Tammy Zhang
A glimpse behind the scenes
The key process involved in the collection was digital printing.
Printing onto sleeves required some
unpicking and re-sewing.
Alterations were made to the edges of sleeves
Spare cotton fabric
For sampling
Water soluble stabiliser
100% PVA (Poly Vinyl Alcohol)
Embroidery threads
100% Cotton
Sewing Threads
100% Cotton
Old white garments sourced from home or from op shops
All cotton
These garments were cut up for testing, digital printing and patchwork
Watercolour illustration
Digital printing
Embroidery, including patchwork. With and without water soluble stabiliser.
Creating lace with sewing machine and water soluble stabiliser
Turning digitally printed designs into yarn and knitting with said yarn
Dyeing with reactive dyes
The motifs in the collection are drawn from plants surrounding my neighbourhood that I often overlook. Daisies, wattles and bottlebrush are particularly common in my everyday life. Translating these common everyday flora in illustrative and photographic forms shines a light on the beauty of things that are perceived to be plain or ordinary.
The photographs below were taken while on a stroll around my neighbouring streets.
Throughout 'Moments Undiscovered', there is a play on subtlety and illusion. Illustrative motifs are integrated with digital elements, but often these differences are hard to tell unless one looks closer and pays attention, much like slowing down and appreciating the little moments.
These repeated textile designs were patched onto the garments. The repetition juxtaposes the free-flowing nature of the placement designs. Contrast is also achieved through scale, where these repeated designs have smaller sized motifs compared to those on the garments.
Below is a selection - There were ultimately more designs and variations created.
All repeat tiles for these designs are 8x8cm full drop.
Scrap fabrics were stitched together to create one of the textile lengths.
Using the left over fabrics meant less waste was generated in the design process, and at the same time, the offcuts of different white garments came together to become a brand new creation.
Hence, the textile length is given the name, 'Transformation'.
