cut into each quarter.
In example (ii) the paper was folded in 4 different ways and only 1 symmetrical, 4 pointed star cut each time, so that the size & orientation of the stars was varied.
Example (iii) was created without folding. It shows an asymmetrical star (with cut out) positioned over a symmetrical star.
Example (iv) shows an outline pattern of an asymmetrical star with an asymmetric cross, also cut without folding.

Design Sheet 6



This sheet shows variations on a 5 armed star.

In example (i) the paper was folded diagonally and part of the star shape and the spokes were cut into the 2 layers - this resulted in a star with 6 arms, due to an error in the way it was cut. Nevertheless it is quite a pleasing design.
Example (ii) was cut without folding, as was example (v).
Example (iii) was started by folding the paper to give a symmetrical 5-armed shape, but then due to the small size of the cut-outs it was found that it was easier to cut the rest out in the desired shape without folding the paper.
Example (iv) combined some of the shapes from samples (i) and (iii). The paper was folded in 3 separate ways to cut out certain sections and shapes.

Using Coloured Paper
Design Sheet 7



This sheet shows designs with 3 layers of coloured paper, using several cut out shapes from sheets 4,5 & 6.
I was more pleased with designs (i) and (iii) because of the greater colour contrast between the layers compared with design (ii). In design (i) the blue-green layer had similarities to the blue background but had sufficient contrast of colour to be distinguished from it. However in design (ii) the blues in the middle and top layers were not different enough to create a really effective contrast. I think the impact would have been better if the middle layer were a slightly lighter blue.
In design (iii) the pale yellow-orange colour of the top layer creates an effective contrast with the middle and bottom layers.

Design Sheet 8



This sheet shows more complex designs than sheet 7. In particular examples (i) and (ii) involve 4 separate pieces of painted paper.

I think design (ii) is very effective because of the 3 different variations of orange tones used in the design and the red-orange highlights in the paper forming the top layer (starfish shape). The symmetrical arrangement looked better than an asymmetrical version of this design.

Design (i), although satisfactory, is less striking and I think the central star is a bit too light.

Design (iii) is very effective because of the small quantities of dark blue and red-orange highlights in the middle layer (radiating spokes). However, again I think the top yellow-orange layer is a little stark and may have been improved if toned down a bit.

Nevertheless, I think that all of these designs have possibilities for future development.

Chapter 3: Design Development Based on the Star

In this chapter, various star shapes are used to create simple designs with the coloured papers produced earlier, using complementary colour contrasts to enhance the visual effects. For the first two sheets, plain blue and orange colours were used to emphasise the effects created by the shapes themselves. On the third sheet some of the patterned papers were used to further enhance the more complex designs.

Design Sheet 1: Simple shapes, distortion & repeat patterns

The 5 armed starfish shape was chosen for most of these exercises, except for the symmetry example, in which a 4 pointed star was used.

(i) Counterchange : positive and negative shapes side by side.

(ii) Positive and negative: 4 shapes placed side by side in a square. 2 different shades of orange/brown used to add variety. The enclosed space was a square modified with points in the middle of each side.

(iii) Symmetry: 4 pointed star illustrating a double-symmetrical shape.

(iv) Asymmetry: 4 pointed star with both lines of symmetry moved to give a distorted shape.

(v) 5 armed starfish distorted to fit into a triangle, diamond and circle.

(vi) Repeat pattern created from the starfish shape distorted to fit into the triangle. This effect was particularly interesting as the triangles had to be rotated to make the edges touch.

Design Sheet 2

(i) Design with the starfish motif, using different sized objects (scaling) together with the use of positive and negative shapes.

(ii) Edge to edge repeat pattern using positive shape and negative space created by the distorted object.

(iii) Solid distorted starfish motif used to create border with a corner. Note that the shape was rotated 90 degrees & flipped to enable the corner to be turned without disturbing the flow.

(iv) Shapes linked via the arms of the starfish - could also use to form a border.

(v) Two 5 pointed star shapes combined: the rounded starfish and a larger similar shape with pointed arms. Note that by spacing the pieces of the second shape (underneath) a third star is created by the gaps. Also the inner star is sized so that it just touches the innermost V parts of the larger star in order to link the two objects. I think this is one of my favourites so far, and has possibilities for future designs.

(vi) New shape from old: A small 5 pointed star in the middle, then a large 5 pointed star segmented and positioned so that each piece almost touches the recesses of the inner star.

Design Sheet 3

(i) Complex counterchange

(i) a: This uses the 5-armed starfish cut across the middle , with half of the main body orange on blue and the other half blue on orange. As I felt this shape was a bit limiting for the later parts of this section, I decided to experiment with a more complex version [see (i) b below].

(i) b: This is a more complex image, with a smaller patterned 5-armed star placed on top of a larger one. The inner star uses 4 alternating pieces of blue and orange patterns around the arms. A pointed star shape has been cut in the centre of the star so that the background orange colour shows through. One arm of the inner starfish was then selected to make a new symmetrical star image (see ii below). This design was very pleasing to me, and also has scope for development in later chapters.

(ii) a: New four-sided symmetrical star created by taking the selected segment from design (i) b, plus its mirror image and repeating them to form a new distorted star shape.

(ii) b: The new star shape with the 4 segments separated and placed on a complementary background.

(iii) Edge to edge repeat of the new segment and its mirror image with just the points touching. Note the pleasing effects of the diamonds and triangles created in the spaces between the joined segments.

(iv) A new symmetrical star design created by overlapping 9 copies of the selected segment.

(v) Overlapping, alternately coloured segments used to create an informal border.

Chapter 2: Coloured Papers

A & B: Coloured and Printed Papers

(1) Cartridge paper was coloured in orange and blue with acrylic paints, either as a single colour or mixtures of the two. Later experiments with cut shapes (Chapter 3) showed that the most effective results were obtained when there were distinct (not too small) areas of each colour rather than a very "busy" pattern with the two colours. However some interesting intermediate hues and tonal effects were also produced in areas where the two colours mixed/overlapped.

(2) After painting a background colour, some paper was over-printed with a segment of a star shape cut into a rubber, using either a darker colour in the same hue or a mixture of colours. Overall I did not find this technique appealing, particularly because of the difficulty in getting an pleasing shape due to the lack of fine control when carving the rubber.

(3) Because of my lack of enthusiasm about the effects obtained with the printed pattern, I also experimented with some other techniques for adding a pattern to the paper. These included over printing with dabbed colour painted on bubble wrap, applying paint through a kitchen strainer and colouring paper with water soluble oil pastels and drawing star shapes in a darker hue over the top.

C: Star Shapes from Coloured Papers

This sheet shows a variety of star shapes cut from the coloured papers, using the sheets from Chapter 1 as inspiration. The starfish shape was still the one which appealed most to me, although some interesting effects were achieved by combining the two colours in some of the others.

Chapter 1: Research on Stars

Chosen Shape: Stars

Definition of a star: a figure having rays (commonly 5 or 6) proceeding from, or angular points disposed in a regular outline about, a central point, and considered as representing a star in the sky (Macquarie Dictionary).

A star does not have to be symmetrical, but must have the key elements of a central point with marks radiating out from it.

The attached sheets show some pictures of stars collected during my research.

Page 1 particularly features pictures of starfish, which is the star shape I am considering using for my embroidered samples. Starfish characteristically have 5 radiating arms, highly textured surfaces, intense, often bright, colours and regular or semi-regular, patterns. These characteristics make them interesting subjects to use as a starting point for embroidery. As well as examples photographed from nature, I have included samples of jewellery, gift cards & wrapping, and mosaics (by Gaudi, seen in Barcelona in May 2007), to show how the basic starfish shape can inspire the creation of other objects.

Page 2 shows some varied star shapes which also interest me, including examples of tiled stars used in Moorish architecture (seen in Granada, Spain in May 2007), the star shape from the John Lennon memorial in Central Park, New York, seen in April 2007, and some textile and embroidered examples collected from various textile magazines durng the year.

Line Drawings of Star Shapes

These sheets show line drawings of some of the star shapes from the collages of inspirational images shown above. The starfish shape offers possibilities for creating interesting curved & twisted shapes (a little like some of the mosaics created by Gaudi).

Colour Circle

Although this colour circle was created with Reeves Watercolour Paints, it was difficult to get an even spread of colour in the painted segments. The full colours were mixed first, and then white added to one aliquot to create a tint and black added to another aliquot to create a shade. If I was doing this again I would add a bit more white to get a greater contrast with the tints, and experiment with adding a little more water. However I decided to move on to the next set of exercises rather than spend more time on this at present.

The six base colours which were used were:

• Brilliant red
• Crimson red
• Medium yellow
• Lemon (Citron) yellow
• Ultramarine
• Phthalo blue
  

Complementary Colour Selection: I have decided to use the complementary coloursof BLUE and ORANGE for my paper and textile exercises in this module because of their relationship to the colours of starfish in nature and because they evoke memories of the sea and the sandy shore.