Week Twenty Two

 Week Twenty Two.

In Pattern cutting this week I develop the designs that I did over the work experience period. I did this so that my design where more refined to the designs I liked the most. When doing this I was researching ways to create a fuller skirt and I came across a Panier. I then thought about ways to incorporate this in my designs. I am planning to make this over the next week so that I can see what this will look like in person before I finalise my design. 

In the lesson I started to make the base of the fabric which the boning will be put into which I carried on at home. I experimented with different width channels when doing this so that I could learn which width may be the best option for this. I found out that all worked well in holding the boning up but the wider channels allowed the boning to twist slightly when I was transporting this, so I think that the thinner ones might be best suited. 

In Textiles this week I started to cut out my pattern pieces in my shirts making sure I put these in appropriate places which will limit the amount of waste, making it more sustainable. When cutting up the shirts fabric which would be split up by a seam I wanted the fabrics to be opposite in colours making it have the fabric next to it. When it came to sewing the seams together I relised that for some reason they wouldn't line up as the back fabrics pattern was cut onto the wrong side so that if it was opposite the pattern would be sewn on the wrong side. To amend this I just had to put them onto of the usual colour so that the pattern was facing up. As I didn't want this to be different for the front I just matched the front fabrics up with the same colour as well. I deiced to not change the the pattern fabric and cut it out again correctly as I didn't want to waste the fabric an cut out more when I could just slightly change the idea I had in my head to be more sustainable. 

When sewing the pieces together I tried hard to line them up do that the bridge between pieces was not too noticeable. This went well as I made sure the pin these together well making them line up. 

I found it slightly stressful when it came to me cutting up the trousers to become the top as if this went wrong I didn't have any other trousers to cut up. But once I cut them up just below the zip I unpicked one of the seams from each leg so that they layed wider so that I would be able to put the pattern piece down whole without having to cut it into sections. I found some parts of this hard to unpick as of the layered fabric so I needed to use scissors to carefully cut these parts.

I then sewd the seams of the top together. Before I sewd the top part of the bodice to the bottom half I wanted to check the length which made me relise it was too long so I made the seam allowance on the bottom half of the top longer to allow this to be shorter. This also meant that the clasps do up around the waist as it fits the smaller section of the waist. 

When patchworking onto the skirt I decided to use the straight foot only to ensure that the lines where neat and so that there was a range of stitches. 

In Photography this week we where using InDesign to create our tabloids. This went well as I managed o create a few double page spreads with my work which varied in layout an design style. This was also good to do as in the past lessons I spent most of my time in the photography studio assisted people and setting up, so it was good to be able to get this done. 

In Stretch this week a speaker came in to talk to us about sustainability and natural dyes and fibers. It was interesting to see the process in that you take to dye naturally as I have only dyed with this and not prepared it. I also found it interesting to see how many different colour shades you can archives with an original colour by altering it. I think this will be interesting to experiment int he future as you can dye with things that are easily accessible. This will be useful when thinking about the Stretch project about global goals and our sustainability project in textiles. 

In CAD this week we made sure that we where confident in our photography work layout by making sure we know how to set up the page layout. This was useful as I could check I did this right. 

Work Experience - Day Nine

 Work Experience 

Thursday was my last day of work experience as the school had an inset day on Friday. I really enjoyed my time over work experience. 

Today I started by writing up the notes I had made while I was making my samples. I did this on google slides so that the aa writing would be easy to read for everyone.

Before all the  lessons today I made sure the books were laid out and the equipment they would need was available for them.  I made sure that all the transfer dues were out for a class with pipettes in them so that the colours wouldn’t mix through paintbrushes. In this lesson I cut up card for the students to paint on and than once they had I printing this using the best press. I decided to print a few at a time so the students didn’t have to wait long as I could fit four in at once. 

In another lesson a student wanted to make a corset so I helped them understand the pattern and how to cut it out- front pattern in the fold. I decided to draw a diagram of how to put the pieces together as this students had never done it before to explain this. 

After the lessons finished for the day I changed half of the machines feet to straight feet so that the machines where more accessible for the students  and I made sure to thread up all the machines so they will be ready to use. I also made sure that all the chrome-books were plugged in so they would be charged for the next use. I also helped another technician/ teacher get chrome book's after lunch time ready for the exam. 

Overall, I really enjoy my work experience and all the members of staff were very welcoming and friendly. 

These are the samples I managed to make whilst being at work experience along side help the teacher. 

Work Experience- Day Eight

Work Experience 

Today was my eighth day of work experience and there wasn’t a lesson before break. In this time I looked over the samples I made yesterday with the teacher and we discussed ways to develop these samples which I then proceeded to do in this time. I used different machine stitches and also used the free embroidery foot to create lined which developed two samples. I then used some already painted transfer dye  paper to cut and layer more colours onto my screen print samples. 

Before this lesson I made sure that the booklets were laid out in the table so that the students could start the lesson straight away. The first lesson consisted of the class making bondaweb samples, to help with this I made sure to stand around the irons to answer people’s questions. This was useful as the students had lots of questions and were asking for assistance when completing their samples. In this time I also sorted out and make sure all the colouring pencils were in their right places and sorted by colour. I also tried to combine two trays of colours but as there was so many pencils I couldn’t. I wanted to keep these still separated by colours but I couldn’t find any rubber bands and didn’t want to interrupt the teacher so I overcame this by using masking tape to hold the pencils together in a bundle. This worked well to keep the pencils together and it will be easy to undo and reseal. 

In the last lesson we screen printed so I got all the materials we would need and putting them onto the table. This process overall went well but a few times the students struggled to make the ink go all the way down to the bottom of their page so I offered some advise- for examples, adding more ink, holding the pressure all the way down the screen and changing the angle. After this I washed all the screens up and the other things we used up and put it away. Next the students needed to irons their hems to see in the next few weeks I stayed by the irons again to make sure everyone was confident in this. I was left with the responsibility of making sure all the glues and scissors where put back in the pots so I counted them up before the class left to check they where all there.  

After school I did a general clean up around the room and brought any spare sheets of work to the front in a pile so that the room will be ready for tomorrow. 

Tomorrow I want to make sure that all my samples have been handed back to the teacher and the instructions I left with them are legible. I think I have developed my confidence well with talking to students so I will make sure to keep this up tomorrow. 

Work Experience- Day Seven

 Work Experience 

Todays lesson started off by me continuing to make samples while completing task if the teacher asked, for example cutting up fabric or getting the teacher something. 

In the break between the lessons I made sure that the watercolors, paint brushes and water pots were out for the class to use them. In this lesson I continued to work in on the samples and made a layered slashed sample. I think this samples will work well as it was easier to make but still improves sewing machine confidence and skills which will be good for the middle school years.  

In the last lesson of the day I helped a student understand there pattern they wanted to use for the final piece. I helped her to understand the order she should sew the panels in and how to shift the fabric to make the shape better. I also cut fabric up for people. On of the students asked for my advise on some samples and she had run out of ideas. To help I shared some of my ideas with her and some of my previous works. This then started a conversation between a few of us about discussing colleges and what they want to do in the future. I found this really interesting learning what people want to do and which colleges they are considering. One of the students is considering going to this college so I offered some insight and my points on it- positively. 

I really enjoyed this lesson as everyone is really nice and talkative while still getting the work done. 

At the end of the day I stayed on and completed screen printing to be used for the teaching samples. This went really well as I managed to make samples after seeing what I could improves from the samples before. I also think this is really doable for the students as it’s a technique they learn in year 7 which they can then develop. 

I think tomorrow I will get the teachers opinion on the work I completed so I can then develop this in the way that she wants me to. 

Work Experience-Day Six

Work Experience 

We started the day off with screen printing with year 8 and this went well as we managed to print everyone’s work quickly. This helped me develop my screen printing skills and I feel confident doing this. When doing this I also gave students advise on how to try to make the outcome of the print improved- add more ink onto the silk screen or to adjust the frame of the imagine there printing so it fits the fabric better. 

After this I cleaned the supplies up and wiped down the work surface so that the it would be clean for the next section of the lesson. 

In the second lesson there was a new teacher who is temporarily taking over for the art teacher so I tried to make sure that the materials she would need where easily accessible and that they class books where ready for them when they came in. As this teacher was new she also didn’t know where anything was so I tried to get the things she wanted for her. I helped the students with their work when they weren’t sure what to do. I also helped hand out samples the students had made but this was abit difficult as I don’t know the students names, I had to look at the names on the front of the books so this did take a little longer than a normal teacher would however this wasn’t an issue because this wasn’t on a time constraint. To end the lesson I made sure everything went back in the classes box ready for the next lesson so nothing got lost. 

Today went well although the second lesson was slightly stressful as it was the teachers first day but there was no issues. 

I think tomorrow I will try and create more samples and I think I will try and do this will screen printing as I am more confident in this now. 

Work Experience- Day Five

Work Experience 

This was the last day of work experience this week and we started the day off by preparing the machines for the next lesson. I volunteered to change all the machine feet as I am confident in doing this, when the teacher said she would ask somebody else to do this. After this we changed the thread and bobbins to the appropriate colour. As there was a few of us doing this task didn’t take too long and we still had time to prepare of things for the next week. For example helping to refill the transfer dyes and watching the process of how to mix screen printing ink together. When this was done we tested this by screen printing the way the students will to see if the ink is concentrated enough. We left this to dry and we were happy with the result and it didn’t need to be adapted. 

Whilst lessons were going on I helped to prepare lesson planned materials for next term. This involved cutting up pattern paper for a project. As I didn’t want to take too long doing this it allowed me to work on my accuracy whilst not being to nitpicking or too careful on my work. Allow I did make sure it was right to be able to be used. I also cut up material and counted them making sure they will be enough for the class load. 

At the end of the day I made sure to help clean up so that the classroom would be ready for after the weekend. 

I think that today went well as I managed to help prepare lots of things for when I leave work experience making the preparation for the classes easier and a lower load for one person. 

Work Experience- Day Four

Work Experience 

Today was my fourth day of work experience. The day started of with a year 11 class who didn’t need much help with there work so I carried on making samples. One of the students asked me how I made my lino print and if I could show them how to do it but they didn’t get time to do this this lesson so I will try and show me them at some time during work experience.  

In the middle class of the day I helped students change there machine thread and bobbins so they could stitch how they wanted. I also helped a student who wanted to resew they like by suggesting using seam ripper to undo their line. In this lesson I also tried to have what the teacher wanted before she asked I think this went well as when she asked me to get the water colours out I also thought to put the paint brushes and water pots out. 

I also made sure that all the chrome books were away and charging after the teacher and I sorted them out yesterday. Yesterday, I had to speak to someone who came in asking about them which made me further push my confidence. 

As today was mostly upper school classes I wasn’t working with the students and much . In this time I just carried on with hand stitching on my samples with has helped me with improving it. 

After school finished I stayed to complete more samples and so that I could also be there when some students work after school. In this time I made two dissolvable fabric samples which I thought would be a good idea as they were simple to make and quick. I also made more prints of my lino so that the variants can be worked into more. 

Overall, today was a bit slower in the lessons but I still enjoyed working and making samples especially after school. 

I was also able to show the teacher some of my previous work and she like it and asked me questions of how I achieved the work and the techniques I used. This was good as it meant she was able to think of things that she can use and her students can. 

Work Experience- Day Three

Work Experience 

Today was my third day of experience and it started with a free double period first thing. In this time the teacher wanted me to mount up a students work. To do this successfully I made sure to photograph the original laid out work before I took sections off to glue them down to make sure I would put them back in the original place. This worked well as the end result looks the same as the original and the teacher was happy with how it turned out. 

After this I prepared the studio for the lesson by putting the students books out. I think this lesson went well because I managed to help the students with computer query’s so that the teacher didn’t have to take them all. This lesson was mainly independent mood board work so I didn’t need to help much so in between helping I decided to also continue making samples so that I can get lots of these done. 

In this lesson I wanted to complete a target I set for myself yesterday that was to go up to students if they looked confused to help them before they ask for help or before the teacher was asked. This went well as I managed to help a student with computer query to help him before he needed to ask the teacher, I think this was also successful as he felt he could then later as me again to help him. 

In the next lesson we completed screen printing again which went really well as we managed to do it quicker than the last lesson as we where more confident in this technique as we did it a few days ago. Again in this lesson not all the transfer dyes papers got heat pressed so I decided to stay after school again to complete these so the teacher wouldn’t have to do it before the next lesson. When doing this I realised that the last class that I printed I only did it once instead of one then changed the papers directions 90° and reprinting it, once noticing my error I put them back in the heat press so they would be ready for there lesson. However this was not an issue as they had not had there lesson yet and me printing them wouldn’t have taken anymore time away form there lesson as if I wasn’t not here they would be only starting to print them in that lesson. 

I think that today went well as I managed to get a lot of preparatory work done for the next few classes and I pushed myself to speak to the students even more before they ask for help. 

Today I further pushed my independence when mounting work up and I think I could develop this further by seeing if I think there is anything else I could do. 

Work Experience - Day Two

Work Experience 

Today on my second day of work experience I started off by learning what samples the textile teacher wants me to make over my work experience. This was before the class started which was useful as I had time to think of any of my own ideas I had to contribute. 

Within the lesson the teacher had requested that I help a student with there work and ideas to help them develop their work. I think this was successful as they managed to complete and new sample with a new technique and this has given them another ode for a sample they can complete next lesson. I think working with this student also went well as it gave me more of an idea of how to work and communicate with the students one on one. 

In this day I also located materials for the students who where unsure where things where which made me more confident in the layout of the room and I was also asked to cut up materials. This was asked of me without measurements which pushed me to be independent and decide the size of the fabric quickly as I was being waited on which meant I didn’t overthink this task. 

Today there was a double lesson without any lessons on so this meant there was time to make samples for the teacher which she would then show to give ideas to the younger GCSE learners. In this time I made samples with ideas that I personally had which I thought would be relevant. Once I had made these the teachers reviewed them and she was impressed as I made made samples with things she had never seen before or would have thought to do which gave me motivation to make more. 

After school some students stayed to catch up with work so I made the decision to stay so that I can be of help if needed. When I wasn’t being asked to help students I decided to create another sample, this one Lino. After I checked it was okay to do this I started carving it out, not wanting to distract the teacher from the students I chose to draw design which looked appropriate for the theme. Once I had carved it I did a first print to show the teacher. She was happy with the design which was good and then we discussed ways to develop this sample which I will complete in the next few days. 

I think today went well as I managed to help students individually and as a collective. Tomorrow, I will try to talk to students first if I think there is an issue instead of waiting for them to come to me.

Work experience - Day one

Work Experience 

Today was my first day of work experience at a secondary schools textile department and I started by preparing the screen printing station for the year seven students. I located the screen printing inks and squeegees and put these aside so that they can be used for the teacher demonstration. I decided to put out a range of sizes of these so that the teacher can choose which size of frame she wants to use in her demonstration. Once she decided this I then put away the larger size so that the area wasn’t cluttered.

As this was my first time screen printing I was a bit apprehensive as I wand t sure how to do it but once I had watched the demonstration I was confident I would be able to help.  I helped the students put ink on there frames and hold them down when they print to ensure there’s less wastage of dyes. To further make less waste I scrape excess ink into the pot between prints. After everyone has screen printed I made sure to wash all the supplies up we used thoroughly so that they would be clean for the next use. I also made sure to wipe the table that we used to make sure there was no remaining ink on this which would make over work dirty. I think this screen printing lesson went well as I managed to help the students allowing the teacher to not be the only one being asked questions, I made sure the students where sure if what they where doing and where to put there work when they where done with it. 

During this first lesson half the students didn’t have time to finish transfer dyeing which they started with the teacher as I cleaned up. To make sure all there work would be done for there next lesson I made sure to heat press these once the lessons were done for the day. This went well as it means the teacher has more time to prepare other work for the next lesson and the students can start creating textiles pieces with these immediately instead of having to wait to print them. 

After break time I assisted an art teacher who had a year eight textile class. Before the class came in I made sure that the sewing machines they would be using where in the right stitch setting and where threaded up. I thought to do this after hearing they would be using a straight stitch and that they were not confident in using the machines and setting them up. I made sure that the students where comfortable using the machines and I think this went well as no one had any trouble asking for help if they got stuck or if they machine had a issue which I then would help fix. 

In this lesson I also helped the students with the instructions the teacher had given them to prepare the fabrics before seeing them. I think this went well as I managed to assist the students and I spoke up and helped them correct their work if they had done it slightly wrong. 

After lunch, there was no lesson so I made sure to complete jobs that the textiles teacher wanted me to do to prepare the room for the next few days and to tidy it up. After finishing printing the transfer dyes I wound up more bobbins for the classes tomorrow, tidied draws up, threw away excess threads around the room, made sure the sewing machines and irons/ heat presses where turned off and mounted a textiles piece into a frame. I think this went well as I managed to complete the work the teacher had wanted me to do which prepared us for the next day. This also helped me to re- familiarise myself with the textiles room further. 

Overall, I had a good first day and I'm looking forward to my next days as everyone is very friendly and I am enjoying learning new techniques- screen printing. 

Week Twenty One

Week Twenty One

In Pattern Cutting this week we have had a lot of talks about career progression which has taken up lesson time. Some of these where helpful but I felt some of them didn't personally relate to what I want to do in the future, for example, apprentices. There also were a lot of talks that included marketing which is a career I don't want to peruse but I do understand why its important to learn about this. It was also helpful to get some tips about how to network during these talks though. 

In the time where we didn't have talks I worked on making samples which resemble structure, for example pintucks, I think this went well as the accuracy on these has improved from other samples of pintucks I have made. 

In Textiles this I made my pattern for my sustainability garment. Whilst I was doing tis it made me revise my skills how to make a skirt as I hadn't done this properly since when I made the skirt for liberty London. I found this fairly simple as my skirt is a basic shape with little changes to the block as it happens to be the shape I want it to be. 

Whilst I was at home this week I constructed my first toile which I decided to remake, including the pattern. I decided this as I thought the bodice looked to boxy and shapeless which I left didn't relate to my theme of my work wear recycling. 

Whilst I was at home this week I wanted to experiment with the sleeve placement which is on my design. I did this so that I can work out the best placement for this. 

In photography this week I photographed my paper boxes in a light which shows overconsumption and unsustainable. I think this worked well as I used slot of these to show the amount of them which is unnecessary.