I originally had trouble coming up with a practical use for this piece of cloth, so I came up with a couple of ideas: face masks, bandages, clothes, and bags. I realized that face masks would not be very functional if the stretched out fabric had more holes and the bandages would be very difficult to implement with my materials. Inspired by Issey Miyake’s pleated bag, I decided to create a bag that would be able to compress and expand.

The woven bag had a very interesting texture and I like the I did enjoy how the bag scrunched up, but I wanted the bag to have a more dramatic change. Weaving was a long process, and the yarn is still quite tight when everything is woven together so there is not much room for compression, so I decided to use cloth and string to create a similar effect where the cloth has anchor points and strings that can be pulled.

With this idea, I made some sample pieces of cloth test out how the compression could result.

The way the strings all led to two common points made two lips on the sides of the bag, which I did not necessarily like. Also, I accidentally cut the anchor points when trying to clean up the edges of the fabric, so the strings actually pulled off the bag. I experimented with more ways to create lines, seeing how curves and angles would interact when compressed and observing the ease of pulling the string.

I decided to go with simple w shaped lines across the bag to create a lantern like shape.

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I will probably create the straps with the extra string on the side so when the bag is a tote bag, the straps are longer, and when the bag is condensed, the strap is quite long. This matches with the conventional way bags are currently made so my goal would be to emulate both of those styles with one product.

I ended up using this digital repeat the represented the things around me in my life right now. All of my friends really love all these kinds of foods so I associate many people with the food displayed above. The first color way I used was more normal and highlighted the food in the front. The second color way uses more pastel colors that makes the food a little less appetizing but creates a very different tone.

I used vectors to create all of my drawings so I do not have intermediate sketches for them. However, figuring out how to use vector graphics and adjust shapes was very exciting and I hope to explore that more.

This print could be a blanket that I give to my friends within that friend group. Since we all associate each other with these foods, having matching blankets could be a very cute idea. Furthermore, this could be a wallpaper within a nursery since the print is more playful and child-like especially with the dinosaurs.

This is something I made after the weaving unit, but I could explore the idea of an adjustable cloth more and make it into a usable product (not sure exactly what yet).

These are pleats I created to continue that idea of an adjustable or movable cloth, so I could potentially add color between the pleats to add an element of surprise.

Finally, I always wanted to try constructing a whole dress, and right now I am into the structured square neckline look.

My original design was inspired by china plates. I really enjoy the blue and white combination and wanted to experiment with variations of a very classic design. This image was something I found online and then edited within illustrator to create the patterns below.

1. The green and brown combination was inspired by the similarity of the design to cabbages.
2. The red and green combination was inspired by roses.
3. The red, blue, and yellow combination was inspired by pop art.
4. The blue and white combination was inspired by china pottery.

All of these were very fun to experiment with and I tried to add some different sizes of flowers to experiment with adding more to swatches.

I also made another vector illustration for fun.

This textile work caught my eye because of the colors and detailed patterns. I really enjoy the boldness of the colors, yet the subdued quality that the whole piece has as a whole. Furthermore, I found it interesting that this was actually an American or European textile, despite the clear asian inspiration with the subject matter and patterns.

This floral pattern with the pops of color was very eye catching and reminded me of the bold and subdued colors of the textile above. Also, as I look more at this piece, I notice more details in the print like the cameras and wires that I think make it even more interesting.

After spending a lot more time than expected on this project, I grew a new appreciation for any type of textile work. I understood how much time and patience was required for such projects, but the planning and vast understanding of different techniques required to make something neat and as intended is amazing.

I intended to essentially recreate the sketch above with textiles. Since I did not have yellow cloth, I stitched together many smaller pieces cut from around patterns of a blanket and some pieces of turmeric-dyed cloth. Furthermore, I had to do the same for the red cloth even though most of it is covered up now. For the smoke, I incorporated new textures by loosely stitching some thinner fabric to create more dimension. The fire and houses are embroidered on to provide more details and add a different type of movement.

If I were to do this project again, I would be more careful with not wrinkling the fabric at each step. The end result is not as neat as I hoped because I used too much tension when embroidering. Furthermore, I would have cut up the houses individually and stitched them together instead if I planned out the project better. I had a lot of fun making this piece and definitely grew to understand the appreciate the sewing machine more.

Recently there have been many wildfires in California and one time, the smoke completely covered the sky and made the sky completely yellow and the sun bright red. That day, it really looked like the world was ending. Although I genuinely hope that 2030 will be better, climate change and the lack of any type of efforts to mitigate it gives me reason to believe that wildfires and other natural disasters will only continue to rise. I decided to use the bright colors and high contrast with the purple smoke to demonstrate the intensity of these natural disasters and the red to convey a warning of this possible future.

Smart textiles are often used for aesthetic purposes. These smart textiles are primarily used in the fashion industry and usually light up or change color.

Smart textiles can also be used for performance enhancement, focusing on function over fashion. Using technology embedded in the fabrics, these textiles can regulate body temperature, reduce wind and water resistance, guard against radiation, minimize the effects of space travel, and control the vibration of muscles.

https://www.apexmills.com/media_post/smart-textiles/

Smart textiles is a growing industry. Although few products have been successful in reaching consumers, with the increase of production and improvement of products, it will soon be a useful technology that can improve our health and safety and prove unique visuals and activities that were not possible before. I chose this topic because I am always interested in seeing how technology and art can intersect.