ImagesMagUK_January_2022

www.images-magazine.com JANUARY 2022 images 31 KB TIPS & TECHNIQUES www.instagram.com/kingfly_embroidery www.instagram.com/interiorcurve David Morrish designed this one-off piece for TV personality Siobhan Murphy, who describes it as “a work of art that I will treasure forever”. The award-winning embroiderer and senior lecturer in fashion design at Sheffield Hallam University breaks down the design and embroidery processes Anatomy of an embroidery The machine used was a Janome Memory Craft 550e, kindly provided to me by Janome UK. The machine is a single- head, single-needle embroidery machine with a maximum hooping area of 20x36cm and stitch count of over 200,000 per hooping. The design was rendered first using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator before being manually recreated into stitches using Wilcom Embroidery Studio e4.5. Additional elements were used to maximise the software features such as Maze Fill, Hand Stitch and many more. The Cad (computer-aided design) process took around 100 hours. Sixty-six separate hoopings were used to create the complete composition, resulting in approximately 1.8– 2 million stitches in total. To finish the design, rhinestones were added by hand using a hotfix gun, tweezers and a lot of patience. The threads used were Gunold, supplied by GS UK, and included Poly 40, Sulky 40, Cotty 30 and Poly Flash. I combined a mixture of thread types and weights to add more depth and variety to the image – I wanted to create impact and intrigue. Ombré threads were used to create the gradient effects. Aligning the sections involved a bespoke process created by me through trial and error over the years. Without giving too many secrets away, it involves the accurate transferring of the Cad section from the computer to the fabric via the hooping grid and a Sharpie pen. Getting this wrong can spell total disaster! The jacket was first deconstructed to allow for hoopings to take place. Two methods of hooping the jacket sections were used, one which framed the section securely (trapping it) and the other which allowed the jacket to float over the frame, thus getting over any issues with the thick bulk of the jacket at the seams, or rivet fastenings that could not be removed from the jacket. T his one-of-a-kind jacket is a true test sample, and stems from a collaboration formed between myself and Siobhan Murphy, TV personality, fashion and interior designer, and runner-up on the BBC TV show Interior Design Masters . W e were both interested to see what could be possible with a digital embroidery machine, an old jacket and creative freedom; we agreed to attempt a big, bold, all-over embroidered piece of art that flowed around the body and reflected Siobhan's cheerful and energetic personality. T he design itself is one of Siobhan’s favourites and synonymous with her brand–it comprises a self-portrait with the slogan 'Donuts are a girl's best friend'. This piece really was a test, questioning my design and production methods, and saw me working in 3D, 2D, traditional and digital realms.