Project update (Week 12)

Final dress

Final dress
Final dress

Adding boning to the sleeves to create wavy appearance

2
Front view of sleeves
Back view of sleeves
Back view of sleeves

 

Continuation on dress making

Sewing three horizontal strips on the under layer of the dress as ‘pockets’ for the RGB LED strips

3 horizontal strips to function as pockets for the RGB LED strips
3 horizontal strips to function as pockets for the RGB LED strips

Under layer of dress with lights on

5
Red (255, 0, 0), Blue (0, 0, 255), Orange (255, 77, 0), Purple (153, 0, 255), Yellow (255, 255, 0)

My choice of 5 different lights, namely: Red, Blue, Orange, Purple and Yellow was inspired from the colours of a jellyfish.

Image of jellyfishes
Colourful jellyfishes
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White (255, 255, 255)
White illuminating jellyfish
White illuminating jellyfish

My choice of white colour comes from its representation of peace, innocence and tranquility. The representations supports my idea of a calm, sane and quiet state of mind.

Infrared sensor and Lilypad main circuit board with power bank to operate the light strip

Infrared sensor and Lilypad main circuit board
Infrared sensor and Lilypad main circuit board
Sewing with conductive thread to connect the Lilypad with the wires
Sewing with conductive thread to connect the Lilypad with the wires
Sewing on a piece of cloth to make a pouch and a button to secure the Lilypad and power bank in the pocket.
Sewing on a piece of cloth to make a pouch and a button to secure the Lilypad and power bank in the pocket.

I couldn’t have managed a dress without constant encouragement and guidance from my professor, Galina. She taught me the technique of two layered dress (she always surprises me) and she pushes me to think “avant-garde”. This is the first dress I made for myself! Whether my dress looks like a white Christmas tree, colourful white Christmas tree, or a wedding dress, I feel satisfied with my first attempt and feel that the countless nights I spent making it paid off.

Music and Performance

I chose to incorporate opera music piece to my performance because I like the idea of dramatic voice that wobbles like a jellyfish (rather, the smooth and sonorous vibrations inherent in a natural voice). Randall has suggested Chinese opera music in specific which feels closer to my race (as a Chinese) and the addition of distortions in the sound whenever my crazy jellyfish persona surfaces. (In short, I really like Randall’s suggestions and I am awed at his wonderful expertise on managing sound systems.)

In addition to the music, I have consulted my professor, Naga, for guidance to make the lights blink at 1 second intervals and the colourful lights to increase in blinking rate (speed) every 5 seconds from a starting blinking rate of 1.5 seconds to 10 milliseconds (which is 1500 to 10). (In short, Naga is an intelligent and awesome man.)

Project update (week 10)

Before I continue,

I would like to thank my awesome teachers:
Galina – for guiding me in the making of the dress and for the overflowing love she has for us
Naga – on the programming of the lilypad mainboard, and advices on the type and quantity of electronics I should get
Angeline – for guiding me in creating my solo performance and boosting my confidence by telling me, “You are really brave”, I really needed the courage
Randall – for the planning and behind the scenes set ups
I learnt so much from both Galina and Naga through visual learning and hands-on application of technical skills. I am very amaze at how Randall can superimpose two space into one to create the illusion that Angeline is in the same space we are at and how Angeline picks out our individual strengths to direct our performances. I am very thankful to everyone for their constant optimism and encouragement, effort and time they have put into this project. I am inspired by everyone, including my peers who have taken up this challenge with a strong, confident and courageous mindset. I will continue to do my best as an irresistible attention seeking jellyfish.

Sewing two layers to make a dress with guidance from Galina
Sewing two layers to make a dress with guidance from Galina (Photographed by Tiffany)

 

 

Making small snips on the dress along curve edges to make them more flexible. An important point was to make sure not to cut into the thread that holds the two pieces of dress together.
A secret formula: Making small snips on the dress along curve edges to make them more flexible. An important point was to make sure not to cut into the thread that holds the two pieces of dress together. (Photographed by Xin Hong, Featuring Galina)

As observed in the video, there is an irregular alignment of the zipper to the satin fabric. The cause may be due to the fact that the machine is an industrial machine and it is very powerful, producing vibrations and impact that causes the zipper to jump and misalign with the fabric. The zipper has to be removed and sewn with precise alignment, so that folds along the zipper will not show and zipping will be smoother. (Featuring Galina)

Sewing on the organza onto the satin dress (Base stitching with long stitches to put things together for a trial, not the final stitch.)
Hand-sewing on the organza onto the satin dress (Base stitching with long stitches to put things together for a trial, not the final stitch.) (Photographed by Shuai Nan)
Somethings to improve on and changes in idea:
  1. Instead of creating two layers of organza, I would be using the shorter piece to create a sleeve for the left arm.
  2. I will be creating a belt to emphasize on my waist line.
  3. I might cut a bit of the organza away near the ends so that I would not trip on my dress or tear it apart from the satin when I dance and perform with my peers.