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Transfer printig
Plastic fusing
Fabric of thread
Smocking
Felting
Fiber etching
Knitting
Elastic band
Thermoplastic
Knitting + Appliqué
Knitting + plastic fusing
Knitting + fabric of threads
Fabric of threads + elastic
Barbie doll house
Inspiration and moodboard
Duri explores the textures of durian which is the “King of fruits” by introducing its growth process. The name ‘Duri” means “thorn” in Malay because they are native to South-eastern Asia.
Duri is distinctive for its large size, unique and odour smell and lastly the formidable thorn-covered husk. Durian is a very ancient and primitive fruit. It has been known in South-eastern Asia since prehistoric times and has only been known to the Western world for about 600 years. Thus, we can see how valuable durian it is as it known as the world legend.
They are three steps that can conclude durian grows from a flower to the fruit. At first, there will have the durian flowers and blooming in this initiation stage, it is called flowering stage. After that, the durian in the fruit growth stage will have the small and numerous thorns. Lastly, the features for the thorns in mature and harvesting stage will be hard and wider.
Materials board
The surface that showed different stage of durian growth.
Light on!
What I was playing was the shadow of the texture itself. The shadows look like a mature durian when I reflected the light.
Application board
Because of durian looks very ugly but it is tasty for some people they really like it. My idea is to make the ugly thing looks beautiful and encouraging the people to touch the surface they won’t feel it normally. I decided to make a lamp to bring out the idea of durian are actually attractive. This is a hanging lamp which like the durian is hanging on the trees. 
For other application I think that can be an umbrella and phone case because the idea of durian shell is to protect them from danger. I wanted to make the applications are more close to life so can encourage people to touch it and bring the idea durian is not so hard to accept.
Presentation
For my theme I chose something personal and because my father was planting durian in Malaysia so I think this is easier to get the samples to touch and feel the surface. I don’t really like durian because I was bored to the taste as I always eat while I was a kid. To me, durian is a meaningful object in my memory especially I was grown up in the kampung with durian farm.
I tried whatever techniques I can do. Not only use the tecnique that I had learnt in class but also I manage to create the new techniques. I eventually was about to give up and many times to think that changing my theme because I couldn’t get the outcome I want.
I tried to work plastic fusing but it looks like very soft and messy, even though the gold thorn is so awkward on the green plastic surface.
This is completely a failed pieces but I learnt the trials and errors and the choose of correct medium to work with durian surface. I was trying to poke the hole and make the thorn come out from bottom.
While color pencils also can look like a durian thorn. I pasted the color pencil on a vacuum foaming sheet because I think that it looks like a durian shell.
More process!
Resin casting
Resin casting is a method of plastic casting where a mold is filled with a liquid synthetic resin, which then hardens. It is primarily used for small-scale production like industrial prototypes and dentistry.
Resin casting is an exciting and fun craft that allows you to embed or encase almost any object in crystal clear plastic. Coins, shells, rocks, dried flowers, butterflies and insects are just a few of the examples of embedment possibilities.
Materials:
1) Resin
2) Mold
3) Hardener
4) Things to cast
5) The release agent spray to make the resin cast easily take out
Latex
Liquid latex rubber is a very versatile art material that can be used for a range of purposes. Derived from rubber trees, liquid latex is inexpensive, tough, tear-resistant and long lasting. In fact, it emerges as the most economical mold making and casting product in the market.
Materials
1) Liquid latex
2) Mold
3) Hardener
4) Color(optional)
Vacuum foaming
The process involves heating a plastic sheet until soft and then draping it over a mould. A vacuum is applied sucking the sheet into the mould. The sheet is then ejected from the mould. In its advanced form, the vacuum forming process utilizes sophisticated pneumatic, hydraulic and heat controls thus enabling higher production speeds and more detailed vacuum formed applications.
Materials:
1) PVC sheet
2) Mould that can resist heat
3) Vacuum forming machine
In-class demo
Done in the class!
Vacuum foaming doesn’t work with some materials as it will hard to take out after forming the shape. The object that you have chosen must be have a bigger base than the body.
Vacuum foaming process
Materials:
1) 100% polyester
2) Marbles/ Anything can form the shape and will not melt after heat
3) Aluminum Foil
4) Rubber band
In class demo
Galina showed me how to make the durian thorns.
How cool of this technique and this is really surprised me the most as I like this technique very much! I never thought that fabric can be boiled and the combination of marbles and fabric made the cool texture. Even my father was curious about what module I am taking!
Process (Part 1)
The trip to Touch and Print was really impressed me with the introduction of different printing techniques. At first, the printing in my knowledge is something very vapid and flat which I thought it will be very stiff if I printed the images on a object or fabric. However, I gained the new knowledge about transfer printing.
The person in-charge not only gave us the technical knowledge about transfer printing but also showed us the process to let us know the steps how to make a successful printing.
He showed us this master pieces done by his friend which can be the inspiration of our final project for those using cardboard for final.
This trip was focus on the transfer printing. Transfer printing can do full color prints, it has no set up time or minimum quantity and lastly the repeat prints are the same. This technique is distinguish with the screen printing which is the technique needs long setup time. It has the minimum quantity but the repeated prints are very cheap and fast. They are also different types of transfer printing which are laser/toner, inkjet, cutting and also sublimation. For example, the laser transfer can do fabric and non-fabric printing and it is the only kind that can do non-fabric printing.
The examples he showed us the printing on different medium for example, fabric, cardboard and leather.
Moreover, we also known that how a design transfer to the t-shirt by using the heat transfer with special paper and laser printer. We are introduced by the difficulty for transfer printing is actually getting rid of the unwanted area.
Another learning point for this trip is the white toner technology. The special transfer paper which allows to transfer which color from the images.
Lastly, I am interested in this technique which is printing on wood actually can done by the matte gel or acrylic paint. The big tube can buy from Artfriend while the small one can get from Daiso.
This field trip is completely worthy while getting out of the pulau NTU. It is impressive when we visit a printing shop that introducing different techniques and the person in-charged shared his own experiences with us!
What is knitting?
Knitting is a method of forming fabric from a single strand of yarn, using two needles. The resulting fabric has more give than woven fabric. When you look closely at knitted fabric it is made up of rows of loops that interlock with neighbouring rows, that is what gives the fabric its stretch.
This method allows fabric to be shaped for the intended purpose, unlike woven fabric which is flat and needs to be cut to shape.
Of course there are advanced techniques that use multiple needles, or a pair of needles attached by a cord, that allow tubes to be knitted, or textural and multicoloured effects can be created by using multiple strands of yarn.
Knitting materials
The knitting material are very simple. You just need the knitting needles and different kind of yarn, for example wool yarn or plastic yarn.
Here is some examples being shown in class:
How to achieve the techniques
For the beginner, we need to start from the basic step for knitting. It is good to handle if you know that how to hold the knitting needles, how to make a slip knot or even knit a row or purl a roll.
1) Hold the knitting needles
There are a number of ways to hold the needles depending on where in the world you have been taught and what feels comfortable. There is no right or wrong way just choose which is most comfortable for you.
2) Make a slip knot
There are also several ways to do this when I was watching to the Youtube tutorial, each of the tutor actually had their own way to make a knot.
3)Cast on the yarn
4)Start knitting or purling
To knit a row:
Insert the tip of the right needle into the stitch on the left needle, from front to back.
Take the yarn in the right hand holding the needles where they cross, take the yarn forward to the tip of the right needle.
Wrap the yarn around the right needle from back to front.
Draw the tip of the right needle back pulling the looped yarn.
Slip the left hand stitch off the left needle. You have now completed a knit stitch.
To purl a row:
Insert the tip of the right needle down and through the loop, then pull it up so it crosses in front of the left needle, from back to front.
Hold onto the needles where they cross with the left hand needle.
Take the yarn forward and wrap it behind the front right needle.
Draw the tip of the right needle back through the stitch on the left needle, together with the looped yarn.
Slip the original stitch off the left needle. You have now completed a purl stitch.
Repeat, in and up, round, down and off.
Complete the row purling each stitch.
5) Cast of the yarn
When you knit until the size you want and you can end your pieces by casting off.
The examples of how the knitting being used in our daily life.
I found these different types of knitting stitches and they all are so beautiful. If I have enough time I will be interested to explore more!
The tiny baby knitting hats and so cute!
Knitting process
Okay the knitting process starts! Basically what I had done in class is just exploring different material to knit. I started with clumsiness and went lots of trial and errors throughout the process.
It is my first more completed pieces but it doesn’t come out very nice because I didn’t well manage to the strength for each knot. Some of the knots I knit it too tie but some of them just very loose so thats why the pieces look like an irregular shape. BUT this is what I learnt to create special shape towards your pieces, you actually can manage the strength while knitting. For example, if you want the part be smaller, the you can make the knots tighter.
When I were more familiar with the basic steps of knitting, I try to replace different color of yarn to make the gradient effect. Although it is still look clumsy but I will completely keep it up!
When I went to shopping at Daiso, I saw these attractive yarn. They are so beautiful and I can’t wait to explore them!
When I got bored with the basic stitching, I went to research the different stitches and I decided to go for the raspberry stitch which I found this techniques via youtube.
When I first saw the video I thought it will be very easy but throughout the knitting process I found that this technique is challenging to me as it still have a lot of things need to consider of. I started with small example before and it was a thinner yarn. The yarn will bifurcate into more loops while this stitch needs to have the accurate loops. So I tried with the bigger yarn which is the yarn below but I found that when I knitted with the bigger yarn the raspberry surface doesn’t come out very nice.
I was inspired by the yarn color changing techniques so I bought this gradient string to knit.
As I really like the raspberry stitches which I mentioned earlier, I went to tried more to get a better outcome. I was very careful for every stitch as if I missed any one of the steps then the knitting will be failed. Finally, it looks more completed!
I like knitting but the previous pieces I not really felt the joyful to them so I decided to knit a random pieces to relax myself. I was addicted with knitting as it really can destress even though I had a lot of project need to work on. This piece is actually bigger than the picture shown as I just spent my free time like I knitted while waiting bus and knitting is so fun!
My learning point for this cool techniques is although the steps to knit looked complicated at first but when you are proficient to the process, you will feel very satisfied and can’t stop knitting.
Smocking
Smocking is done by using small stitches to gather fabric in a pattern. You can use it to create little rows of pretty pleats with colorful stitching, the perfect detail for a child’s dress or the bodice of a blouse. This smocking pattern doesn’t involve any special skill, just hand sewing and lots of time and patience.
Smocking Material: fabric, needles, thread, the smocking template
How does it works?
1) Choose fabric and thread.
Smocking can be done using any type of fabric, but it works best if you use thin fabric that doesn’t have a lot of stretch. Try thin cotton or linen if this is your first time. The stitches are meant to be seen to create a pretty dotted pattern.If you’d rather not have visible stitching, choose a regular sewing thread (rather than thick embroidery floss) in the same color as your fabric.
2) Draw a dotted grid on the fabric.
Use a fabric pen or a pencil to draw a grid of evenly-spaced dots covering the area that you want to smock. You actually can refer the smocking template.
3) Thread your needle.
The first step will be to use a needle and thread to gather the fabric and hold it in place. Thread a needle and tie the end so that it won’t pull through the fabric. If you have a template then you can just follow the steps on it.
4) Pull the threads.
Pinch the petals together and take another stitch across the middle. In this stage, you can add the decorative accessories like pearl to make the smocking more interesting.
Practice in class!
Work with another pattern!
There is some professional examples that the smocking has been used in fashion. They are so pretty!
Stitching with elastic
Elastics are able to resume its normal shape spontaneously after being stretched or compressed. By using this technique, we can come up with incredible surface that we cannot imagine at first!
Material: fabric, elastic band or thread, sewing machine
In class demo
Elastic stitching on different materials which are foam paper and felt.
Sewing with elastic is a common technique which usually be used in fashion. These are few examples of kid’s clothes.
My initial theme is childhood memory and the surface I am going to look at is durian. The reason why I chose this is unlike other kids, I have been raised under kampung environment. My uncles worked as planting durian so my childhood was fulfilled by durian and I do know a bit knowledge from them.
Inspiration:
More examples:
I chose this theme with a great courage and try to challenge something is difficult. In order to have the theme more close to my life and something I can touch it with my observation, no matter how difficult it is, I will still stick with it. Throughout the process I was very disappointed to myself and many times want to give up but thanks to Galina’s encouragement to help me return my confidence.
