Fairisle, lacing and tucking using punchcards.

I've also learned how to use punchcards to create fairisle patterns on the domestic knitting machine. It was much simpler than I thought it would be and I assumed that knitting fairisle would be much more complex to understand.

I created this diamond formation fairisle knit and alternated the colours after they both had a substantial amount (below).

I like the effects that can be achieved when using a punchcard, however I think I'd like to learn how to make my own designs on a punchcard to make it more relevant to my work.

I also used the different settings on the knitting machine to use the lace function using a different punchcard. I used a thicker yarn along side a much thinner yarn as I was told that this is the most effective. (above)

I also used the tuck method and changed my colours between the lime green, bright orange and blue to achieve this look (below).

New knitting samples- using cotton

After deciding that the colours I had previously used in my knitting samples were not suitable for the type of work that I wanted to produce, I began using some cotton yarns as opposed to lambswool.

The colours were much brighter and I've taken a sample of the colours that I have taken from photoshop here.

As you can see, the colours are much brighter and go with the rest of my work throughout the "Origins" unit.

I decided on these strong, bright colours at the right time as we were learning some new and exciting skills on the machine. I was learning to "partial knit" sections to give a sloping quality to the rows of knitting by only knitting a selection of the needles.

As you can see, the knit doesn't run in a straight line as it would traditionally.

Due to some experimentation, I also learned a new technique that wasn't actually shown to us and much to my surprise it worked! I used partial knit but instead of deselecting needles in a row next to each other, I left 3 needles and then deselected 3 so that it left some holes with the second colour coming through (below)

Additional knitting samples, new skills

I have picked up a lot of new skills during my time in knit. I have learnt how to make ladders and change the width of these ladders, giving the sample a delicacy, making it quite lacey.

I like the linear value the ladders give to the sample but it also means that it looks very soft and delicate and in some ways it is quite organic and I personally think it looks a little bit like spider's webs.

Again, my choice of yarn wasn't the best so I endeavour to redo this sample too. I do like this sample as a stand alone piece however it isn't appropriate with the rest of my work.

I've also learnt how to create lace-holes within my sample (as shown, left). I feel that this also gives a patterned quality to the knitting. It also adds a certain element of delicacy to the piece too. In this particular piece, I've used the two-colour stripe technique in conjunction with the lace-hole technique.

I'm learning to experiment with the domestic machine and the set of knitting skills that I'm learning in the coming weeks. Combining a limited set of skills means that the outcomes that can be made become unlimited and the uniqueness of your samples is down to your own creativity.

 I've also learned to "hook up", this technique gives a ruched effect.

I like the flexibility of this technique and you can be quite regimented and count which stiches you want to hook up, or you can do this in a more free way giving a less predictable effect to the sample.

Again in this particular piece, I have combined the two colour stripe and hooking up technique to create a ribbing effect.

Knitting samples

I began knitting on a domestic knitting machine just over a fortnight ago. I started by beginning with simple plain knit samples where I would change my colour to acheive a striped sample. I was selective with my colours, attempting to stick to neutral tones with flashes of a brighter colour.

Initially, I felt as though I was doing the right thing and had selected my yarns properly and appropriately to suit the style of my work. However, after a tutorial, it came to my attention that the decision to use wool was not appropriate to my method of working.

The wools had a marly appearance and the colour was not a strong flat colour that sat flat within the sample and that was the look I wanted to acheive.

I want to redo these samples in some of the brighter and more punchy colours in a cotton perhaps to allow the colour to sit flatly within the sample rather than it getting lost in a wash of grey.

I do think the proportion of colour within these particular samples is rather nice but I do want to re-knit so that all of my samples appear to be appropriate to all of my other practice.

ZoomInOnFashionTrends- issue 24

I spent quite a great deal of time looking at current trends and I wanted to test the longevity of my work, I decided to look at a previous issue of ZoomInOnFashionTrends from 2003 to identify any similar trends that have reoccurred recently and that keep coming back into the forefront of contemporary textile trends.

 

I was pleased to see that the "metamorphosis" trend, featuring bright colours and brave prints was quite similar to the "join the circus" and "playhouse" trends that are currently in circulation. It shows that the use of colourful and clashing work is nearly always on trend and shows a certain degree of longevity to my current practice.



 

Textile View Magazine- Issue 99

I wanted to look again at some more trends for the near future to establish my position within the current textile market. I decided to read the current issue of Textile View Magazine, as I know that they cover a large range of disciplines within textiles such as Haute Couture, menswear, womenswear, knitwear etc.

The overall layout of the trend board sections of the magazines allows me to identify immediately the colours, silhouettes and general feel of the trend and it means that at one glance I can immediately identify or disregard myself with a certain trend. For example, I could automatically see aspects of my own work with the "Join the Circus" trend, below.

This particular trend identifies bright colours, creative and exciting use of print and colour as well as a keen use of repeat pattern that I can associate myself with.

I also identified some similar attributes within the "Playhouse" trend, which focuses on colour, odd shapes and bright prints. All of which appeal to me and are reflected within my own practice.

New drawings

Like I said in my previous post, I've blown up sections of one of my previously created prints as can be seen in this image, below.

 

This image has been broken down into quite basic shapes that have been reflected. I would treat each shape as an individual shape when considering on how I would fill each gap.

 

I want to fill each one with a hand drawn/painted replica of the previously made prints. I feel that this would create a very intricate piece of work and it would be interesting to see how the colours and shapes would interact with each other when placed together in a single piece of work.

 

I drew out and simplified some sections of my older prints and redrew them into squares. I then decided to paint them using gouache paint, restricting myself to the colour pallette that I had already painted out and established. I've also coloured some of the squares using promarkers.

I feel that the promarkers(right hand collumn) give a bit of a wishy-washy appearance to the drawings and that is not what I set out to achieve.

However, the use of gouache provided me with a much sharper finish. I managed to get the consistency between the paint and water correct in order to achieve an even coverage of colour and meaning that I have allowed the colour to retain it's matte finish. I would go as far as to sat that certain sections of the painted pieces look as though they have been processed digitally. I then fine linered the edges of my drawings to finish  them and give them a crisp edge.

Overall, it was a time consuming process but I think the time and effort that has been put into them shows.

Choosing colours

After another tutorial, I came to a decision to move away from my cut paper work and develop my earlier prints further in a more innovative way. I began by extracting colours from my prints by painting out 4 key colours from each of the 4 prints (see below).

 

 

 

 

I've decided that I want to blow up certain areas of the prints that I have extracted. I then want to identify the key shapes within that blown up section and then hand paint the print within that print. It sounds extremely confusing but in practice it should work effectively.

Paper cut outs with print application

As planned, I decided to use my prints in a layered way and cut them out using the shapes that made the prints that I am using (as confusing and complicated as it sounds!).

As you can see, the shapes have been plotted out on the left hand page in both instances and then the same pattern has been carried over to the opposite page. On the first page, the first chosen print was stuck down, then I turned over and applied the second print onto the next page and then opposite that page I applied the third so that all three could be seen together when the print was active.

Colour analysis

I decided to look at WGSN again, this time for colour forcasting and to see what trends are immerging for colour in the coming seasons.

Whilst looking at some new trends, I came across the "Interruptive Brights" trend.

The title itself indicates a similarity to my own work, identifying the use of clashing and contrasting colours together to create interesting pieces of work.

I think that my work is extremely relevant to this trend and links to some of the imagery provided by WGSN which can be seen above.

Cutting and layering development, application of print

I really liked the cutting of the shapes and felt a sense of great achievement when I had completed the time consuming process. I wanted to develop these pieces further and even though I feel that the use of white on white is quite effective, it does not quite reflect the rest of my work that I have created during this project.

It would be wasteful when I have already created quite a range of prints to not reuse some of them in a different way. So, with this decision, I chose three prints that I would use to develop into cut paper pieces (see below).

I decided that these colours might interact quite well together and I wanted to see how many possible combinations of the prints could be made, so I did this visually within my sketchbook to determine which prints I would be able to make without having to make them all without knowing the outcome.

I feel that I saved myself time by planning carefully within my sketchbook and I have documented it visually so it is immediately visible which combinations could be created and could be a formula that anyone could use.

Cutting and layering

After speaking to Laura during a tutorial in knit, she suggested that I play with layering of colour and the shapes that I have created throughout my book.




Inspired by The First Cut paper exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery, I decided that I would try and make some of the shapes that my prints are made up of and develop them from two dimensional shapes into three dimensional shapes, whilst allowing them to remain attached to the page. This would require a lot of careful planning and means that I will have to draw plans and figure out where my paper would remain attached to the page and where my 'anchor points' would be.

The shapes in this image (which are taken from a page in my sketchbook) have all been individually hand-cut with a scalpel and fold up to create a "V" shaped formation that can be folded back into the sketchbook page to lay flat again.

I carefully drew out all of the shapes and ensured that they were equally spaced and created a pattern within themselves. They are quite interactive too, given that they shapes when laid flat create a pattern and then when folded up they develop into a new pattern that can be altered as the audience pleases.

Prada AW12

I am keen to keep up with fashion trends and I endeavour to familiarise myself with the latest collections. On reflection of my own work, I immediately noticed that there were immediate links with Prada's AW12 collection, featuring geometric and quite solid prints. The colours are quite striking and appear to be quite optical.

 

The way that Prada have used geometric prints as well as a strong use of colour is interesting in itself, however the cut of the garments is quite an important statement within this particular collection.

 

The simple straight trousers temed with long flowing jackets and tops allow the print to be showcased to it's true potential. The movement of the garments whilst the models are walking down the runway accentuates the busy nature of the prints.

 

 I also find the way that the print has been applied to the floor using a suaded carpet and it allows the audience to be completely immersed in the prints that are included within the range of Prada's clothing. The jackets and trousers are also embellished with Rhinestones and jewels which also adds yet more depth to the prints.

WGSN

I luckily have gained access to Trend Forcasting website WGSN, which is allowing me to identify the key colours, trends, silhouettes etc for all areas in textiles which will mean that I can develop work that will be relevant if it was to be made into a product and it would be on trend for it's release.

Before going into knit within the Construct textile "world", I wanted to identify what would be on trend for knitwear in the coming seasons. I looked at this trend report entitled "Knitted Cooridnates" which automatically appealed to me and appeared to be relevant to my own methods of working.

WGSN analysis

• Silhouette: sweaters are fitted, skirts are pencil or A-line shaped
• Colour: monochromatic pattern or primary brights work well to maintain a retro feel, in keeping with the 1960s mood. Alternatively, use a darker palette of burnt reds, ochre, sage and navy for a more autumnal feel
• Yarn & stitch: simple yarns and subtle knit-stitch completes this look. Use micro-geometric repeats, contrast-colour border placements, traditional cables and Fair Isle patterns. A play on variated scale and openwork or pointelle stitches look newest for this trend
• For further 60s inspiration, view the recent 60s Modernist: spring/summer 2013 women's catwalk capsule trend

The analysis also allowed me to look at these images that give a general feel for the emerging trend

These outfits that the Trend Analysis provided shows clear use of geometric shapes and repeat pattern which are a point of interest in my own work. It would be a good idea for me to persist on using these patterns as it fits in well with this particular emerging trend.

There is some clear evidence of colour blocking, simplifying detail down into clear and quite structural shapes. I could take my own colour pallette and take shapes from drawings etc within my sketchbook.

Manchester Art Gallery, The First Cut exhibition.

I first visited the exhibition as part of the event that was put on by University, to try and allow people to network with artists, designers and other students from the school of art.

I decided to visit the exhibition again to get a real look at the work as I did initially find it very inspiring and was quite similar to the work that I like to create. A whole exhibition dedicated to artists that love to spend a great deal of time and effort into pieces of work that can sometimes be quite small in scale but very intricate and complex.



I was particularly interested in the work of Peter Callesen. I loved the delicacy of his work and the ways that he amazingly managed to cut a very complicated design into a single piece of card and allow it to remain attached to the page.

I liked some of the humour behind his pieces, particularly in the piece that features a man that is climbing up a "mountain" (a crumpled piece of paper). The man is absolutely tiny and is in perfect proportion to reality of a man climbing a mountain.

I'd love to try and complete my own versions of this kind of work, working with just paper and a scalpel and be clever in how I cut my paper in order for a shape to be formed that can still be attached to the page within my book.

See link for more Peter Callesen images http://twistedsifter.com/2012/11/sculptures-cut-from-single-piece-of-paper-peter-callesen/