Tuesday, 16 December 2014

The Next step.....

The next step is to create the
instructions which will be in the packs alongside all the 
bits that you need to create the cushion
 
On the instructions will be how to create the cushions
and what you will need to create the cushion just like the
image on the front of the pack.
 
The only problem that I have with this is the
fact that people will not be able to make the weave cushion exactly the
same as the photo on the front, this is because most
people do not have the correct looms which you need to create this.
However they will be able to create a similar one with
a picture frame and some calico.
 
The other cushion that will not be identical will be the
printed cushion as I used a screen print to complete this
however people can make a similar one with a stencil
which will be inside the pack. 

The Final designs for the cushion packs.......

These are all of the final designs for the
cushions and the final designs that I
will be using for the front cover of my packs.



Friday, 12 December 2014

The Final weave cushion......

This is the final weave cushion, I thought that this was really successful and I am happy
with what all the final cushions look like.
 
 
I will now be moving on to complete the packs
and create the instruction sheet.  
 



The Final ideas for the packs........

I have decided to create the packs in a brown
box as I feel this looks a lot better then just
on a plain white background.
 
This is just the first proto type the when I make the final design the whole
box will be made out of brown paper.
 



 
 
 
 
I really like the way that these packs look and I will be using the
same designs for all of the cushions


The brand name and the final pack designs......

I have been playing around with different designs and images
for the final design of my logo.
I feel that this is a really important part of the project as
it ties everything up together and makes me a brand that I could sell.
I have gone with the name CraftyCreations as this includes a wide range of
techniques and pattens.
 
 
These are some of the designs that I have tried and tested
and how I came to chose the final design.






 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, 25 November 2014

The cushions so far...........

I have already created three of the four pillows, the crochet, print and 
Patchwork. These have been completed and all of the samples are
displayed in my sketch book. 

What the finish product looks like.......


 


 
 
I now only have one more cushion to create, this is the weave cushion
I will be making this in the next couple of weeks.
I will then have the completed set and will be moving my full attention
to the packs.
 

Thursday, 20 November 2014

The Printed Cushion two.........


From looking at the design and pattern I have decided to only use the
'Mix Tap' design as I feel that this is the strongest print
and will look the best on the cushion.


With this I have tested the 'Mix Tap' on a coloured background
and I also feel that this is not as effective as the
plain background which really makes the colour pop. I also feel that this plain
background has more of a pop art feel.




THINKING ABOUT THE PACKS 

 I have also been thinking about how I would be able to create a pack for the
printed cushion and I thought that if there are different designs and
colours to chose from which are already on the fabric what they would have to do is just sew it together.
This would mean that the printed cushion will be the easiest of all of the packs to create so this could be a sort of starter pack which would ease you into making all of the others.
I will be putting pictures of all of the other cushions in each of the packs
this means that they can chose which one they would like to create next.


WHAT I AM DOING NEXT 
 
Next I will be creating my logo which will be 'CrarftyCreations' I have chosen this name as
all of the cushions use different techniques and they are very arty crafty.

I will also be looking at creating the different packs and what I would like them to look like.








Saturday, 15 November 2014

Research into the packs......

There are many different types of do it yourself
art packs which people can make and create.
1) The first do it yourself pack is the dot to dot pictures, these are used a lot by younger
children to create a bigger more detailed piece of work. 
These are one of the easiest things  that you can get help with, as you just follow the
the dots on the picture.


2) Moving up from this is the colour by numbers pictures
these can be any picture made into sections which are number, each of these
numbers correspond to a colour which you then use to paint that shape.
This is also an easy technique which can be used to create really
good pieces of art. This technique is also used to replicate amazing
works of art created by famous artists such as Van Gogh's sunflowers painting.


3) There are many different things that come in packs which you can complete
yourself not only for children, a lot of these are to create cards such as Christmas cards and
Birthday cards.



Crafty Blitz Supplies  are a company which sell everything that you would need
to create your own cards for every occasion.



4) There are many different do it yourself packs that I have researched into, but the sort
of thing that I would like my packs to look like are Nancy Nicholson,  
 She creates different embroidery packs which she sells, these include
everything that you would need to replicate the designs which are on the front
of the packs.



 These pictures show the designs and also the pattern which you need to follow,
this is what I will also be including in my packs.

Nancy Nicholson inspired me to create the packs as I feel they are a really
good thing to do which creates amazing pieces with hardly any effort.


Friday, 7 November 2014

Common sizes of cushions.......

I will be creating my cushions with dimensions that I have
created due to the size of the samples and the
sizes of the covers, but I am planning with the
packs to give dimensions so that people can go out and
buy the inside of the cushion, this will be a lot
easier than giving the amount of stuffing that people would need.
 
I will be giving two different cushion sizes as all of the cushions other than
the modern day weave cushion will be square with the standard dimensions of,
 
      Standard(51 x 66 cm)20" x 26"
 
and then the weave cushion will be with the dimensions of
 
Typical Boudoir/Breakfast Pillow
(30 x 41 cm)
12" x 16"
 
I feel these will be the best dimensions for the pillow packs as they are
pretty much the standard pillow sizes.
 
 

Monday, 3 November 2014

So far middle of project.......

So far I have been looking at creating samples which I have for
the weave, patchwork and crochet cushions, I now
need to create a sample for my print cushion. These
will all be displayed in my sketch book which I will
be handing in with the rest of my EPQ.
 
After I have created these samples I will start to make/create my actual
cushions I have already completed the crochet cushion this just needs
a calico backing and needs to be sewn onto calico meaning that the stuffing will not fall out.
 
 
All of my cushions will be different shapes and sizes. I am planning
the minimalist weave cushion to be long and thin which will compliment the look
of the modern day shapes.
 


This cushion is like the one that I will create, I really like the look of it
and I like the thin weave which has been used.
 
I will start creating the cushions in my next lesson as well as making the
sample for my printed cushion.

Friday, 24 October 2014

The Weave modern day Cushion.....

I will be creating the modern minimalist pillow with the technique of weaving.
Weaving is the technique of using two different sets of yarn on called the weft
which you weave in and out of other sections of fabric called the warp.
You can use anything to weave which will create different
textures and patterns between the warps.

 
Weaving has been used all around the world by different cultures to create
fabrics and garments.
 It has been used in China and South east Asia also in the Islamic world and the Medieval period.
Within all of these cultures the more expensive the fabric the higher you
were in social networks and in court.

One of the most famous weaving is the Kente Cloth, this cloth is  type of
silk and cotton fabric which is in turn made out of strips of cloth woven together,
these strips are then woven together to create the distinctive strips of the
Kente cloth. This cloth originates from the Akan ethnic group in Ghana.
All of the different coloured yarns and fabric mean different things....

  • black—maturation, intensified spiritual energy
  • blue—peacefulness, harmony and love
  • green—vegetation, planting, harvesting, growth, spiritual renewal
  • gold—royalty, wealth, high status, glory, spiritual purity
  • grey—healing and cleansing rituals; associated with ash
  • maroon—the color of mother earth; associated with healing
  • pink—assoc. with the female essence of life; a mild, gentle aspect of red
  • purple—assoc. with feminine aspects of life; usually worn by women
  • red—political and spiritual moods; bloodshed; sacrificial rites and death.
  • silver—serenity, purity, joy; assoc. with the moon
  • white—purification, sanctification rites and festive occasions
  • yellow—preciousness, royalty, wealth, fertility, beauty


  •  The 'Legend has it that kente was first made by two Akan friends who went hunting in an Asanteman forest and found a spider making its web The friends stood and watched the spider for two days then returned home and implemented what they had seen'

     
     
    

     
     
    Weave is used to create many different materials in textiles and these are then in turn
    made into to lots of different fabrics and garments. There are many different ways in which you can weave such as a Peg loom and a free Standing loom.
     


     
    I will be using the loom to create my weave as I feel that it will give me the best results,
    I have started to create samples with a hand loom and have used different
    colours and settled on different types of blues with a sort of ombre look.
    These will be displayed in my sketch nook with the rest
    of my samples from my other cushions.
     

    Tuesday, 21 October 2014

    Whats next.....

    I will be creating the samples for my patch work cushion
    next which will be displayed in my sketch book alongside
    the other samples for the other 3 cushions.
     
    Patchwork is a form of needlework which is created when sections/
    pieces of fabric are sewn together to create a larger design.
    Different pieces of material can be used to give the patchwork
    a lot more texture and pattern, this can then be created with any material
    with any colour and pattern which will give a really nice final outcome.
     
    Patchwork can be used to make anything but the most common is the patchwork
    quilt, however it can be used in fashion to make dresses and
    skirts as shown in the pictures below.
     
     
     





     
    In my patchwork I will be using different flowery fabric to create different sized squares
    which will be sewn together to create a mix match flower design.
    I will be creating the same sort of look in my final outcome as the images below.
     
     

     
     
     
     
    

    Saturday, 18 October 2014

    Crochet Cushions...

    I have been researching into Crochet especially into 70's 
    crochet, how they used it in both fashion and interiors. 

    Looking at the colours that they seemed to have used 
    dark colours such as Mustard, Green, Dark Blues and Browns. From this 
    I will be using Green,Orange and light Beige. I will be using these as I  feel they 
    will represent the 70's well. 


    My yarns for the cushion

    When looking into crochet I have seen that they tended to use 
    this technique for everything from interiors to hot pants (see images below).

    Crochet was popular in the 70's as it was easy to get the bright acrylic yarns and
    it was easy to get a hook and follow a pattern, this links in well with my packs as  crochet
    in the 70's was a do it yourself activity.













    Crochet hot pants and dresses 




    This is the technique that I will using for my cushion. This pattern is called a Granny Square,
    I will be using this as it is one of the most popular Crochet patterns as it 
    continues to just go round and round giving a textured outcome with a neat finish.  





     


    As you can see from these cushions Crochet was used a lot in 
    interiors in the 70's.