There are different soluble fabrics or films on the market which once rinsed in cold or warm water leave only the threads or elements attached by the threads.
In my notebook I have listed sections from five books on using dissolvable materials.
The work in this chapter is divided into three sections
Technical samples
Soluble lace pieces
Soluble lace samples using different stitches based on sea and sky drawings
Technical samples
I collected together a few different soluble materials, producing a card catalogue showing a sample, with source, cost, whether it is a cold water or warm water dissolvable item and whether it is best used in a hoop or not, single layer or double layer.
Test
In order to test the different samples, all aspects of the test were kept the same except the material.
Selected a small design, 3cm x 3cm, same stitch, ensuring the threads crossed when stitched to hold the piece together, same threads top and bottom on machine, and used a hoop with all. The lines of stitching need to cross otherwise the stitching unravels when the fabric or film is dissolved. The design was drawn on by tracing the pattern using a Sharpie pen, unlike some felt tips the design was clear and washed out when rinsed.
After stitching using a running stitch, straight lines double, curved lines single, the excess fabric was cut away.
Each piece was pinned on to polystyrene to keep its shape, dissolved under running water and left to dry naturally.
Observations are written below each sample
Preferences
Sample 1 Romeo film did not dissolve fully in cold water so used warm as well. It was a lot stickier before it dried. I feel this would be very useful if wanting a firm lace or to manipulate and shape, possibly into a 3-D piece
Sample 2 An opaque film is not as stiff as Romeo, but could be used similarly
Sample 3a and 3b Plastic grid like film (name unknown, was in my stash of materials) tore when single layer used so repeated the test using a double layer. Softer lace but did not seem to hold shape as well as others.
Sample 5 Cold water dissolvable fabric was the best in my opinion, dissolved fully with cold water, not sticky and soft with good shape retention
Sample 6 Paper dissolvable material, also dissolved fully, not sticky, soft with good shape, and was easy to draw the design. However stitching into paper sometimes the machine needle acted as a perforated line cutting the material.
Further work is either with Cold water dissolvable fabric or Romeo dissolvable film
Soluble lace pieces
Several samples were produced 3cm x 3cm
The Cold water dissolvable fabric was first put in a hoop
The first seven used one layer of fabric
The remaining samples were using a double layer of fabric (to avoid unnecessary tearing and to trap bits when required)
Stitching was produced within the 3cm x 3cm using a selection of techniques.
Excess fabric was cut away, each piece pinned on to polystyrene and once the fabric was dissolved away using running cold water, they were left to dry naturally.
Observations of results are noted below each sample accompanied by which techniques were used, numbered here:
Techniques
- Normal stitching
- Free machine embroidery - feed teeth down
- Open effect
- Closed dense effect
- One direction
- Opposite directions
- Curved shapes/spirals
- Straight stitch
- zigzag stitch
- cable stitch - feed teeth up
- whip stitch
- metallic thread
- Trapped 'bits'
- 3-D shape
- Grid effect
- Wavy lines
- Haphazard directions
- Cross over
Particularly like samples with cable stitch, the double layers they produce and those with black and silver metallic grids.
The one with trapped bits seems rather crowded, and the whip stitch waves need to be interwoven more effectively as on the left half of the piece. I did not add beads because they may have broken the needle when trying to stitch the fabric. If beads are needed in a finished piece perhaps they could be added after and hand stitched.
I think using 3-D would be very effective if such was required. It is useful not to dissolve away as much of the fabric to ensure that you can obtain a manipulated structure.
Some of the fabric when wet stuck to the polystyrene, but could be eased off once dry. They were not as sticky or stuck as much as some of the other films.
Soluble lace samples using different stitches based on sea and sky drawings
Here are eight samples.
For each, there is a copy of the drawing, a sample with dissolvable material still in place, then resulting dissolved sample.
Mention is given to which soluble material is used; whether it is with or without a hoop; stitches used in which thread, and any additional material forming part of the piece. All but sample 8 are about 10cm x 10 cm. Sample 7 is 15cm x 20cm.
Comments are added after each.
Samples 1 and 2: Dissolvable materials with stitch only
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| Sample based on 3rd in both columns, using colours in the second column |
Sample 1
Dissolvable Material: Romeo film, no hoop
Stitches: Cable stitches - Straight stitches in variegated wool, bobbly blue wool (worked better with teeth up); overlaid with straight stitches dark blue machine thread (feet down)
Upper thread white machine thread
Comments: Made sure stitches overlapped. Not a delicate piece but captures the rich blue water effect.
Maybe would have been better if I had used a hoop. However, the squint effect gives the feeling of water possibly overflowing to the right
Sample 2 shown above based on the following drawing at the top of the column
Dissolvable Material: Cold water dissolvable fabric, with hoop
Stitches: Cable stitches - Straight and spiral stitches in a selection of 2-ply wools with tonal variations white to black (worked better with teeth up); overlaid with straight stitches 2 per top needle yellow and orange machine thread (feet down)
Upper thread white machine thread
Comments: Made sure stitches overlapped. Not a delicate piece but captures the darker heavier cloudy skies at sunset and tonal differences.
The shape is well delineated.
Samples 3 and 4 Dissolvable fabric used to stitch over cut away spaces or trap fabric that was cut away
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| Samples are based on the area outlined in pencil |
Sample 3
Dissolvable Material: pieces of Romeo film over the spaces, no hoop
Stitches: Zigzag and straight stitches - using black machine threads on the top and white on lower spool
Comments: Varied the width of the zigzag stitches with consistent length. The stitch emphasised the black markings on the drawing to over white spaces. The coloured fabric reflected the colours in the drawing
Sample 4
Dissolvable Material: Romeo film double layer to trap 'bits' made up of a variety of threads, the pieces cut out from Sample 3 and additional fabrics of voile and organza to capture the colours from the design, no hoop
Stitches: Straight stitches in black and pale brown machine thread and white on lower spool
Comments: Not such a lacey piece but managed to make it look like brown water. Stiffness left from not dissolving the film fully allows manipulation of the final piece to give a 3-D wave effect
Sample 5 Using dissolvable fabric across a space with trapped fabrics and lacey effect
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| Sample based on top drawing in first column |
Sample 5
Dissolvable Material: Romeo film, across two vertical strips of dyed cotton, no hoop
Stitches: Straight stitches and zigzag stiches overlaid to give a denser mass of stitching in white machine thread on top and bottom. Extra strips of roughly cut voile, muslin and scrim
Comments: Made sure stitches overlapped. This became quite a stiff piece, because of some non-dissolve Romeo. I think if I'd used cold water dissolvable fabric the finished sample would be softer and hang more loosely. Felt there was a better combination of fabric and lace in comparison to Sample 4
Samples 6 and 7 More lacey piece and sample with lacey edges
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| Sample made using blue and green coloured drawing |
Sample 6
Dissolvable Material: cold water dissolvable fabric, no hoop
Stitches: Cable wavy running stitches in turquoise shiny thread and white and silver 2-ply wool (teeth up) and free machine black and white metallic machine thread (teeth down).
Comments: Made sure stitches overlapped. Even though there were wide spaces the lacey effect stayed together. There was some sticking to polystyrene but peeling it off there were some bits of polystyrene left attached to the threads and provided an additional effect to the piece. Could be used as an extra layer or on its own
Sample 7 Fringes added to a blue dyed textured fabric
Dissolvable Material: Strips of cold water dissolvable fabric along top and bottom of fabric, no hoop
Stitches: Top fringe Cable wavy running stitches in multi ply shiny man-made thread and white and silver 2-ply wool (teeth up) and for the circular stitch and free machine zigzag in pale blue and yellow thread (teeth down).
Bottom fringe Cable wavy running stitch in turquoise shiny thread and blue perle interspersed with free machine zigzag stitch in pale blue and darker sea coloured greeny blue machine thread with some wavy lines of metallic thread
Comments: Made sure stitches overlapped giving different lacey effects.
Sample 8
Grid effect across cut out spaces (drawing was made later than previous pieces depicting the finished sample)
Dissolvable Material: Romeo film, no hoop
Initially joined three pieces of fabric: mucky grey muslin with tonal change in ink, pale grey dyed linen, and blue space dyed calico using zigzag stitch. The spaces were cut out and stitched around with running stitch from left to right black and silver metallic thread, grey thread and white thread to match the threads forming the grids
Comments: Made sure stitches overlapped to form grids depicting those used to monitor smoke for the Clean Air Acts
Another time the spacing in the grids could be closer together hopefully to give a more solid structure. Used the foot to equally space the lines. Resulting grids have rather squiggly lines. Also the grey of the middle grid could have been darker as it looked nearly white.
Washing the sample to dissolve the film did cause problems, as the ink was not fixed and ran
I also scanned the reverse of this piece before the film was dissolved.
Maybe a similar idea could be used in a hanging where both sides show rotating around a central attachment.
I enjoyed using dissolvable fabric and hope to include this technique in the final wall hanging
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