Diploma Module 3 Chapter 8 - To The Edge

SECTION 1

Using what was readily available, the fabric in my samples is 'Melbury', adapted from a Sidney Mawson design by Liberty of London.  It is a heavy-weight, flame retardant upholstery cotton with a prominent large design of a pomegranate tree, plus other smaller details of leaves and berries in a rich Autumnal colour palette (8-1).  I chose strips that had both large and small scale design elements.  Though not as clearly defined as the given example I hoped they would give me enough scope from which to extend the design.

Four strips of this fabric were extended onto plain paper using various media (8-2 to 8-5).

Media in the above edge designs included Koh-i-Noor wax aquarelles, Inktense pencils, both dry and dry-on-wet, Ergo Pro ink brush, permanent sepia fine line marker, oil pastels, wax candle, damp tea bags, metallic Gioconda Artist Leads and acrylic wax.

SECTION 2

Turned Edges

8-6    Turned edge padded and stitched

8-7    Turned edge bound with padded contrasting fabric then embellished with French knots mimicking the design on the pomegranates on the Liberty fabric.

8-8    Selected parts of the design machine stitched and then the edge turned. Shapes cut from  the design on the turned edge.  The turning formed loops through which sari silk strips have been threaded.

8-9    Even weave linen with drawn threads and frayed edge which has been turned over a painted bamboo stick and then held in place with single faggot stitch (diagonal square stitch).

Bound Edges

8-10    Edge folded and bound with plain fabric and design detail inserted in the binding.

8-11    Drawn thread channel turned and bound with design detail.  Surface French knots (on seeds) to hold the applied details in place.

8-12    Fabric edge frayed and then folded on drawn thread section.  Into the fold a contrasting frayed fabric is inserted which is held in place by hand kantha stitching .

8-13    Even weave turned and bound with design detail.  Sympathetic back stitches hold the turning and applied pieces in place.

8-14    Frayed edge turned and bound with design detail.  Surface hand stitching holds the turning in place.

Faced Edges

8-15    Shaped faced edge free machine stitched in contrasting colour and then cut close to the stitching.

8-16    Two fabrics turned 'inside-out' after inserting design detail (leaves )into seam before stitching. The leaves were then mirrored in free machine embroidery (note, you can see the faced edge in some places - careful pressing is needed if this is not the desired result).

8-17    Two layers of fabric were padded and then stacked to form multiple layers.  Cut shapes from the design also echo the repeat pattern.

Frayed Edges

8-18    Even weave with drawn threads that have been woven with contrasting threads, enclosed in borders hand stitched in single faggot stitch (diagonal square stitch).

8-19    For this sample I returned to the Manx Crosses theme as inspiration.  From even weave I created three layers

• bottom layer - piece of frayed even weave
• second layer - piece of frayed even weave with deeper frays than bottom layer.  This was then divided into 'clumps' by plaiting pairs of threads
• third layer - the withdrawn threads were plaited and placed on top of the second layer and held in place top and bottom with small stitches, creating a channel.

This created various possibilities (see 8-20-22).

8-20    A piece of black linen bias binding was frayed on both edges.  This was inserted between layers one and two of 8-19.

8-21    The bias binding was placed on top of layer 2 and under layer 3.

8-22    The bias binding was threaded through the channel created by layer 3.

Ruffles

8-23     A bias strip was cut and one of the long edges was machined using the automatic stitch pattern #16 on my Bernina, which gave a scalloped edge.  The material was then folded in a ratio of about a third to two thirds and machine gathered on the folded edge.  This was machined to a piece of calico and then the longer edge was frayed.       

8-24    Again using bias strips, the edges were stiched with automatic stitch pattern # 13. They were gathered at an angle down the strip and machined to a piece of calico.  This was repeated, placing the strips at different angles.  

Flounces

8-25    Three 22cm circles were cut from calico and then from inside this circle 

• a 12cm offset circle was cut (8-26)
• a 12cm circle was cut from the centre (8-27)
• a 17cm circle was cut from the centre (8-28)

All were then cut to give a strip of fabric which was machine to calico to produce the  different flounces shown in the pictures below.

Stitched Edge

8-29    These were made using heavy duty hot water soluble film.  Image 8-29/30 replicates 8-16 but with this technique, the stitching being extended past the edge onto the film and then the film dissolved.

8-31    The edge of the fabric was machine stitched as in 8-17 and then the fabric was trimmed to the stitching.  In the 'gaps' formed, the pattern was extended past the edge onto hot water soluble fabric.  Once complete, the soluble fabric was dissolved.             

Folded Stitched Edges

8-33    This sample was inspired by the carnation stems and leaves from the Melbury fabric, interwined and overlapping.  The design was extended past the edge onto hot water soluble fabric and then onto a parallel piece of fabric. The soluble fabric was then dissolved and the fabric folded in half to give a decorative edge - 8-34.  (Note I didn't continue the pattern on the bottom piece of fabric in the detail I had done on the top as once it is folded over it won't be seen.)

8-35    This sample is based on the plaiting found on Manx Crosses using the technique above.

SECTION 3

Using the edge design 8-2 from Section 1 as a starting point and after some adaptations I made the textile edge 8-38.  The edge is made up of several layers, from top to bottom

• three wired scuptural forms inserted through holes made using an awl in the second layer
• three applied semi-circular faced shapes in calico.  The design was free-machined and the shapes were calico-faced.  Sheer flounce edges were inserted when the facing was applied.
• a plain calico flounce
• a sheer flounce with distressed edges
• a second calico flounce with cut outs of leaves, the outlines of which were free- machined
• a second sheer flounce.

All these are attached to a free machine piece of fabric with a simplified design interpreted from the original Melbury fabric in 8-2.  The colours were altered to use materials I had available.