Friday, March 16, 2018

Japanese Landscape - Part L

The second stem in Japanese Landscape went much better than the first one. The advise I received from Instagram really helped with my tension. This time around I payed more attention to take more pictures of the process so I can share it with you.


The first step is to bend the end of the plate using pliers. The hidden fold will be the start of your folded plate.


Next, I came out with the needle and hooked the thread in the fold. It's a little fiddly, but you can use pliers to close the fold and prevent the thread from coming out. Go down into the fabric, come out on the other side and couch down the plate. Here I made a small anchoring stitch so the thread isn't loose.

I did find I got better results if I folded over the plate keeping my thread taught, before I placed the anchoring stitch to hold it in place.

(click on the post to see the animation below)


To end the plate, another fold is create to hide the cut edge.

Not a hard process, but it does get tedious after the 20th fold. I still have to pay more attention to the edge of the line. It's not a problem when the area is covered on each side of the line of folded plate as you can hide uneven edges, however for the areas that will not be surrounded you can clearly see a jagged edge. I know I'm being picky, but I'm always looking for ways to improve. Something to work on in the next project.


The left and right flowers are now officially done! Next up are the four leaves in the center flower. There will be a lot of plunging in my future. I'll have to do this is stages as otherwise, I will start avoiding this project.


5 comments:

  1. Just lovely. I think you are doing an excellent job.

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  2. That's an important point - if you leave the plunging to the end it will become a real barrier.

    I can see what you mean about the jagged edges, but I suspect that once the piece is completed, you won't really see them!

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  3. Great work Dima. It’s been a great learning piece for you, it’s good you are able to have a second go at these elements to practice your technique on. It’s definitely coming together!

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  4. Fantastic work. Thanks for taking the time to photograph it all too.

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  5. That looks more evenly than the left side already - new materials often take some time getting used to, right? Still, I think both sides look lovely.

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