BURNING

The technique of simply burning fabric is an absolute favourite of mine. Completely different outcomes can be created depending on the type of fabric and how close or long you burn the fabric for. I briefly mentioned in my previous post about the technique, and how the beautiful interesting textures are created by the shrivelling of fibres in the fabric. It produces a crinkled piece, which if you look closely, creates some amazing interesting patterns and shapes. You cannot control the outcome, which is what I love so much, as you do not know how it will turn out until it's finished. 

Giles Deacon's extravagant designs at London Fashion Week 2014, were what inspired my interest in burning fabric. The collection has a very Edwardian ghostly feel to it. However these two garments from the collection have a dramatic shabby sheek look, due to the giant burnt holes which are the main features on the  garments. The crispy dark edges outline the shapes of the holes made and has a dark edgy feel to them. I am in love with these high fashion designs and relates well to the kind of fabric manipulations that I intend to explore throughout my current project.

This was my first go at burning fabric. I used plain polyester, which I feel definitely works the best. It produces a light floaty piece that looks extremely delicate. Holes, ripples, creases and creators are made through the process which is extremely textural. However the process of just burning does not take much skill or effort. This is a great starting point but still a lot can be done to develop the sample and take it to the next step. 

I took my theme into consideration, and used gold thread and embroided around the raised textures made. This gave an extra depth to the sample as well as making it slightly more intricate and adding more texture. It also added colour and made the patterns that were created by burning really stand out. I was really enjoying this technique so decided to experiment with other fabrics.

I moved onto using organza as this is another fabric that I am considering using for my current project. Once again it has a free, floating feel to it, which is the effect I am going for. I came to find organza fabrics are slightly tricky when trying to burn. They burn extremely easily, so at first all I was creating was holes. It wasn't the effect I was hoping for, but still decided to add stitch to it, and it did become an interesting sample. It was thin, delicate and had a frail feel to it. I decided to try again, this time making sure not to burn so close to the fabric and for not as long. The fabric shrivelled up just like the polyester, but a lot more care was needed. Again the interesting dips and crinkles were made, however I came to find it changed the feel of the organza quite a lot. It became stiff and not as free flowing. 

The stiffness still didn't put me off using organza fabrics as I loved the transparent look about it. I tried again this time using a red organza. I used the quick far away approach with the flame. This sample shows how I then developed with beading. Beading adds extra texture and detail to the sample. 

I have definitely not finished with burning and plan to incorporate it with other fabric manipulation techniques, to see what could be created by combining them.

See what comes next by visiting again.

Joelle

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