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I'm planning to represent the Hmong ethnic community and their tradition of fabric weaving through my embroidery. I will add vibrant colors - often seen in Hmong fashion - and weave patterns that represent messages and symbols that tell a story to shine light on the traditional practices of this community.

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I reprinted out my cyanotype becuase my last one had creases on it. I'm happy with how this turned out and I spent the lesson brainstorming symbols to use. I've researched many Hmong symbols and their meanings in the Hmong community, and will work at home to choose my symbols and start designing.

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My plan for this summative is to include the embroidery skills I've learnt to convey a story. I plan on using the back stitch for decorative elements on border, as well as the stem stitch, satin stitch, running stitch and experimenting with layering various different stitches to make my piece more dynamic.

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Success: I’m happy with the neatness of my work! Though not pictured here, the back was also neat and had pretty tight knots. I embroidered at an efficient pace with good control and managed to get through all the stitches that was taught in class.

Challenge: I lost my thread a few times and struggled to rethread. Moreover, I think the spacing between my stitches could be more even.

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Success – I finished the rest of the stitches taught in class (invisible stitch & french knot) and started learning stitches on my own. I only had time to learn the stem stitch. I was successful with the invisible stitch and I’m happy with how seamless it is!

Challenge – Some of my French knots failed and I’m not quite sure why, but I managed to embroider them correctly in the end. I did the stem stitch wrong but realized it and corrected my mistake.

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My goal for this class period is to finish the blue flower and get started on the border of my embroidery (using blanket stitch).

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This is my final formative piece! All of my reflections and process is documented in my process portfolio.

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So far, I've finished the moutain design and sketched out the border of my piece in white colored pencil. I've started embroidery on that area, leaving a gap between every design square as I will be filling those in with yellowish orange stitches.

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3 new things I learnt today as I started working on my pajama pants:

1. There are so many different sizes on one pattern! I thought it would only be one size and you would have to adjust the pattern accordingly.

2. It was a lot more time consuming to pin everything in place than I thought it'd be.

3. Ironing your fabric really makes a difference and makes the cutting process a lot easier.

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4 important things to consider when setting up a sewing machine:

1. Make sure you've plugged your machine in securely and all the way.

2. Make sure you've got enough thread in your bobbin.

3. Make sure your needle is properly threaded.

4. Make sure your heel is on the ground when using the foot pedal at all times to ground yourself.

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Here is my finished cultural traditions embroidery! Everything is documented in my process portfolio.

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My sewing packet taught me a valuable lesson: it's not just about seeing, but also listening. While focusing on the fabric, pins, and stitches, I realized my sewing machine was making unusual noises. Upon closer inspection, I found the thread was tangled and knotted inside. Thanks to Ms. Aura and Ms. Chau's help, we were able to dismantle part of the sewing machine and untangle the knot. Had I continued sewing, the knot would have become even worse, causing more trouble.

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I managed to finish sewing my pants! I added the elastic waistband and finished it off by hemming the ends to eliminate fraying. I sketched out my bow embroidery and spent the rest of the class embroidering the bow. Next class, I just need to finish my embroidery and I'll be 100% done!

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My completed PJ pants! (back)

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Attached above is the dress I'm going to make.

There's no pattern for my project, but I've created my own pattern after self draping and following the YouTube tutorial.

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Here are the bust pieces I cut out last class using my own pattern.

I decided to choose a pink satin fabric since I love how classy and elegant satin looks. The tutorial also used a non-stretch fabric and since satin is a non-stretch fabric, I thought it would work well!

Next class, I need to finish cutting my skirt piece and then start on sewing my lace and pieces.

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Because I can't add all the photos into one post, today's work will be divided into 3 posts. I learnt the importance of pinning when hemming or adding embellishments, as it secures your piece and makes sure everything is aligned well.

P1 --> I finished the embellishments for the bust piece

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I cut out the skirt piece.

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I did a straight stitch to connect my skirt piece and then finished hemming the edge. I intend to a) add the lace around the whole edge or b) handsew the invisible stitch to make it seamless.

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I wasn't in class for the introduction to this Unit, but I have researched Indigo Dye and its presence in Vietnam's ethnic Hmong tribe up north in Sapa.

This source (https://vietcraft.org.vn/mdl/craftbasedtour/action/detail/ref/villages/id/188) delves into the tedious process of indigo dye and the techniques that are involved in the process.

My second source (https://www.textileseekers.com/blog-1/indigo) deeply explores the history of Indigo dyeing and the cultural significance of this process to the Hmong tribe.

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Dyeing techniques I tried today

Kumo Shibori

Nui Shibori

Kanoko Shibori

Miura Shibori (and its variation using beads)

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3 things I learnt about Shibori from the resources

The design is stenciled onto the fabric after being engraved

The engraving process is done on a special type of 'washi' paper

The temperature of the dye ranges between 60-90 degrees

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I felt like I was productive today, with only a few pieces left to do for next class. I want to mix dying techniques together to see what effect it'd have; I think that'd be cool.

If I could apply shibori to a project, I would make squares of different shibori patterns and then sew it into a cute bandana top that I could wear.

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I am planning to do the nature prompt, by cutting up my piece into smaller squares and having each square represent a different part of nature (eg. ocean, rain, stars, flowers, trees, mountains....)

Some ways I couuld execute this is through Arashi, Nui, Miura, Sashiko and Batik (wax).

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Here's my Batik sample of flowers and leaves. This was taken when I had just finished dying it and washed it, so the wax is still on the fabric. I'll melt the wax to see the full effect of Batik next class.

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Here are some parts of my sketchbook displaying the steps to different dying techniques.