All Dyed Up!

Felted blouse in the dye pot.

I was really excited to dye my blouse, I was actually beginning not to like it much and was sceptical it was because it was lacking in color.  It just felt blah.  So into the dye pot it went and now I love it again:)  I really am a sucker for color.
I think it turned out magnificent!

Shoulder/Sleeve Detail, Love!

I was also really excited that I was able to mix a color and match it to the color palette I was looking at, recognize this beautiful periwinkle color from a certain photo below?

And since I can never just dye one thing, I did a little more mixing of colors and threw a few more things in dye pots:)
This first one is a piece of scrap cotton gauze with a few pieces of scrap silk felted into it.  That's one piece of fabric with 3 different fibers in it, which means when I throw it in the dye pot, you get 3 different colors, I love that!

felted cotton and silk yardage fabric

And this was the result.  The cotton stayed white since I was using acid dyes, so only the silk and wool reacted and took the dye, a very cool result.

full piece of fabric right out of the dye pot

the white sections are the cotton gauze, the maroon cranberry color is the wool, and the brown is the silk

Love the contrast in colors and textures!

If I had used natural dyes all of the fibers would have taken up the dye and the resulting colors would have all been different.  Amazing!


I also tried a little Shibori.  I did the Arashi pole wrapping method (which has become one of my favorite Shibori techniques) with a large piece of silk chiffon, ooooohhhh la la.

There is something so magical about using Shibori techniques with dyeing.  You have a general idea of what will come out, but you just never know till you unwrap it.  Needless to say it is always a beautiful result.

Here is the finished result draped on the dress form.  Looks like this piece will be turning into a lovely skirt.
Stay tuned to see how it turns out.

Making Garments

*Haven't been here for awhile, no excuses, no apologies, just getting back on the train*

Making Garments - that is what my practicum is all about.

My goal is to make beautiful feminine garments using silk, cotton, and wool.  Using the wool fibers and the laminate felting process to join fabrics and seams, I will be sewing very little of the garments together, and using up all of the fabric without any left over scraps.

After working on some swatches last week, tonight was my first go at making a blouse using these techniques and restrictions.  And I must say I am extremely happy with the results!  The blouse is by no means finished, I have only fitted and felted the shoulders and sleeves, but I will be finishing the design of the blouse tomorrow morning.

Here are some photos of the process and what I've got so far...

This is the rectangle of fabric I started with and cut a diamond shape out of the center to create the front and back neck-line.

This is the beginning of the sleeve.

I first needle felt the wool fibers into the layers of silk I want to join.  This is to help get the felting started, and to lessen the amount of time I need to wet felt the garment.

This is what it looked like after being needle felted, but before being wet felted.

Detail of the sleeve before wet felting.

Sleeve Detail

 

Ready for wet felting!

Here is the result after wet felting, I am so excited it turned out exactly as I have envisioned it in my head.  A great feeling of accomplishment!

Here it is all wet felted! 

Sleeve detail

Sleeve detail

Back

 Now my head is swimming with ideas of how to finish the blouse!  Is the closure on the side, or the front? A nice invisible zipper?  Does one side come over and cross in the front with a nice hook and eye or button?  How do I close up the side seams?  Keep them symmetrical, or go crazy?  How will I ever decide!

How would you finish this garment, how do you see it in its final design?  I would love to hear what you think in the comments below:)

Fabric Forts and Canopy's

Beautiful Fabric Fort by Justina Blakeney, check out Design Sponge for the super easy "How To"

I love Fabric Forts!  Who hasn't tried to build one at some point in their life?

The end of my first year of grad school is quickly approaching.  Late nights combine with early mornings, group meals, and lots of stress.  The constant hum of machinery, sewing, hammering, cutting, chatter and music, the studio is bustling with energy with our end of the year show May 6th-8th.

Everyone is busy working on their projects for the show.  This semester I decided to do something I have never done before...create an installation, on purpose:)  I am building a Fabric Canopy/Fort!

It's going to be structured like a typical bed canopy, with the feel of a child like fort.  I am really excited about this project and have been hard at work.

The photo above is one of my inspiration photos.  I love the eclectic look and the cozy feel of it, although what I have in mind will be quite different.  Mine will be made to resemble a fairy-tale forest, one of my favorite places!  I will be dying the fabric in colors to simulate my fairy-tale forest, a gorgeous blue at the top to resemble the sky cascading into rich greens of foliage, and finally transitioning into a deep earth brown.  The interior will be decorated with lots of pillows, some over sized leaf shapes, regular squares with floral prints, and some soft furry ones to create a comfortable and cozy feel.  I am also going to add crocheted vines and flowers cascading from the top center down to the floor. 

Soooooo...Time to get to work!  So far I have been doing lots of dye tests to figure out which fabric I want to use, how to get the colors I want, and what techniques to use.  So far some have been successful and others...not so much.

In the photo above the 2 on the left were tests in technique and color.  The blues and greens I love but the brown came out waaaay too red.  So that led me to do some smaller tests to see if I could get a better brown.

Not so much here either:(  After a bit of internet research I learned that brown is apparently a very hard color to mix, and that even the browns that are sold premixed don't always look so great.  But luckily there were a few good tips about how to get a good brown that I will hopefully be able to work on tomorrow. 

To try and distract me from getting too discouraged about my unsuccessful dying experiments, I decided to work on the measurements for the canopy and made a small model out of scrap fabric and wire.  I only cut out 2 of the 4 fabric panels for the model, but it was good enough for me to see the drape and get a good idea of how it will look.  I am happy to see that my pattern and measurements worked out nicely.  Now all I have to do is make the actual size pattern and start cutting the fabric pieces (exciting).  My model is made at about 1/3 the size.  The finished canopy will be about 8ft wide at the floor and 7ft off the ground.

This is the view from the inside, the clothespins are merely acting as weights:)

This is the view from the back/outside

How do you feel about fabric forts?  Do you have a memory of a favorite fabric fort that you built as a kid?  Feel free to share in the comments below:)  

Till next time, wish me luck with the brown dye!

Nearing the end

Last week was a full week of excitement, anticipation and exhaustion!  We had our end of the semester Works in Progress Open House with all of us 1st years and 2nd years showcasing what we've been working on.  Since its a new program we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to build our own space to showcase our work (sarcasm).  We were our own curators and builders!  It was a lot of hard work (exhaustion) but we all came together and made it work.  And even though I was so tired I thought I was going to fall asleep in my rocking chair, I had a great time chatting with people and seeing everyone's work come together.

Here are some photos of some of the amazing people I have been working with this year

Katherine Bradshaw - invisible childhood memories

Ali Gradisher - wooden bench and table

Amber Roelfs - compost paper lanterns

Sheri Earnhart - stage model for a play

Selja Ojanne - Fiber games, swing and woven rug

Billy Rueck - wool parasol, sheeps wool yarn, wooden tools

And in addition I attended my first Columbia Fiber Arts Guild meeting, which was full of so many amazing and talented Fiber Artists.  I actually got to meet the amazing art quilter (and book writer) Ann Johnston!  Who I just so happened to discover at the Northwest Quilt Expo, and wrote about right here on my very blog:)  I felt so star struck I barely knew what to say, but I did get a chance to tell her she inspired me to make my first whole cloth quilt, which I showcased at our Open House.

And here are some photos of my installation with my work.

whole cloth quilt, and embroidered photos printed on fabric

whole cloth quilt front - hand dyed, batiked, painted, and stitched

whole cloth quilt back

embroidered photos printed on cotton fabric

And I made this fancy hexagonal wooden frame, with the help of my wonderful man:)

It was a great week that I am sure I wont forget!

Welcome to Portland!

So I've been a bit busy between moving to Portland and starting school, that I have neglected my poor little bloggy blog:(  But worry no more for I will be continually documenting my journey through school, and my new life here in Portland!

For those of you that dont know I moved to Portland at the end of August to go back to school to earn my Masters of Fine Arts in Applied Craft and Design, (a joint program between PNCA and OCAC)... You may say what the heck does that mean?  Well to be honest we are all learning the history of the terms right now in our classes so none of us are really sure the literal translation.  But basically we are getting an MFA in Designing and Making our own work/products.  Its an incredible opportunity as this is a one-of-a-kind degree that is unlike any other out there, and I must say I am proud and excited to be a part of a new revolution in higher education!  Still confused?  Dont worry I will be describing the program in further detail as I go along in future posts.

For now I will share some photos of our first group project that we are working on called the Design Build.  This is a two week (10 day) intensive project where we as classmates design and BUILD a space for a revolutionary condo complex called Eco-Flats.  This is designed into the curriculum as a team building exercise for the class as a way for us to become closer and really get to know one another and our skills.  And a chance to learn some new techniques that we might never have been exposed to.

Here is the layout of the complex.  We are building on the area labeled Stormwater Basin

Site visit to hear from the Developers Jean-Pierre Veillet and Doug Shapiro

A view of the site from the second story of the complex

After the site visit it was back to the studio to brainstorm and build models of our ideas to present to the Developers.

Brainstorming and Building models

Near the end of the Design process we broke up into 2 groups to build on our ideas and presented 2 options to the Developers.

Group 1 - living green wall with a secret garden canopy

Group 1 model side view

Group 2 model top view - a beautiful corner deck with mobile green wall panels

Group 2 model side view

So a decision was reached and we are now building a Living Green Wall and a wooden walkway over the 580 sqft storm water basin.

We just finished our 7th day in the process and are well on our way to completing the project by Wed 9/22:)

I think that is a good introduction so far, stay tuned for more photos of the process and more insight to this brand new program!