the missing link…
I thought I needed a little vent with the problems that are coming up at the moment. I have slowly worked my way around to the back of my first prototype and currently I’m trying to figure out a way to use the links to create an opening. Not surprisingly it’s really difficult! I just want to get a big fat zip and be done with it. I went through about three different ideas on illustrator until I arrived at this one. I’m just hoping it will work. I’ve cut the work out in paper and pinned it to the mannequin. In theory it should work. However, I just cut out a little sample of the opening in neoprene and I’m finding as a material it’s harder to work with than I thought. This could be to do with its nature but I hope it’s got more to do with the thickness (2mm). When I get a thinner sample I will know. 2mm would actually be fine, but I need to sew the pieces together and it will be too bulky.
Image: The paper prototype of the opening
I was deciding between neoprene and leather for the final material of the prototype, and I chose neoprene because of its stretch and strength.
I’m quite anxious to find out if the garment will be stable, because trying to create a stable opening is really tricky. Essentially it’s quite easy if you have two free pieces, but the problem is both sides need to be separate and come together whilst still being attatched to the body of the garment. I incorporated a similar idea from a decreasing knit paper structure I created a little while ago. I find the more I look into knit the more I love it. There are so many structures you can create. I haven’t even looked into fancy knits, so I can only imagine how crazy they are to recreate. There are so many possibilities when I’m sitting at my desk and looking at the opening I think, ‘there HAS to be a way to do this’. Out of all the structures, there has to be something to solve this problem!!!
My second prototype hasn’t been cut out yet, because the opening has been taking so long. Hopefully I can get something cut out this weekend.
As for a third prototype I haven’t been able to start producing anything yet. I want to look into the process I used with Triumph, using Photoshop and Illustrator to manipulate the structures for a 3d format. Taking the knit classes at Brunswick has given me ideas for new structures and I have found a few more diagrams that I can create with paper.
A problem I can see ahead is how I will select and edit my work. I don’t want the pieces I create to be connected only because they are ‘knits’. There still needs to be continuity throughout the collection. Last semester I spoke briefly in my presentation about a ‘machine’. What I meant by that was to create a process that has variables that you can put into the ‘machine’ and out pops the results. I feel like it’s a simple way to explain my work. I’ve got a process using knit, I can put in the different materials/different structures into the machine and out comes my prototypes. Not sure if that makes sense but it’s how I see it happening in my head. Through all this I’m trying to keep in mind the quote from Brian Eno that kept me going last semester. I can’t just sit back and rely on this process to get a result, I have to constantly keep experimenting with the materials and structures and find different ways of looking at problems.
In terms of the exhibition I think I’m pretty keen on the idea now. I would still like to see my pieces on a catwalk but I’ve started to look at the exhibition as an opportunity to create a space rather than an exhibition. I’ve started to think about how I could best represent my process and my outcomes and looking at other applications this system could have. I started thinking about creating a whole wall out of the knit structure. Using a material like wood (this goes back to the machine) would mean that the structure would need to be redesigned in order to work with the material. Wood can’t curve and move into a structure like a fabric can, so the design changes. I’ve done a few drawings of the structure, but as always I can see it in my mind better. It’d be really cool to work with an architecture student or even a carpenter to make 3d structures with the knit! This is something that I’m actually really excited about and I would love to do a small prototype this weekend, or at least have something ready for the assessors so they can see how I see the space…
It’s all tiring but at the same time really exciting. I’m getting a little obsessed with knit…
