The uses of stitch

Today, after enjoying a perhaps not so well deserved break for Easter, I began to the more carefully about the use of sampling in this project. This reminded me of something one of my tutors said in my first year of uni, about the idea of drawing with stitch. At the time I did not quite get it, but now I have fallen in love with machine stitch again, I see the point she was trying to make.

I decided to explore stitch, as a medium of drawing onto fabric today, using machine stitching to create an outline drawing of one of my more floral designs. I think one of the key things I have learnt is that you must be clever with the chose of stitch and the fabric you use. I first tried this with a thick piece of material, which I had sunprinted one, but did not come out too well. I thought the stitch could bring out the shape and pattern, but the material got caught in the sewing machine and tore the fabric :(

So, I decided to experiment again, this time drawing the design onto a thinner piece of cotton, which i then machined over using a tight machine stitch, the small zig-zag on the smallest stitch length. This, although quite time consuming, was hugely satisfying. I know that it probably could have been re-created in seconds on the digital CAD embroidery machine, but I like the hand made, slightly not perfect touches that make it tell a story, a journey. It's a personal way of designing.

One tihgn I must add is that the stitching I created was a little blocked, and abrupt in places. I think that was due down to the structure of the stitch that I chose. I would like to try something similar with a simple straight stitch to see the effect of it.