Making cords at home

Here in Victoria we are still restricted in meeting due to Covid-19. Our April meeting was Easter Saturday and a complete shut down so wasn’t held at all. For May our program was a ‘making cords’ round robin. The three cord techniques we were going to demonstrate and try were a braided cord using a recycled cardboard circle, a twisted cord made on the sewing machine using the bobbin winder and Effie Mitrofanis’ lovely wrapped cords from her book Threadwork.

The details all went out tour members to try at home. Thank you to Robyn for sending through photos and descriptions of her bobbin twisted cords.

1. Three sewing threads 2. Hand dyed silk ribbons. 3. 12 strand variegated silk thread, silver metallic thread, cotton and metal thread. 4. Gold and bronze braids with string.

And these are some of my braided cords:

And one of my ‘Effie’ wrapped cords. I must do more of these as they are very therapeutic. Effie has lots of possible combos and examples in her book to try.

We are waiting to see if we can meet together rather than apart for our June meeting on the 13th.

Creating fabric paper

Thank you to Gillian and Carol for inspiring us with their fabric paper examples for our March meeting. We had a wonderfully relaxing and productive afternoon chatting and collaging a variety of paper and other items onto fabric to create pieces of fabric paper for further embellishment. Hopefully we will see these made into a variety of possibilities including these wonderful hanging birds:

Paper cloth birds

The application of this one simple techniques resulted in great diversity. Meg’s piece showing a progression as more strips were added.

Jenny created two quite different pieces.

Laurene’s variety of different items -top and Rhonda’s retro pirates and mermaids -below:

Gillian in progress -top and completed -bottom with the dark shadowing giving great effect.

Carol displaying her great compositional skills

Gail – top and Gillian – bottom using bright colour combos

And my quite subtle combos using a variety of tissue papers, teabags and dyed silk rod (requiring some more embellishment -possibly printing.)

Our group will be participating in the group challenge for our Embroiderer’s Guild exhibition in September. The theme for the challenge is “Something in the air”. For this we are creating LP or EP record covers of songs that reflect the theme. Below are some of the interpretations: Carol’s Space Oddity and Laurene’s Somewhere over the rainbow.

Record covers

Last month wings were made and today they reappeared as winged creatures:

Winged creatures

Winged

Some of Laurene’s book pages from her wonderful textile books:

Bookmaking

We now have a break for Easter Saturday and will be back in May for a cord making round robin.

Wings

Wings were the focus of the meeting this month. Gillian demonstrated the techniques for making stump work wings. Hopefully, there will be lots of Showa d tell next month.

The beginning of the wings, couching down the wire.

Same concept but using machine stitch

Work in progress

Show and Tell, fish from Laurene

Detail of Carol’s sea quilt.

More Fish and Soft Sculptures

It was great to see a good collection of fish and soft sculptures at our December meeting. 

Some other work 

Baskets from Jo

Reverse appliqué from Jenny

Lost in the Bush from Robyn Carey, third prize – other medium, seniors exhibition, GAS

Simple Soft Sculptures

Simple 3D or soft sculptures with our theme ‘From the Sea’ to inspire us. 

A mini workshop with a few tips and tricks on how to create a small soft sculpture. First up create your pattern. The idea was to start with a simple flat shape such as an image from a child’s colouring book.

Make the pattern and simplify some of the shapes.

If you are going to make multiple it is a good idea to make a card or plastic template to trace around. Trace around the shape and stitch on the line that you traced using a small stitch length (1.5) then cut away the seam allowance. This much easier and more accurate than adding a seam allowance, cutting out and then stitching.

If only making one you can stitch onto a paper tracing of the pattern, cut away the seam allowance and peel/rip the paper off.

Turn the sculpture to the right side

Stuff the sculpture and stitch the opening closed. This sea dragon has also been stitched around on the edges for extra reinforcement and texture.

You can also not worry about turning the shapes out. This crab head has the seam allowance on the outside, the edges also teased or fluffed for added interest.

A few tools that can make your life easier, from the top a selection of turning tools, artery forceps and stuffing forks, not essential but can be really helpful.

A bit of sculpting can change your flat shape and give your sculpture some personality. This fish is ready for decoration.

Some paint or decoration can also make it more interesting.

Fabulous Show and Tell

Janice came with some machine embroidered fish and jelly fish.

and some starfish

Some fish in the making from Meg

Gillian has been busy creating her unique fabric for her sculpture

A jelly fish from Lorene

And a piece of white stitching

Jill came with an artist book in progress

The cover

And some pages

Twining and Stitching

Our October meeting was a continuation of the twining and stitching demonstration by Kerrie last month. There were many pieces in progress as well as some people to teach twining who had missed the September meeting.

Jenny worked on twining some recycled fabric:

Twining

Carol’s twining was becoming a seashell, recycling a border cut from fabric in nautical colours.

Seashell in progress

Twining using tissue paper:

Twining with tissue paper

Some finished tiny vessels in tissue paper and fabric:

Rosalie trying a different technique of coiling:

And my works in progress. A hanging nest and a freeform basket based on tidal pools which will be further embellished:

Carol recently had a wonderful week at the TAFTA Geelong Forum and had brought her beautiful concertina book:

Natural dyeing and printing

Making Twine and Constructing Simple Twine/Cordage Pots

Making twine with tissue paper or old dressmaking patterns is a simple process that creates surprisingly strong cordage. The same technique is also very useful for using up strips of fabric or even creating thicker cord from string or embroidery thread. The finished twine can be used for wrapping or a thread to couch down, however, I like it best for making simple pots or baskets.

These little pots except for one were made using twine made from dressmaking patterns, torn strips of calico or silk. The exception was made from repurposed window sashing cord.

A selection of materials to be use

First a demonstration and then the group were ready to start ‘twining’

The pots start with a coiled and stitched base

 once the base is a big as you want the twine is stacked and stitched on top of the base.

There was also some work from the group to admire. We all love a bit of show and tell.

Carol has already finished her piece using the ‘From the Sea’ theme. A fabulous concertina book with heaps of textile art and mixed media techniques.

Fabric and mixed media books from Jill.

Rhonda brought along some pieces featuring acrylic paint pouring

Stencilling, Stamping and Altering Fabric

Many textile artists and embroiderers have fabrics in their stash that no longer inspire them to create. Sometimes it is easy to alter them and give them a new life. The simplest is to look at the back of the fabric, the reverse can often provide a subtle and textured background or perhaps a sky. Overdyeing can also be effective. This month in our meeting we looked at using paint, inks and traditional paper craft mediums for work that will not be washed.

First up was a discussion about various mediums and techniques with lots of samples to refer to and then a few demonstrations.

Then it was time for everyone to try out the techniques that interested them.

Over stamping using acrylic paint mixed with textile medium

Stencilling

Mono printing

Painting or sponging 

Carol took a considered approach

And then tried everything or so it seemed

 

And for something completely different

Constructed fabric from Jenny using her needle felting machine

Detail of Laurene’s white work, lace cut outs attached to background fabric. The piece is quite long and perhaps a scroll.

More Machine Embroidery

This month was a follow on session for machine embroidery. There were some bowls created after last month’s tutorial.

 

And the concept taken a little further and made into jelly fish, a great interpretation for our theme From the Sea.

Some fish

More free machine stitch

Using grids as a basis for stitch

Collage, machine stitch techniques 

Hard at work

Some fabulous baskets from Jo. 

Machine Embroidery

For the next few sessions the focus of the program will be on FreeMachine Embroidery. Leonie led the group through the basics of machine embroidery and the steps involved in the making of a sculptural bowl shape and a few tips and tricks to get us started.

The bowl starts with layers of thread, snippets of fabric made into a soluble fabric such as Wash Away.

The sandwich is then free machine embroidered with interlocking circles which hold the trapped threads together when the soluble fabric is rinsed away

Then the soluble fabric is rinsed away. Thorough rinsing will create a softer more lace like product, less rinsing will make the embroidery stiffer and have more structure.

Then shaped over a bowl or glass to create the moulded shape.

The embroidery is then left to dry. When dry the structure can be worked into with stitch, embellished with beads or reinforced with fine wire.

Leonie demonstrated using thick threads in the bobbin, winding a bobbin by hand and making sure not to thread through the tension slot. This creates a thick pattern on the underneath which then becomes the right side.

There was some discussion about using the embroidery stitches built into the machine.

More inspiration from Leonie

Thanks to Leonie for her preparation and great introduction machine embroidery.

Top tip, use titanium needles.

Rhonda came with her Boro bag for Show and Tell