CHAPTER 12b: FINISHED TIGER CHEST

The following photos show the final Tiger Chest, based on the design discussed in Section 12A. The first two photos show the flat pieced item front and back before it was sewn together. Then after the discussion, various views of the finished piece are shown: front, side, top and open (inside visible). Before the piece was completed, several modifications were made to the plan presented in section 12A; some were based on feedback from the tutor, and some were design decisions that I made to improve the piece as I started working on it.









The main changes were:
• Addition of an orange outline to the blackwork segments (the overall shape before it was cut up was based on the forehead marking from a photograph of a tiger's head). This was done to link the shape more closely to the tiger, give the pieces a more contemporary feel and to complement the black and orange colour scheme on the other main fabrics.
• Black and gold cable stitch pattern added to the strips representing tiger paw prints using a black and gold composite thread in the bobbin and black thread on top, to add extra interest and texture.
• Some modifications to the position of the black strips and the horizontal orange paw print strips for extra interest and impact in the front, and so that black strips could be aligned all the way around (i.e. front, sides and back).
• Tiger picture worked in stem stitch on the inside of the chest using the same black and gold composite thread.
• Changes to fabrics and stitching used on the side and bottom panels. One of the fabrics was the same as the lining, to provide a link, and the thread used for the diagonal stitching was the same black and gold composite thread.
• Four small lines of stitching were added at the join between the top and the back, to give the idea of hinges. Some other options were also evaluated but discarded in favour of this simple approach.
• Four small magnets were hidden between the fabric layers of the front flap and chest front to create a more secure closure.


















EVALUATION OF FUNCTIONAL 3D EMBROIDERED ITEM: MODULE TWO

The completed embroidered assessment piece for Module 2 is an embellished chest for storing small personal items, based on the topic of pattern, tone and proportion, using animally markings a source of inspiration. The chosen theme was tiger patterns, based on a series of photographs of tigers taken last year in Thailand. The tiger marks incorporated into the chest were stripes (shibori dyed fabrics and stitching), paw prints (discharge dyeing and stitching) and an interesting shape from the forehead of the tiger (blackwork on tea-dyed linen). Part of the aim of the piece was to give the feeling of a chest that could have been taken on a safari to search for tigers, which are now an endangered species.

How do you feel about the resulting conclusion?
I am very happy with the visual impact of the piece, as the colour and tonal contrast has worked well. It was extremely fortuitous that during my discharge dyeing experiments I found a black fabric that turned orange when it was discharged with bleach. When combined with the Arashi shibori (polewrapped dyeing), this gave an ideal tiger pattern to form a basis for the work. I also liked the strong horizontal stripes across the chest, which gave it a feeling of strength, like the old-time travelling chests. I also liked the contrast between the blackwork segments and the dyed fabric segments, and I thought that the linen in the black work segments also added to the impression of a piece of luggage (e.g. canvas and leather, maybe early Louis Vitton?). I thought the outside was better than the inside, which could have been made a bit more interesting.

I thought the chest construction was OK but could have been improved. Although I had made a mockup to get the idea of constructing the shape , it proved to be more difficult to get the sizes right and to line up all the joins when the pieced strips were incorporated, even though I tried to measure everything carefully.

Is it fit for its purpose - give reasons?
I think the chest is fit for its purpose and could be used to store small items such as jewellery, handkerchiefs, odds and ends or small items for use in my embroidery. The chest stands satisfactorily on a bench or shelf and has a good closure system, so that items will not fall out easily if it is knocked over. The lid fits well and is easy to open or close. The lighter colour of the lining helps if you are looking for something inside.

If you were asked to make it again, what changes would you make to the way you designed it and the way you made it?
Design: If I was designing this again the main thing I would definitely experiment with would be some other options for the lining. I think the lining could have incorporated a simple striped or squared pattern, but it does not need much embellishment, as it should not clash with the strong impact of the outside. I like the idea of the tiger on the inside, so it would be important to choose something which would still allow this to be a feature. I am wondering if the tiger could be embroidered on a central very pale rectangle (even linen perhaps) and then framed by other strips (perhaps a tonal progression of lighter to darker in a log cabin style).
I would possibly consider some other options for the tassel (although I like the current one).
Construction: If I was constructing the chest again I would experiment with adding other weights of interfacing to the pelmet vilene that I used, (or maybe two layers of pelmet vilene), in order to make the sides and base slightly stiffer , though there would likely be a trade off between stiffness and ease of joining.
Another thing I would consider would be to join the sides with simple stitches then add a simple cord around the joins, rather than making a feature of the insertion stitch. This would probably work well and look good.
Finally, I would allow more excess fabric when cutting any strips being used for the sides or ends of panels, so that there was a bit of flexibility in the final size, as I found that the constructed piece ended up a bit bigger and less flat than the paper template.

CHAPTER 12: IDEAS FOR DESIGNING A FUNCTIONAL, THREE DIMENSIONAL EMBROIDERED ITEM

12a. DESIGNING THE ITEM
Type of Item
After considering lots of possibilities, I was attracted to the idea of making a box, partly because I liked the variety of shapes that could be constructed and partly because I wanted to learn a bit about box-making (which I have never done before). In addition, I wanted to incorporate Shibori dyed fabrics (because I enjoyed this aspect of the module so much) and I also wanted to incorporate a tassel in the finished item (because I like the 3D, tactile effect of tassels). After deliberating about various shapes, I decided to construct a small embellished chest, partly because I was attracted to the shape, and also I could envisage using a design based on the Fibonnacci series for the curved top, back and front. I used Janet Edmonds book “Beginners Guide to Embroidered Boxes” as my main reference for ideas and instructions on how to construct a box.


I thought that the repetition of various stripes could be used to give continuity from the top to the back, front and base.


Development of a Theme
My initial sketches (above) were based mainly around the box/chest concept, but did not have a unifying design theme. Following some initial discussions with Sian I realised that I needed to focus more on this aspect in order to develop the design. After looking back on my initial research, I decided to base my embellishment of the chest on the concept of tiger patterns. The idea was to produce a chest to take on a Tiger Safari. This picture shows my initial tiger photos and sketches from Chapter 4, which I used as a starting point.

The shibori technique of irashi produces patterned fabrics reminiscent of tiger markings which I thought would be ideal for this piece. I also found the marking on the tiger's head very appealing and decided to try to incorporate this as well. Finally I thought it might be fun to see if I could create some marks which were suggestive of paw prints.

Selecting the Dyed fabrics
I started off experimenting with fabric dyeing to try to create some tiger-style patterns to use in my designs. I fortuitously tried a different bleach (Domestos cleaner) to bleach shapes on to black fabrics, and found that it produced an orange colour if the bleaching process was stopped part way through. This enabled me to use irashi discharge dyeing to create a lovely orange and black tiger stripe fabric to use. I also had a great blue and black irashi dyed tiger-style fabric from an earlier section of the work, so I decided to use this as the lining for the box. After I found I could produce orange colours on black with the new bleach, I experimented with a few possible ways of producing paw prints. I found that the most successful was to cut out shapes in a thin kitchen sponge then apply these to the fabric and soak them with bleach.

I had produced an interesting sample in Chapter 11 where blackwork panels were combined with other fabrics in a Fibonacci style striped piece. Building on this, I thought of the idea of stitching the head motif in blackwork to provide a contrast with the machine stitched fabrics. I started experimenting with the motif bleached onto the fabric and then adding orange stitching, but abandoned this after I produced the irashi patterned black and orange tiger print, as the whole piece was becoming too dark. I finally decided to stitch the motif in black threads on a beige background to blend with, but provide a contrast to, the black and orange discharged fabrics I wanted to use on the outside of the box. I experimented with dyeing the linen using teabags to obtain a suitable background colour. I may use some sort of stitching on the earlier orange and black motif on the inside of the chest, as I think it could create an interesting contrast to the blue lining.



I decided to use a different fabric on the sides and base of the box to provide interest and contrast, and looked at several options (see next section). I eventually chose a piece I had made earlier in the module using bleach discharged folded and clamped black fabric. The two photos here show the fabrics selected for the outside (left) and inside (right) of the box. Some samples of potential stitching are also shown.


Designs for the Chest Panels
The next series of pictures shows various panel designs that I experimented with, using photocopies of fabric samples. The lid was the starting point.

The first picture shows the design for the lid and back, which is a continuous panel. I used strips of the tiger print combined with the black work motif and then cut this up into panels and placed alternating black strips and paw strips in between. The strong horizontal strips reinfroce the idea of a traveller's trunk. The second picture shows the related design for the front of the chest and the first option I tried for the base. I decided against this option because the orange colour was not quite right and also I thought the continuity might be better if the sides and base were more closely related.

Consequently I tried various options for piecing different fabrics for the sides, including some options with blackwork (see left), finally deciding on the combination on the right, which shows mock ups of the sides and the base.



Paper Mock Up of Chest
A paper mock up of the chest with decorated panels made from photocopies of fabrics is shown below (front and side views). I added a tassel to the centre front, made from a fringed piece of the tiger stripe fabric which was knotted and joined to the top. I also considered adding some triangles of a plain mustard fabric to simulate hinges, but in the end decided that this was a bit fussy and unnecessary.














Decorated Fabric Samples
I experimented with various forms of stitching to decorate the fabrics. The paw prints were decorated with a machined pattern using cable stitch and a Pearl 8 orange thread. Texture was added to the tiger stripe fabric using bands of black and orange zig-zag stitches, varying the length and width of the bands.

The blackwork panels were done by hand using a black Pearl 12 thread. The main fabric for the base and sides was decorated with close rows of plain cable stitch, using Pearl 5 threads two different colours. The picture below shows sample panels for the front and base/side of the chest in the selected decorated fabrics.



Fabric Mock Up of Chest
I practised constructing the chest using some commercially printed black and white fabrics and pelmet Vilene as the stiffening. I machined the outer and inner fabrics to the Vilene, as recommended by Janet Edmonds, then tried a few different methods for joining the sides to the front and back. I did not like the effect of the Ladder stitch which had been recommended and found it difficult to work with. Eventually I decided that a Palestrina knot insertion stitch in Pearl 5 thread gave a pleasing effect. I worked one row in an orange-red thread for the sample, so it could be seen more easily (see below). The basic shape and construction of the chest was fine, but a few enhancements will be used to improve the final item. These are:
• Devise a method to avoid doubling up on the stitching on the outside, which looks messy, perhaps by basting the fabrics to the stiffening and then relying on the Palestrina knot insertion stitch to hold it all together. However, I do not want to completely neaten the edges because I think that the loose threads on the edges add a bit of texture and give the impression of a utilitarian object.
• Improve the closure system, as the weight of the tassel was not sufficient to hold the lid down satisfactorily. I think it will need something to hold the lid in place - perhaps a twisted or plaited cord which could be wound around a bead , button or toggle. However I still like the effect of the tassel and want to incorporate this if possible in the final version.

A few views of the mock up, showing the detail of the construction, are shown below. At this stage I feel ready to proceed with the construction of my Tiger Chest, using the design elements described in this section.

CHAPTER 11: FURTHER DESIGN EXERCISES LEADING TO FABRIC SAMPLES

A. PAPER SAMPLES

I decided to make photocopies of my dyed and painted fabrics, then cut these into paper strips for these exercises, so that I could start thinking about designs which would suit my fabric samples. I found this was a good approach and it has also helped me to start generating ideas for the assessment piece at the end of the module.


Sample 1: This sample used a design based on the Fibonnacci series. Two sets of strips were prepared, each containing four different patterned strips of equal width. These were then cut into bands in the proportions of the Fibonnacci series and arranged in an alternating manner, but not necessarily with strips of the same width next to each other. I liked the final result for this sample and noted that the strong contrasts provided by the inclusion of white and black bands, as well as the bold black and white pattern, in the composite strips was very effective.

Sample 2: To start this design, 2 bands were prepared, each with 3 patterned strips of equal width. One band had strips with similar tonal value and the other had strips with stronger contrast. Each band was cut into a square shape, then cut diagonally twice to end up with four triangular shapes from each square. These were then rearranged in an alternating manner to give the final configuration. After doing this I decided that the design would be improved with a bit more contrast, so I pasted the triangles onto a black background to give the impression that the segments were outlined with black strips. I was pleased with this design when it was finished.

Samples 3 & 4: The starting point for these samples was one band of 3 strips and one band of 5 strips, using variable strip widths in each so that the final effects would be more uneven, with a mixture of larger and smaller segments. In sample 3 the bands were cut diagonally into new strips and then assembled in an alternating manner.I thought this achieved a nice result because the bands with the white strips gave a good balance to the bands with the strips that were closer in tonal value. In sample 4, each of the final strips used in sample 3 was cut across one of its colour segments to give some smaller segments, and then one end was turned around, and rejoined at the angled edge. I thought that the smaller coloured pieces reduced the impact of the contrasting white bands, and the result was less pleasing than sample 3.

Samples 5 & 6: Each of these samples started with 2 bands of 5 strips. One band had strips of equal width and the other had strips of the different widths, but the outer strips were kept the same width as in the first band and chosen to be of similar tonal value. In sample 5 each band was cut into 2 sections of different widths (5:3 ratio) and then the 2 bands were alternated in the final design. In sample 6, one band was cut into 4, two pieces were used for the ends, then the rest rotated 90 degrees and used for the middle, alternating with bands of the second strip. Overall I did not like these samples as much as the earlier ones. Sample 5 became rather "muddy"in the middle because of the final position of the bands, with the rows of darker tones on the edges dominating. However Sample 6 was more successful because the arrangement of the light and dark areas gave a better overall contrast.

Sample 7: In this sample I decided to experiment with curved segments rather than straight lines. I started off by taking a rectangular shape and drawing lines to give 5 curved segments which I used as templates. I then used the templates to cut pieces of 5 patterned papers to form 2 rectangles. I used the same papers for each rectangle, but reversed the order of the patterns (i.e. middle strip matched and the others were reversed). I tried to achieve moderate contrast in the patterns selected. Each assembled rectangle was cut diagonally and the pieces swapped to give the new, final design. I was pleased with the final rsults here because the curves were interesting and the tonal and pattern combinations worked well together.

Samples 8 & 9: This shows two samples produced by the "stack and whack" method. Squares of 4 different pattered papers were cut identically (in each example here they were cut into 3 pieces) and then reassembled into a strip. I liked the effects that could be generated with this method, as it was simple yet very effective. Both designs were interesting. I had a slight preference for the one on the right, so decided to try this as a fabric sample as well.

B. FABRIC SAMPLES
Six fabric samples were generated by taking and extending the earlier paper designs, using the dyed fabrics produced in Chapter 6. I was having withdrawal symptoms because I hadn't been doing any hand stitching since the first part of this module, so I took the opportunity to use a mixture of hand and machine stitching to embellish the fabrics before they were cut and stitched. I found it was possible to combine both in the finished pieces to achieve some different and interesting effects.


Sample 10: This was a design based on the Fibonacci series as in paper Sample 1. I embellished the white strips with a simple blackwork design and mixed this with a simple dark coloured monoprinted fabric because I thought that extra stitching on this strip would be too fussy. The alternating bands incorporated running stitch in hexagonal shapes on the paler strips and a fairly bold machined pattern with greater contrast (to complement the blackwork) on the darker strips. Overall I think this design was quite successful and I rather liked the impact of the blackwork.

Sample 11: This sample was produced in a similar way to paper sample 2. One of the fabrics I selected was a monoprinted tiger head pattern printed onto calico. I added hand stitching to this (chain and cross stitch. However when it was cut into strips a lot of the handstitching effects were lost because the segments were quite small. Nevertheless you can still see a bit of chain stitch and some crosses in this and later samples. The machine stitching was a mixture of plain stitching, zig-zag, a circular pattern, and whip stitch. The effect I liked the best was the circular pattern in mixed colours on the blotchy paint-printed background (best seen top right). I think this design has possibilities but would have been better if the starting squares were bigger to end up with less black and more of the decorated fabrics.

Samples 12 & 13: These samples are based on paper exercises 3 and 4, where two bands of multiple strips were prepared and then cut diagonally and joined in an alternating sequence. The starting points were one band with 3 strips and one with 4. Some of the fabrics were used "wrong side up" and the seams were facing to the front, which gave some interesting effects. Most strips were decorated with machine stitching, often using cable or whip stitch and a variety of threads, except for one fabric which was the reverse side of the tiger head fabric I described in sample 11.The bottom sample in the picture shows the effect of adding some decorative frayed fabric to selected seams. This effect was achieved by adding three layers of a discharge dyed cheesecloth to each seam and then fraying the loosely woven cloth after it had been stitched in place. The cheesecloth had a blotchy pattern from adding pegs before discharging with the bleach, so this gave the fringe a multicoloured look which blended nicely with the background fabrics.

Sample 14: This sample is based on paper exercise 7 and uses curved segments rather than straight cut ones. Again two rectangular series were constructed first, using the same patterned fabrics, but reversing the order in the second one. The rectangles were hand pieced because this seemed easier with the fairly small curves. It could have been done on the machine if the segments were larger. The rectangles were then cut diagonally and then pieces swapped as described earlier. At the end I added a border to give the sample a more finshed look and also to get an idea of what it wuld look like if incorporated into a larger piece. The individual fabrics were decorated with various threads using cable stitch. However the central contrasting fabric with the shibori dyed "squares" was hand stitched with running stitch because this seemed to suit the fabric better. I was pleased with the decorative stitching in this sample and also the curved effect, and I thought the fabrics worked well together.

Sample 15: This sample was based on one of the paper pieces produced by the "stack and whack" method (no. 9. I used 2 squares made from single decorated fabrics and 2 squares made from the remnants of bands of strips from earlier samples. Most of the decoration was machine stitching (mix of straight stitching, zig zag, whip stitch and cable stitch with mixed threads), but some of the hand embellished tiger head pattern was used in one band. Each square was cut into 3 triangles and then they were mixed and sewn back together. A band was added around the edges for the same reasons as the previous sample. The final effect was good and has possibilities for future application. The main problem was that this method does not make allowances for seams and so you lose part of the shape when you sew the pieces together. However it did not really seem to matter in the end.

Sample 16: Sample Based on THE CHALLENGE
This piece, an extension of the challenge in chapter 10, was started with four decorated fabrics pieced together in a square (extract at top). These fabrics were embellished with machine stitching (mix of straight stitching, zig zag, whip stitch and cable stitch with mixed threads and colours). Then the fabrics were sliced over and over again and re-pieced. Compared with the piece I did in chapter 10, this time I used cuts on an angle as well as straight. The effect after a few steps is shown on the left, and the effect after 7 steps on the right. I prefer the left hand stage because the segments are slightly larger and the stitching effects contribute to the overall impact of the design. This effect lessens as the work is cut and re-sewn more and more. At the end, the back of the piece was also very interesting (see photo at right below) but the impact of the embellishment was lost, so it would not be worth doing anything very elaborate if you were aiming to use the back side of the work as the main feature of your work.

CHAPTER 10: PIECING - A METHOD OF CUTTING AND SEAMING

A. PAPER EXERCISES
The exercise started with a strip of black paper and a strip of white (each 5cm X 30 cm), which were glued side by side and then cut into sections and rearranged to give a range of patterns. This was repeated several times varying the types of cuts and recombining the pieces in different ways. The first sheet shows steps A, B and C in this series, where each rectangle was cut horizontally and alternated to give the next. The second sheet shows another progression by taking a section of step B and making diagonal cuts to form step D. This was then cut horizontally into 4 strips which were rearranged to give step E.














The next sheet shows more patterns derived by diagonally cutting and recombining sections of steps B and D in different ways. The jagged zigzag patterns reminded me of crocodiles. A very different effect is shown in the patterns derived from step C. The central pattern on the first sheet was made by cutting strips of different widths, and the bottom one was formed by cutting the top off each rectangle with a diagonal slice. Both of these were quite pleasing. The second sheet shows some other possibilities using combinations of angled and straight cuts of step C. I rather liked the bottom one because it gave a more irregular effect due to the variety of shapes that resulted.











The final example also started with step C. However some pieces were cut diagonally to obtain a collection of triangular pieces. These were then arranged to give a circular pattern. The inner circle was composed entirely of triangles and the outer circle was made with rectangular pieces alternating with the triangular ones. This gave quite a "psychadelic" effect.













B. FABRIC EXERCISES
These exercises show various effects which can be achieved by starting with strips of black and white fabric, then joining and recutting them multiple times.

The first picture (yellow tab at top) shows a simple and orderly series of pieces seamed with right sides together and cut to create strips of alternating black and white rectangles of different sizes. The bottom picture in the first panel (pink tab) shows another sample where the orderly pattern has been broken up by making diagonal cuts and also piecing the seams with wrong sides together and then pressing the seams open. The seams have then been frayed to create a feature.

The second picture shows two samples, with pieces joined to show various stages of a multi-step process. The pink tabbed sample on the right started with a larger rectangle (top) then progressed first with horizontal cuts (middle), then diagonal cuts (bottom). The yellow tabbed sample on the left started with smaller squares (middle) then two variations were produced - the one at the top pieced with right sides together and the one at the bottom where larger segments were preserved, but some were machined with wrong sides together and the seams either pressed one way or pressed flat and frayed to make a feature.


The third picture (green tab) shows a different approach where the fabrics have been seamed right sides together, then cut diagonally on the vertical and rejoined, then finally at an angle a little off horizontal and rejoined. Decorative folded triangles and frayed triangles have been added between the final seams to add more interest. This gave a pleasing effect.

The fourth picture shows (yellow tab) a sample formed by vertical and diagonal cuts,with the direction of some pieces reversed for additional effect. The final sample below (orange tab) shows the result of "The Challenge", where a piece of the first sample in the series (first photo, yellow tab) was continually cut and seamed until it could not take any more. The final picture (orange tab) shows the back of this same sample, which had a very interesting texture.

Although this exercise produced some interesting samples, I did not like the results as much as some of the earlier ones (patchwork and seminole) and later ones (next chapter) that I completed in this module. I think it was because the best paper patterns were quite complex but were hard to reproduce in fabric becuase they required a lot of seaming and it was hard to control the final size.....something to think about for the future. I think I prefer clearer designs, such as the one with the sawtooth effect (third picture).

CHAPTER 9: THE FIBONNACCI SEQUENCE

1.Basic Fibonnacci Sequence
The Fibonnacci series is based on ratios which are found in nature (e.g.arrangements of petals, leaves, seed heads) and named after the medieval scholar who first described them. It is a series of numbers starting with 1, created by adding the two previous numbers in the series e.g. 0+1=1, 1+1=2, 2+1=3, 3+2=5 etc. When colours or tones are used in these proportions they usually give a pleasing effect. The first sample shows A) a tonal column of patterned papers arranged in the proportions of the standard Fibonnacci series i.e. 1,1,2,3,5,8,13; B) a tonal band with the papers arranged in a modification called the reduced Fibonnacci sequence, where the digits of numbers above 10 are added together to form a single digit (for example 13 becomes 4, 21 becomes 3) and thus the series becomes 1,1,2,3,5,8,4,3,7 etc; C) another arrangement of the standard sequence using 2 series of stripes, one black and one patterned. The order of the black strips is the opposite of the patterned strips. The second photo shows some similar exercises completed with patterned gift paper.




B. More Complex Patterns Using the Fibonnacci Series
Some ideas for this section were gained from the reference book "Strip Patchwork", by Valerie Campbell-Harding, pp 19-22. The next sample (D, sheet 2) was created by preparing a wide tonal columm using patterned paper strips arranged in the widths of the(standard) Fibonnacci series. This large sheet was then cut into separate strips, with widths in ascending order of the Fibonnacci series. The direction of every second strip was then reversed before the paper strips were glued in place. In the next sample (Sheet 3) the size of the pieces increased in the Fibonnacci series in 2 directions, i.e. down and across the page. The position of the black square was moved down one spot in each tonal column as the width of the strips increased across the page.



Sheet 4 shows another variation using strips of the same width but varying the composition of the strips. The basic pattern is shown in the top row, as well as rows 3, and 5. This consisted of patterned pieces the width of the Fibonnacci series spreading out from centre to left and centre to right. Then the design of the alternate rows (2,4,and 6) was offset by a shift of two squares from the centre to the left. This created an interesting pattern with a cluster of dark squares around the centre, rather than a solid band. Another variation could have been formed by varying the width of the strips as well.

Sheet 5 shows the effect obtained by arranging patterned strips (composed of lengths of different papers in proportions of the Fibonnacci series) around a central square, inspired by Cambell-Harding's design on page 21. It looks a bit too busy, mainly because the strips around the edges did not have enough contrast, even though I had tried introducing some black and white areas to assist with this.




The final sheet shows two designs done by alternating a patterned gift paper and black strips. Both vary the design in two directions, as well as alternating the position of the black areas. The design on the right of the sheet has been made more complex by reversing the order of the black sections compared with the patterned ones. Both results are quite pleasing but the one on the right would be quite complicated to make.







C. Golden Section Exercise
The Golden Section began with the theory that the most pleasing way to divide a line is in a ratio of about one third to two thirds. This goes back to the time of Euclid in 300BC, who called it the Divine Proportion. The term Golden Section has been used since the nineteenth century. One starts with two identical squares side by side (e.g. 1 cm by 1cm, to give a rectangle 2 cm by 1cm)) then by adding another square matching the long side (i.e. 2cm by 2cm) you get a block 2 cm by 3 cm. Keep adding squares to the longest side each time (i.e. 3cm by 3cm, then 5cm by 5cm). If an arc is drawn from one corner of each square to the opposite one, you can build up a spiral pattern. Such spiral patterns are common in nature and were observed by Fibonnacci, who particularly studied arrangements in pinecones and chrysanthemums. Further examples and geometric drawings may be found in the book by Richard Box, Colour and Design for Embroidery, pages 101 to 103 (B T Batsford, 2000.

If blocks of colour (or patterns) are added in the proportions of the Golden Section, a pleasing arrangement can be obtained, with a good balance of colours and shapes. This is shown in the example with paper squares below.