Sampling

Over the last couple of weeks I have developed Photoshop designs from my initial drawings of collaged 'banners' inspired by work from a previous unit X project to be digitally printed. However, the outcomes of these prints were not what I wanted; the colours were too dark and the fabric choices were not right for the effect I wanted to achieve. The sublimation printer can only print onto synthetic fabrics, but I thought I would be able to achieve a closer effect to paper using this technique with the selection of fabrics on offer to me. I was also advised by the embroidery technicians that I would not be able to stitch onto paper using the multi-head embroidery machine as it would tear easily, so I began experimenting with Paper Nylon and Poly Taffeta - both thin fabrics with an appearance similar to paper.

Poly Taffeta

Paper Nylon

The sublimation ink absorbed better into the Poly Taffeta than the Paper Nylon, which I think was due to the Paper Nylon feeling as though it had a covering on the surface - my prints were much fainter. I do think both types of fabric were effective, however I prefer how the colours appear on the Nylon with the embroidery as it appears three-dimensional. I produced A4 and A3 banners as these were the restricted sizes available. On reflection, I would have liked to produce a larger scale sample using the sublimation printing method, similar to the paper roll I experimented with in week one of the project, which is a development I could make in future.

When it came to designing a digital embroidery pattern on the ethos software, I hadn't considered the size of the stitch out frame – I hadn't used the software for about 6 months prior to this so it took a while to get used to. Moreover, when it came to stitching my designs out on the multi-head machine, I realised some of my designs were still too large, meaning I had to rescale them and use the sash frame on the machine. It was also difficult to line my designs up with the prints, and in future I will create a reference point on the fabric if I am stitching directly over one particular shape. Furthermore, because the sash frame extends further than the machine front, it can get stuck on the sides, which causes the design to move over the fabric. Although this was unintentional on the mustard colour sample (above), I love how the stitching adds depth to my design, and reinforces the transparency that I wanted to achieve towards the beginning of the project on Photoshop.

Similarly, the embroidery design below, that has been stitched on top of one of my original drawings, reinforces the water marks on the fabric and adds depth and texture to the flat printed design. I intend to explore this further at a later date in the Practice unit.

I will submit an A3 sample for the Bradford Brief as I feel a larger scale sample would be inappropriate to illustrate using the boards which I will put together. I plan to continue creating samples for an interior context, alongside experimenting with scale in the live brief element of the project.