Assignment 3-Exercise 1 Defining and Revealing My Making
Hand Stitching Sampling Processes from Experimental Artwork- Recovery Print Series
Gillian Morris Student No. 511388
Through a series experimentation with hand stitching I have started to forge a preferred way of relating and reponding to/with dyed and screenprinted vintage linen bedsheets to best communicate a sense of mental health recovery and repair through hand sewing. I am increasingly integrating hand stitching to the surface of the dyed vintage linen which is not intended to embellish for its own sake for decorative purposes in isolation but rather to illustrate different types of experiencing and different emotional states of distress and repair, from splitting and rupturing to mending, strengthening and recovery, to consolidate and increase resilience through traditional sewing stitches. With such experiencing drawn from the emotional engagement within therapy processes such a felt sense has been used to create and relate using hand screen printing and hand sewing and stitching processes. Indeed through such research concerning sewing and the related sampling processes I was struck by the history and meaning of womens work and art, of the actual then increasingly inferred connotations of domesticity and womens work from within the home setting which often included their sewing. Through the years womens contributions have been seen through the negative gender sterotyped lens of such domestic role and expectations, which could be seen as inferior, of less value and worth compared to paid employment and bread winner status. That said this often encapsulated a sense of womens work as being less than especially hand sewing as it was small scale, hidden from view, and out of sight. In considering this I have been conscious of the need to be big, brave, bold and seen… to communicate what I need to be felt and heard. Of the need to communicate what is so often not spoken about… of mental health and distress, of the need for equal regard with physical health as there is no health without mental health, of being listened to through the use of very large scale work which cannot be ignored.
Through these hand stitching sampling processes, and my enquiry concerning the vintage linen bedsheets and their relationship with stitch for repair I deepened my own relating with the material and its qualities. I was conscious from the outset of the materials strength, of the resistence of the needle and stitch given its scale of resilience and robustness. There was a perpetual struggle to pierce and push through the material, to make holes, to stitch, and to sustain the hand sewing processes despite trial and error with a range of needles including sharps, chenille needles, and those for quilting, tapestry, embroidery, crewel and leather work, for darning and related tasks . I was aware of the materials own strength, durability and thickness, of a closely woven weave which was densely packed, of the care, skill and time taken to make such bedsheets as they were meant to last, to offer comfort for many years within the home environment. I repected such making processes through my own handling of the material and how I related with the vintage linen.
Although several vintage linen threads were tried throughout the hand stitching sampling processes, they all tended to be difficult to stitch with as they proved to be inflexible and would sit off the material. That said increased consideration is required concerning the vintage linen threads to be used for the final pieces especially when the stitching must be scaled up to suit the full size of the linen bedsheets. I am currently researching several possibilities regarding vintage linen threads used for leather work which appear to be softer, more flexible with a thicker diameter and an extended colour range.
Overcast stitch is one of several types of hand stitches whose main purpose is to prevent the unravelling of the material and to enclose raw edges so requires further follow up
The whipstitch is a simple stitch used in both sewing and crocheting and requires to be considered further regarding hemming and borders but made less masked and more visible. https://www.pinterest.es/
References- Types of Hand Stitches https://www.textileschool.com/
Back tack – backward stitch(es) to anchor tacking or basting
Backstitch – sturdy hand stitch for seams and decoration
Basting stitch (US) – for reinforcement or for temporarily holding fabric in place (same as Tack)
Blanket stitch – used to finish an unhemmed blanket
Blind stitch (or hemstitch) – type of slip stitch used for inconspicuous hem
Buttonhole stitch – for reinforcing buttonholes and preventing cut fabric from ravelling
Chain stitch – hand or machine stitch for seams or decoration
Cross-stitch – usually used for decoration, but may also be used for seams
Catch stitch (also ‘flat’ & ‘blind’ -catch stitch) – flat looped stitch used in hemming
Darning stitch – for repairing holes or worn areas in fabric or knitting
Embroidery stitch – one or more stitches forming a figure of recognizable look
Hemstitch (Hemming stitch) – decorative technique for embellishing the hem of clothing or household linens
Overcast stitch – used to enclose a raw, or unfinished, seam or edge
Pad stitch – secures two or more layers of fabric together and provide firmness
Pick stitch – hand stitch that catches only a few threads on the wrong side of the fabric, difficult to produce nicely so typically used for hemming high quality garments
Running stitch – hand stitch for seams and gathering
Sailmaker’s stitch- The types of stitching used with sails, awnings, etc. When the first seam is completed, the work is reversed and the selvedge of the piece of cloth sewn to the seam line in the same way. The direction of sewing in flat sewing is always away from the hook.
Slip stitch – form of blind stitch for fastening two pieces of fabric together from the right side without the thread showing
Stoating – used to join two pieces of woven material, such that the resulting stitches are not visible from the right side of the cloth
Straight stitch – the basic stitch in hand-sewing and embroidery
Tack (UK, also baste or pin) – quick, temporary stitching intended to be removed
Tent stitch – diagonal embroidery stitch at a 45-degree angle
Topstitch – used on garment edges such as necklines and hems, helps facings stay in place and gives a crisp edge
Whipstitch – for protecting edges
Ladder stitch or mattress stitch – for invisibly closing seams from the outside, i.e. to close a pillow after being stuffed
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