Creature with Wings
The first inflatable I made is this creature with wings and fur on the back. I originally wanted to make an inflatable house. However, it got too round after inflating and I decided to change my idea. I also noticed that the edges look like a nose, ears, and feet and I added a couple of stitches to make those features more obvious. I then decided to play with the fur-like fabric and added it to the back. Sewing on the fur-like fabric was a little challenging because the fur on the edges wants to come off. I wanted the creature to have really large wings but the fabric pieces I cut were too small after being flipped inside-out.
Flowerpot
My next inflatable was this flowerpot. I originally wanted to make a round object with two arms sticking out. I wanted the arms to be able to support the round center object and lift it off of the surface. When I was squeezing the center object to determine the size of the arms, I realized that the object really looked like a flowerpot. I then decided to change my idea. I added the brown fabric piece to make the creases in the pot more obvious (also to mimic soil). I then made the flower with fabric and added metal wires inside to give it more support. At first, I wanted to close off the bottom of the pot, but I realized that sometimes if you pull too hard on the wire, the flower could come out so I decided to leave the bottom part open to better adjust the wires when the flower falls out.
Dumbbell
My final piece was designed in Rhino and then cut out on canvas fabric. I wanted to use canvas because I want the dumbbell to be really heavy and sturdy. I also wanted the laser cutting to not go through the fabric. However, I still had a lot of trouble when laser cutting. The first time, my sew and cut lines were flipped and so I decided to pause the cutting and use the rest as scrap. The second time, the sew line was cut too deep making it difficult to sew. I decided to just hand cut out from the remaining of my first laser cut attempt and find the best least deeply cut pieces for the parts that I couldn’t save (from the first attempt). Because a lot of my pieces were circular, I both machines sew and hand sew. I started with the center long piece then the two sides and then hand sewn the two sides to the centerpiece. I found that matching the pieces together when sewing is the most challenging part. After making the dumbbell, I added vines around the piece.
Rhino Link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1pa0UDe5iHNbqTY36yva-izUACPenhJAX?usp=sharing
Overall, I had a fun time making these objects. I learned a lot about combining different shapes, inflating objects, and working with different fabrics.