Development_ Indigo dyeing

This weeks tutorial we focused on how I might refine my samples and start to bring everything together. I have been incorporating lace into my work in various ways but I have found it has never quite worked as it tends to look too heavy and messy, so this week I have tried to address this.

In the sample below I used a stencil I created from the lace to bleach the sample and then to foil over the top. I think this has a better finish to it as it uses the idea of the lace but feels more natural to the sample. I will continue to explore this technique with different kinds of lace/ stencils and play with the scale of it within a sample.

The indigo dyeing has been a time consuming process but I am glad I have percervered with it as it gives a depth and richness of colour, unlike synthetic dyes. For unit x I decided to set up my own natural indigo dye vat so that I could have more control over it and experiment a bit more. I tried two different kinds of indigo, Tamil is a traditional indigo which gave a nice shade but I found the vat was exhausted quickly meaning I couldn’t dye as much yarn. 

This week I switched to a Mayan indigo which promised a darker shade and found this to be more successful for the depth of colour I wanted. I consulted Zoe on the best technique with indigo dyeing. For the deepest shade, the fibre needs to be re-dipped several times in the vat to build up the layers of colour. 

I have experimented with dyeing both yarn and piece dying samples after knitting. I like the results of both, the dyed yarn knits up with a slight marled effect, where as pice dyeing gives a flatter colour but  can be graduated more organically through a sample.

(Indigo dyeing process)

Development

During this weeks tutorial we discussed garment ideas. I found that my earlier illustrations where not quite communicating what I intended when I showed them to Laura so I have been developing a consistent style for illustrations that reflects my sketchbook and overall feel of the collection. This is something I am still not completely confident with but having thought back to Julie's sessions and experimenting with a few different ways, I feel I am on the right track now and my illustrations are more effective.

(garment illustrations from sketchbook)

I kept the figures very simple, using a gestural outline to suggest a body. I like the texture of using collaged papers which also reflects my work in my sketchbook. I will continue to refine the illustrations as I go, perhaps combining digital design with the collage. 

I have also been sampling to inform garment details/ structure. The sample below is an idea for a sleeve shape. I like the volume created by the drop stitch and am pleased with how the onion skin dyed yarn works with the indigo. I dip dyed the sample in indigo after knitting and then bleached bits out to play with the addition and removal of colour, I think this has been successful however if I was more sensitive with the bleach I could achieve a more subtle gradient of colour and a refined finish.

I also dyed the sample below after knitting, using different shades of wool to achieve the striped effect. I have found embellishing the wool to be really effective at creating movement and structure within a sample and I could imagine it working well on a garment to highlight details or areas of the body. I am keen to try this technique with others and to develop it further.