I found the research carried out earlier in the project useful when making my decisions as I had noted the different fabrics used for present interior designs were usually thick, not stretchy and durable. I had also discovered that interfacing can be used to make a fabric thicker; Christopher Guy for example backed silk to make it more suitable for upholstery. This technique has widened the possibilities of fabrics I can use as I can make thin fabric thicker.
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| Christopher Guy Backed Silk Sample |
When selecting my fabric, I thought it best to keep to whites and creams as they are in my colour palette, but also easy to dye, but I still wanted my fabric to be durable so I taking into consideration the market research executed during the practice unit, where I researched a range of bedding, and the research carried out during this unit I selected a range of cottons, linens, and wool. I also came across bamboo fabric and have decided to test this in my collection because it appeared to be a thicker softer cotton. After researching it's qualities I found that it is extremely durable, soft and antibacterial, therefore I consider it suitable for an interiors collection.
I dyed a range of cottons and beige and purple by using the facilities in the print room. My fabric dying successful because the colours match my colour palette. I then bought some dye to use at home but not many of my samples were successful. This was because I used a washing machine dye which was distributed unevenly over the fabric. Because of this I have bought a range of pre dyed fabrics too. I plan to use this fabric to create a range of screen printed samples and some that only feature embroidered motifs because I want my collection to be varied by including complicated and simple designs.
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| Fabric Dye Experiments |
