The five new stitches I learnt were the stem stitch, satin stitch, woven spider stitch, lazy daisy stitch and feather stitch. I used the stem stitch for leaf decoration, the satin for most of the leaves, the woven spider for the roses in the basket, the lazy daisy for the darker flowers on the right and the feather stitch for the taller flower plants.

I also made sure to do some of the basic stitches as well, such as the whip, catch, running, french knot, and back stitch.

I found my fabric at the fabric market in district 5, as labeled. It was difficult to find something that I liked since most of the fabrics there are catered to the Vietnamese culture, so the patterns are more old and vintage and are mostly meant for making áo dài or traditional Vietnamese pajamas. This color was cute and the pattern was as well, so I bought 2 meters. 

On our first work day I struggled a bit with printing–the pattern states that it’s meant to be printed on A4 sized paper, but when I tried it it came out way too small, so I had to manually crop every single section of my piece to fit the A4 size on Procreate before I could actually print anything. Next class I will have to tape my pattern together before I can cut anything out, so this part of the process will probably be the most tedious and least enjoyable. However, it’s important that it’s done right otherwise I will struggle later on with putting the piece together. I hope to complete the cutting out of all my pieces by next class, so I can stay on track with the working time that’s been allocated to us. 

While I didn’t have much trouble pinning & cutting the shirt pieces, I struggled slightly with the neck and arm bands because of their thinness, and ended up with a lot of cut-out fabric pieces that I can’t use because they’re far too wonky. I should have used a ruler to get straight edges. Because of this I wasted a lot of my time, which is something I will keep in mind for future projects when I’m cutting my fabrics. I will also have to get through the stitching process efficiently in order to complete the piece before its deadline in two weeks. 

I also realized that because the fabric I’m using is not knitted fabric, the type used in the pattern that I chose, I will have to hem my shirt. This might cause the shirt to be a bit too small, but if that’s the case then I can add ruffles to the bottom to lengthen it (as was advised by Ms. Aura!) Luckily the fabric I used is very stretchy, as is according to the instructions, so I should have no trouble with the seams as I’m stitching later on. 

https://aizome-textiles.com/blogs/the-bed-blog/samurai-secrets-three-true-stories-of-the-aizome?srsltid=AfmBOorxKa24UsElU59uYeGFozMlk--VuaqlMAkyRRA636njjAHPGNia

https://japandoraku.com/goethe-article-nakanishihidenori/

Today was hard because I already felt as though I was behind and I wouldn't finish on time because it took an hour to just print the pattern correctly. I also wasn't feeling confident that the end result would look good/fit me.

Printing & cutting took much longer than I expected because of so many troubles with the proportions of the pattern. I also had to cut the quadrants digitally and make sure they actually lined up perfectly so they would be good to print.

I need to revisit my plan because the fabric I am using is not knit fabric like they used in the instructions, which was the initial reason I had to hem my bottoms instead of leaving them raw, but my fabric is also very very stretchy and light compared to knit fabric which made cutting very difficult as the fabric would move a lot. I ended up using tape to tape the pattern pieces on top of my fabric and cut it that way, which saved some time and made the bands look better.

I feel very unconfident and scared trying textiles, as it's something I've never explored before beyond embroidery, and I'm very unsure about myself and what I do which makes this process a bit scary.

The miura shibori is made to resemble the ripples of waves, as well as add interesting texture to the gradient wash. I want each layer to look a little bit different from each other, hence why I applied slightly different techniques to each of them. For example, the third layer of waves has more straight nui shibori stitches instead of the wavy miura stitches of the first layer.

The patterns I incorporated the most are the ripple effects typically seen in water when light is bouncing off of it through nui shibori, and the straighter, linear ripples of the white foam connecting to the water as it washes up on shore, through batik, kanoko shibori and . The main inspiration of these patterns are waves themselves, and the patterns they create as they interact with light combined with their movement. Capturing this movement through dye techniques is the main purpose of my naturistic theme, and in using it I successfully respond to the prompt that I chose.

https://thesiamsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/JSS_103_0e_Cheesman_ANewMethodOfClassicicationForTaiTextiles.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hmong_textile_art

I planned out my concept in my sketchbook and prepared some designs. The topics I chose from this course are embroidery, batik & embellishments, and my inspirations come from the multiple textile traditions of different Vietnamese ethnic minorities, such as H'mong, Khmer, Tai, Tay and Muong.

I selected Milan because it is one of the largest "fashion capitals" in the world, with the likes of New York and Paris in terms of the fashion industry and its influences. It has been an area of high fashion for many years, meaning there are a lot of fashion shows that happen there from which I can draw inspiration. One such fashion show is the Vogue Milan Fashion Week. After observing the various outfits from the fashion show alongside more casual wear, I found that Milanese fashion often features an abundance of sharpness, such as their blazers and even their skirts/dresses that have stiffer fabrics with harsher angles to them as opposed to the common soft flowiness found in most dresses. I also found that patterns in fabrics are common, along with fabric layering to create volume and silhouette. I applied these aspects into my rough sketches, the first inspired by the Fashion Week and the other inspired by the Milan Cathedral, the most famous piece of architecture and a staple of Milan. The first outfit is harsher, with the layered fabrics around the waist and arms, and the corset is a hard plastic, achieving the shininess that I also see to be common in Milanese fashion that adds to sharpness. The second features the pattern aspect, with the outer layer made from a sheer fabric embellished with the patterns of the Cathedral, the focal point of the garment, along with the same patterns throughout the dress to tie it together.

Inspired by the romance & high fashion of Milan, my pieces as a representation of both the city’s tourism and its popular fashion shows, reflecting Milan as a fashion capital of the world. My first piece depicts Milan in its high fashion, featuring the iconic fabric tiers, sharp silhouette and shine of the steel corset. My second piece presents Milan in its more elegant ways, with a low-cut figure-hugging gown and cape, while incorporating Milan’s tourist landmark of the Cathedral in its embellishment patterns, which are inspired by the designer Pham Dang Anh Thu and her ballroom-esque gowns. 

2. Angel & Minju

3. Carli & Daniel

4. Ashton & Marco

5. Kiki & Farai

6. Claire & Adolfo - fabric construction was ugly, the fabric is ugly, the tarp for the girl's look is very flat and the cords on the jackets seem like a last-minute decision and don't have a lot of structural purpose

Prediction: Claire & Adolfo will get kicked out and Kiki & Farai will stay in the competition. Although Kiki & Farai's looks had poor color choices, hem choices (in terms of leaving it raw instead of finished) along with too many elements to both garments resulting in them looking discombobulated and home-crafty, Claire & Adolfo's looks were even more disarrayed with the two outfits looking as though they don't belong together. Claire & Adolfo had much more craftsmanship problems than Kiki & Farai, with the structures of the garments on the girl's look being very unflattering and flat, while the man's look was very uninspired. I liked the theme, but the fabric choice was very poor and made both looks seem home-crafty, while the addition of the orange cords seemed like a last-minute decision in attempt to tie the looks together but gives the garments no structure.