Distant Stitch Summer School

Finally sorting myself out after summer school (my excuse for being so tardy is running up two more of these dresses for our youngest dancers, and taking orders for more).  It was lovely to see everyone and meet new friends, but so sad to be leaving Urchfont Manor for the last time

We were in two groups this year, and I was with Dawn Thorne who introduced us to working with transparent layers and using acrylic sheet.  By the end of the course, we had each made a sample piece based on an image of landscape.

Mine was inspired by this photo (in keeping with my theme of industrial landscape).

During the course, we made drawings and monoprints on paper and fabric, then played with a small piece of acrylic to learn how to handle it, before starting on the final piece.  Techniques covered included etching, screenprinting, bending and cutting the acrylic and drilling holes.  Then we planned how to interpret our ideas into a dimensional, layered design.

Some of my drawings, picking out lines and shapes from the photo

and the trial piece of acrylic, etched, bent, shaped and stitched

The final sample – impossible to photograph clearly of course – which has five layers in total. At the back is acrylic, then  monoprinted fabric, stitching on acetate, 3d pieces of stitched acetate and in front another sheet of accrylic, painted and etched.  All joined with wire which keeps the layers separated so the stitching appears to float.  The size is about 300mm wide x 125mm high and 50mm deep.

Module 5 Chapter 3

Creating suspended shapes using sheer/transparent fabrics and stitch  I started this chapter back at the end of January, then put it to one side to concentrate on the dress.  You can see the influence of that design process on the first sample which is backstitch on clear PVC. I photographed it against a window and you can see both sides of the stitching.  To make it easier to work on PVC, I pricked out the design from my drawing and then just stitched in those holes. 

Sample 2 – back to my main theme, folding and ironing cotton organdie into pylon shapes.

Sample 3 – referring back to photos used in chapter 2 (see this post) long stitches in different thicknesses of thread on silk organza.

Sample 4 – similar to sample 3.

Samples 3 and 4 layered in front of a window.

Two more samples based on the same theme with added curves.  Left sample 5 organza bonded onto heat resistant acetate and stitched.  Right sample 6, loose threads bonded to organza, shapes cut, bonded to background and stitched.
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For the remaining samples, I returned to the 16th century needlelace designs and made a string print block of one of the motifs, then printed with white acrylic paint onto organza.
sample 7 – I added a variety of hand stitches in different weights to the front and back following the lines of the print and filling the spaces with loops of detached chain stitch, creating shadows.

sample 8 – a freer interpretation – overlapping prints with a few areas picked out in stitch and added beads. (Sorry, these don’t really show up in photographs).