Part Two: Project Three – Machine Embroidery

Passed over Project Three Stage Six , exercises 2 at this stage so that I could set up the B.S.R. foot on my Bernina model 200 machine for the alternative exercise in Machine Embroidery. If I was to get hooked on this technique it would not surprise me as the electric needle works at a pace that ‘anything goes’ when manoeuvring it around a sheet of Bondaweb (Solvy) water-soluble fabric.This sample is of mixed media materials in and under the Bondaweb – and after the solvy has been dissolved in hot water. I have laid it out on white paper and glued paper punched dots as well as some paint colouring to give it texture. The original idea was to compound the surface with discarded sewing thread. I soon gave that idea up when I had a sense that I wasn’t being very successful with stitching on one sheet of solvy.

Persevered further by placing greater quantities of different coloured thread between a folded over sheet of solvy and placing the various colours in positions which appealed to my eye. From the start I gleaned that it wasn’t going to work because the bulky thread kept moulding up and stopping the presser foot from travelling freely over the surface.I learned that I needed to lengthen the stitch as for a basting stitch and securing the overall material in position and then by going back I was able to fill in the areas with a neutral stitch so that the material between the solvy would not fracture after the solvy was removed in hot water.

 

By playing around with a predetermined template I cut away portions of the finished stitching (after removing the solvy) to create some new images with the intention of using the piece at some later date as resource material.

Instead of enclosing leftover ends of sewing threads in between the solvy I drew an image of a flower and petals, stem and leaves on a piece of scrap paper and put it inside the solvy so that I could sew over the outline by freehand motion stitching. The work must be stabilised with the correct strength of stabilizer and compliment the fabric other wise the stitching will pucker and if  possible hoop the fabric backed by the stabilizer for various types of work.The most consistent stitch length can be maintained when the fabric is moved smoothly under the presser foot without abrupt changes in direction and speed. The needle can be moved under the presser foot using the needle and thread like a pencil to ‘draw’ intricate designs. Accent lines were sewn with thread colours one shade lighter or darker than the background area. Layering and trebling stitches works wonders for the texture.

I ended up having a debate with myself as to why should all the work be in the form of an abstract piece realising that by creating something recognisable visually I could then move on to something more representational. Creating a pencil design of some neutral object meant that  the outline provided areas which the thread could be held in (most of the time) and would then become possibly a two or three-dimensional object/image. The above image is at the early stage of drawing the design on to and in between solvy, with a coloured background to show off the design and the stitching of the coloured thread by way of satin and zig zag stitch. The final step was to remove the solvy and dry out the thread design. This is a photograph of it pinned to a wall. I said initially as the work started to have some meaning the excitement of the technique started to well up within.

Using the method of moving the fabric under the needle by hand has a reasonable degree of control as the needle is always operating and creating the stitching when the foot control pedal is depressed. The automatic button starts the needle stitching immediately it is switched on so this method requires more concentration than changing the control button from #1 (automatic) to #2 (non automatic) operation.

On the B.S.R. there are two stitches, straight and zig zag which can be altered for length and width except that the aperture in the presser foot and stitch plate must be wide enough to accommodate the width of the zig zag generally between 5mm and 9mm.

Worked on my own choice of colours with an introduction of other primary colours plus black and white. Worked from both back and the front to allow the bobbin thread with altered tension to show on the front of the finished piece. Ran the finished piece through hot and cold water and left overnight to dry. One of the pieces I tried sticking the threads down with 505 adhesive spray to hold them in place whist sewing. That was Ok but the residue did not come out when the solvy was removed. Not even the hot water broke it down so that when placed on any surface at all ‘it stuck to and had to be pulled away from’.

The result was quite matted and did not ease out when stretched so that the duller colours were predominantly compacted creating a confused visual experience and not all that pleasing to my eye. The textures were all there and clearly exposed as was the white thread used for the over-stitching. Using continuous lengths of pre knitted acrylic wool which is the latest trend in scarves it did help to expose the many linear markings. The answer I have now discovered is to leave the wet piece of work to soak for a few hours so that it softens up. Say overnight.

Using a more open weave fabric together with braids and lace again provided an interesting visual experience, exciting textures and another piece of resource object for later experimentation and resolution. Another time I will try variegated thread to lessen the effect of the thread used being seen on the surface. The lighter colours were highlighted more than was expected and stood out from the duller colours which became the basis on which they caught the eye. Because there was no preconceived idea of any pattern, form, shape or picture it resulted in the predominant colours being seen before any of the others.

The colours with a greater value and saturation were yellow, red and black. The piece of work required further concentration and visible interaction whilst being stitched in order to evaluate its composition and design. Will try other samples before giving up and moving on. All this work is experimental and exploratory. I have not tried to resolve any of the pieces into a particular design or feature – just simply went with the flow. It has been a case of learning what stitches and embellishing can create a particular outline, mark, feature or texture. I’m sure this will develop further over time by continuing to work more samples.

I have a sense that I have been led into working with water soluble fabric such as Bondaweb (Solvy) as a supplement to Freehand Machine Embroidery. (The title of this segment of the module) The work of Carol Naylor is more specific to what I understand to be this technique.

It is still performed with the B.S.R. foot and a hoop on to a base fabric.

For me personally this exercise/sample was more prescriptive than working with solvy. I felt I had better control of the formation of markings in its form, shape, configuration and that I could make more complete the resolution of any piece of work in this technique.

Wanting to sustain the urge to continue with sampling this technique I worked up a series of laces, braids, cord and sewing thread and after removing the solvy, secured it by ‘needle felting’ to a piece of bulk felt. Placing and sewing these  materials in some semblence of order was still not very successful. I was able to achieve some linear and continuous affects and it came alive once I started to add colour. Again the textures were easy to pick up and led me to think that I now had another sample that I could work to resolve later down the track. As this is a current piece of work I now have the urge to add more colour from other materials such as wool and yarn.Work-in-progress. Here goes.

Next stage ‘Pointillism’ well that’s what I am intending to do by way of needle felting. Taking slivers of my favourite colours – violet and yellow – and placing it under the felting needles/presser foot and punching them into little balls/dots of colour. However I have learned that needles break when I try to place the wool under the presser foot with tweezers and by using a knee lift I can use both hands to place the wool approximately where I determine I want it to go. Time again is the essence so that with more time and application applied to the task in hand I say again I may end up being another Pic………… or Mo……………..

I have chosen to experiment at this stage without any predetermined outcome in mind but I can see that this is another appropriate method to embellishing a piece of work that started under Bondaweb (Solvy).Back to the ‘drawing’ board or ‘sketchbook’ for some more practical and realistic outcome. The effort now needs to be considered along with the drawings in my sketchbook so that the Gwen Hedley idea of ‘drawn to stitch’ becomes a reality.

Just in case I give the impression that hand stitching is not my ‘cup-o-tea’

have stabilised some embellished hessian with vilene and created/stitched some

french knots with varying shades and tones of yellow yarn. To create other textures I have also used yellow cord and will continue on with this work-in-progress by using embroidery and sewing thread. The more open weave allows better penetration of the needle and passage of the thicker yarn which have a greater impact and concentrate the attention of the eyes.Introduce the colour violet and the whole image changes both under light and as the stitching is moved up and down and backwards and forwards. The background texture and colour of the hessian bring a slightly effervescent effect as well as the sequins attached to the hessian.

 

There are minimal colour changes as a result of the duller shades of violet and the dirge colour of the hessian.The silver flecks in the hessian have a bluish tinge and the brown and black warp and weft have a greyish tinge. The yellow does stand up possibly because the background colours are lumpy and looking tired. Here’s to a more open stitching of the french knots and colours with a greater sheen.