A Textile Designers guide to the art of Fabric Manipulation to use in simple craft projects
I’ve been a bit slow about publishing recently, and there’s a good reason for that! This project has been taking up my whole life! I think it was worth it, though. This project is the c…
I have finally put together my group of tactile samples! From top to bottom and from left to right: 1 Zigzag gathering over a string...
Join artist Amanda Whited for a digitally-led Fabric Manipulation Workshop, exploring fabric manipulation techniques to craft a personalized lumbar pillow cover. From ancient smocking to contemporary gathering and tucking, this workshop unlocks the world of three-dimensional textile art. Embrace creative play with ample room for exploration, crafting a pillow cover using your design composition that perfectly complements your home and personal style. Bonus materials encourage extending newfound skills to embellish tote bags, clothing, and more. Whether you're a seasoned enthusiast or a beginner, construct your personalized pillow cover with simplicity and comfort, choosing from two sizes and utilizing a sewing machine or hand-sewing for flexibility. This digital class includes: A detailed digital workshop led by Amanda Whited Digital download with written instructions to complement the video tutorial Please note: This listing is for video-only workshop access. Materials are not included. If you would like to purchase the FULL workshop (video + curated tools and materials), click here: GET THE FULL WORKSHOP
IT’S DONE! 😭 I told myself to not post anything before this is done to stay motivated and I FINALLY finished the spine dress inspired by Sandman’s helmet (by Neil Gaiman)
Check out this tutorial if you want to learn how to draft patterns to create more advanced pleats and folds for your designs.
Fabric manipulation
Are you looking for ideas on how to manipulate fabric? In this tutorial I introduce a whole bunch of different types of tucks for you to choose from.
Size： Width：53inch(135cm) Quantity: One Yard:35"*53"(91cm x 135cm) Color： As the pic Material： Polyester Note： This listing is for One yard.If you order more than one quantity，you will receive your fabric in a continuous piece. There might be a slight difference in the color according PC and Mobile devices!! Need more ideas: https://www.etsy.com/shop/YinoSupplies If you have any question please feel free to convo me
Fabric manipulation - pleats and tucks
This week we were using acrylic paint on fabric to create different effects. We started by stippling some calico with a dry brush using 2 colours - blue and yellow in my case, resulting in lots of green and looking like a flowery meadow! Then we moved on to using a diffuser and thin paint to give an effect like airbrushing, holding a piece of ripped paper in front of the fabric to act as a mask so that some parts stayed white. Then we moved on to a way of making monoprints on glass. We put blobs of paint on a sheet of glass. Some of the paint was special acrylic interference paint that produces a shimmery effect when printed. We then put another sheet of glass in top and pressed hard and twisted the glass to get the paint to mix at the edges. When the sheets of glass are prised apart, you get feathery patterns in the paint. We places pieces of fabric on, pressed lightly and printed off the image. These are some of the prints I made from 2 different attempts. As with all these things, it is the choice of colours that is most important for a pleasing result. The paint dries quite quickly but it can be easily scrubbed off the glass to do further prints. I then chose one of my prints to quilt. I made a sandwich with the printed fabric, cotton wadding and calico. Then I sewed round the edge of the feathery edges using free-machining to produce the quilted effect. It took a long time to do all the 'fingers' of paint but the final piece is very appealing. Next we had to choose another print and try out a quilting technique called Trapunto. Here you have the printed fabric and a backing fabric and outline your shapes. I chose a more 'blobby' print and outlined the islands of colour using free-machining again. Then you stuff selected blobs from the back with wadding. This shows part of the back of it. You cut a slit with sharp scissors, poke the wadding in with a bodkin and then sew the slit back up with herringbone stitch. I don't know if I have over-stuffed mine as the final piece is now quite wrinkled. Another learning point is not to use this kind of furnishing fabric as a backing fabric again as it seemed very hard to sew using free-machining - the needle seemed to get caught in the jacquard pattern. I have been working on my manipulated calico sampler this week too. Once I had decided what size to go for (about 32cm square) and laid out the pieces I had already made I didn't have that much more to do. I have still got to mount it onto card, which is why the corners are still hanging out. The end result is going to be quite impressive. The techniques used are (clockwise from top left): Furrowing (see post from Week 13) Pleating Stuffed pyramid Fabric strips folded alternately like a paper jack-in-a-box spring Frayed edge strips gathered and sewn in rows Selvedge strip gathered to form a rose Random tucks sewn horizontally and vertically Stuffed sausage shape decorated with a strip of gathered frayed fabric Frayed strip gathered to form a rose Circle gathered round a piece of card and topped with another one and a frayed gathered strip Various circles gathered and stuffed, the large one quilted through in places Thin strips pulled through a square of Binca fabric (in centre of sausage circle) Thick wool wrapped in calico Strips of folded fabric woven Raw edge circles gathered and pulled up, large one round card and small one stuffed Fabric gathered by hand in both directions, ruched up and sewn down round the edge only Fabric gathered round chick peas 2 circles gathered up round card, one with snipped edge and one with turned edge Various fabric 'nipples' made by sewing a running stitch in a spiral and pulling up Evenly spaced tucks pressed and then sewn across at right-angles in alternate directions Today is it my daughter's 16th birthday so I wanted to make her a special card. I chose co-ordinating papers and decorated them in various ways, dragging the edges across a black ink pad to give a vintage look. I was very pleased to find a sheet of paper featuring a rabbit that looks similar to hers, except for the colour! I also made a Valentine's Day card for my husband using a square of red heart plastic bag behind a silver Angelina fibre heart, topped off with a red heart cut from a Quality Street wrapper! The hearts are suspended across the window on very thin wire wrapped round tiny red brads. It looked really good for not much effort and lots of recycling!
I’m really in love with the idea of doing something different with my costumes. I love the simple lines of things like robes and tunic, but as I’ve mentioned so many times before, I also really love the idea of taking things just that little bit further. Usually I do that by trying to make the interior finishes really special and the outside very neat, but I also love the idea of manipulating and even making your own fabric. As I mentioned in my Mythlore post, I plan to experiment heavily with pin tucking and cording in the pieces I’m making at the moment. the idea is to create a theme that runs through all the pieces and ties them together. A motif, if you want to use the fancy word. 😉 But I’ve also been looking around the net for inspiration and have been coming up with all kinds of creative things that you can do. Here’s a few that have started to get my brain thinking. And from this book which has now gone on my amazon wish list after finding it on Google books: The Art of Manipulating Fabric This book also looks like it might be […]
We are delighted to present a workshop with the renowned German feltmaker Dagmar Binder. Dagmar has given workshops and exhibited widely throughout Europe and North and South America. As well as th…
I’m really in love with the idea of doing something different with my costumes. I love the simple lines of things like robes and tunic, but as I’ve mentioned so many times before, I also really love the idea of taking things just that little bit further. Usually I do that by trying to make the interior finishes really special and the outside very neat, but I also love the idea of manipulating and even making your own fabric. As I mentioned in my Mythlore post, I plan to experiment heavily with pin tucking and cording in the pieces I’m making at the moment. the idea is to create a theme that runs through all the pieces and ties them together. A motif, if you want to use the fancy word. 😉 But I’ve also been looking around the net for inspiration and have been coming up with all kinds of creative things that you can do. Here’s a few that have started to get my brain thinking. And from this book which has now gone on my amazon wish list after finding it on Google books: The Art of Manipulating Fabric This book also looks like it might be […]
textured techniques with needled wool In this workshop rich textures in wool felt are achieved by constructing layouts of thick of...
Explore TEXTILE FUTURES' 605 photos on Flickr!
exploring the sculptural potential of wool in
On Saturday I attended a workshop at Midsomer Quilting in Chilcompton. The session was run by Bini Mistri and the object of the day was to produce samples using different fabric manipulation techn…
finished and in the post to the upholsterer. very exciting!
I use this mighty tool to deconstruct pieces that don't speak to me anymore. I look for those quiet ones that seem unbalanced, pretentious or unsuccessful. They hide in piles beneath my work table — murmuring. Some are sharing false narratives. Some seem to be trying too hard. Others just plain bore
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The Canadian Smocking Matrix Design is a unique and popular way of creating smocking patterns. It is created by first creating a grid of horizontal and vertical lines on a piece of fabric. Then, the fabric is gathered along the lines to create the desired pattern. This method is often used to create intricate and … Continue reading "How To Do Canadian Smocking Matrix Design"
Tightly pulled vertical smocking. Image via Trans.lu.cent» Smocking is a fabric manipulation technique that is generally created by using hand stitching to create areas of tension and release in the fabric. This results in very sculptural
Check out this tutorial if you want to learn how to draft patterns to create more advanced pleats and folds for your designs.
One of my samples based on Ruth's book One of my greatest pleasures in life, alongside art, is reading. Books have always played an important role in my life and I doubt there has been a day in almost 40 years when I haven’t had at least one book on the go. Actually these days I’m finding it harder and harder to finish books, so I think I currently have about ten on the go... Part of the joy of having children has been re-reading my old favourites with them and discovering new ones written more recently. As a child, my dream job was to be a second-hand bookshop owner or a librarian, but somewhere that got lost along the route and I became an accountant and finally a very happy artist. I wouldn’t swap my job now! Given I read so many books on art and textiles and occasionally, technique, I thought I would share some with you on this blog now and again. I hope you like my choices and if you have any others you think I should be reading, do let me know – I always love hearing about good books! Fabric Manipulation, 150 creative sewing techniques by Ruth Singer This book is only just out, published by David and Charles. It is amazingly comprehensive, dividing techniques into ‘Pleat & Fold’, ‘Stitch & Gather’ and ‘Apply & Layer’, along with a basic introduction to fabric, threads, tools and stitch techniques. Ruth encourages readers to experiment and make the techniques their own. Although there are some small projects in the book, its aim is definitely to impart some of Ruth’s huge technical ability to start readers on their fabric manipulation journey. That implies it is a book for beginners, it is, but there is also lots for more experienced stitchers as there cannot be many people with all these techniques in their repertoire. Many of the techniques come with ideas for further experimentation. In her samples, some have drawn illustrations to show how to make them as well as photographs and Ruth also gives advice of the fabrics she has used and what she thinks works well for that particular technique. Another of my samples using folding techniques from the book I had fun making some samples based on the book and it is also good for reminding you of things you have tried in the past but have forgotten. It is certainly a book I will return to many times, which, in my view, makes it a very good book indeed. Ruth runs workshops in Leicester and around the country and exhibits her work across the world. I think it is only fair to say that I have known Ruth for a number of years and it has been a great joy to watch her work develop and take off. She is a very hard working and talented stitch artist and teacher. But even if I didn’t know her, this book would be high on my wish list as it is so comprehensive.
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