I have continued with all three of my ideas and made several revisions following your recent feedback. I will decide later which one to use as my final sample for Chapter 12. I like to follow through my ideas,evolving the design, making changes, until I am 'just about' satisfied with the result, no plastic bags of unfinished work!!! For all the design ideas I have tried to keep in mind the brief for a functional, three dimensional embroidered item. This item should have richly patterned and stitched surfaces and be imaginative, creative and unconventional.
Idea 1 - the embroidered and embellished linen tunic inspired by snake skin patterns. Firstly I changed the basic design making it much simpler with just strips of embroidered linen squares to make a kimono style tunic. The two images below show the revised pattern and some of the partly embellished linen squares. There are three joined squares in the panels below. I have a lot more work to do here but at the moment I feel that this tunic has the potential to be the design that full fills the brief most fully.
Idea 2 - my bag inspired by cat skin patterns and colours with hand dyed and printed fabrics, patchwork piecing, machine embroidery and quilting to give a textured surface. The design is the same as the small bag in the first section of this chapter. The image below shows the just about completed bag. I might add further hand stitching?
My thoughts:-
I feel that this design is very functional and decorative but it is a little too conventional. I like the hand dyed and printed fabrics but the stitching, although indicating snake skin patterns, is too regular.
Idea 3- my tonal waistcoat with a patchwork background and hand stitched embellishment. This design evolved slowly as I worked. I purchased the fabrics because of their good tonal qualities even though the patterns were not inspired by animal markings. I therefore needed to make the design creative and unconventional but with influences from animal markings. I have added frayed edge patches to the background patchwork and these have been hand embroidered with sinuous lines and 'V' shaped stitching to indicate snake movements and snake skin patterns. I have also made triangular sections for the bottom of the garment to indicate a snake's head? I will add more hand embroidery and possibly some fringing.
My thoughts:-
I think this design will make an unusual, decorative and functional garment that I will wear. But I am not sure that the fabrics choice was the right one to full fill all of the brief objectives. If I started again I would dye and print the fabrics to give a more snake skin pattern influence and individuality to the design.
