Chapter 5, Task 1.Beyond the Straight and Narrow
Sample 1
Hand dyed silk (previously done) lightly sprayed onto a backing fabric.This is a bit of a mess as I began sewing in "boxes" again and I realised it is just not a big enough space to work in to show the stitch variances. So I abandoned the small working area at the bottom and stitched right across the rest of the fabric using between 2.0 and 5.0 mm running stitch and at the same time varying the spacing and direction of the stitch - the result was a pleasant surprise as it appears to have a "quilted" effect. The machine sewed well and no tension problems.
So in conclusion I must start to use whole sample pages and not chop it up into little bits.
I am happy with the stitch sizes and spacing but to have really shown this piece well a much deeper colour thread would have jumped out of the background.
Sample 2
For this sample I used a slightly stretchy lightweight cord fabric stitching waves in 3mm running stitch. Because of the stretch there is some unevenness and I was worried about puckering. The more I progressed the more puckering I got and with hindsight a backing fabric would have helped in this regard. Also I used the same "90" needle on this fabric - I am guessing I should have changed to a heavier weight needle.
Sample 3
This fabric is a very coarse cream weave (canvas). I tried using every combination of running stitch length and the result is bizarre.I found I could not sew a "straight" line - the fabric was literally swinging from left to right and the stitches are all uneven and wobbly! Very amusing.
Sample 4
After the last sample I thought I would play it safe and use a backing fabric under an old
T shirt remnant. I began with a tiny stitch and finished using a 5mm running stitch - a bit of disaster, really drab and very puckered because of the stretch even with the backing material. My observation is - this almost looks like pen and ink drawing now, the heavier stitched lines creating more shadow.
Sample 5
Sample 6
A dyed yellow cotton with stitch and tear backing.
Sample 6 is the right side and I scanned in the "wrong" side Sample 5 by accident.
However, they both have entirely different qualities and could be used I think either way or possibly folded and layered - the stitch quality was good and my observation of this sample is the differing "width" between the 3 lines of stitches gives a good perspective.
The fabric has puckered once again but I think this enhances the sample not detracts as it creates fabulous shadows.
