Final project

For my final project, I was inspired by rock formations, also known as rock strata.

Material exploration

#1: wet felting + needle felting

I used yellow wool for the base, and tried using layers of white wool to simulate the layers of rock strata. After soap and water and drying, I needle felted wool yarn to create some dimension. The overall look was still quite flat, so I didn’t move forward with this technique.

#2: plastic fusing

I cut strips of plastic in varying thickness and fused everything together. The ironing caused some distress and holes, which I liked, but just like the felting, it didn’t have the dimensionality I was looking for.

#3: fabric of threads

I used yarn of varying thickness and sewed them together. The sewing process caused some of the yarn to bunch up and become wavy, which was quite a nice effect. I might have moved forward with this technique if I didn’t fall in love with knitting.

#4: knitting

I tried out the reverse ridge knit stitch pattern, and I liked the effect it produced. Similar to the layers of rock stratification I was going for.

Development

Stocked up on wool from Spotlight for the final project

Tried out the bubble stitch, which produced a cool texture

Experimented with using different yarn sizes. This didn’t work out as the thinner yarn didn’t line up properly with the thicker yarn.

I started with the reverse ridge knit stitch, casting on 11 stitches. After a few rows of the pattern, I wanted to try switching to the bubble stitch. Once I did that, the stitches somehow increased to 24. My initial idea was to make a scarf, but because the width of my work increased, I figured I would make a clutch/purse instead.