Stitch Adventures

Fashion Institute's Oscar Nominated Costume 19th Annual Exhibit

You've got to go, you just have to.  The Oscar nominated costumes are once again being shown at the museum at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles.  I make sure and go almost every year - because the chance to see the materials and innovative use of materials by  the nominated costume designers will just take your breath away.

And if you're taking others, there is a movie poster exhibit on the walls of the museum that will keep your non-sewing companions enthralled while you do your self-guided tour.

I'm not able to post pictures (no cameras allowed), but I did find a great website that will let you look at pictures taken by the press allowed to do so: Costume Exhibit.

The most captivating costume, in my opinion, was the "Volcano coat" designed by Sandy Powell (which is picture #3 on the link above).  Made from wire and plastic pieces, it was pure sculpture, made to look like pieces of lava and rock.  She also designed the men's jacket costumes and a dress from the same movie, "The Tempest".  They were made using zippers - many zippers, which added a unique decorative element: zipper men jackets.  Sure, you might see a zipper showing on a dress in a mall, or a pin-on flower made from a zipper, but these garments were made almost entirely from zippers!

Another designer, Michael Kaplan, did the costumes for "Burlesque".  The dancers costumes on display were, surprisingly, all decorated from a base of undergarments - bras, girdles, tights, etc., which were easily visible close up.  But the undergarments had tons of pearls, beads, chains, crystals, painting and other adornments.  From far away they would look quite nude - because the designer dyed the undergarments the same flesh color as the actresses wearing the costume.

Another interesting thing is the size of the costumes.  The costumes you are looking at in the exhibit were actually worn by the actors; so the Mad Hatter costume was worn by Johnny Depp, Chistina Aguillera wore the burlesque costume, etc.  That's one tiny woman!  It was amazing to see how small many of the costumes were.  Perhaps I expect them to be bigger because the actors are famous, (bigger in the viewers eyes).

The exhibit lasts thru April 30, 2011 and is free!  Believe me, it is worth the drive if you live in California.  Here's more info: FIDM Museum

Why not just use a computer to design fabric?

After weeks of driving hours to my fabric design class, I just can’t imagine why an artist would spend the time and money to paint big sheets of paper, when the computer can give you any color you want. And for that matter, why would a designer spend all this time and money trying to duplicate a design by hand, when computers will duplicate a design, precisely, and it only takes a click.

I was telling my oldest daughter about how my “dream” to learn fabric design was just plain hard work using just paints. I wanted to paint on fabric, or something.  I told her that painting is messy, time consuming, expensive, and I wanted to learn how to design on my computer.

And then, she told me about a website where I could have my favorite  fabric design printed on fabric at Spoonflower.com  I only needed to download a digital picture of my design, decide how much to order, and wait a few weeks. And it's fun to look and order the fabrics that other people have designed too.

Here's a video that explains the process.

I immediately decided to say goodbye to the paints, and learn fabric design by computer. There are probably several good programs that let you design, do repeats, and create wonderful patterns. I was relieved, and several weeks later, I don’t miss class (or the drive) at all!

A Ditzy print - sounds like fun.

In our last fabric design class, we learned about ditzy prints. These are tiny, flowery or natural prints with randomly scattered objects over the surface of the page. They look like calico prints to me, although one of my classmates painted bees.

My biggest problem with this assignment was that we were told to paint our background first. It was so hard to get the paint even (maybe if I had a miniature roller?).

I am pleased with the results - sort of like a quilting print.

This one I think I'll keep - I'm pleased with it because it seems simple.  Funny how I keep using the same colors - green and violet-blue.  I wear those colors a lot too!

Who's ever heard of a ruling pen? You've got to get one!

In the final weeks of fabric design class we learned some new techniques. First, how to use a ruling pen – a wonderful instrument used by people who do non-computerized drafting.

If you like to paint, then you should find one of these pens – you can mix up your own colors, and with a brush, you fill the adjustable tip with several drops of paint.

I had a hard time finding one, (I found it at an art store with drafting supplies)  Here's what they look like:

You can use the adjustment screw to draw different thicknesses of lines. Very straight lines! It was fun to play with – here’s my line pattern using the pen.

I drew various thicknesses of lines, then filled in the spaces with color using a brush.  Fun!

I know there are computer programs out there that will draw lines - but I can see the use of this when painting fabric freehand, or painting crafts.  It really is easy to use once you get used to it.  It's also very easy to clean - just rinse in water.  Sure you can buy fabric pens, but with this, you can make your own paint colors - not just use a generic color.

How to do a fabric design with a repeating pattern

Because of a sudden trip up north to take care of my dad, I missed my fabric design class and got behind. But my best designs were to come. And it was fun to spend a full week of painting and designing patterns when I got back.

First, we were to design a half-drop pattern. A half-drop for this fabric design class was a 4 inch x 6 inch design that repeats vertically every 6 inches. But horizontally, the 2nd column starts repeating half way down the 1st column design. So, the design in each 2 inch square isn't parallel horizontally.

Here’s a picture of my drawing, because it’s hard to explain to visual learners.

Then, we picked out three colors, with the fourth color being our paper (background). I transferred my design using graphite paper, then painted the flower design.

I decided to add movement (lesson learned again) by scattering little flower petals all over. Random is hard to do – but it sure fills in the unintentional empty spaces.

I am so pleased with the results!

A Trip to the Museum and Fabric Mart

A trip to the art museum and Fabric Mart in Los Angeles is always a great way to spend a day.  Both fabric design classes met at the Museum of Art in downtown Los Angeles. This is a place I’ve been to many times – changing exhibits (like Georgia O’Keefe, Picasso) and many permanent art exhibits that are quite familiar.

But this time, we are lead to a room of Indonesian textiles that are five centuries old. The designs are spectacular, swirling, colorful, and fascinating. We are told not to take pictures, and when I asked my instructor if it was okay to draw a copy of the designs we were seeing, she said that was fine. Here’s one design, so you can see what they look like.

The teacher told me it was quite common for textile artists to copy centuries old designs, because they are copyright free. The light bulb really went on then – if I couldn’t come up with something totally new, I could at least be inspired by what I could see in other, ancient designs. Architecture, antiques, old tiles.

In fact, there is a movement right now in the quilting world by women taking pictures of floor tiles in Europe and Asia, and then coming home to translate those tiles into beautiful quilts.

After the museum, I was off to the  Los Angeles Fabric Mart.   If you ever come to Southern California, this is a must do. Parking is always a challenge, but once you’re walking the streets, you’ve come to a wonderland of sewing excitement.

First time I went to the Fabric Mart, I was overwhelmed by the many streets and number of stores – all packed with fabric remnants, zippers, thread, elastics – everything discounted because it’s leftovers from the clothing manufacturers in the area. Now doesn’t that sound like a trip worth taking?

I’ve been there many times, and now know it’s better to have a specific project in mind, so you aren't tempted by so many choices. You probably won’t find anything other than polyesters, or blends. This is not nirvana for quilt makers looking for cotton, or for home sewers looking for linen, bamboo, soy, or hemp.

On this trip, I luckily found some silk prints – silk jersey and silk knits that are worth the price. Imagine this print in a flowing dress, blouse or robe.

I have this for sale in my online fabric store.

Fabric Design with Food

     On Saturday we designed fabric using gouache and whatever food and plant parts we brought.  I brought quite a selection: a lime, coffee beans, geranium leaves, a fern, kalanchoe flower, and when I ran out of ideas with those, I raided my lunch for some soy bean pods and a navel orange peel.

       Needless to say, we all had a lot of fun!  This was a great way to use up our mixed paints from last week.  But I don’t think I’ll be keeping these in my portfolio of potential designs.  Although the instructor says we should hang onto everything, as it just might inspire us in the future.

       Here are some pictures of what I came up with. 

Here's a print with coffee beans and a cut lime.

Made with geranium leaves and orange peel.

Used a long leaf, and a lime for the centers.

The end of an orange and fern.

Eda-mame pods - it looks like weird sea creatures to me.

This would make a great project to do on a warm day - outside with kids and acrylic paints.

Fabric Design with real paint

In my second fabric design class we spent some time making a fabric design and then painting with our gouache (pronounced go-wash).  These paints are opaque watercolors, and very expensive if you want to buy many. 

 

First, we were to draw a “natural” design (i.e. a flower or something alive) to fit on a 6” square of paper.  That was easy enough.  I looked at my water bottle, and there were little curvy waves, which reminded me of water lilies.  So I drew water lilies with water rings.  When the teacher came by, she said it was pretty, but I needed to change the direction of the water lilies.  The logic dawned on me – prints are supposed to be multi-directional, and have movement.  So I redid the drawing.

Next, we were to copy our design three more times, exactly, onto 6” squares, to make a   12” square.  Now suddenly, there were gaps in the design near the edges, and my water lilies created unforeseen diagonal lines.  They aren’t supposed to line up at all.  So I rearranged the flowers and redid the drawing, again. 

  

 

Next, we were to play with our paints, creating a sample palette of colors we wanted to use.  That was fun – squirting out paint colors into little cups and mixing to get a color I liked.  I mixed up some of my favorite colors - green and cornflower blue, violets and light blue.  We were limited by being able to choose 3 colors for our design – the fourth color was our paper.  Of course there’s logic in this too.  Fabric manufacturers probably love a limited number of colors in a print – it’s cheaper to make. 

 

Our homework is to paint our “full drop” design with our chosen colors, and bring natural items like food and leaves for nature printing next Saturday.  So that's my completed design above.

My First Fabric Design Class

My first Fabric Design class has ended, and did I ever have fun! The teacher was kind of quiet (you know those artistic types), but is a free-lance print designer, so should really know her stuff. There were about 15 students, half from the more advanced class – they were doing amazing things. But for the newcomers, she made a very easy assignment.

You should try this, really. I’m sure this would be a fun assignment for anyone, of any age. Because how hard is it to draw your name? Any size, any script, using any brush and black ink. We took a sheet of kraft paper (the kind you might have used, in the past, to cover a box you were mailing) and cut it to about a 14” square. Then, we started writing our name over and over. No pressure at all – just relaxing, because obviously we all know how to write/print/ink our own name – we’ve had lots of practice.

Then we took our rulers, and drew a 2” square grid pattern on the ink drawing, and lightly numbered each square for later identification. Then we took another sheet of kraft paper and ruled out 2” squares and copied, as nearly as we could, the design from each 2” square of the original. Next, we cut the grids apart, keeping the squares from each sheet of paper in separate piles.

All the cut-out squares from the original drawing were placed face down, and mixed up. These were then picked up randomly (not looking at the front) and taped together to form the 14” square of kraft paper again.

Voila! Turn that paper over, and you have the most awesome design. Here’s mine:

Then, we pieced and taped the second stack of squares, using the numbers, to match the first 14” square. By taping the two papers together, you get a “full drop” or repeat of a fabric design.

It was amazing the different designs that everyone in the class came up with. And with such little effort – just play with paper, ink and scissors, and you feel creative.

I was so jazzed – inside I was dancing, saying “you did it, you did it, you made an awesome fabric design”. And so I did.

Next week, we need to bring lots of paint (gouache, whatever that is), so I’m off to go shopping for supplies.

Fabric Design Class

Have you ever dreamed of being a fabric designer? A few years back, I did a career test, and the results astounded me. One of my ideal careers, they told me, was to be a textile designer.

Well, I do know a lot about fibers, the weaving and spinning process, dyeing, etc. And one of my greatest loves is fabric. I’ve collected it since I was 8 years old, and sew nearly every day! But designing patterned fabric, now doesn’t that take drawing talent? Which I don’t have?

One of the things I learned about myself a long time ago is that I will take a class, a workshop, a lesson, a lecture, a talk, or watch a demonstration anytime, anywhere. I even like the ladies who give away food samples at Costco. Imagine having that many people just waiting on your every move!

But my greatest love of learning is taking any kind of fiber/creative/sewing class that comes my way. Even after I graduated from college, I kept going back to the local community college to take ceramics, sewing and quilting classes. But there was one type of class that I couldn’t get through. And that was drawing.

I’ve never thought of myself as an artist. I am a crafter, a weaver, a knitter, etc. But I can’t draw or paint. Or so I’ve told myself over the years.

How in the world do you draw shadows?

Oh, I tried to take the drawing class, several times. But I could never get beyond the shadows. Trying to use pencils to draw an object was fun, and I could actually make recognizable objects. But then the teacher would get to the part where we would “have to” draw oranges on a draped white sheet, and I’d quit. I don’t understand shadows. I see them, but I have no desire to draw them. What color is a shadow anyway? I’m sitting here looking at a brown wooden table, and the light shining on it is what color? White? How do you draw shiny? Being a textile/fiber kind of person I think shiny is metallic.

So finally, because I also like researching colleges, I started looking for fabric design classes. Just to get my toes wet. I finally found one close enough to me (Otis College- 80 miles away in Los Angeles), and at a reasonable cost.

The good side of my head said "Take It! - sign up! It doesn't matter how far, how much!" The bad side of my brain said "You? You can't paint - Don't waste your time!"

I tried to talk my artistic daughter into going (I think she should be the fabric designer, because she can draw – she’s an incredible artist!). She refused.

I decided it was time to step out of my comfort zone, and finally signed up for the fabric design class.  Maybe I’m not an “artist”, but maybe I don’t need to be. Maybe someday, my name will be on the bolt end, as fabric designer of a “Free Spirit” fabric. First step is the hardest, right?

You should check out this video - I found out, later, that you can take photos and have fabric printed through some companies online.