Digital Printing

I found embroidery very wide ranging- the options for developing spot and stripe designs were really varied. However I struggled to convey my interpretation of ‘spots and stripes’ in a satisfying way. In contrast, I felt that print allowed me to introduce more energy to the theme through colour and layers of pattern. I particularly enjoyed improving my Photoshop skills. One of the things I like most about screen printing and sublimation printing is that, until you’ve applied the ink to the fabric, or transferred the image using the heat press, you’re never quite sure what the final design will look like. This inspired me to be more outgoing with my designs and colour choices. At the beginning, I found knit a real struggle, but in the end I loved it, precisely because it was so rewarding to persevere with it and eventually be producing samples I was proud of. Again, weave was frustrating for me in the beginning. Although I enjoy slow, involved processes, it took a while for me to make any samples that I was pleased with, or that I felt accurately represented my colour work and drawings. Despite this, I found it a really pleasing way of adding another dimension to flat designs. The mathematical technique forced me to think laterally about how to represent the colours and shapes in my inspiration image in the right ways, forcing me to reflect the spots and stripes brief through texture and repeat patterns as well as colour and detail.