Tien Chiu

  • Home
  • About
    • Honors, Awards, and Publications
  • Online Teaching
  • Gallery
  • Essays
  • Book
  • Blog
  • Dye samples
You are here: Home / All blog posts / Third time’s (almost) the charm
Previous post: Awesome satellite imagery
Next post: Introducing Emmy

December 13, 2013 by Tien Chiu

Third time’s (almost) the charm

I finished the last piece on this warp yesterday. I made some changes from the previous phoenix rendition, adding an orange-red shade to the dyeing and using a bamboo weft yarn rather than silk. I really like the results:

third rendition of phoenix
third rendition of phoenix

Adding the red-orange back into the mix produces much better depth of color than rendition #2, which was entirely yellow and orange:

Phoenix #2, next to original stencil
Phoenix #2, next to original stencil

And the darker background in #3 is definitely better than the first iteration:

finished and overdyed sample
finished and overdyed sample

Finally, using different fibers for warp and weft reveals the woven pattern in the phoenix section – the two fibers take the dye differently, so the pattern shows more. Consider these two closeups – one in silk warp and bamboo weft, and the other in 100% silk:

Closeup of second phoenix rendition, silk warp and weft
Closeup of second phoenix rendition, silk warp and weft
Third phoenix - closeup. Silk warp, bamboo weft.
Third phoenix – closeup. Silk warp, bamboo weft.

There is much more pattern definition (and a richer texture) in the silk/bamboo version.

Unfortunately, there are two stains on this phoenix rendition – one in the background at the middle of the piece, and a more serious one on the phoenix tail:

Stained portion of third phoenix.
Stained portion of third phoenix.

It’s still a beautiful piece, but it’s not a show piece. But this is not entirely a bad thing – the phoenix still feels kind of flat and uninteresting to me, so it will give me something to experiment on. I am considering either embellishments or quilting, leaning towards quilting. That will add some three-dimensionality and allow me to mark subtle lines via the quilting stitches, without drawing attention too far from the fabric. The trouble with embellishments is that as soon as I start adding them, people will look at the embellishments rather than the cloth. I did pick up a book on beading for quilts that I hope addresses how to manage this, and will read it on my flight out. I am also reviewing some of my earlier design exercises from the quilt design class in hopes of sorting out more.

And that’s it for now! I’m flying out to Minneapolis today to pack up the loom. I’m really looking forward to seeing my prize in person. I’ll be in Minneapolis for a few days, flying back to the Bay Area on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, your kittens for today:

Puss 'n Boots?
Puss ‘n Boots?

A friend came over, and the kittens were ecstatic over her long boot laces.

Share this post!

  • Tweet
  • More
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Print

Filed Under: All blog posts, textiles, dyeing, weaving Tagged With: phoenix rising, phoenix rising wall hanging

Previous post: Awesome satellite imagery
Next post: Introducing Emmy

Comments

  1. marion says

    December 13, 2013 at 6:57 pm

    oh yes, this is gorgeous. I am fascinated at the idea of how to add 3rd dimension to a piece of woven fabric without surface embellishment. Wondering if supplementary warp would assist, but also aware of how much extra work is involved.

  2. Ilene Smith says

    December 13, 2013 at 8:15 pm

    Following your work makes me realize how much goes into the designing and implementing of fabric. I doubt I will ever go as far as you are (I am only a spinner of basic wool so far) but it is inspiring to see.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Information resources

  • Dye samples
    • Procion MX fiber-reactive dye samples on cotton
    • How to "read" the dye sample sets
    • Dye sample strategy - the "Cube" method
  • How-Tos
    • Dyeing and surface design
    • Weaving
    • Designing handwoven cloth
    • Sewing

Blog posts

  • All blog posts
    • food
      • chocolate
    • musings
    • textiles
      • dyeing
      • knitting
      • sewing
      • surface design
      • weaving
    • writing

Archives

Photos from my travels

  • Dye samples
    • Procion MX fiber-reactive dye samples on cotton
    • How to "read" the dye sample sets
    • Dye sample strategy - the "Cube" method
  • Travels
    • Thailand
    • Cambodia
    • Vietnam
    • Laos
    • India
    • Ghana
    • China

Travel Blog

Entertaining miscellanies

© Copyright 2016 Tien Chiu · All Rights Reserved ·

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.