Locating Tutorial Six

This week was a success and I am delighted with my outcomes. I booked myself in the print room and worked with the devore technique using the screen designs I finally put in. I used three different fabrics which would work with devore as well as my digital designs.

Inverted screen           Original screen 

The two screen designs are made up of the same composition, however one has been inverted allowing me to burn away just the back ground on some samples and the original screen design allows me to burn away just the design on other samples. When working with the original screen on the digital prints, it creates completely different effects which I believe are not as compelling compared to when I have used the inverted screen.  Although I am using the same design, I feel like the screen which allows me to burn away the background, leaving just the design in the silk fibres, works the best. It has created delicate, feminine fabrics which acquire a higher end look. The design allows the subtle colours from the digital prints to make up the design which is left in the fibres on the fabric. 

Inverted screen sample   v  original screen sample

It has also worked well using white fabrics alone, which has made up most my samples. Alberta Ferretti works with white fabrics in some of her work which inspired me to take a white on white approach. The slight colours from the digital prints combined with the white fabric devore'd prints work together making up a strong collection.

White Fabrics

Therefore, I will most likely continue to­­­­ use more of the inverted screen for the rest of my samples as well as my final sample for the Bradford printed textile design for fashion. The designs portray a Florentine elegance and would make beautiful fabrics for garments in a high end collection similar to the garments used in Alberta Ferretti’s collections.  

As I am using a technique I am not comfortable with and have not practiced much, there were a few failed attempts. With my first few attempts, the design wasn’t clear as some of the fibres hadn’t fully burned away. I realise I had to bake the samples a little longer and spend more time rubbing away the fibres before washing them. Although this was my first attempt at using devore I was surprised how quickly I was able to overcome the failed attempts and how strong my samples turned out.

Failed devore sample

In order to produce more samples, I need to book myself in the print room, however, there is no more space to book this week. Although normally this would be a problem, fortunately the print room is now open until 8pm and therefore I am able to check if any spaces become available after 4.30pm when people normally go home.

To produce the delicate and subtle samples I am aiming to achieve, I also need to create bigger and more polished digital prints that are faithful to the refined colour palette I am using.

My self initiated brief also needs attention this week. Therefore, I will start doing some fashion illustrations and visualisations to understand what garment shapes my designs will work best on. These fashion illustrations may also be the subjects for my look book which will make for an interesting illustration book.