Making Final Outcome

During the final two weeks, after developing my samples and design I created my final outcome.

If you would like to see my revised design including all the symbolism, research, and meaning, go to this blog post here.

Pattern

Since I had decided to make straitjacket, I began to do some research into how I could make my own pattern. I was disappointed with the resources available, with a lot of the quick DIY videos using 2 premade shirts and no existing pattern in sight. The patterns I did find were not very helpful and had lots of confusing measurements so I had to think of another option. I knew that there were no straitjacket patterns so I was going to somehow have to create one using my own measurements or amend an existing design. I’m in no way a skilled pattern maker so I went with the next best thing which was to buy a jacket pattern and tailor it to my own needs. Since my jacket required the opening at the back and long, I decided to just put it on the wrong way around and lengthen the sleeves by 20cm. I was initially very confused with all the pattern pieces, however, I made the choice to be very selective and just use the necessary pieces, after all, I wasn’t making the actual jacket from the pattern.

What hadn’t occurred to me was how I was going to sew the skin patches together. In my head, I was going to sew the patches together, but given the variety in the strength of all the media I was going to use for the patches, the best idea was to create a lining to sew onto.

I wasn’t sure whether to sew together the jacket first and then attach the samples, but then I realised that it would be flatter and I could sew all the raw edges together, to create a neater result. I did, however, decide to sew the two front pieces together so that I could attach my chest samples without having to cut them in half.

I then created my samples (details of how I made them in this post) and pinned them to the areas they needed to be in.

Developed Samples based on Reflection

See this blog post on what improvements I wanted to make based on my sample reflection.

As I described when I first made this sample, it was too plain and the patches didn’t stand out. This is why I added stitching but then I decided that instead of a lighter colour, I swapped it for a darker colour and I think it makes a better impact.

I chose this hessian because of how the texture felt but I felt as though it was still missing extra detail. This is why I added hot glue and gems, to create alternative surfaces and textures, that create a more diverse range of samples.

The sample above was developed through the use of gems, inspired by Megan Mitchell, to combine the soft matt textures with a material that offers a juxtaposing surface. At first glance, this sample looks nice and sparkly, but on further inspection, it looks gruesome and gross. This is what I was aiming for to show malfunction in a variety of ways.

This next sample was my SCOBY and as I predicted it was much thicker than my other samples, which meant I had to hand sew it. Luckily, when it was sandwiched between two fabrics, it was sewn just fine.

The sample below was a simple reflection of wrinkles. The way I wanted to develop this was to change the colour of the thread so that it could blend in and look more authentic.

The sample above was of my paper-making which I thought looked plain and not very malfunctioning skin-like. I created this crusty peeling skin look by simply peeling one layer of handmade paper. I felt as though this was paired better together to create more depth and texture. My problem with this piece was that although it was situated in an area that would stay flat, I had to turn it inside out. This process was very hard, especially when I could hear the paper ripping. I had to keep going no matter what the outcome and to be honest it was that bad. If anything it looked better being torn up and ragged about a little bit. It all adds to the way I wanted to convey malfunction and how we treat our bodies despite its attempts to say help.

 I didn’t really change much to this sample apart from ‘rough it up’ a little bit. This was because, compared to all the other malfunctioning and decaying samples I had made, it just looked too ‘new’. I decided to get a bit of sandpaper on it and scuff up the fabric for an alternative texture.

The sample above was inspired by the loose, papery skin and veiny hands of old people. I loved the way my sample felt, however, it didn’t visually convey the way it felt and since my garment is more for observing than touching, I needed to reflect this. A simple way of doing this was to add a layer of PVA between the two fabric and the string so that they would cling to each other. I really love how this one turned out.

I felt as though the colour was wrong for this sample, so I changed it to brown. It fits in with the idea that not all skin is the same and some parts have different tones. I wanted to add more detail to this sample so I introduced some embroidery of rings and stitches. I thought this was a good idea because this sample is all about self-manipulation to the skin, whether that is piercings, plastic surgery, and tattoos. These are all things we do to ourselves that can cause malfunctions like infections which present nasty symptoms.

There was nothing I needed to amend to this sample but I included it anyway so you can see the variety of patches I created.

This was the final sample I amended. Based on my reflection, I used a thinner fabric for easier embroidery and I changed the thread colour to add to the malfunctioning element. Just like the chamois sample, it looked a bit too ‘new’…

Reflection on Viewing

Once I had created all my samples, I wanted to see how it looked as a whole. It was at a point where I couldn’t tell if it was done or not, I felt something was missing. I then went on to add the final fastenings and used my reflection to complete the missing pieces.

Additions and Final Touches

 In one of my previous reflections, I stated that I didn’t want to create straps for my design anymore. This was because I thought it would be too distracting from the main skin pieces. So that the idea of the straitjacket still worked, the best solution to ensure a fastening was to add some poppers.

As I touched on before, this sample just felt too ‘new’ and didn’t reflect the elements of psoriasis. I thought back to all the tests and samples I’d made here, and thought that the addition of some brusho scraping and xpandaprint would do the trick. I love that it was a simple technique that really brought together the idea of malfunctioning skin through sore crusty lesions.

Nothing special here, just the addition of a hem to make things tidy and look presentable.

This was the process of having to turn the garment inside out which presented some problems with the handmade paper, described above.

Another simple but effective addition to detail were these red beads and thread. It adds to the idea that malfunctions are connected and can be catalysts for one another. Malfunction doesn’t just affect one area of your body, it affects multiple parts.

A little problem I had was when I fixed the gems to the fabric with PVA and they kept falling off. A simple fix was to hot glue gun them and the problem was solved.

This was my first time using felt, so I was a complete beginner when it came to attaching it. I had just been sewing and glue it and was happy with the outcome but even more so when I tried out the felting needle. It not only secured the felt but it added some great texture and fits perfectly with my malfunctioning skin theme.

This was finishing touch I used to create a presentable garment. I didn’t want to leave the ends all open and scruffy so I added this lining which cleans up the appearance and makes it look professional and finished to a high standard.

My way of continuing with the straitjacket theme, as well as removing the need for the distracting straps, was to just have a simple tie. It works effectively and doesn’t take away from the viewer exploring how this garment relates to malfunction.

Just a quick before and after picture of the stitches. I feel as though this really brought the piece together and connected everything. Without them, something felt missing and unfinished. I think it will also help the audience to recognise more ways I have approached and included malfunction in this project. As soon as you see stitches, you link it to the idea of malfunction, healing, and surgery, which are all things that link into my project.

I think I did well to show my theme, context, and research in my final piece. I hope that people will look at it and be intrigued to look more into what their body is trying to tell them through their skin and that malfunction isn’t for life.