Textiles
Mark Making
Sun Printing and Pounding
Batik
Embroidery
Upcycling Plastic
Shibori
Mark Making
Research on Mark Making
Mark making is a term used for the creation of different patterns, lines, textures, and shapes. This activity may be conducted on a piece of paper, on the floor, outside in the garden or on an object of surface.
1. Mark making with pencil and rubber
What you need : selection of pencils and rubbers
The point of mark making using these utensils are to experiment and enjoying the different pressure and thickness of variety types of pencils while also creating patterns.
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It can be so daunting to draw the lines on a big sheet of white paper, but try not to think about the pattern too much. Just try to explore the process and making it up as you are doing.
Varying the pencil mark can create a multitude of different effects. Combining different pencil marks in one sketch, will create variety, and more realistic images
Create some shapes and lines with pencils
Can also adjust the shadow with finger
Build some area of texture with variety of pencils
2. Mark making with ink
What you need : palette, brush, ink, water
Mark making with ink may look a bit like watercolor. If necessary to create more fade shade, try to add some water on the ink.
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A lot of mark making is not just about using materials. Some household appliances, branches, and feather can also be used for mark making
Key notes for mark making:
Mark making is the broad term used to include all marks that are made visible as a manifestation of applied or gestural energy. It is the gestural language of drawing, and marks are the component parts within it.
While doing mark making, try to be more free and experiment more on the texture and thickness of the material that are being used, rather than the outcome sketch.
Experiment on Mark Making using object from nature, chinese ink, and other colored tools
I used several objects that I found in nature, such as feather, rock, wood, leafs, and wheat for mark making. For the paper, I used A4 watercolor pads so that it will be thick enough not to transfer the Chinese ink and acrylic paints. The purpose of doing this exercise is for us to explore and experiment more on how we can use object in nature as part of our tools while creating a design. With variety of texture, size, and also shapes of the objects, it may lead us to create and found a new artwork or object that can inspire us to do our next exercise, which is batik and also embroidery.
This was my first mark making. At first, I did not really understand about the concept of mark making. Instead of focusing on the texture and shapes with the nature objects that I found, I drew a landscape of a boy on a boat in the middle of a lake.
After understanding the concept of it, I was then created some patterns with leafs, coconut, and wood. I also added several colors on it to create some abstract motifs along with the pattern.
Some part of my exercise looks a bit like a flying creatures. With another color stick into them, I see them as their wings.
Insights for theme : Butterfly, Insects
I experimented further with wood, feather, and even the leaf itself to actually draw a definitive nature object, with acrylic this time. For me, it was very challenging because I have never painted with acrylic before. Therefore I was not really focus on experimenting with the object, but the coloring tools. Even so, I then just put the acrylic paint on the leaf and stick it to the paper to paste the texture of the leaf and pretty much satisfied with the result.
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I notice that the intensity of the colors are depending on how much pressure that I give on the leaf and how many paints that I swatch on the object. As I discover this, I played more on the opacity and making use of the different texture that my object has.
I tried to combine and mix several of the marks from different pages together to gain more ideas and inspiration. I realize that I was drawing so many of circular shapes with different opacity and also sizes. Some of the patterns that I draw created was also overlapping with one another. Since I also draw a feather, I then connected them together and the pattern reminds me of bird's feather
Insights for theme: birds, chicken feather, peacock
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Reflection:
While doing this exercise, I was over pressuring myself on creating shapes to come out with a theme for batik and also embroidery. That is why, I then did not really explore more and actually "play" with the objects that I have in front of me. However, I realize that the texture of the objects that I found really guide me to create new patterns and shapes that may lead to another inspiration of which I was not think about before.
How does mark making is linked to the overall theme, "Innovation from nature"?
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As day goes by, I realized that most of us are too comfortable using brushes and other tools that we create on our own to create a design. Even for me, myself, I had never really utilize these kinds of nature object which I just used for mark making to actually explore more on developing and creating a design of my own
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Even by their textures and shapes, the object that I found from nature really pushes and helps me to get more ideas as a new innovation which I may not think of before. Also, by using nature objects, it reduces the amount of energy for ones to make tools for them to be used while creating art and design
Sunprinting and Pounding
Sunprinting with Cyanotype
Materials needed:
1. Cyanotype Part A
2. Cyanotype Part B
3. Cardboard in A4 size
4. 100% cotton white fabric
5.Flat objects found in nature
6. Sponge Brush
7. Disposable plastic container to mix the solution
8. Pins
9. Hair dryer
10. Aluminium foil
*Before doing the sun printing, one must prepare the cyanotype by mixing two solutions (the day before), add water to the two chemicals according to the directions on the bottles, and let them sit for 24 hours to dissolve completely
Steps:
Mix equal amount of solution in container, add water, and stir to combine
Pin the nature object on top of the fabric. Make sure that all parts of the leafs or flowers are pinned and laid flat, so that it will not create different opacity. (or it can also be one of the elements to explore on too)
Dip sponge brush into the solution and brush it on top of the fabric. Make sure that the solution is brushed evenly to aim better result
Leave them on the sun for 30 minutes. Here's how they looked like. The color of cyanotype looks very different than when it is still wet. However, it will change afterwards after being rinse with water
Try to brush the solution not in a wet fully loaded so that all parts of the fabric will absorb the solution equally
Remove the nature objects and rinse the fabric with fresh water. Change the water for few times until it is clear. After that, dry the fabric with hair dryer
Final Outcome:
After washing it and drying it, the result comes out and I was not really satisfied with it. There was some shadows found and some objects were not even close to their actual shapes and distorted.
The object on the left has some fur texture but managed to show the same form on the center and creates some shadow bordering it. However, even though that the right object has more definitive shapes, the center of the object is not thoroughly un-dyed evenly because it was not pinned throughout the center of it.
Sunprinting with Pebeo Setacolors
Materials needed:
1. Pebeo Setacolors
2. Sponge Brush
3. Cardboard in A4 size
4. 100% cotton white fabric
5.Flat objects found in nature
6. Disposable plastic container
7. Pins
8. Hair dryer
9. Aluminium foil
*Different than cyanotype, pebeo seta colors comes out with variety of colors. They can even be mixed together to create different color
Steps:
Put the Pebeo Setacolors on the container and make the color that you want
Pin the fabric into cardboard and dip sponge brush into the fabric paint and brush it on top of the fabric. Make sure that the solution is brushed evenly to aim better result
Dry the whole fabric with hair dryer and make sure that every part of the fabric is fully dried before put the natural objects on top of it
I ought to make a batik pattern with the petals of flowers, to gain more inspiration for batik patterns and was also try to pin several of the flowers not at every edge of the objects so that it can create different opacity on the texture and enhance some shadow of the flower
After when the design is laid, put the fabric under the sunlight for 30 minutes. Same as the cyanotype, the fabric is supposed to be rinse with fresh water afterwards. However, this experiment was failed because there was no sunlight during that day.
How does sun printing is linked to the overall theme, "Innovation from nature"?
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While doing sun printing, we were making use of the environmental elements which is sunshine to help us making the print of several object on the fabric and water to rinse the cyanotype and pebeo seta colors. Even more, we used objects that we found in nature such as flowers, branches, and leafs to create the print. By doing this, I believe that we already minimized the amount of sources that will damage the environment, because cyanotype has already proven to have less toxicity on their chemical comparing to other printing method.
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Even so, sun printing may not be 100% sustainable because as what we already experienced, we need to rinse the fabric for several times in order to really showed up the print. This may reduce the amount of fresh water and also the water disposal
Materials needed:
1. Objects found in nature
2. Baking paper
3. 100% cotton, white fabric
4. Unwanted t-shirt
The flower hammering requires strong, vibrantly colored plants so that its color can be transferred easily through the fabric. For the first experiment, with strong pounding, the color and shapes of the plants are sticked perfectly. Be careful on when pouring the hammer onto the fabric, since it also requires lots of strength for it to transfer.
Steps:
For the first experiment, I laid all of the flowers together in a more, free, and a bit far from one another. At this step, I was still trying to figure out how the pounding works. I am afraid that if some of the petals are overlapping, the end result may not look as good
While doing the pounding, remember to put another shirt on the bottom of the actual fabric, because some of the flower pounded color may also transfer there
Here's the end result of the first experiment. I realized that some parts of the flower are not transferred thoroughly, and that's why I was pounding it more. However, the flower then completely crushed and shrink a little bit, leaving no color afterwards
For the second experiment, I ought to make some abstract, gradient color with the flowers arranged. Even so, as the colors are quite similar, the gradient does not really show. But, because I put more of overlapping objects together, the resulting colors look more vibrant and very similar with the actual object's color.
Reflection:
I really enjoy the whole flower pounding process because I could experiment and understand more, that several nature object (especially flower petals) have such strong colors that it can even transfer onto fabric. The picture on the left, is the below shirt that was there when I hammered the two fabric on top. As it is not a shirt with white fabric, the color does not really show. But I feel like it even transfer better (the color) to this shirt rather than in cotton. So, probably the type of fabric that we use to pound may also affect on how successful the transferred color and shape is.
How does flower pounding is linked to the overall theme, "Innovation from nature"?
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After doing several experiment on printing, I realized that flower pounding is the only one who does not need any chemical to produce one. The reason why is because we only need to use our strength to really make the prints work to be transferred on top of the fabric. Even we do not need any dye because the flower itself has its own color that will stain on the fabric. Therefore, flower pounding can be a new way of revolution for printing a specific shape of nature object, especially the vibrant color of flowers.
Shibori
Shibori is a Japanese manual tie-dyeing technique, which produces a number of different patterns on fabric
Experiment:
Materials needed:
1. 100% cotton, white fabric
2. 100% cotton, black fabric
3. 100% polyester, white fabric
4. Unwanted jeans
5. Marbles
6. Thick polyester thread and embroidery needle
7. Ice cream sticks
8. Clips
9. Bleach
10. Rubber bands
11. Raffia
12. Wooden card
13. Buttons
14. Natural dyes
15. Dylon dyes
*In this experiment, we tried to dye the white fabric with natural dyes and synthetic dyes, while the black and jeans fabric will be bleached
The whole process of shibori started with the tying process. Here are the fabrics that I tied with different techniques and tools to create different pattern for me to explore, as inspiration for batik and embroidery
After tying it, we can start to give colors on the fabric with dyes. But, we must wet the whole fabric first so that the fabric will easily absorb the dye
The color that I use is for shibori does not necessarily have its meaning. I was trying to play with the combination of them so that it can lead me through different possibility of theme.
Giving dyes and also bleach the fabric, we must let the fabric to air-dry first. Once they are all in medium dry, we can untie the rubber band, raffia and also the clips together. Be careful when arranging each fabric together, because the dyes may drop and may affect the other pattern of shibori
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Sparkling Feather
The fabric that I was using for sparkling feather is 100% cotton and there is no specific method for the tying process and I was jut experimenting on how it may look like when the fabric is twisted and tied together. As I was observing on the pattern of this shibori, I realized that by giving different pressure, tightness of tying for different parts are also creating some different opacity on how much the fabric absorbs the dye. Looking at some part, I see some color that are mixed together, are created brown color and reminds me of the rooster's feather.
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Furcata Pink
The fabric that I was using for furcata pink is 100% cotton and there is no specific method for the tying process. I was just trying to twist the fabric while tying them on the opposite direction while also add some marbles in the middle of them. I also use some rubber band because I was curious and want to know whether the result of the tying with raffia or bands will be different. And turns out to be correct.
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While tying with rubber bands, we must really make sure that it already been tied for several times so that the fabric will not absorb so much dyes. However, I feel like tying with raffia is much harder because it requires more strength to really make sure that it is all secured.
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The pattern of this shibori reminds me of coral, particularly Caulastrea Furcata, which is a genus of corals which forms short branches and trumpet-shaped coralities
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Lotus Echo
The fabric that I was using for lotus echo is 100% polyester and I was trying to tie the fabric using ice-cream sticks. I fold the fabric in half vertically and fold it again half, vertically so that its ends up with a long strip. As I was dyeing it with Dylon dyes (the bright color-yellow) the fabric area of the ice cream sticks are still absorbing the dyes even after I secure them perfectly with rubber bands. Even so, I added some droplets contrasting color dyes on top of it. I realized that using polyester fabric, it is easier to fold them up and iron them together. Because even no matter how often I flat iron the fabric, the folding is still there. ​
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Pelagia Nocpurple
The fabric that I was using for Pelagia Nocpurple is 100% polyester and I was tying them together with Tegumo Shibori patterns, which is Hozuki (Chinese lantern). The method of it is just to take one part of fabric and twist them up and tie the raffia from the bottom to upper part of the fabric. Different than Lotus Echo, even that I used polyester fabric, there are some parts of the fabric that did not absorb the dyes and some part that still absorb the dye. I realize that if we want to do shibori, we may not successfully resist the area of it perfectly but the intensity of the color.
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The pattern of this shibori reminds me of jellyfish, particularly the head of Pelagia Noctiluca, because of the color of the dyes. This purple jellyfish is a sea fellows that carry a very painful sting in its long tentacles.
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Oyster Dot
The fabric that I was using for Oyster Dot is 100% cotton and I was tying them with Kumo shibori, which is known as the pleat and bind technique. It involves binding the fabric in very close sections almost in a look like triangle shape and tie them together with rubber bands.
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Itajime
The fabric that I was using for Rafflesia is 100% cotton and I tied them with Itajime (square) techniques. The main focus on Itajime is for the fabric to be folded into rectangle accordion-style into square and place them between two piece of square wood and secure them with clips. But this time, I was curious on how it may look like when I tie them with another tools, so I used rubber bands instead.
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As there are some differences on intensity and tightness for each rubber bands, there was created some of gaps between them that almost look like a circular resist, as if I was using marbles to create the pattern. Because of it I feel like I almost created another new pattern which usually did not come out when one is using Itajime method
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Rafflesia Dots
The fabric that I was using for Rafflesia Dots is 100% cotton and I tied them with Ne-maki technique. It involves wrapping the cotton with small objects (in this case, marble) and cinching them to produce small rings. I also got curious on how it may result when the fabric is just tied on a knot. And resulting that of course, all of the dyes will just absorbed on the fabric. I did not untie it afterwards because they are all just becoming a dead knot.
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When I observe more on the result, I feel like the dotting part reminds me of the Rafflesia Arnoldii's petals. This particular flower is known for its largest bloom that can grow to be 3 feet across and weigh up to 15 pounds.
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Titan Arum
The fabric that I was using for Titan Arum is 100% cotton and there is a part of the fabric that I applied the Ori-nui techniques to create titan arum shapes. It is actually a flower that is known for its blooms that smells like rotting flesh.
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After I stitched the shape and sewn so close together, then I pull the thread and put some dyes, both natural and synthetic dyes on it. The result, however does not really show the shape or even the resist area of the thread. I feel like this happen because the thread is not actually made from 100% plastic. Because I had already tied them all together very tight but the color still penetrate through it.
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Triangular Bleach
The fabric that I was using for Triangular Bleach is 100% cotton and I fold them together into triangle shapes accordion and iron them flat first before clip them together. I was aimed to create many variations of star- or even hexagon shaped patterns, but then it does not really show because I put the fabric for more than 5 minutes, and more area of the fabric is absorbing the bleach. Also, as I put them too long, the fabric then resulted to be ripped off because it is very fragile and can not really handle the bleach for that long time.
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Red Plasma
The fabric that I was using for Red Plasma is 100% Polyester and I tied several buttons on it and secure them with rubber bands. Unlike the other shibori which I mostly direct dyed one-by-one, I put the whole fabric on the dyeing while it is boiled. The aim for the result for this whole process is to create shape on how exact we tied our fabric.
The shape of the button which is circular and also flat kind of reminds me of blood flesh, even supported by the red dyes. Also, I feel like this method is very interesting because it really stays out the shape of how I tied them. No matter how often and how much object that I put on top of this piece, the shape and silhouette stays the same. ​
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Starry Jeans
Just like the name, the fabric that I used for Starry Jeans is made from jeans. I tied them all together with the Ne-maki technique but I did not put any of marbles between them. Even that I tied them with the same method, the results are a bit different because this time, I take different amount of fabric on every pieces that I tied. After tying them, then I put them on the bleach for more than 5 minutes. Different than the one in cotton because jeans is a thicker fabric, it needs to be dipped into the bleach for longer time so that the fabric will absorb the bleach thoroughly. Personally, I really am enjoying the process of bleaching jeans because the result of the tying may come to unexpected pattern that is also more free, because of its thickness and tightness of the rubber bands.
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Sparkling Jeans
While tying Sparkling Jeans, I did not think too much about the method of it and was just crumpled the jeans together and tied them up with rubber bands and dip them on the bleach for more than 5 minutes. And personally, I am really satisfied with the result because it gives more impression of abstract and a bit untidy. I saw them almost like water that spiraling and stirred together. That is why, I put on some colors in the middle of it and also spread more colors on the edge of shibori.
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After observing the result, I realized that some parts are a bit look more like a seahorse that stands up around in circle. Also because of the original blue color of the jeans, this piece really reminds me of water and the lifelike under the sea. I find that it can be an inspiration for the batik and embroidery pattern.
How does shibori is linked to the overall theme, "Innovation from nature"?
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After tying the fabric, the dye that we used for adding color on it is also made out of the natural ones that we create on our own. For this activity, I was making the green color dyes from spinach and I noticed that the color is also as strong as the green color of dylon dyes. That is when I realized that some of the natural dyes can actually have the ability replace the synthetic ones- those that may be harmful for the environment.
Batik and Embroidery Concept
After gaining more insights on what theme that I'm going to use for Batik and Embroidery, I settled with the concept of Rafflesia Arnoldii and Titan Arum together. However, some sketches below them are also some process and development before I decided on this concept
I finally choose this concept because I also want to make a design that is based on Nusantara's nature. Indonesia, which is the place where batik was born. As Indonesia is mainly known for its richness in culture and nature I also want to create some pattern based on its famous, iconic, and flowers. These two flowers from Indonesia are famous for its stinky smell when they bloom and their gigantic size comparing to the other flower that we usually encounter in our daily lives. I choose flowers because for me, it is the most essential part of a plant as it is the source of seeds which continues the heredity of the plant itself.
Batik sketches
The first sketch for batik is inspired by the iconic rooster logo that can be found in restaurant's bowls around Asia, meaning as wishing for prosperity.
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I personally like this concept very much as it is also a representation for the similar culture that we have in Asia, but also still related to nature. However, this sketch is too complicated, yet cannot be used for batik.
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Rafflesia arnoldii is one of the most famous flower from Indonesia. The flower is known for its huge petals and unpleasant smell when it blooms.
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This sketch above is inspired by the wide variety of animals in Indonesia, mainly focused on the sea. I find this design is strong enough to also highlighting the richness of Indonesia, where the batik comes from. The abstract pattern bordering the animals is referred to the waves of the sea, where their shapes can be unpredictable, yet beautiful. However, this design is also too complicated to be drawn with batik techniques.
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These two designs above are the ones that I decided to develop more on and applied in batik. I was aiming to create more dots as a reflection for the Rafflesia Arnoldii's petals and some straight and curved leafs as representation of Titan Arum's petal. I realize that both of them are too close to one another and it needs to be repeated on the A3 size fabric. That's why I will repeat the pattern together and probably cut some parts of it
Materials needed:
1. 100% cotton, white fabric
2. Batik Patterns on paper
3. Pencil to trace to pattern
4. Embroidery hoop
5. Tjanting tool
6. Plastic container and spoons
7. Brushes
8. Batik dyes, Dylon multi-purpose dyes
9. Paraffin wax (40%) Beeswax (60%)
10. Bowl to melt the wax
11. Stove
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Wild Rafflesia Arum
Before applying the wax for batik, we must lay out our design first and draw it on top of the fabric. For this experiment, I use pencil and just trace the design of what I had already drew.
Applied the wax on top of the pencil and make sure that the wax penetrate and melt through the fabric, down until the wrong side of it.
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I did not control the tjanting tools very well, that's why some of them are dropping and ended up ruin my design. I should have right away peeled them of when they already hardened, but some parts of it is already sticked and penetrate through the fabric and when I tried to peel it, the fabric is almost ripped.
After that, I put the Dylon dyes on the fabric and was trying to do some ombre color, mixing red and yellow together. When doing this, I notice that I need to really wet the fabric first even just with water, so that the color will mix really well.
I also try to right away draw the pattern without tracing them with pencil, and I feel like the outcome is more neat because there is no pencil stain behind it. I then understand that I should not have traced and draw it with pencil in thinner way
I was trying to give a crack effect on the negative area other than the patterns. But as I put the wax in thicker manner, I realized that it is then make it harder to actually break the wax. I then just try to lay more colors on top of it
Final outcome:
After cracking it, I boiled the whole fabric to get rid of the leftover cracks with the hope for them to peel of. However, some part of the wax is still sticked through the fabric because I applied them in thick layers. I also try to peel them off with my hands, I could not get rid of them. Even that some of the wax still there, I feel like the color of it still connected to my theme and I eventually just leave them as it be to even give more elements for my design.
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Spiral Raflessia Arum
For the second experiment, the steps are pretty much the same as the first one. But, I did not use crack effect on this piece and was actually put the wax on the fabric at my home. I used 100% beeswax and applied them with brush. I realized that using brush is very much easier to swatch and put the wax on the design layout because it is more fine and not easily dropped. However, I notice that it is a bit time consuming to do that because at one dip of brush, the wax did not really absorb on the brush that much, so I needed to dip and dip more.
Final outcome:
For Spiral Rafflesia Arum, I used more purple color to represent the color of Titan Arum but the shape is from Rafflesia. The color that I used for this piece is more vibrant and also bright to represent the intensity and variety of the shade of Rafflesia when it is bloom and when it is not. I also put more dots on the negative area to represent its petals.
I did not boiled the whole fabric because I'm afraid that it will fade most of the color like the previous batik. I just ironed them and let the wax to slowly melts together. As it is made out of 100% beeswax, I realized that the wax is much thinner and easily removed or even peeled off. So, I think that that for the next experiment, I could try to combine these two different wax on different area to aim different outcomes.
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Titan Arnoldii
For the last experiment, the steps are still the same as first and second one. This one, I was trying to combine the pattern and also layout that I already made from the ones that I did not use. On this piece, I used 2 different wax and also 2 different tools.
For the left side of the batik, I used 100% beeswax and applied them with brush, while the other side to be with 40% of paraffin and 60% of beeswax and used tjanting tools to apply them. The reason why is because I reallyy want to see the comparison of the tools and the wax together when is put on the same piece. Other than that, I also got curious on why I could not really control the tjanting. As I going onto the process, I learnt that the reason why the wax keeps on dropping is because I did not slanted the tools, resulting more wax to come out from the finer tube end of the tools.
Final outcome:
For Titan Arnoldii, I also tried to apply on everything that I had learned from the other two pieces together, and this piece turns out to be my favorite. I tried to mix two contrasting color together by adding more water on it, and also drew the design with thinner pencil lines with the hope for them to not show as much as the previous pieces. I also did not put the whole fabric on the boiled water and just iron them to melt the wax. However, during the day when doing batik, I did not have enough time to dye the right side of the fabric and accidentally iron the wax, resulting the wax to be melted
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Comparing the intensity and successfulness of using different wax, I noticed that using 100% beeswax does not really resist the fabric to absorb the dye. As you can see, some of the dyes of Rafflesia pattern on the left picture is spreading around the wax. But on the right picture, as I used the wax that is mixed with paraffin the wax is more fixed and successfully resist the dye to penetrate the fabric.
How does batik is linked to the overall theme, "Innovation from nature"?​
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In this activity, we are using paraffin wax (40%) which is more brittle and is ideal to give the crackle effect so characteristic of batik. However, there are some parts of the motifs that are so fine that it will allow the wax to be broken, making the dyes to be easily penetrate and ruin the motif. This is where the innovation from nature comes in. The 60% of beeswax (the material that female worker bees usually used for building their honeycomb) will help the overall wax to be more flexible and is ideal for large areas, where it will cover without cracking.
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Relating batik into sustainability, which is in the area of inclusivity and equality, some places in Indonesia even involving people as worker to give jobs for those who has lower income to provide opportunity. Other than that, as the method of batik is being done by hand, it carried out at every stage of production starting from the selection of environmentally friendly raw materials and also renewing the use or increasing of low-carbon production technology.
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Even so, while trying to take out the wax, we need to boil the whole fabric on a fresh water. This resulted to a waste of raw materials, water, energy, and the disposal of waste that will burden the environment. So, the whole process of batik may not be 100% sustainable
Embroidery sketches
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I drew this sketch before I settled on the theme; a seahorse as an exploration and development from the shibori pieces, Sparkling Jeans that I did previously. In this sketch, I want to emphasize on how our nature is made out of different elements, from flora to fauna. I ought to combine those living creatures that we can find under the sea, which is why I put them inside of the animal's body.
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This piece is also drawn before I settled on the theme. It is an exploration and development from two of the famous spice from Indonesia, which is cloves and nutmeg. These two plants are very famous and really valuable for its culinary, folk remedy uses, and variety of health benefits that attracts European to colonize Indonesia. I ought to combine the richness of these plants with other animals that also attracted to them, which is butterfly.
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After settled the theme, I then sketched more on how Rafflesia and Titan Arum can be combined together. I think that the placement and the shape of them is a bit boring and very similar for the ones that I used for batik. So, I tried to develop more from these sketches and here's how it turns out:
First Embroidery
Second Embroidery
Materials needed:
1. Fabric related to patterns and theme
2. Embroidery threads
3. Embroidery needle
4. Embroidery hoop
5. Embellishment such as: lace, sequins, ribbons, beads
6. Bonding paper
7. Pins
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Blooming Titan Arum
Before I started stitching, I cut the pattern of my design and trying to lay out them and play with the colors
I used several types of fabric which is flannel and also organza. I was trying to combine different texture and adding more ways for giving colors of the petals
I tried to stitch several of the beads together, giving more embellishment and surface decorations of the pieces for the flower's body
Final outcome:
For this embroidery, I need to cut them and make the whole piece as applique to be attached on another fabric because the basic fabric that I used was calico. Turns out, the contrasting color between the base and purple for the petals really match really well as I intended them to be complimentary as what on the color theory
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Blooming Rafflesia Arum
For this experiment, I tried to be more free and not too attached on the pattern. I wanted to do more layering and combine them together later with bonding paper
Even though that some parts are layered and thick, I realized that we can just easily cut the bonding paper and iron them all together to save more time. While doing this, I also need to make sure that the bonding paper is still on the fabric and not on the paper, so that it will not ruin my design
Final outcome:
For this embroidery, I was focus more on doing applique, cutting the flower petals to make it as pattern. I created some ruffles on the bottom and top edge of the fabric, to create more embellishment ad the raw edge because they are a bit frayed. I realized that I should have embroidered more and even add beads on the petal so it does not look as boring. To develop more, I would add pearls on top of it so that it resembles well on how the rafflesia’s petal should look like. However, as I did this piece in such short period of time I did not able to do that.
How does embroidery and appliqué are linked to the overall theme, "Innovation from nature"?​
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Same as batik, the motif that we used is all inspired by nature, which is a metamorphosis on what we have explored and research more for this experiment
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Relating it into sustainability, which is in the area of inclusivity and equality, some places which tend to have lower income also give out some wide opportunity for the worker to experience on embroidery.
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Same as batik, as all of the embroidery and appliqué process is mostly made by hand, it also required lesser energy to produce one
Sashiko and Boro
Sashiko sketches
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Materials needed:
1. Sashiko Inspired pattern
2. Old recycled fabric
3. Embroidery hoop
4. Embroidery thread
5. Embroidery needle
6. Tracing wheel
7. Chaco tracing paper
8. Pins
Before I started stitching, I tried to arrange the placement of unwanted fabric which I already cut, while also tracing the pattern that I'm going to stitch
After that I realized that the polka dot pattern does not really match well with the other fabric, so I removed them
Final outcome:
For the sashiko experiment, I noticed that there could be some variations on the gap between each stitches to combine the design. Here, I pulled some of the thread that have quite long gaps between them, while stitching them together; resulting it to create a little gather in the middle of it. I should have developed more on this pieces and focus more on joining several parts of the fabric as the main point of sashiko. However, just like the previous embroidery, I did them in last minute and had learnt my lesson to not repeat the same mistake again in my future learning.
How does Sashiko and Boro is linked to the overall theme, "Innovation from nature"?​
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In this activity, we were using unwanted garments or parts of the garment to be fixed; to give them a new life because the whole concept of doing it is to repair worn places or tears with patches. And I realized that by doing this, we actually decrease the amount of textile waste, therefore be sustainable and responsible for our garments. I think that also by using the theme that is inspired from nature, this traditional Japanese method can also be a new fashion movement for everyone to explore more in fashion and be inspired, be more aware of the object from nature.
Upcycling Plastic
Materials needed:
1. Used plastic or packaging
2. Non-stick baking paper
3. Iron
4. Used flat plastic items
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Baggy Trellis
I tried to combine several plastic with different thickness and ought to make use of the plastic prints as if it was eating another plastic. I realized that by ironing them in a very hot temperature, it creates holes and enhance more element on the piece
This is how the back of the plastic looks like and I really love how it turns out. The shape a bit look like they are embossed together.
As I was aiming to make a bag, I added bubble wrap on to them to make them even thicker, iron them from the back so that the plastic will not melt as much
I was combining and joining several button together to make the bag's handle. Here, I overlapped several buttons together so that it will not be easily break and durable. While doing it, I really need to overheat the button together because unlike plastic packaging, buttons are even thicker and takes a really long time for them to really melt and be flatten down
Final outcome:
I wanted to hand-stitched the button handle onto the plastic. While doing it, I find the thread easily penetrate through the plastic, resulting it to be even harder to be combined together. That's why I put tape instead to secure them.
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Pleated Plastic
*In this experiment, I was trying to apply my theme in design studio with Upcycling plastic together
Materials used:
Plastic bag, Tissue's Packaging, Mask Packaging
The color that is used for this up-cycling plastic project is inspired by the concept of Expressionism.
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Expressionist questions the form and the color usually is dark, as a representation of emotions to "express" their feelings about the modern world.
Just like what I did on the previous experiment, now I also tried to explore more on the thickness and the effect that the plastic gave
I added some thinner plastic from the straw packaging and when I ironed them, they create holes exactly as how I cut it. This can be a new method to form a specific empty space in the middle of the plastic
I overlapped more and more plastic together but still giving more pressure on the edge of the plastic. I realize that this method will then enhance the plastic's durability and make them easier to form on the latter
Final outcome:
When trying to create pleats out of the plastic, I found some difficulties on folding them together. The reason why is because the piece is too thick and the solidness of several area may not be equal due to its amount of overlapping plastic.
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I also try to stitch the plastic on the folded part. However, I do not think that it may look as good as when it is not stitched together. Even though that it will secure the pleats, the thread may even outstay the whole idea of Upcycling plastic. In this case, it may not communicate well on what I was trying to say to reuse plastic waste and appliance on my theme.
How does Upcycling plastic is linked to the overall theme, "Innovation from nature"?​
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Relating it to sustainability; using waste which we all aware that it is hard for them to be disposed is a new way for us to approach the reduction of plastic waste. Also, this whole method does not necessarily need another toxic chemical or specific expensive machine. We only need iron and our creativity to really utilize the whole waste and joining them together to be more functional and also practical to be used for every day lives.
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Even if not for the functionality, plastic can also be an element and decoration to be reused for fashion (fabric manipulation or surface decorations). In this context, other than trying to make a bag, I also tried to redesigning the plastic pieces together to be a detachable collar. Everything that we do, even for the tiniest little things by reusing, redesigning, and reconstructing plastic, I believe that it can also create movement for our environment to be better in the future. This can also be a way for us to care more with the nature and be more sustainable.
Development Linked to Design Studio
This is my moodboard, illustration, technical flat drawing, and also color palette for my project. This year, I ought to focus on convertible clothing; focusing on how the collar of a garment can be detachable and also come out with different pieces for the wearer to style by themselves
After experimenting and developing more, I realized that I want to focus more on the area of the second garment (the vest)'s collar, also the sleeve's hem with fabric manipulation to propose on this subject. Here are my experiments:
I ought to create a standed collar, to emphasize how stubborn and straightforward my persona is for combatting sustainability. But, I'm afraid that it will disturb the practicality of when they are actually wearing it. That's why I lowered them and experiment more on layering, inspired by the ruff collar during The Elizabethan Era
Ruffle collar
Pleated collar, overlapping more
Here, I was trying to take the advantage of the stiff fabric material; gabardine (which is the fabric that I'm going to use for my outer) and creating more silhouette by making it as ruffles and also pleats, while some part of it is crossing over the front neck and making it symmetrical
As I was exploring on the pleated collar, I realized that doing irregular pleats are also interesting and could be a new way to adding more elements on the garment. Here, I was trying to create more and more pleats by pinning them with no order or repeated way, as if I was about to create shapes on the fabric and trying to place them on the end of the sleeve. However, I noticed that I did not really make them as "irregular" as it should be because some parts are still too in order.
This time, I was trying to be more "bold" and not letting myself being caught in a box, I learned that I was thinking too much about the placement and also the overlapping part of the folding, which really restrict me to make it irregular. I tried to overlap several parts even more so that it will create more angles and shapes at the end of fabric and putting them in a context of a collar and cuffed sleeve.
For the starting point of the cuffed, I intent to not cut them in straight to add more silhouette and also shapes.
After exploring more in irregular pleats, I tried to drape more pleats on the mannequin to try more on how it may look like when it is becoming a collar. This time, I tried to drape the pleats from one shoulder to another by crossing the back
I was also trying to drape another type of fabric, which is organza and play for the placement of it on the collar. I thought that as it is a transparent fabric, it may also best to place them in the collar, especially for the inner garment. That's why I also try to draped them on top of my actual garment to get more visual on how it may turns out.
These are how the pleats may look like when is sewn on top of the actual garment. I realized that the black organza pleats may also have potential to be layered on top of the layered cuffed that I already intentionally sewn together. By adding more layers on top of it, I feel like it will suit my theme really well as the concept of being expressionist is distorting and even exaggerating some parts of the garment or elements.
After trying different types of layering, playing with the placement of the pleats, and exploring on the material and characteristic of the fabric together, I then just explore more on by combining several drape that I had done before. To be honest, I feel like this one design may have potential to be developed more for my future consideration on fabric manipulation for my actual garment. The combination of different fabric (gabardine and organza) highlight the differentiate between my persona, teenage girls and the society who belittles them for combating sustainability. The overlapping and layering parts of the pleats, are both there together to highlight the exaggeration and also distorting the actual collar to be bigger size.
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Reflection of the whole process of exploration related to design studio theme:
Overall, I really enjoy the whole process of exploring and trying several method for doing pleats. As I also explore the shape and silhouette of the collar, I feel like by doing more and more experiment on the future it may even enhance both of my draping skill and creative skill for fabric manipulation.