After my last unit of work being solely based around experimentation with digital printing and photoshopping images, I thought it was about time to loosen up my approach to printing. Sarah Easom said in a tutorial that my work would of looked better screen printed or even with a potato printer method! I was intrigued to see what a different result it would give to my printed garment and thought I would us the shapes I created in my photoshop digital prints for this unit to create a series of potato prints and stencils to get a layered more folksy botanical look.
I sourced a vintage lightweight shirt material from an end of line fabric store which I had laying around for a couple of months in my fabric box. By looking at the colours in the weave and my previous designs in the unit I choose a few colours to get me started.
Here a started with all the underlays of base colour for the finer stencils to go on top. After doing this layer I felt like it was really getting somewhere and quite liked it as it was, but i wanted more of a bolder print of my suit so persisted in the geometric shapes. I was quite time consuming but i throughly enjoyed the process and the ability to control the print a lot more than normal.
I then went on to add more small diamond shapes and the additional layers of finer geometric shapes. Here the print really came to life and was quite long in size. I then sourced trimmings and embellishments to match the printed fabric to give it the persian folklore vibe i wanted it to have using the same colour pallet. Within an overnight drying session I was ready to take the fabric to the studio to start making the suit...
These are the tailored casual shorts I made to match the suit. They are fully lined with floral material which makes the reversible, yet I would prefer them not to be. I was especially pleased on how easy I found it to create side pockets in the shorts for added functionality and the use of an alternate stripe denim on the bottom added to the shorts to make them look a bit more skilled.
This images is of the coordinating jacket from the back view. admittedly i found the hardest part of sewing the jacket to be creating the two side flaps at the bottom of the jacket. I am pleased with the finish and fit as I took extra time pressing the material in-between the making. I did find that the paints i used to print did add a stiffness to the material that couldn't be taken out, this was fairly annoying, yet added to the thickness of the jackets and meant using interfacing wasn't as necessary.
This image is of the front view of the jacket. I kept the stripe denim contrasts within the jacket to in order to mimic a 'pinstripe' effect and stop the overall pieces from looking far too casual. My best achievement from this part of the make was definitely the two side pockets with flaps, they were fully lined and piped and helped add structure to the jacket perfectly. Now I have mastered placement of these pockets I would love to do more experimentation with these on jackets in the future. Perhaps adding multiple pockets, larger ones and with added finishing details.
Close-up shot of the pocket and trims
Having a great fascination with 'geeky' style fair isle knitted jumpers I decided to create my own brightly coloured modern version using my own geometric shapes and colours from my print and suit. I started by making my own punch card using one of the main shapes from my photoshop work and combined it with blocking shapes to add further dimension to the overall knit. It was a great garment to create and after fully finishing the make I didn't have any snags or holes so it did look pretty professional and unique. I am really please with this piece as I feel the world needs to see more men stepping out in a good old tank top in the nearby future!
After making the suit i took it upon myself to craft out a basic shirt style out of fabric I got given from a friend who travelled to africa. The fabric was waxed cotton so went very stiff within a minute of it being pressed, it did crease easily too so I probably won't make another shirt out of this material in the future. Yet from a styling point of view, I would love to see it in a lookbook with my suit and sweater.
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