Developing My Ultrasew & Laser Cutter Techniques

Ultrasew Technique

 

Once I started experimenting with the Ultrasew machine, I started to created this strips of fabric that crickled where the fabric had melted and become stiff. I liked the way this machine had turned the fine soft chiffon that draped well, into these unusal pieces.

 

 

 

 So I started to experiment further, adding more structure to the fabric. By getting two pieces of chiffon, welding them together, folding the fabric back on it's self and then welding the edges down again; it created these strips of tunnels. Adding two welded seams to the pieces of chiffon provided the fabric with structure that created this unique look below. Using different width of chiffon, and folding the fabric over tight or looser changed how the pieces reacted.

 

I really liked how these simple pieces of welded chiffon created a look similar to the gills of a mushroom, my beautiful object.  

 

 

I knew this technique couldn't stand alone, so I experimented constructing it within a seam using a 301 lock stitch machine to hide the welded edge.

 

Laser Cutter Technique

 

I wanted to recreate the detail of a mushroom, tracing off the gill shapes into illustrator as a simple linea drawing and comversting it into corel draw so that the laser cutter would cut out the lines. I first got it sampled in calico, which the laser burnt the edges slightly but did still show the shape detail.

 

I then got it sampled in chiffon fabric to see how it would act. Since the chiffon was very fine, the laser cutter just sealed the edges where it cut out the detail. I liked how it portrayed the softness and intricate detail of mushroom gills, but I didn't know how to incorporate it into my garment designs creatively.

 

I developed my idea, into the laser cutter, cutting small shapes with the gill shape detail at the edge. I then got these pieces and constructed them into seams using a 301 lock stitch, see picture below. By using the laser cutter this way, it gave me the option to develop the sample and construct it within my pattern construction and garment construction. This technqiue expressed the look of the mushroom gills, creating a unique look that could be incorporated into a lot of different garments.