@ Miss Fix –It Studio III

My work often splits in multiple directions with different concepts; one of the reoccurring themes is protection, which in this work is represented as a form of adaptation in society. In other work I have been considering the use of different languages in foreign societies.



As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve begun to feel an urgency to use the concept of protection in a new piece. This could be a way for me to deal with my new environment (Chicago). This new wearable piece has been a challenge for me because of the process and the material challenges. In the first attempt I tried to make the piece out of mattress foam. However, it seems that this foam is to weak of a material to use for this piece. I am thinking that thick felt will work the best for this piece. Here are the pictures of the first attempt with the foam.

Student Work from Thursday's 1st Time Silkscreen on Fabric Class

Hello everyone!  

Here's a peak at what students are working on this session in our First Time Silkscreen on Fabric class.  Everyone has been working hard- rushing to get all of the last minute prints in before the Spring session wraps up this week.  It's hard to believe that 5 weeks have past already!!!

If your feeling inspired by the student's work, come join us on Thursday nights from 630-930 and take the class.  Several students are repeaters, and Jenny and Meena who are from this session are coming back for more printing fun.  

That's all for now!  Right now I can't stop thinking about printing some fabric to make a new summer dress.... It's so caliente out side.

Natural Dye Workshop

Madder is the main source of dyestuff used to obtain true red. Textiles dating back to 3000 BC have been found that used madder to obtain a brilliant warm red color. It grows abundantly worldwide, especially in Europe, the Middle East and India, and locally in Chicago. Brilliant oranges to warm reds can be obtained on wool fibers when used alone or mixed with other dyes. Rich earth tones are produced when fibers dyed in madder are dipped in indigo. Join us for a 4-day Natural Dye Workshop, June 21 to 24, where we will explore the best way to obtain color from madder root, along with many other natural dyes. We will also discuss how to start your own madder garden. Class size is limited, so please register early to reserve your place. Open to all levels.

Madder dyeing in Turkey

Wool dyed with madder root.

Madder dye vat.

Turkish kilim dyed with madder and other natural dyes.

Madder plants growing in my Chicago community garden.

When and how to use Interfacing

Lately questions about interfacing have been asked in the sewing classes. Students wonder whether or not to use sew in or iron on interfacing, what are the proper kinds to buy, and how to apply it properly to the fabric. In Sew 1, we had a discussion on the benefits of iron on interfacing vs the traditional sew in. The interfacing that you sew in is usually used for very technical construction projects like a blazer or a coat. Sewn interfacing is used in couture garments like gowns and women's suits, and has the same stabilizing effects as iron on, but requires more time to sew it in using special hand stitches. A great book that explains this in depth is Claire Schaeffer's Couture Sewing Techniques. It has amazing instructions and illustrations. And if you really want to learn hands on how to apply hand sewn interfacing, pick up a vintage blazer or a suit jacket from a thrift store and tear it apart. It will teach you about all of the different types and weights of interfacing used in these garments.

In general, for the hobby sewist, iron on interfacing works perfectly well. It should be applied to places like facings, plackets, collars, cuffs, waistbands, and lapels in order to keep the garments structure and to keep the precision of the design in place after multiple washings. For those like myself who prefer more aged and worn affects to appear in their garments, don't use interfacing! It will allow the fibers to follow their natural drape after washing.

The proper way to apply interfacing is to cut it out of the pattern from the same part that needs the enforcing. It can make transparent fabrics look opaque, which is especially helpful for white tailored shirts or lightweight garments where you don't want to see the seams in the more detailed parts like cuffs, fly, and collars. You can cut it out at the same size, or sometimes to avoid too much bulk you can cut it just within the seam allowance. This applies especially to facings where you need to finish the edge with a rolled hem. Just iron it on to the wrong side of the fabric, making sure to avoid creating any added puckers or pleats, and smooth it out as you go along. If you do create a pucker, just tear it off and start over. You will still be able to iron it back onto the fabric as you did before.

Hope that helps to answer some of these questions. Overall, interfacing when used properly, is an essential tool for creating a professional and polished garment.

New Flags Coming To LillStreet Soon

Hi!
I am just popping in to let you guys know what I have been doing lately. I am in the process of making four nuno-felt flags which will be installed at LillStreet in June. My flags will soon be flying from the flagpoles on top of LillStreet's roof (I am so excited)! This is not only exciting but it is also a chance for me to experiment. I have not heard of anyone flying nuno-felt flags out in the elements so I am not sure how they will weather. I have decided to look on this venture as being a form of interactive art. I will create four pieces of art and Mother Nature will interact with them and either add to, or subtract from, the flags as she see's fit. When I take them down I will take what nature gave back to me and rework them creating something similar but changed. In honor of Mother Nature I have chosen a theme. Each flag will represent one of the four elements: Earth, Fire, Water, and Air. Now to give you a sneak peek at what is presently laying on my studio table (actually it is tables since I have to create slightly bigger to account for the shrinkage of the wool...my little corner of the basement is standing room only...LOL).


Above is a box of wool (predyed) and my silk which I hand dyed with acid dye.


These are some of the sketches I made and the ones I will be following for the most part (sometimes I make changes in process or change my mind entirely. I think of my sketches as kind of a guideline).


This is the design drawn on plastic as a guide for laying out the wool.


And, this is the beginning of the lay-out process. The appropriate length of silk will go over the design and then the design will be repeated on top of the silk (so the flag will show the design on both sides fully and to hopefully add strength). The whole thing will get patted lightly down with soap and water and then rolled up in bubble wrap. Then it is just a matter of hours worth of rolling.

I will post again soon and show you my progress. Thank you for reading and remember that if you are interested in felting the Textile Dept. at LillStreet will be hosting a four week introductory class in August titled "Fun Felting" and also a one day felt beadmaking workshop in July. So head over to LillStreet's website and check out all of the classes that are being offered (if felting isn't your thing there are plenty of other classes on offer). Have a great weekend!

Thank you,
Frances

Textile Report From the UK

Just wanted to share a few things I experienced textile-wise on a recent trip to England. The British Museum is a vast iceberg in a great sea of history which I viewed only the tip of. The main lobby had an exhibit of birth and death through the eyes of different cultures. One of the pieces was a long weaving of all the medications taken in the lifetimes of a man and a woman. Both pieces were encased in a glass-covered table probably about 40 ft. long or more so it was very hard to photograph it in its entirety. I include a section of weaving and the explanation. Also pictured is a very large hanging papier mache piece with globe and skeletons made for Day of the Dead.

Wells Cathedral, although very old (we're talkin 1400's) had some recently made textiles on exhibit including this alterpiece I liked very much. It appeared to have actual twigs and thorns sewn to it but I think they were actually pieces of leather strips that were woven together.

I stayed with friends in Bristol, a good sized city with a harbor. The latest thing for artists all over Europe is to rent a storefront for a week or 2, fix it up and sell your work. I include photos of one that I thought was well designed with some interesting paintings, cloth banners and sculpture with quite a bit of commercial appeal. His window was silk screened in white allowing good visibility for what was inside.

Workshops Near and Far

In addition to teaching at Lillstreet this summer, a few of the teachers, including myself, will be traveling to teach workshops at other locations.  In a few weeks, I am off to New Hampshire to teach three embroidery workshops at the Squam Lakeside Arts Retreat.  I'm looking forward to meeting lots of other like minded textile artists and bringing back a boat-load of ideas for our department.   Let me know if you're going so that we can plan to share a meal in the dining hall or roast a marshmallow together at the bonfire!

While I'm on the subjects of workshops, if, like me, your budget is small this summer, let me recommend a stay-cation workshop retreat at Lillstreet!  Our department is offering five week-long workshops this summer in a variety of subjects.    If you can take a week off (or even just a week of mornings off) you can take screen-printing, dyeing, katazome, or embroidery, in an intensive workshop format.  See the website for dates and details.

One more thing......I added pictures of most of our summer classes to our department's facebook page this afternoon.   Check out the eye candy and sign up for summer fun!  And while you're there, why not become our friend?

India Ink and Vellum

I absolutely love making burnable images with india ink and a brush. It's so immediate and gives such an organic quality to your images in your prints. The great thing about india ink- you can draw and paint on vellum, and it's ready to burn (no oiling). That's it! So simple and so beautiful.

This last Sunday during open studio, I spent the entire time painting with india ink on vellum. By the way, "design vellum" is my favorite brand- particulary the 11"x 17" size. It's not too big or too small.

I have some of my results for you to see here. Stay tuned to see them in new prints which I will show next month.

With the end of the semester coming up in just a couple of weeks I thought I'd take a minute to tell everyone about the projects the First Time Sewing class works on in just five short weeks. First the class learns how to thread the machine and sew several types of seams. Then they make this fabulous Apron. And finally we finish up the class by making this amazing purse that will surely make all of your friends jealous.
Summer semester starts soon, be sure and sign up.

Lacy "NUNO" Felt

Lacy "NUNO" Felt class started, and running nicely now. Especially, dyeing wool roving is exciting! The colors are rich and it can make simple design because color itself is unique.

Also, it would be thin and light. The material of wool roving is fascinating.

x

May Fair Reminder

Just wanted to remind you all about this fair. It looks interesting and there's something for everyone. This is their poster. I will be at table 34. See you there!

Amazing Printed Goods on Sale

My friend Stephanie Waddell's design company Agnes and Hoss is having a clearance sale to move out some older prints.  Her hand drawn designs are so beautiful- each with its own story to tell.  Her pillows, hand-bags, scarves and more are breathtaking....have a look and grab a bargain while you still can!

Even if you're not in the mood for shopping, I recommend having a look at her designs- I think they will be inspiring to all of you screen-printers out there.

Protection

How can we escape reality. How can be block the overbearing sounds of the subway, and the thousand of faces that we see on a daily basis? Hiding is a mechanism used for protection and self-preservation. These drawings show a piece that I am working on. This piece is an attempting to protect myself from the, sometimes, overbearing nature of city life. This piece is made from matress foam and is in the form of a skirt. This skirt has the ability to form a cocoon around the body.

Process and Progress

Hello fellow textile artists! I am Amanda, new to the blog, and fairly new to being the sewing room moniter. By way of introduction, here's some of pictures of what I've been up to in the last few weeks.

I've been working on costumes for Zephyr Dance. I started the project by making gesture drawings at rehearsal and collages at home. With the patterns done and the materials ready its time to start the final sewing. I came to open studio last week to dye some of my fabric, 10 yards organic cotton/bamboo jersey from Pickering International(seen here drying in my studio). It is the softest, loveliest jersey I have ever found, reasonably priced- and it dyed beautifully too.












I finished the linen blouse I've been working on during open studio. Which is, by the way, from 6-10 p.m. every Wednesday. Do stop by! Its a great opportunity to get work done, and I'll be there if you need help with your projects.

Immersion Dyeing with Acid Colors

Last week, the Printing With Thickened Dyes class did some immersion dyeing with acid dyes to prepare for last night's class when we printed with acid dyes.  Stay tuned for pictures of the prints, and today, check out these photos of the immersion dyeing results.  All the images are either 100% silk or 100% wool.  The colors are so rich and intense.  It's an exciting process!

Remember when all those squirrels were being printed?

Hey all you people out there who were printing squirrels last year- maybe you still are? I remember a few really fabulous prints from last summer just waiting to be sewn into a soft sculpture.   I just found out about a contest for the best handmade squirrel at the Brooklyn General Store.  There are some seriously great prizes, including a $200 gift certificate (I could spend that so fast in their online store.....dreamy stuff, folks)  Check out the details here.