'Weave' been busy!

Sorry, I apologise, no more bad weave puns, although they were looming. Ill stop, I imagine your all yarning.
Yes, completing my weave and therefore virtually all my practical work for year one created that out-burst of poor humour.

After a tiring but worthwhile month my weave is complete, all that remains is to cut and mount my final samples and make my finished piece, a corset. Its taken 6 metres but my weaves are ready and raring for some finishing touches.

And in a reminiscent farewell I wave goodbye to my loom (for now):

Get Weaving!

Well, its been a busy few weeks, what with making my warp. This was a new challenge and I had heard tell of the soul destroying process of making a warp from other students. I was eager to begin my weave so jumped at the chance to start my warp. Winding the yarns onto the warping mill was easy enough, even if it was dizzying at times. Winding the yarn onto the Loom was time consuming (with over 6 metres of yarn to wind and having decided to have a double warp it was bound to take time) but not incredibly trying. Threading the loom however was a different matter. Threading almost 200 needles in sequence was frustrating to say the least. And when the hard work was over, my warp broke several times, needing to be mended on various occasions.

Despite a few little hiccups I got into the swing of weave very easily and I'm currently enjoying producing my samples, here are some quick snaps of my progress so far:




'We sleep, but the loom of life never stops, and the pattern which was weaving when the sun went down is weaving when it comes up in the morning.' - Henry Ward Beecher.

Snow on Snow, Snow on Snow ...

Here are my Nine completed knit samples based on 'In the Bleak Midwinter ...' I experimented with different materials as yarns such as dental floss, ribbon and organza, as well as more conventional yarns. The photos are predominantly close ups and arty shots because the samples have not yet been mounted, but I do still think that you can get the overall feel of my work. All of these samples will contribute towards my final garment section, at this stage im leaning towards making a sleeve. Further photographs will follow when my samples are mounted and ready for display.

Sample One:






Sample Two:





Sample Three:






Sample Four:






Sample Five:







Sample Six:










Sample Seven:








Sample Eight:



Sample Nine:

Snow had fallen, Snow on Snow …

With ‘In the Bleak Midwinter …’ progressing nicely I began translating my designs and work into knit samples.

As I had chosen to study ‘Trees and Hedgerows’ within the project and how they are affected by snow I concentrated largely on texture within my sample development. Thinking about the textures of trees and bark and how these appear when covered in snow. I considered the rough bumpy texture of bark and began to consider a colour scheme that related to the snow, ice and frost which covered the trees. I also thought about trickling water and ice in cracks and how they all affect and change trees. This all became a basis for my design work. A line from the Christina Rossetti poem from which the project arose echoed regularly in my mind ‘Snow on Snow.’ Leading to the idea of layers and giving the visual impact of snow upon snow upon texture.

Here are a few very early scraps developing my ideas, choosing my yarns, colour schemes and preferred techniques etc:

Below: Random FairIsle pattern created using my grey/blue wool and a cream and blue acrylic mix, then felted. Knot created by hooking back on the machine after casting off.



Below: Created using a tuck stitch pattern, hooking up and ladders.


Below: Tuck stitch with Ribbon knitted in.

Year One, Semester One ...

The resulting Practical work from my first semester at University studing Textiles Design.

'Money doesn't grow on Trees' collection ...




'Lest we Forget' collection ...




'Don't forget the label' collection ...



During my first semester studying Textiles Design at Derby University Knit, Print and Weave were the topics of study. I gained a basic knowledge of these areas and learned skills which enabled me to create considered samples relating to the given topics. The best of my final samples for each area can be seen above, Here are some examples of the favourite parts of my work from semester one: