Making my base fabric

Tonight I am giving you a post about how I produce the base fabrics that I use to make my jewellery.

Before creating my jewellery pieces, I first produce the basic material to be cut out and stitched. Here are some photos of a new piece of material made recently:

Step 1

First a suitably coloured background material is bonded onto a layer of Vylene stiffening material.

Step 2

Small pieces of fabric, ribbon, threads, etc are placed onto the base layer, over some bonding powder.

Step 3

A complex multi-colour pattern of tiny elements is gradually built up.

Step 4

A layer of organza is placed on top and then ironed to bond it to the layer below.

Step 5

Freehand machine stitching over the entire sheet fixes everything together.

Step 6

The fabric is lightly treated with a heat gun to expose some more of the colours beneath.

Step 7

Another layer of small pieces and another layer of organza are added. the surface is then stitched using a variety of pattern embroidery stitches.

Step 8

Stitching over the now complex layered fabric. With experience, great depth and subtlety can be achieved.

Step 9

Final treatment with a heat gun brings out the depth of the material.

Step 10

The completed base fabric ready to be cut up and stitched into jewellery pieces.

India: fashion and fabric

I had an incredible trip to India earlier this year, and saw some spectacular sights.

The bright lighting of the first three photos works in combination with the bleached stone surroundings, forming the perfect backdrop for the vibrant fabrics worn by the women.

Indigo-washed walls frame the final two pictures, contrasting with the red and yellow tones of the clothing.

Pandamonium

And on another note entirely, I’ve also made a couple of panda-themed creations. I’ve finally been able to use the plastic animal eyes I have lying around from when I used to make soft toys for the kids (as yet I haven’t found a non-creepy use of plastic eyes in my textile art!).