Art Diploma Blog Ellie Fisher: 5th January Sewing Machine

On Thursday 5^th of January, I continued to develop my confidence further within my specialised area “Textiles” through using the sewing machine to create lettering and patterns. This process has been developed from my previous experience of working the machine to spell letters and create patterns easily and efficiently which related back to my live project brief “Mother & Child”. The task has allowed me to work independently and solve problems occurred within the sewing machine efficiently and effectively. Also, the task has allowed me to explore different materials which all relate back to my interpretation of the theme “Seaside” and “Fairground”. At first I found completing the task difficult as I was spelling words incorrectly within the machine but as I gained practise I developed my confidence to create words that symbolised my theme accurately.

To start the task, I followed health and safety instructions in order to avoid the risk of injury to me and others when working the machine. Firstly, I placed all bags away from the machine area to avoid tripping hazards which was also reinforced when placing the pedal and cables underneath the table effectively. Next, I placed my mobile phone away from the machines to avoid distraction when handling the machine, however when I wasn’t using the machine photos were taken through my mobile phone to capture the task. Sleeves were rolled up and hair was tied back for the task to avoid the risk of getting caught within the machine. All of these instructions were followed and maintained throughout the task.

To create words within the machine, I had to type specific numbers into the machine to spell each individual letter to create the word I wanted to achieve. Once the number was obtained I used the pedal to spell the letter out which was created automatically with the machine. However, a problem I faced was that I was unsure when the letters were completed which lead to letters being spelt twice within the surface of the design to create incorrect spelling. However as I continued to use the machine I gained the confidence to spell words correctly onto the surface of the design. All letters placed onto the material, reflects the project and interpretation of the theme which included the words:

· Mother

· Child

· Circus

· Fairground

· Blackpool

These words symbolised my project theme perfectly and I decided to include the choice of colours which incorporated my theme. For the threads I decided to use metallic which allowed me to display a variety of bright colours which related back to my original colour scheme. However, a problem I faced was that the thread could break easily which was difficult to use on the sewing the machine. To solve the problem, I used normal thread but still include bright colours to spell the words I am wanting to achieve. The outcome of my task are presented below.