What is the technique?

In sewing, shirring is two or more rows of gathers that are used to decorate parts of garments, usually the sleeves, bodice or yoke. The term is also sometimes used to refer to the pleats seen in stage curtains.

What are the relevant materials needed for the technique?

• Fabric
• Elastic thread
• Elastic band
• Sewing machine
• Threads
• Pins

How to achieve the technique?

Elastic Thread

1. Set up the sewing machine with the elastic thread on the bottom bobbin.
2. Sew the fabric using the sewing machine(sewing pattern A for school’s machine).
3. From second line onward make sure to keep the fabric straight before repeating step 2.

Elastic Band

1. Set up the sewing machine with the regular thread.
2. Place the elastic band on the inside of the fabric, pull to stretch completely and secure with pins.
3. Sew the fabric and elastic band together using the sewing machine with the zigzag stitch.

What are the uses and applications of the technique?

This technique could be use to created accessories, dresses, sleeves, pouches, etc.

Photos

samples shown in class

Small pouch made with elastic thread

Experimentation with elastic band

Own personal reflections

This method is particularly simple, but coming up with application and new idea is very tough.

Shirring with elastic band is actually pretty tough because the elastic band might not stay in place after being stretch. The result also differ quite a lot through out different type of fabric, where with thinner material like cloth the gathering cause by the elastic will be bigger, with thicker material like leather or felt it will be lesser.

What is the technique?

Smocking is an embroidery technique used to gather fabric so that it can stretch. Before elastic, smocking was commonly used in cuffs, bodices, and necklines in garments where buttons were undesirable.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smocking

What are the relevant materials needed for the technique?

• Smocking template
• Big piece of fabric
• Sewing Needle
• Threads
• Fabric chalk(or any pen/pencil for marking)

How to achieve the technique?

1. Draw the smocking template on the back of the fabric using fabric chalk.
2. Sew the fabric according to the lines indicated on the template.
3. When completed shape the smocked fabric accordingly.

Round smocking

1. Cut out a piece of fabric into a circle
2. Sew the corner of the fabric together with equal spacing( change according to needs)
3. When completed, pull to gather the fabric.
4. Cut and tie the thread.

What are the uses and applications of the technique?

This technique could be used to make accessories, wearables, cushion covers, etc.

Photos

Smocking template drawn onto fabric

Round smocking

Experimentation with different pattern

Own personal reflections

I find this technique very fun as it doesn’t requires much thinking, and it’s a lot of repetitive actions. The final product come out really nice and uniform. And just by changing the size of the template, very different texture could be created.

However if one wants to create own design, a lot of thinking is required to come up with new template.

What is the technique?

Applique is a sewing technique that involves stitching a small piece of fabric onto a larger one to make a pattern or design.

What are the relevant materials needed for the technique?

• Pieces of fabrics
• Scissors
• Pins
• Sewing Machine
• Sewing Threads
• Sewing Needle

How to achieve the technique?

1. Prepare the pieces of fabrics, and cut them into desired shape using a pair of scissor.
2. Lay them out on a big piece of fabric and secure them using pins.
3. Sew with the sewing machine or hands, adjusting the types of stitch and spacing as desired.
4. Remove pins in the progress until the fabrics are properly sewed onto the big piece of fabric.
5. Repeat step 1 to 4 until desired design is achieved.

What are the uses and applications of the technique?

This technique could be used to make toys, scarfs, table cloth, clothes, etc

Photos

Samples showed in class

Own personal reflections

This technique is very much like drawing, but instead you are drawing with pieces of fabric. Planning ahead and sketching is very important, but it is also fun to see what can be done with the fabric on hand.

Differing the type of stitches and spacing can allow one to create very different looking design despite using the fabric of the same shape.

Also not only is the choice of colour of the fabric important but also the thread being used. Changing the thread accordingly to the design can greatly help how the design would look in the end.

What is the technique?

Felt is a non-woven textile that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or synthetic fibers such as acrylic. There are many different types of felts for industrial, technical, designer and craft applications. While some types of felt are very soft, some are tough enough to form construction materials. Felt can vary in terms of fiber content, colour, size, thickness, density and more factors depending on the use of the felt.

What are the relevant materials needed for the technique?

• Felt(wool or acrylic)

Wet Felting

• Warm water
• Soap

Needle Felting

• Felting Needle
• Sponge or foam board

Nuno Felting

• Fabric
• Felt sheets

How to achieve the technique?

Wet Felting

1. Lay the felt out into desired design.
2. Pour warm water and soap onto the felt and start scrubbing.
3. When you feel that all the felt are properly intertwined together, wash off the soap and leave dry.

Needle felting

1. Pick out the felt of desired colour and start poking it with the felting needle to shape it until it is firm enough. Can be done on the sponge/foam board or not depending on the shape desired.
2. Repeat step 1 until desired product is created, making sure the poking is even in the process.

Nuno Felting

1. Prepare a piece of fabric/felt sheet and felt.
2. Layout the design onto the fabric using the felt, and use the felting needle to poke it into the fabric. Making sure not to poke too hard or big holes might be created on the fabric.

What are the uses and applications of the technique?

This technique could be use to created accessories, toys, wearables, etc.

Photos

Samples showed in class

Preparing for wet felting

Adding warm water and soap to the design

After scrubbing, washed clean with water

Needle felting experimentation

Own personal reflections

This technique is very tough and hard to achieve what is expected of the final outcome.

For wet felting a lot of movement is expected while scrubbing which changes the original design.

For needle felting, lots of time is required to shape the felt and to make it into desired shape and design, and the shape is greatly affected by amount of felt used and the way of poking. Keeping the thickness of the felt even throughout is especially tough.

For nuno felting, it is very similar to needle felting, however it is slightly easier because majority of the time the final outcome is flat, and thus multiple felting needle could be used at the same time to shape the felt, which help to hasten the process.

What is the technique?

Vacuum forming is a simplified version of thermoforming, whereby a sheet of plastic is heated to a forming temperature, stretched onto or into a single-surface mold, and held against the mold by applying vacuum between the
mold surface and the sheet.

What are the relevant materials needed for the technique?

• Vacuum forming machine
• PVC plastic sheet
• Object as Mold (must be able to withstand high heat and pressure)
• Scissor

How to achieve the technique?

1. Turn on the vacuum  forming machine and allow it to heat for approximately 20 minutes.
2. Cut the PVC plastic sheet to required size depending size of the mold.
3. Place the objects to be molded into the machine.
4. Place and secure the plastic sheet into the vacuum forming machine.
5. Pull the heater out to heat the plastic sheet until no more wrinkle can be seen.
6. Push the heater back.
7. Pull the lever up and at the same time turn on the vacuum pump.
   (If the mold is very tall, turn on the pressure pump before the vacuum pump to allow the plastic sheet to blow into more even thickness)
8. When desired shape is formed turn off the pump and remove the plastic sheet.
9. Trim the vacuum form plastic sheet into desired shape.

What are the uses and applications of the technique?

This technique could be use to create molds, packaging, plates, container, masks, etc.

Photos

The vacuum forming machine

Experimentation with different objects.

Experimentation -moon rabbit-

Own personal reflections

This method is very fast and efficient, and allow the quick creation of forms. However the type of plastics that can be vacuum formed is very limited.

This technique also require quite a bit a skill such as the duration of heating, vacuum pumping, and pressure pumping. And to prevent mold from being stuck in the plastic sheet, the object being molded should not bend inwards(e.g. a inverted cone).

What is the technique?

By definition, thermoplastic refers to the quality of a fiber whose molecular structure breaks down and becomes fluid at a certain temperature, making it possible to reshape the fabric by pleating, molding or crushing. The fabric is ‘fixed’ on cooling and cannot be altered unless heated to a temperature greater than the one at which it was reshaped.

Polyester belongs to the group of Synthetic Fibers. A synthetic fabric is thermoplastic, that is, it can be transformed through heat into new configurations, which on cooling are completely stable.

What are the relevant materials needed for the technique?

• Polyester Organza
• Objects as molds – glass, wood, certain plastics, Yupo Paper etc
  (must be able to retain shape under prolonged period of boiling)
• Rubber bands
• Aluminium Foil
• Pot ( must not be reused for cooking)
• Stove (gas or electric)

How to achieve the technique?

1. Prepare the piece of organza and using rubber bands, tie the objects onto the fabric. For Yupo Paper, sandwich the organza between two piece of Yupo Paper folded into the same origami design and secure it with rubber bands.
2. When step 1 is finish, wrap the whole fabric in aluminum foil.
   (to retain heat while heating and also prevent the objects from out as there is a high chance the rubber bands will break under prolonged boiling)*Note* step 3 must be done outdoor OR under proper ventilation as the gas from boiling is poisonous.
3. Prepare a pot filled with boiling water.
4. Place the fabric wrapped in aluminium foil into the boiling water, making sure the water is enough to cover the fabric.
5. Cover the pot and boil for 45~75minutes(might differ depending on the fabric used), making sure to check back once in a while that the water do not dry up.
6. After boiling is done, remove the fabric from the pot and let cool.
7. When it cooled to a temperature that is safe for touching, remove the aluminium foil, rubber bands and mold from the fabric. Be careful not to stretch the fabric too much while it is still hot, to prevent changing the form.
   *If fabric did not shape as desired, put it back to continue boiling*
8. Let the fabric hang dry.

What are the uses and applications of the technique?

This technique could be used to make special texture/designed fabric, as cushion cover, bags, accessories, etc.

Photos

Organza

Objects being wrapped in organza

Wrapping in aluminium foil before boiling, using rubber bands to indicate who it belongs to

The organza shine beautifully unde light

Origami design for yupo paper

Important notes

Own personal reflections

I find this technique very fun as it allows fabric to become a certain shape, yet still retaining the soft quality of a fabric. This add a lot of quality to the 3-dimensionality of a piece of fabric.

Also, due to the nature of thermoplastic, this method could be redone multiple time to achieve desired effect as thermoplastic changes shape under heat. It allow a great deal of possibilities through altering the time of boiling, the organisation/placement of the mold, the type of fabric used, and the number of times it is boiled.

What is the technique?

Plastic Fusing is the use of heat to combine unwanted plastics making them into a new piece of plastic ‘fabric’.

What are the relevant materials needed for the technique?

• Plastic bags, bubble wrap, wrappings, plastic containers, etc(any plastics that can be melted by iron)
• Iron
• Ironing Board
• Baking Paper
• Scissors

How to achieve the technique?

1. Cut the plastics into desired shapes/pattern and layer them together.
2. Turn on the iron (temperature as required)
3. Place the layered plastics between 2 pieces of baking paper.
4. Iron over the baking paper, checking back and forth by holding down one side of the baking paper and peeling the other end, and check whether the plastic has fused as desired.
5. Repeat step 1,3,4 until the design is complete.

*Note* if residue/ink of the plastic bag got stuck onto the baking paper, change for a new piece of baking paper to avoid the fused plastic from sticking onto the baking paper, destroying the design in the process.

What are the uses and applications of the technique?

This technique could be used to recycle unwanted plastics, making them into useful materials like bags, accessories, wallet, etc.

Photos

Collecting plastics for this method

Ironing the plastic, making sure the plastic doesn’t over melt

Experimentation

Making plastic bag from plastic bag

Own personal reflections

I find this technique very interesting as it starts to make me look at plastics that I use to think are trash. Collecting different packing, trash plastic, bottles containers.

I think this technique also allow many new texture to be possible, through fusing different plastics and experimenting with the heat of the iron, number of layers of plastics, etc. However, colour combination is tough using this method, as almost all of the material used are recycled, which means we are forced to think of what design is possible given the limited choice of colours and materials.

What is the technique?

Fabric of threads is a method where a new piece of fabric is created through putting together threads, scrap fabric and trims. The ‘fabric’ is then sewed together with water soluble stabilizer, placed in water. And lastly, molded into the desired shape.

What are the relevant materials needed for the technique?

• Sewing Machine
• Water Soluble Stabilizer
• Threads, ribbons, trims, cloths
• Pins (to secure the materials)
• Mold (to shape the fabric)
• Container with Water
• Acrylic Spray

How to achieve the technique?

1. Create the ‘fabric’ using threads, ribbons, trims, cloths, etc.
2. Secure the design between 2 pieces of water soluble stabilizer with pins.
3. Sew the materials together with thread, and remove the pins as required.
4. After the ‘fabric’ has been sewed as desired, place it into a container filled with water.
5. For wearable like scarfs, wash until all the water soluble stabilizer has been remove.
   OR
   For object where a certain shape is required (e.g.  hat, pen holder, etc), slightly dip the ‘fabric’ into the water to dissolve the stabilizer, and while the fabric is all sticky, put it on the mold.
6. Allow the fabric of threads to dry.
7. Spray with Acrylic Spray to harden the final piece.

What are the uses and applications of the technique?

This technique can be used to make scarf, hats, pen holder, lamp shade, curtains, and many more. It function as both fabric and a solid material depending on the technique used.

Photos

Dragonfly created using embroidery threads

Design secured between two piece of water soluble stabiliser

The design sewed together

Submerged in water

Let dry on a mold

Final outcome

Own personal reflections

I personally do not really like this method, because it required mixing a lot of threads and fabric scrap together, and the outcome is not easily controllable.

However, through this method I realised that not only plain thread can be used, but also knots(e.g. chinese knots) or fabric that has already been modified.

The use of water soluble material gives many possibility to what a fabric can become because it let fabric become something that is not just soft, but retain it’s shape, which can then be made into many different product.