Reverse applique

For the zig zag pattern on the final design I wanted to test different ways of doing it, one being reverse applique. I did this by sewing a piece of red fabric onto white fabric, then stitching the lines of the pattern and cutting some of it out exposing the white fabric underneath. I like how this technique adds depth to the pattern; however it was quite time consuming and didn’t produce the straight edges I wanted.

Normal Applique

For this technique I cut triangles out of red fabric and sewed them onto a white background, it was really simple to produce but created the print I wanted. The red fabric I used frayed a lot; therefore I decided to hide it by putting ribbon along the edges, almost like a biased binding. It worked really well as it helped to clear up the edges and gave the print more texture and depth.

Leather

I had found some interesting red leather when collecting fabric for my final design, I really liked how thick it was and how it appeared worn, like a circus tent would be. I wanted to incorporate it in my design however it didn’t have a lot of the fabric, therefore I tested it with the applique technique. I was worried it wouldn’t sew very well in the machine but it worked as any normal fabric would, also the leather doesn’t fray therefore there is a natural clean edge.

Sublimation

I tested this technique for the star and spot prints; therefore I wanted to test it on the zig zag print. I made a very simple design on Photoshop and sublimated it onto the fabric, using the sublimate is a very safe and useful way of getting the print onto fabric. I did add the ribbon along the edges (same as what I did for the applique) which did help lift the print making it less flat, but I find this technique doesn’t work with this print.

Final zig zag design

From these tests I can conclude that I will be using the applique technique for my zig zag pattern on my final design, I will be alternating between the cotton and leather for the triangles and I will be sharping the edges with red ribbon. I am really happy with the technique and think it really suits the pattern.

Yellow ruffle test

I tried two different techniques for the collar, one that was unsuccessful and one that wasn’t. The first test I tried was gathering, I sewed a line along a lengthy piece of yellow fabric then pulled the bobbin thread in the hope that it would gather the fabric producing a lot of volume. However it wasn’t a success, the bobbin thread instantly snapped because the fabric was too thick for the thread to pull through. Therefore I had to think of plan B, I was thinking of how I was going to secure the collar on the neck and thought that the best way was using elastic because it would be easy to take on and off. I then had to think of a way of getting the ruffle onto the elastic, so I decided to do pleats along the fabric then sew it onto the elastic. It worked really well as the pleats added volume and structure, while the elastic gathered the fabric creating the circular shape needed to sit around the neck. When doing this for my final design I will sew interfacing onto the yellow fabric to add extra strength making the pleats more defined, and I will do smaller pleats so there will be more creating a lot of volume.