2016 Topic 12: Fabric Rae Missigman Hi everyone, Darcy here, time flies and we are at the start of another challenge. This time it is fabric, I know that may immediately seem scary, but let's have a look at some inspiration and hopefully you will all feel able to take the plunge and bring fabric into your mixed media creations. Textiles have been as part of our lives since earliest civilisation, from handmade clothing and other practical items through to more decorative trims and house decor. Decoration of fabric began with embroidered clothing, and was a sign of wealth. Many samplers were stitched by wives and daughters, these became wonderful pieces of textile art. Antique Dress One of the earliest and simplest forms of textile construction would be felting, taking simple animal fibres and creating cloth from those. Then twisting, spinning and weaving followed. Functionality of textiles has continued, but methods and materials have changed and expanded dramatically and the Industrial Revolution changed textile technology significantly. As for artistic applications, the silk routes and introduction of dyes from abroad really transformed decoration. Nowadays with paint, dyes, unlimited synthetic fibres and all sorts of machinery we can create just about anything...and we do! Before we start, let's see who won the Topic 11: Our House Challenge... What a wonderful array of houses,fit for a Queen of crafting to live in. The vibrant colours and quirky shapes are such fun, it looks like you had a great time creating them. Even without a house stamp or stencil I think these are one of the easiest images to create. I hope this challenge has inspired you to add more houses in your work. . The winner of Our House is: Helen from StampingbyH Email Darcy to claim your prize. [email protected] Let's start with felting, a flat piece of felted fabric is one of the simplest techniques to try, however there are some stunning felted pieces out there. Needle felting especially can be intricate and very detailed. Soroka As we move through history we come across dyes that were introduced by travellers, these were brighter than the moss and vegetable dyes that we had traditionally used. Modern dyes and colourants are so varied, but the simplest and cheapest way to colour is with wax crayons. Here is a quick and easy video for you from Terrie Kygar. This technique could easily be applied to stamped images on fabric. Did you know that you can use your Fresco Chalk paints on fabric? add a little fabric medium, any brand, and the item becomes washable. I made this apron a few years ago and it has been washed several times. Weaving always had practical applications, whether for blankets, rugs or clothing. However there is no reason that practical can't be pretty too like these sweet woven bracelets by Kate Whitehead. If quilting is your thing, how about this bright and funky lollipop flower quilt. Your favourite flower stamps could be used here as the base shapes. Deborah O'Hare You don't fancy sewing? no problem, take inspiration from Elfi Cella, a Swiss painter. Here a shirt has been attached to a canvas and then texture paste added and painted. This would also be a good project for those still playing with Powertex. Moving onto smaller pieces, how about some cards made from tiny leftovers. These are stitched but you could easily layer up your scraps and glue them in place. Kelly King No stitching with this one at all, use freehand cut out shapes or stamped faces and create clothing with scraps. I have seen this done with pretty handkerchiefs as the skirt. LazyDoll Staying with smaller projects, let's go 3d. This decorated koi from Brooke Connor is so much fun. How about adding wire to your fabric and creating freestanding decorations. Many of your flowers and leaf stamps could be used to create wired flowers. Jennifer Swift These moths are my favourite find for this topic, I adore them. There are so many possibilities, ideas inspired by these little creatures. How would you go about creating something like this, think about what is in your stash right now, what could you use? Mister Finch All these so far would seem a little time consuming, so here is an idea for a really quick bookmark. Nothing could be simpler, but of course you could add your own twist to it. You could paint the card and stamp onto the fabric. Alysse Here is another no-sew idea, tags with die cuts holes and a piece of fabric glued behind. Darcy If you like layers then you could add fabric to a tag, make a pocket and fill it with all sorts of interesting bits. Anita Houston Now for some wall art, there are so many possibilities, fabric is so versatile and malleable . A simple layer glued on gives immediate texture, while subsequent layers and forms add dimension. Ginny Gibson What good are layers if you can't see through to the one below? Here you will find a tutorial by Susan Lenz, showing how she creates her box fibre art, and how she uses a soldering iron to reveal the layers of fabrics. If you are a fan of recycling then how about using up clothing labels and shopping bag handles. This is an intriguing quilt, it shows a glimpse into the maker's shopping habits, and could easily become a memory quilt. Perhaps you have shopping labels from a holiday? this would be a great way to collate them. I think I may have left the most interesting projects till last.. fabric journals. These can be no-sew, or they can be heavily embroidered, whichever you prefer. As mixed media artists these probably fulfil our need to use different mediums more so than other fabric projects. These books can be painted, dyed, stamped, stitched and embellished, really, anything goes! DJ Pettitt These are by Frances Pickering, they utilise pelmet vilene. This is an excellent base for a book cover as it is very sturdy, will take paint but can also still be stitched. I really like the shape of these books. I will leave you with this video from Leandra showing just how she paints with Frescos onto fabric . Hopefully you are now inspired to use some fabric, remember it does not need to be stitched, it could be glued as a layer under a stamped image or it could be a bought fabric item that you decorate. I am sure you have bags or an apron that could be transformed with paint. Have fun! Don't forget to follow Darcy's and Leandra's pinterest boards (Leandra also has a mixed media Textiles board here) if this topic pushes your buttons, you will see plenty more examples to whet your appetite there! I am really looking forward to seeing what you create over the next 2 weeks! Darcy Topic 12: Fabric PaperArtsy Blog Challenge We'd love you to share your ideas and link up your creative response to our current blog topic. Take a minute to read the challenge guidelines below. All links go in the draw to win a voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. The Fabric link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, June 26th winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00. 1. The challenge is a for you to show how you are inspired by the current blog topic. Your entry should contain: - a mention of which post inspired you and why, and - a link in your blog post to that original post on the PA blog. The whole concept of this challenge is 'play along with us'. You are encouraged to put your own twist on ideas you see on our blog, do your own thing - whatever grabs you! 2. The link you put on our linky page must lead directly to the specific post on your blog where you have explored the technique/ idea mentioned in point 1 above. Don't link to the home page of your blog. 3. We prefer your challenge blog post is created exclusive to our challenge, but if our topic fits perfectly with another challenge, then you may link to both if appropriate. 4. You are most welcome to use stamps/ products/ substrates you have to hand from a variety of companies, we do not expect you to exclusively use PA products - it's lovely when you do though! 6. You can enter as many times as you like. We don't want to restrict your creativity! NB. Link closes at 17:00 Sunday June 26th (London Time) 7. The winner of the random draw will receive a £50 credit voucher to be redeemed on the PaperArtsy Website. The credit voucher includes VAT and postage. We request that one of your purchases is an A5 rubber stamp. You can add any other items to your basket, but the final total should not exceed £50. 8. Each fortnight on Sunday, the winner will be announced at 19:00 (London time). In the same post, the link for the next fortnight will be posted. 9. It's your responsibility to claim your prize coupon from Darcy. email: [email protected] Good Luck! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!