Ten very sore fingers and many blisters later, I have finally finished the wooly moss texture. It took alot of perseverance, but I did get it done and it looks very effective, especially since I used two colours aswell. By coincidence, I think the blue and green patches of ‘moss’ also remind me of satellite images of the earth, with the green blobs of land and blue ocean- perhaps this is a good thing as it only pushes my concept of appreciating and respecting the nature on our planet… a happy accident.
While adding the texture in blue, I found that it was easier to pull through as the wool was thicker and was an acrylic blend so it did not break off randomly like the merino wool. At first, because it is easier to pull through, I thought I was getting these sections done quicker, but looking back now and then, the blue wool was quite abit thinner than the green wool so I have to do more stitches over each area so as to not leave any gaps…. Thankfully, I was prepared for this texture to take a long time while I was designing my garment, so I had cut down on the the area that would be covered by the wooly moss.
As you can see in the image, the ‘blobs of moss’ currently look slightly isolated and separate from the garment, as if they are just sitting on top. I wanted the textures to be more connected with the garment, and look as though the natural forms are actually growing over the dress, so I needed to add another texture that was not so bold as the moss, but would tie the moss and the garment fabric together.
One of the ideas I thought of while developing my design was to add loops of thick banana yarn but both my tutor and other peers though that this might be too much, as the moss texture I have already created brings enough relief/dimension and the loops hanging off will take away from this. I chose to incorporate an earlier sample I created in response to moss, which consisted of simple backstitching to create circular swirls just using embroidery thread- so not as thick as wool.
This was definitely the right choice as it created a sort of ‘texture gradient’ so it wasn’t just an inch off the fabric, then completely flat. Using this sample introduced a nice contrast between the moss textures on the garment, but they all still look harmonious together. Another plus side of this texture was that it was much quicker and easier than the previous moss texture (THANK GOD FOR MY FINGERS).
an.andycaptures 