FINAL DESIGNS AND EVALUATION

Overall I'm pleased with my final design and I think it would fit into the current fashion market quite well with animals and big, bold prints being key features. I chose the 'bugflower' pattern as my final design as it fits in to these features as well as seeming quite floral which has also seen an uprising recently on the high street and on the catwalks. 

The material that I chose to print onto ( silk/viscose satin) gave a depth and sheen to my colour palette which I was over the moon with, whilst still being quite a light fabric. If I had more time, I definitely would have used devore techniques on the sample to give another layer/ dimension to the fabric, maybe picking out certain motifs or adding another layer of flowers. 

I think my embroidery, though being quite simple, gave a weight the the fabric and a luxury/ more 'upmarket' feel to the design especially as they are hand sewn with more silk being incorporated. 

Fashion illustration showing 'Bugflower'

I believe I have answered both my own written brief and the Bradford Textile Society's brief well and I have done what I set out to do originally. However I think if I had more time I would have incorporated other techniques to make my design stand out from the crowd even more. Despite this I am pleased with how my final sample looks and I have even had some interest from the wider public wanting to buy my design as scarves, which I think is definitely a step in the right direction!

Here are some of the technical details for my repeat:

Textile fabric for fashion.

Digital Print.

Reactive Dyes.

Design Repeat: 60cm x 40cm.

(30%) Silk/ (70%) Viscose Satin.

Threads: Silk Floss

Cotton floss

Eyelets: 7mm (7 per design repeat)

EMBROIDERING THE BUGFLOWER

With the bugs in my design resembling flowers, I wanted my embroidery to reflect this so I set about doing various little tester samples using different stitches to find which would be best for my design. Before I decided on the stitch however, I knew that my embroidered motifs must have a circular shape to them, which is when I decided I would also like to use eyelets in my design. As there is a lot of embellishment on the high street at the moment, I think that the eyelets will help my print fit in with the current demand and also they would give my fabric a little more weight. 
But, back to the stitch type. I finally decided on satin stitch as I can create quite precise shapes using the technique. Then I had a thought, the eyelets would make brilliant centres for flowers! So I have combined the two by stitching around the eyelets and creating the flowers around them. 

MY CHOSEN BUG REPEAT

'Bugflower'

I have decided to use this repeat as my final base design on to which I will embroider motifs. As the bugs in the print resemble flowers, I will be aiming to embroider flower like pieces onto the fabric in a similar colour palette.

PHOTOSHOP: BUG PRINTS REFINED...

Over the past couple of weeks I have been tirelessly trying to refine my repeats on photoshop. I've had a few problems along the way but I overcame them and I think I've finally cracked it! Here's a few of my ideas to cast  a beady eye over...

These are my best designs in repeat. The middle design is simple and would be ideal for scarf prints etc, however I was aiming to create a sort of 'landscape' with the bugs and I think I have been successful in doing this with the first and last designs. Therefore these will be the ideas that I'm going to push forward with! 

PHOTOSHOP: FIRST ATTEMPTS

We had our first photoshop session as a group today with Lisa Stannard, a practising print designer who graduated from MMU. She taught us how to use the basic repeat tools on photoshop to create repeat patterns for fashion and interiors. These are my first attempts!...

 My first attempts aren't bad, but I need to refine my skills to make sure my final designs are of the highest quality! PRACTISE MAKES PERFECT.

BUGS: DRAWINGS AND RESEARCH

Some drawings and research to kickstart my British bugs project...

YEAR TWO: UNIT TWO: BRITISH BUGS IN PRINTED TEXTILES

I have chosen to focus this live briefed unit on british insects and bugs. My aim is to use printed textiles techniques combined with other textiles processes to create a design for the fashion market. 

My designs should fit into the current fashion trends with embellishment and large, bold print being central. Other key elements will be colour and fabric choice. 

With J W Anderson using bold, animal orientated, repeated prints in his A/W 2012 collection for Topshop, and designers such as Louis Vuitton using bright and bold prints on the catwalk, my designs need to be in keeping with these themes.

I plan to study insects and other 'creepy crawlies' to then group together in a repetitive pattern that resembles scenery. My inspiration will come from my photographs and other sources of bugs that are common throughout England and the UK.