Fabrics and their Weight

After getting my feedback from Kierene, we spoke about how some of my designs had warped because of the backing fabric I had used. I now realise when I am choosing my fabrics especially with something as important as the backing fabric I need to take a lot of consideration. I have done some research into fabrics and their weighs and how to chose the best fabrics. I did want to use recycled fabric for my project but when looking at the backing fabric I need to maybe consider buying fabric so in the future my fabric doesn’t warp.

Fabric weight is the outcome of how a fabric has been woven, its finish and sometimes the fibre type. Looking at the weight is very important when choosing a fabric to work with in an project.

GSM – GSM is how we measure fabric in the metric measurement. It is grams per square metre. This measures how much one metre weighs. The higher the GSM measurement the denser the fabric will be.

OZ – Ounce per square yard (oz/sq2) is the imperial measurement which is also commonly used. A lightweight fabric is typically between 30- 150 GSM, medium weight 150-350 GSM and heavyweight 350+ GSM, such as our clear window PVC (640 GSM), although this can vary depending on the type of fabric.

 

These fabrics generally fall into these categories:

• Lightweight fabrics: chiffon, linen, organza, cheesecloth, lace, voile, mesh, habutai.
• Medium weight fabrics: sateen, oxford, velvet, taffeta and charmeuse.
• Heavy weight fabrics: upholstery fabric, canvas, brocade, poplin, denim and peau de soie.

FABRIC THICKNESS

The heavier the weight, generally the thicker the fabric will be, although bear in mind that the weight does not tell you how thick the fabric is. Fabrics with different fibres or weaves but with the same weight may not have the exact same thickness.

FABRIC QUALITY

The weight of a material does not always determine its quality. Different fabric weaves and yarns will be different weights which is essential for its end use. For example, denim is heavyweight because of its twill weave and cotton fibre which is useful for hardwearing jeans, whereas chiffon is very lightweight as it is a loosely woven, plain weave making it ideal for floaty dresses.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT FABRIC

The weight of a fabric is particularly important when having to choose between two similar fabrics which are of different weights. If the fabric of one cotton t-shirt has a higher GSM than the fabric of another cotton t-shirt, then it is likely to be more hard wearing. Choosing the weight of a particular fabric will depend on how often it is going to be worn or used and what its purpose will be, for example, lightweight denim is suitable for a shirt and a heavier denim for jeans.

Typical fabric weights and uses

•  Lightweight fabrics are suitable for underwear and summer items such as dresses and shirts. A lightweight t-shirt fabric will be about 5.3 oz, a standard weight 5.5 oz and a heavier t-shirt 6-7 oz.
• Fabrics classed as ‘upholstery’ fabrics are heavyweight and are known to be stronger than other textile materials. They are suitable for cushion and furniture coverings and can be used for curtains but should not to be used for anything requiring intricate effects such as gathering because the fabric will be too thick and stiff. Thin curtain fabrics have a GSM of around 140. The heavier the material is, the denser it will be which means it will block out more light and insulate the room better.
• Wool is a luxurious warm fibre often used for tailoring. Three season wool is suitable for autumn/ winter and spring and weighs about 10- 12oz. For very cold countries you can get heavier winter wool which can weigh as heavy as 600 GSM. Wool can also be woven specially to make it into a much cooler, lighter fabric for hotter countries.

Reflection of Relational colour

In week one we really began just looking at the basics of colour. I really enjoyed this as I have learnt things about colour that I never knew before. I always believed there was only three primary colour when in fact there are six, there are two kind of yellow, two kinds of red and two kinds off blue. When we did our colour strips using the six primary colours this really brought out how many different colour possibilities there are and how different the purples are when you add one of the blues or reds. We then went on to colour matching which was really fun. David sent me a link to this colour matching game which I really enjoyed. One particular part I enjoyed in the first week was when we painted squares of colours exactly the same but when we placed them over different colours you saw different undertones and then that colour didn’t look the same anymore.

In the second week I focused on mixing colours and creating different colours with the primary colours. I created a lot of different greens and blues. I did add some white and black just to make things a little lighter or darker rather than keep mixing. I was really disappointed to see that the pages that I had painted had one missing but I wasn’t too upset as it was more about creating and mixing colours and seeing what variations I could get out of them. After that I really started looking into artist and designers that could inspire me. I came across Nike Savvas who creates these beautiful geometric sculptures that look like they have been made with thread. I did buy some embroidery hoops and had a play with different threads on the Thursday. I started looking at different shades of colours and introducing them all together in a embroidery piece.

The third week I was away in New York but I did take the opportunity to go and see the MoMa and The Met which I did see some rather interesting piece of art that made me think about what I am currently doing. It made me think about doing something more 3D rather than 2D. I started looking into kinetic sculptures and came across an artist called Nils Volker who did this wonderful installation with these toy spheres that I actually had as a child. This sparked some really goof memories for me and i got thinking about how I used to make Pom Poms when I was a child. I thought about creating a piece like this so I set on to create these. Which was very nostalgic for me and really enjoyed making.  after speaking with David we agreed that  it wasn’t possible to make an impact with a couple hundred rather than a couple thousand. That’s when David introduced me to an artist called Tony Cragg who does these wonderful piece using objects he has found and creating a collage with them. I looked at just focusing on one colour and trying to find different materials that could be used again. I really enjoyed looking through the cage of recycling as I am very big on being environmentally friendly and recycling as much as possible. I found such a variety of different coloured fabrics that I could use and create a piece with.

In week four I have just continued to experiment with the fabrics laying the fabrics in different ways and forms. After talking to David he suggested maybe adding objects onto the top of the fabrics to create contrast at first I wasn’t sure about this but once I started adding little objects to the piece I really started to enjoy adding different things onto the fabrics. I cut out strips of different bold coloured card and created lines going through the fabrics which created this wonderful contrast of the soft organic fabrics against the hardness of the cards. I really enjoyed experimenting and just exploring in the end I lost the view of a final piece and wanted to create many different ideas.

Overall I have really enjoyed exploring colour more. I never really concentrate on colour but it’s so amazing the science behind colour. It’s a lot more technical than I once thought. I have been able to go out of my comfort zone and not always looking for that final piece and worrying but to just experiment and by documenting this I have been able to create a video final piece of me  just having fun and exploring.

 

Final Piece

After talking with David about how I should do a final piece we talked about just having a series of images of the fabrics in different formations and have the images as the final piece.
At first I did want to have a physical piece something everyone can experiance and see for themselves. I didn’t want to create these 3D pieces and make them 2D just by taking photos. I have been filming all my pieces for each one I have done so that you can experience the whole of the pieces. I am creating a short video with a number of videos i’ve taken and some photos of the pieces I have crated with the fabrics, so that everyone can experience each pieces in a 3D way.

I am really pleased with the outcome of the project. By doing this short video I have been able to explore colour more and create more pieces of work. By recording everything I have done everyone will be able to enjoy and experience what I have been doing for the best couple of weeks. What I love the most is the way I have worked has meant that I have been environmentally friendly as I have just found and reused materials that other wise would be just sat around doing nothing. What is even better is after this project I am able to put the materials back into the recycling for other to use there is no waste.

Experimenting with colour

I then looked at separating the colours into their own circled piles. This proved to be really affective. When I first did this I had them separate from each other but I grouped them together to make one piece rather than five individual piece.

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I think this formation works well. The colours look great as you can really appreciate the different shades of each colour alot more than when they were all grouped together. You can take time of each group of colours to appreciate them.

Experimenting with colour

I decided to keep the fabrics in this arrangement and have a play around with adding different things onto the fabrics like I have done previously with the circle fabrics.

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I added large card circles onto the fabrics so that I can have that contrast of the soft and hard again but working on from the bottle tops and having something a little bigger than the bottle tops.

This is 100% the sort of thing I was hoping for. The pom poms and the bottle tops where heading in the right way but there just was something missing and the circle cards are just what I think I needed. I placed the circle on their complimentary colours to bring out the colours which was the exact reaction I wanted them to have.

I then looked at adding the strips of colour like I did on the circle I thought this was a great idea. The contrast on so many levels is perfect, from the contrast of the hard and soft materials, to the straight lines to the flowing of the materials. Even the colour contrasts.

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I started with the red strips and placed this over the greens, again I have been sticking with the idea of the items being placed on the fabrics being the complimentary colours. The red looks really great going through the greens. I even had the red going off into another direction.

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I then started adding the other colours. I placed the orange strips over the blue, I did manage to get the two lots of strips to go through the blue. I then put the green through the little bit of red fabrics that I have. I then put the blue through the yellows. I did have yellow strips to put on but the only area not covered was the yellow fabrics, so I just placed the yellow stripping on there.

I think this looks great just like when the fabrics where in the circle. These two are my favourite the contrast against the hard and soft materials really brings out the colours in the fabrics.

 

Experimenting with colour

I had another go at making the fabrics into a rectangle again. It was much neater than my first ever attempt it was a much straighter rectangle. I do really like the way this is laid out even the first time I did this I really enjoy the placement of the fabrics.

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Here is a couple photos of different angles of the piece.

Experimenting with colour

I spoke before about maybe doing the wheel but mixing the colours up a little instead of having the same colour sequence. Just to see how they would look.

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I went on the idea of trying to put complimentary colours next to each other the best I could. I tried putting the blue next to the yellows that looked more orange and then the purples next to the yellow. Followed by the greens and reds and then the pinks.

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I think I will stick to the colour sequence I have been working with the whole time as I do believe it works much better than this one.

Experimenting with colour

As I had no use for the pom poms I had made in the previous week I decided to try them out in this piece to see how they would look. At first I was trying to place them in certain areas but I didn’t like how they looked you could tell they were played. The one thing I enjoy about this piece is how free it is when I drop the fabrics onto the floor and placing the pom poms didn’t give that affect it was too staged for me.

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In the end I started chucking them up in the air and just seeing where they landed and this gave me a much better feeling than just placing them on the fabrics. I didn’t like this one as much as the strips of cardboard. I think this is to do with the contrast between the soft fabrics and the hardness of the cardboard thats what works really well together. Adding a soft texture onto a soft texture just doesn’t give that contrast. I did like the contrast of the bold pom poms against the other fabrics.

 

Thinking about the hardness of objects and circles like the pom poms, I thought about what I had access to around me. I then went around my apartment collecting different coloured lids and all different colours. From my milk carton to all the bubble baths and stuff in my bathroom. As I had a fair handful of these I did place them in certain areas rather than chucking them in the air, also because I needed them to be a certain way up, I decided to place orange tops on the blue fabrics as they are complimentary colours I did this with any other bottle tops and their complimentary colours.

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I did really like this idea alot more than the pom poms. The contrast was back there with the hard and soft. The only down side I saw was that the piece is so big and the bottle tops are so smaller taking a whole photo you have to really look for some of the bottle tops.

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Here area couple of images of the bottle tops with their complimentary colours. Just to give a better view.

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Experimenting with colour

When I had a chat with David we talked about adding thing on top of the fabrics. Something that is hard to contrast with all the softness that is already there. I started to cut out strips of different bright coloured card and maybe laying this across the fabrics. Creating lots of lines going through all of the fabrics I have grouped together.

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Here I had already got some blue card cut into strips and started adding this on top of the fabrics. I placed this over the yellows and into the pinks as the darker yellows are the closest I have to orange which is blue’s complimentary colour.

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I then added a yellow again trying to make this go over the top of it’s complimentary colour which is purple.

This is a short 2 minute video just showing me placing the strips of colour over the fabrics. In the video I add green, red and orange. Again like the previous two strips I tried placing them over their complimentary colours aswell.

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Here is what the piece looked like after I had added all the strips of colour. David was right about the contrast between the soft and hardness of the fabrics against the card. I really like how this has turned out and how it looks. Especially in the middle image it’s really striking.

Experimenting with colour

I started looking at mixing the colours up in the circle instead of keeping them in this colour order I had originally decided to use. I just want to see how moving some of the colours around reacts and to see if it works better. I started by trying to place all the complimentary colours next to each other to see what this would look like.

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Heres a couple of images from a bids eye view of the circle with it’s new colours. I’m not 100% sure how I feel about this one. In some angles it really works and in other it just looks like a messy pile with no sort of order or idea what is happening. The middle image looks great from that real birds eye view and the colours work really well together. Then when you take a look at the left image it just doesn’t have that same feel it looks rather messy and unorganised.

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I tried adding all of the complimentary colours all together. I tried taking a close up of each of the primary colours together but some of the images weren’t clear these are just a couple that where the best out of them all.