Textiles Retrospective

Textiles Retrospective

by turquoisecho

The aim of the workshop was to take inspiration from architecture to create our own textiles. Examples of architects we took inspiration from included Zaha Hadid, Frank Gehry and Santiago Calatrava.

The morning focused on creating samples of textiles and learning basic techniques.

This is a zigzag pencil pleated fabric. It is created by folding two sheets of paper into this shape and sandwiching fabric between as a type of mould. Applying heat sets the fabric to the same shape.
This is the process to create a box pleat. We offset the other side’s pleats to create a twisted box pleat. The final result can be seen in the photo of my completed work.
This is a twisted pencil pleat. The samples were finished that afternoon by sewing a straight line across the pins on a sewing machine.
I created this myself. I quite like how organic it is; it reminds me of a beehive or maybe holes that decay causes in wood.
The finished work.

In terms of what I enjoyed or found useful, being taught how to use the department’s sewing machines will be invaluable. Since I enjoy embroidery, I could use the sewing machine to create bags or pockets from the material I embroider on – or to work on garments that already exist, like shirts.

The day of the workshop, I was in a very bad headspace. My heart wasn’t entirely in the second half of the day, so I could have made more of the time I was given.

In taking this further, I will probably focus on applied textiles rather than constructed textiles. It resonates more closely with my illustration-based art.

Leave a comment