There is one thing I have learnt to do due to lockdown is to make do with the materials I have to hand and develop them into what I need. This has helped me think outside the box and make more interesting yarns that I do not think I would have developed had I not been so limited to supplies.
The first thing I did was gather together all the material that had possibilities to work well to create the coloured yarn, with a transparent effect to replicate the glass. Gathering together things like netting, tracing paper and plastics.
Using my sketchbook to log my findings, I began my experiments on tracing paper. Choosing to work with the material due to its transparency. Looking at different ways to manipulate the tracing paper and how to add colour to the material.
I translated the colour blocking of the glass into stipes of painted tracing paper, using water colour paint to not lose the transparency of the paper. The manipulation I thought would work well was the crumpling up the paper. I felt this gave an effect of cracked glass, I used netting as a base and threaded the paper strips through the netting.
For my next set of yarns I focused on plastics, cutting lengths of cellophane and sandwich bags. Plaiting the lengths together, I then wondered what would happen if I put heat on the plastics. This bound the lengths of plastic together creating a solid plaited yarn. The created a lot more interesting yarn, just by simply adding heat.
I kept on the same theme with strips of plastic for my next yarn. Cutting up varying lengths of plastic and knotting it together to make longer lengths of yarn. I was going to use the braiding star, which I started but it soon became apparent that plastic was to fragile and then had rethink the design.
I found the knots through the lengths of the yarn aesthetically pleasing. I was now going to develop on this design, winding the lengths of yarn around each other and then knotting different lengths together.
I'm not sure if I prefer the yarn before I pushed it further, should I have stopped instead of pushing further?
With the next yarn I was pleased to have finally found a use for a material I had stored away for a moment just like this. I had a stash of crinoline tubing and ribbon, using the ribbon twisting it into loops and stitched them into place. Then using the loops to lace through the crinoline tubing. The structure of crinoline reminded me of the soft glass colours of sea glass.
On the fabric theme, part of the material I pulled at the beginning of the task was a organza fabric and BonderWeb. I experimented to see how I could add colour to the BonderWeb, to incorporate the colour from my glass observations.
Then layering up with BonderWeb and organza, stitching it together with thread. Adding texture to the materials by running scissors over the ribbon and heat to the BonderWeb.
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Next I went onto firmer plastics, cutting up a plastic bottle and colouring in the plastic with sharpies. Using the natural curve of the bottle to create an interesting effect when laced onto the base yarn,
My final yarn is one of my favourites, using plastic taken off packaging. And again colouring cut strips with sharpies. Piercing holes to thread the strips on like beads, I thought this was a bit safe and wondered what would happen if I added heat. I loved the effect it completely changed the plastic, making it curl and become more stiff. The sound the pieces of plastic made as they knocked into each other even excited me. The only thing I regret is not taking a before picture. I must remember to do this in future.
This yarn has worked out really well and I wonder how it can be included in other designs, perhaps in a future project I could research plastics in textiles and how other artists use it in their work.
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