Ref 6.7.1a Ref 6.7.1b Always enjoy a meditative exercise before getting into sample making. This chapters exercise...sort out my thrum box! Getting a feeling for a range of 'goodie' bags with colour themes on a wet weekend gave me this selection: Ref 6.7.2 The soluble fabrics that were in my collection included Romeo and Texturite for cold water dissolving and one for hot water but I had not worked with paper soluble so decided to put that on my shopping list to see variation, I also noticed that a printable soluble paper is also available so additional experiments will follow in Chapter 9. While sorting through fabrics also found some samples from a previous experiment, see left, it looks like I threw everything at it but have included to see if I can improve!! A word of justification - this was originally made to be cut into much smaller pieces that were then made into small jewellery pieces which were sold!!! Ref 6.7.3b Ref 6.7.3a Now down to some busyness! First samples, 3 Romeo dis solvable fabric was used with different stitch methods and showing the samples back and front. When dissolving these pieces I found it best to do it under a running tap... with the plug in! To clean the items of stickiness they were then rinsed in the water. On a larger piece this stickiness could prove useful for moulding or maintaining a stiffness that would allow the piece to hang with some definition. The images of 3c and d below show both sides of each piece after they have been rinsed. Ref 6.7.3c Ref 6.7.3d Note to self be careful what you place the pieces on to dry when they are wet...they could become bonded!!! Also note to Health and Safety papers, a film can be left on the sink so ensure after all work this is cleared and also leave a running tap to ensure it doesn't adhere to pipes! The notes with the products say the products are environmental friendly but I am always anxious about blockages... Ref 6.7.4a Ref 6.7.4b Using the same Romeo dis solvable for the next sample, 4 I again show front and back. Stitching the first filler stitches and then added a stretched cellular knitting yarn, which was cut to make it more random, lighter threads and yarns were added before another random machine yarn was stitched to the fabric to achieve the result. After washing the piece it was shown with and without background colour, see below. Ref 6.7.4c The advantage of Romeo fabric is that it can be machine stitched without a frame and you can add on pieces of Romeo as you go along so can add to shape and layers. Using Romeo again for sample 5 I used less stitch and cut out the fabric. The cut shapes were then used for a second sample. When the dissolving was completed the two samples were shown on paper and an underlay of fabric. I did not wash out too much of the dis solvable fabric. I wanted to see if leaving it stiff could achieve a more pronounced 3D movement emphasising turbulence! Ref 6.7.5a Ref 6.7.5b Ref 6.7.5c Ref 6.7.6a Ref 6.7.6b For the next samples I used cold dissoluble texturite. Placing the fabric in a frame before stitching as it was a lightweight fabric in comparison the the Romeo fabric. For this sample 6 I wanted to look at crosshatching stitches- the fact that you would see more of the colour of the bobbin when the see through fabric was dissolved intrigued me so played with how colour changes/shades could be achieved by changing bobbin thread. Ref 6.7.7a Ref 6.7.7b Sample 7 shows how lacy and loose a piece can become when it is not over stitched. While dissolving one can pull and exaggerate shapes and holes. This piece seemed to offer a glimpse that while you need to ensure you are making something that can be used, 'less can be very much more' for it allows a chance to glimpse through. Ref 6.7.8b Ref 6.7.8a For sample 8 I placed threads and strips of fabric between the two layers of dissoluble fabric and placed it in a hoop. The more intense stitching and grid patterning cause holes, which had not happened with the Romeo fabric. In order to get more movement into the piece I used a simple meandering running stitch to help ones eye across the piece. When photographing the piece it was placed on a see through pattern paper, the idea that layering was going to play an important part in future design thoughts made me realise that paper can have as much impact as stitch...can't wait to try soluble paper and printed soluble paper. Ref 6.7.8c Ref 6.7.9b Ref 6.7.9a Sample 9 has more intense loose threads trapped between layers but the stitching is simpler and shows up in the finished piece And for my last experiment, I had some cane I had knitted and dyed while dyeing threads in Chapter 4. Could this be used as a background or rubbing for paper and fabric? Ref 6.7.10