My primary concern was the construction of the collar, because the construction just seemed very complex from the outside. So I started by purchasing a pea coat, taking apart the collar and reconstructing it in another fabric. After building some intuition for lapel and collar construction I moved on to the larger garment. I got a digital pattern from Burda laser cut a few small mockups to get a sense of how everything came together. Finally it was time to make some modifications.

The goal behind the outfit I’m constructing is to combine the quality of line and form of a manta ray with that of a classic naval uniform. To bring the quality of the manta ray into the pea coat I tried to add forms that suggested or made reference to the horns and gills of the manta ray.

I developed a method for creating gills by cutting and layering paper or stiff fabric onto a particular panel of the garment. The horns were made to emerge from the collar by slightly changing the collar pieces.

I was glad to sea that the rough mock up looked something like a pea coat, but was disappointed that the great diversity of materials in the garment meant that the form got distorted and wrinkled in certain areas.

Intention

My initial idea for the final project was to create something that can raise people’s awareness of endangered species. My very first plan was to make a sphere representing the earth and depict the endangered animals on its surface. Considering the difficulties of making a sphere and adding features on the surface, I change the plan to making stuffed animals and creating their death scenes to illustrate the harm people have done to them. I decided to create three animals and their death scenes: a penguin, a polar bear and a dolphin. I chose these three animals because I think they can represent different perspectives of human influence on the environment; all three of them live in/around the ocean, so it also creates some consistency.

Process

The penguin is the first one I made of the three. The first step was to cut the felt pieces of different shapes, and then stitch specific pieces together. Since the animal is 3 dimensional, some areas would be curved and not straight. After stitching, I stuffed the penguin with polyester. The polar bear and the dolphin were made using similar method. To create the final scenery, I used some more polyester as the iceberg the penguin stands, cut pieces of red fabric as the blood of the polar bear and stitched small pieces of plastic to the dolphin to demonstrate their endangered situations.

Learning

I learned a lot about the details of making little 3-dimensional figures, which is very different from doing 2d projects, since I have to consider how it may look after stuffing. I also got the chance to do lots of hand sewing practice and learn about its techniques.

I’d like to consider my process pretty organic, as I make decisions about what I am doing as I am doing it. Usually the planning I put into a project is minimal because I have found that I rarely ever end up with what I thought I would have started with.

At first I tried to experiment with the forms in the weaving. Instead of keeping with the straight lines, I attempted to create waves and bumps in the patterns of my weaving. However, I found that this took too much of my focus, and the colors, textures and overall feeling of my weaving was lacking. So, I went back to what I felt was most natural, the straight lined stripes, and I enjoyed working on that much more.

As I created the multiple pieces, I realized that they would work better apart rather than together. I thought they looked better as independent parts in a set.

Despite being the final project, the pieces I created have served as further inspiration. I am very interested in creating these type of pieces at a much larger scale, probably with a different type of loom. 

finalProject

The biggest challenge for me in this was deciding what elements to incorporate and deciding what needed to be the focal point.  I really wanted the hearts to stand out on both dresses, so deciding how to display them and how each heart should be portrayed required a lot of thought.  I also just wanted to make sure all the details were exactly how I wanted them to look, which greatly increased the amount of time I spent on certain aspects.

Overall, I wanted to provide a visual open to interpretation.  Everyone faces their own battles with what is inside of them, so I wanted to use the back with the black darkness feature as an area open to every individual, since no one knows everything inside of themselves, let alone inside of other people.

(Not sure why this is sideways)

My Intention:
My intention was to create a map of the Bay Area, where I’m from. It’s a very special area to me because I was raised there and I consider it to be one of the most unique places ever. My starting inspiration for the project was my existing interest in maps and the research I did for Alexandra Kehayouglou, my Textiles Talk subject. At first, I wanted this project to be a less abstract, more direct political representation of the Bay Area.

My Process:
My starting sketches:

As you can see, my first sketch had the idea of using different colored fabrics for the different metro areas, but it also included labels/words and more granular details.

I started by projecting a map of the bay area onto muslin and drawing the different contours and features. I ended up using this piece as a template to cut out fabric, so I used another piece of muslin as the actual base of the map.

I used a mix of fabrics scraps from the bins in class as well as fabrics I purchased at LOOM in the strip district.
Because my pieces of fabric weren’t big enough to cover entire areas (except for the blue ocean/bay) so I ended up using a bit of a collage technique, with small cut pieces of fabric and iron-on headband.

I primarily matched fabrics using color, so that green areas were done with green textured fabrics, and I chose an interesting grey, lightly colored pattern to represent developed urban areas in the map. I kept on doing this until I covered the entire surface.

Along the way, I found a few representative, special fabrics that I could incorporate into the map. This included an computer-y chip fabric for Silicon Valley, a boat pattern to represent the port of Oakland, and also a funny patterned fabric with shirtless lumberjacks to represent gay culture in San Francisco.

I think I learned a lot about creating accurate forms with textiles in this project with techniques that I borrowed from previous experience and also Alexandra Kehayoglou (her projection technique).

Your Learning
I learned a lot about technique, but also ways of planning the framework and executing a large project with a few complex steps, rather than just a single weaving or aspect of a project. I also think I learned more about the storytelling property of maps, as well as textiles, and how those can work together to crate something interesting. If I were to continue or do something differently, I would remove the “map” details (scale, directional arrows, etc) and keep it bare, or do the opposite and really embellish it with a lot more details like latitude/longitude, a key, etc

Details:

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My material choices were mostly set from my frame pack. I used two water resistant fabrics for most of the piece: XPac X21 as my “main” fabric and a heavier Cordura as a second color and in any place that will receive a lot of wear (which turned out to be most of the harness). I also used a plastic sheet to make the side and bottom panels more rigid. For any part of the harness that contacted the bike I used a vinyl coated fabric to help reduce slipping. I also used normal webbing straps and hardware. The locations of these was mostly copied from the Terrapin.

When I started working on an initial mock up, I found the seam between the top and sides was very hard to sew because of how curved it was. Because of this, I decided to use grommets and lacing to connect these panels, which meant I only had to fabricate a flat piece. This element also called back to the lacing used to attach my frame pack. 

The biggest challenge at this point was figuring out how to fabricate the flat piece. I eventually settled on sewing most of the seams good side to good side and then flipping it inside out. I then had to go back to fold in and sew down areas I was not able to sew when it was inside out (because they would have made areas too narrow for the reversing step.

Throughout this project I realized the value of making lots of initial mock ups and tests. I was very strict about that for my frame pack, which made the fabrication process quite smooth. For this project I felt like I had less time, so I skipped some testing, but it just ended up costing me more time later. Also, A full mock up in muslin would have revealed some of the issues with the final version before I used the nice fabric. Currently the bag sways a lot when riding and the front of it is a bit too wide (and rubs against my legs when riding).

I was inspired to create this piece because I have always been curious about combining different textile techniques, and I have never sewn a garment before. I really liked the idea of recycling old clothes, so I found a dress from a thrift store that I modified and added to the crocheted top. I wanted to explore crochet openwork and designing my own openwork in this project. My goal was to create a dress that I could wear to a nice event and be something that could be mistaken for a store-bought garment. The feel of the piece is intended to be elegant and flowy, in a light and airy way.

Process

I chose to use light blue cotton yarn for the crocheted portion, because cotton is breathable and durable and thus is a good material for clothing. I chose my dress skirt based on the intended feel of the overall garment. I wanted to find a skirt that I could detach and alter to fit the top portion. For techniques, in the crochet portion I used a variety of different stitches. In the solid part, I used single crochet increases and decreases to shape the bodice, and in the openwork I used double crochet, treble crochet, and chains to achieve the desired effect. It took a lot of experimentation and undoing my stitches to get it how I wanted to. It took a lot of trial and error to get the fit right, as well as making the garment look cohesive.

To attach the bottom portion, I had to detach and resew the skirt. I had trouble deciding how to deal with the zipper, but I ended up moving it to the back and cutting off the top part. I used a folded over ribbon to stabilize the bottom and attach it to the top. I decided to hand sew the two sections together so that the stitches would be more invisible.

For the overall look, I added barefoot sandals to balance out the look and give a sense of symmetry with the top.

Learning

I learned a lot of different techniques, especially sewing and repurposing old garments. I also learned a lot about designing my own crocheted patterns. I definitely would like to further explore combining crocheted work with thrifted clothing, especially lacework.

For my final project, I decided to make a wearable outfit consisting of a corset and a cape. I was very excited to make this piece because these are the first pieces of clothing I had ever made. My inspiration for this piece came from vintage European corsets an dresses, as I very much enjoy the shapes of them. I also wanted to make this piece as a comment on the social pressures the constrict women on what they wear in these times as well. To make them, I ended up getting two different patterns, both of which were similar to what I wanted to make but not exact. The corset pattern actually came with a sweetheart neckline and without straps, and it was pretty difficult for me to modify it into my own pattern to figure out how to make the neckline a different shape and then add straps. For my first time ever making a garment, I am very proud of myself for how it turned out. I probably had the most difficulty sewing and constructing the square corners of the neck line, and it took me a while to figure out how to do them but I eventually did. I hit a few other unexpected bumps in the jacket, just because the material I had chose is super thin and silky, getting straight lines and seems, or even cutting the fabric straight, was pretty difficult.

With so much detail in the sewing of the corset, it took me a very long time to compete,  but I am extremely happy with how it turned out, and excited to think about other things that I can create knowing that I have accomplished this. If I had had more time, I would have experimented slightly more with the fabric that I used for my cape, to try to figure out how to get the edges very nice and all even. I also would have added a few more of the leave appliqués to embellish it slightly more. If I had also had more time on the corset, I probably would have added a lining to so that it is not as thin, as the fabric is slightly see through.

Overall, I really enjoyed doing this project. I liked that we had such free range to explore the different areas of textiles however we wanted. And I am as well very happy with the amount of different techniques that I had learned and as well ended up using in my final project. Again, I had so much fun making this and such a blast in class, thank you so much for a fantastic semester!

My project can be separated into 3 portions, the woven net, the felt balls, and the stuffed paddles. The net was woven in a very similar way to the weavings created earlier in the semester. The only difference being that on the loom the net is thinner and longer, while also being made of only one color and type of yarn. The net pattern is achieved by plainweaving one side and only going all of the way across about once every inch or so. The weaving of the net went quicker than imagined and was overall a smooth process. I ran into some problems with the felted balls as they ended up very uneven and oddly shaped. Originally I was planning on remaking them to be more accurate, but in the end I felt that the irregularity of the balls adds to the main theme of the project. In order to add some extra credibility I first sewed two patches of black and orange patterned cloth to the paddle sections of my vinyl fabrics. A couple issues I ran into while making the paddles: the handle end isn’t exactly round and the stuffing bunches up oddly, turning the paddles inside out through the end of the handle proved a challenge, and I didn’t thing to hem the bottom edge of my attached pads so the bottom end frayed and separated.

I enjoyed working on this project very much. There were many aspects of it that I had little to no experience with, but in the end I would definitely make something along the same lines again. If I were to make a new project I would definitely work a little more on planning and prototyping the pieces for the project as well as take the sewing a little slower. Most importantly of all however, I would try my best to separate the work time over more days rather than have to build the paddles from start to finish all in one night.