Chapter 8

 

Soft Edge

Torn paper
using five shades from newsprint

 
Torn fabric
sheers, satin(both sides) fine calico and hand embroidery fabric.  The final rows weree machined with a row of straight stitch to secure them.

 Torn fabric nest
I thought I'd make an exotic bird's nest using sari silk as it's torn and fraying already!

 
Torn fabric background
sheer fabrics which usually fray as soon as you look at them: unless you want them to.

Frayed silk carrier rods

Resolved Sample

Sketch of idea

 I had a little help when making the pieces for the background!!

My exotic water bird sit amongst the bullrushes and guards it's nest.

Background : spray painted cotton with pleats and tucks topped with tailor tack using two threads through the neeedle; water is blue sprayed Ployester textures with Grilon thread and machine stitched into the folds. Night sky is also sprayed Polyester sheer.

Bird : body is layers of machine pattern, beak and eye in whip stitch, tail and wing in free edged pieces with sari silk to finish wing. Legs in free stitching.

The edges are turned under to the finished size to show the tail extending beyond the lower edge.

 Close-up of bird and nest.

Egg in layers of cable st.
Nest is "lined" with feathers made on soluble fabric and built with knotted, looped and twisted yarns.

I am quite pleased with the way this has turned out.  It has included several techniques from Chapters 7 & 8 and I think the red focal point is in the right place.  As the free fabric shapes of the wing and tail are curved, so technically on the bias, and have not frayed as well as I had hoped. The tailor tacks tend to unravel too and I should have secured the thread ends to prevent this.