Leaves and Lutradur

I found some little experimental tubes from long ago with chiffon and melting fibres filed in the 'unfinished / unresolved' box. No longer either as they are a perfect stitch reference guide and colour scheme for my current efforts.

I had announced ‘experimenting’ was over in my last Blog but it seems that I was rather premature; there was clearly a need to continue the process. For a start, I needed to look at different paint mediums and their properties and then to decide on which paint(s) would work best for printing. I finally settled on acrylic mixed with some iridescent and pearlescent paints to give a lovely sheen to the finished surface. Years ago I used a lot of soft textured Lutradur (sadly no longer available) so I tried various ways of scrunching the the wet fabric to achieve a similar effect.

Then on to the stitching where I tried using different thread combinations in the bobbin and on the top to see if it would alter the distortion effect of the heat gun.  I am pleased with the results and think the leaf printing was a success and in proportion on the larger tubes. Hopefully without too many interruptions I will be able to finish the printing, stitching and coiling before the week is out.

Leftovers

 

The first of the leftover pieces of Lutradur was quite dense with acrylic (even though the paint was diluted) but would serve for an experiment. I was neither very precious with the choice of thread colour nor the quality of stitching; I was far more interested in adding texture and a raised surface with machine embroidery.

The previous Blog entry was limited by the largest metal knitting needle in my possession to wrap the Lutradur around but I wanted to work on a larger scale and was forced to search the house and garage for suitable heat resistant tubes. After distressing a little with the heat gun and getting hot fingers in the process, I was encouraged with the results and to my surprise the cylinders were very stable.

Like a small child I delighted in wading through the fallen leaves when I was walking this morning. As they moved like twirling, swirling dancers at my feet I thought about transferring the images before me onto the Lutradur. When I got home I used a lighter weight Lutradur in a continuous coiled piece to achieve a more lacy and delicate finish. I think there is room for added dimension with additional techniques and possibly some textural hand stitches. 

Experimenting over, I now need to think about a colour scheme and possible sizes.....

 Finished for the moment!

(following on from "Thus Far")

I was thinking of a gentle curve and a series of graduated tubes and not much else to begin with. I used paper straws and card to view the idea in 3D. It looked promising so I cut the stitched tubes into sections and began to fix them to a base. It became quite obvious that the Lutradur tubes had ideas of their own and clearly wanted to lean at much greater angles. I rather liked the effect and let the line meander in a slightly drunken fashion.

Embellished wool fibres over organza provided a foundation layer on which to work and finer details in the form of free machine embroidery, wrapped wires and coiled wires were also added. The tubes and felt base are fixed but everything else has fallen into position and been allowed to remain rather like an ongoing flower arrangement which permits fluidity and change.

Moving forwards I think I will try a heavier weight Lutradur (a 70 perhaps) and play with some larger cylindrical shapes.