Harriett Chapman workbook

TextileArtist.org

Harriett Chapman workbookNovember 2021

TextileArtist.org Stitch Club


Abstracting still life“In this workshop you will make a colourful abstract still life piece, using appliqué. You’ll learn how to use an iron-on adhesive, such as Bondaweb, to strengthen the fabric and make it easier to cut out and sew.

Your piece will be inspired by an everyday item or a prized possession within your home. This could be a piece of china, a sculpture, a plant or maybe even a musical instrument. I will take you through the paper collage design process that I use to develop a really lovely composition. You’ll cut out shapes in a “painting with scissors” style like Henri Matisse used. You will also take a look at the colour wheel and use complimentary colours to find a palette that suits your work.

You will use simple stitches to embellish the shapes. I will guide you through some design ideas including making thread choices, balancing colours, and how to highlight some shapes and leave others receding into the background. You will discover your own style and favourite colour schemes, which will help you to take this process further in the future.”

Harriett Chapman

Harriett Chapman workbook




What you'll need• A reference object

Such as a sculpture, vase or plant, or a still life photograph

• Paper or card in a selection of colours for collage design work

• Plain paper, A4 / US letter size

• A pencil or pen

• Paper scissors

• A piece of mid-weight cotton or calico (US muslin) for the base

• Fabric scissors

• Bondaweb, or a similar iron-on adhesive with a paper backing

• Assortment of fabrics in various colours, patterns and weights Select these after you have chosen your colour palette for the piece

• Iron and ironing surface

• Baking/parchment paper

• Needles

• Pins

• Embroidery threads in assorted colours

• Camera/smartphone

• Water-erasable fabric pen (optional)





The creative stitch exercise



Step one

Find an object: Look for an object around your home that inspires you. This could be a treasured item, or something that is visually pleasing and would make a lovely focus in your work. The item could be a ceramic sculpture, a vase, an antique item or a plant. Or you could take a photograph of a small still life arrangement, print it out and work from that.

Step two

Draw the object: Draw out the basic shape of the object on paper, whilst carefully observing it. Simplify the shapes. You don’t need to work in detail at this point, as this will be done using stitch.





Step three

Choose a colour palette: Choose some paper to use for both the background and the main subject. A colour wheel can help you choose your colour palette.

A good option is to choose two complementary colours (opposite each other on the wheel), and select different shades of these colours, and some patterned paper using one or both of these colours. Using colour is also about how it makes you feel, so tune into your feelings.





Step four

Make a paper collage: You will use the coloured paper to make a collage on your piece of plain background paper. Building your image using paper collage will help you work out the basic composition for your appliqué. The collage doesn’t need to be perfect. It is just a working design to help you make decisions. As you construct the collage, take photographs of the different options to help you make design decisions.

Cut around the outline of your drawn object to make a template. Use this template to cut out the main shapes of the subject in different coloured papers. Try adding different tones of each colour to see how they work together.

Cut out shapes to add detail to the subject or the background. For these detail elements, odd numbers work well. Experiment by adding abstract shapes in the background, using the leftover paper. Don’t worry too much about the colour choices as they can be changed when you build the work out of fabric.

Alternatively you could collage the leftover cut papers, or cut into them and use the resulting shapes in your collage. This option is great if you want to make a completely abstract piece.

Take a photograph of the finished collage for reference. Don’t glue the collage down at this stage as you will use the paper pieces as templates for your fabric appliqué.





Step five

Choose your fabrics: Choose fabrics for the background and the main subject. Think about how the main subject will sit within the background. You can use plain or patterned fabrics, or fabrics with different tones of the same colour, to give depth. Try out various alternatives and take photographs. Choose your favourite combination of fabrics.

Cut out rectangular pieces of Bondaweb to fit each of your collage template pieces. Place the sticky side of the Bondaweb on the back of your chosen fabrics. Put the fabric and Bondaweb inside two layers of baking paper and iron using a medium heat.





Step six

Prepare the appliqué pieces: Use your collage templates to cut out all of the fabric shapes you’ll need. Keep the disregarded fabric cuttings as you might want to use them later.

Peel off the Bondaweb backing paper, then build your composition. Look for balance of shape, pattern and colour across the piece. When you are happy, place some baking paper on top of the composition. Iron to fuse the shapes to the background fabric.





Step seven

Embellish with stitch: Choose threads with colours that are already in the work, or different tones of those colours. Sew the larger shapes first to keep them in place. You can unpick stitches if something doesn’t look right. Use a running stitch or any stitch of your choice. You can lay your threads on top of the work to make your colour choices.

Keep stepping back to look at the work and check if the colours are working together. You can highlight some shapes in a colour that is found somewhere else within the work. Other shapes will need to recede into the background, so a more subtle thread colour would work well. Dark or contrasting tones will add definition. You can use one strand for a delicate fabric, or several strands to make a thicker line. Stitches can be close together or far apart. Varying the stitches in this way gives the piece more interest. Take your time and enjoy the process.



Possible approaches

Patterned orange jug with a limited colour palette. Patterned fabric is used on the back wall, plant and the jug, to add interest and bring the whole piece together.





Abstract design using leftover shapes. The negative spaces have been stitched using wool.





Pink cactus with patterned fabric on the table and the cactus. Long stitches define the cactus spines and the flower centres.





Notes





Notes



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Harriett Chapman workbook