Unit X Project - Week Four

Towards the beginning of last week, I got in contact with the staff at 'Linton Tweeds' enquiring about yarn and fabric samples, as inspiration for my project. I was astounded at the amount they kindly sent me and was hugely excited to study the ideas behind each piece! 

I spent a lot of time learning what elements in their fabrics work well, so that I can design pieces which will be successful within the industry, as well as withstand tests to be a strong furnishing fabric. It was really interesting to dissect the individual samples and learn alternative ways to create patterns, using just the choice of yarns! Fabric A6109 led me to discover the effect that combining two significantly different yarns together has, to produce something brand new altogether - something I'm going to further develop. 

I've also focused a lot of my time on studying the yarn samples they sent me; allowing me to take inspiration from different areas and enabling me to produce the best textured yarn possible. This was really useful and gave me the opportunity to truly decide what it is that I would like for my final yarn. 

I felt at this point, before I continued any further, it was necessary for me to finalise a colour palette. I knew I wanted to include the strongest colours from the 'Graphic Colour' trend, as well as the Acid Yellow and some metallic to represent 'Outer Space', however painting out swatches and colour proportion collages allowed me to understand which colours complimented each other.

When it came to creating my final yarn, I not only took everything I'd discovered into account, but also was hugely influenced by 'Nouf 27606' Linton Tweeds; they've successful produced a yarn with the perfect balance between textured and fluidity, whilst also remaining delicate and malleable. 

I chose to use 4 contrasting yarns which represent different elements of my work. I believe that the acrylic wool creates a strong base for my yarn; its quality adds the texture which I'd envisaged and in addition, I think the small, black hairs that are looser on it link well to the mark-making illustrations, from my initial research. Secondly, I chose to use a dip-dye effect yarn, with a puffy texture - it also incorporates the acid yellow colour and brings in the gradient colour I discovered from the Margo Selby selvedge. I chose to use both silver and gold angel hair thread to add a depth to the yarn, whilst relating to the 'Outer Space' trend. Overall, I'm really pleased with the final outcome; it's exactly as I hoped and I think it will work really well alongside my collection. 

I spent a small amount of time towards the end of this week experimenting with Scotweave for the jacquard loom. Unfortunately, once again, there wasn't the opportunity or time to be able to get on the loom, however developing my images on Scotweave enabled me to further imagine my pieces in a more realistic form. I hope to strengthen my understanding of Scotweave next year, as it is an area I don't feel confident in, but when put to it's full potential, I know it can be a great use!