14.11.20 - Giant Patchwork Stag Beetle

 

Now that the project is coming to an end, I have started working on my final piece which will involve a large scale fabric beetle using materials found at home.

Originally, I wanted to go shopping for either new materials from a fabric shop, or look at vintage and second hand things like old clothes and cushions to deconstruct and repurpose, however this was made impossible by the current lockdown restrictions. I am actually happy that this happened because it forced me to be resourceful and use what I have, which is much more sustainable and authentic than buying new products, so the piece will further explore the idea of consumerism, up-cycling and our effect on the environment. 

I searched the house and garage for fabrics to use and laid them all out in order to decide what worked together and I found that I did not have enough fabrics to go with my pink theme, so I had to do something entirely different. This is the colour palette I chose and the tones are quite organic and deep. There is a faded velvet curtain from the 1960's, animal prints from childhood fancy dress, blue velvet from an old garment and a grey fluffy fabric that I used for making soft toys at school. I also had access to - but chose not to use table cloths, pillowcases, dust sheets, and other unwanted clothes.

I used a sewing machine to create a big patchwork sheet which looked like a rug or a blanket, and not all of the squares perfectly line up to make an even grid because I didn't measure each square exactly, but I don't think that is a problem and it adds to the home made feel. I think the language of the fabric and stitching is domestic, representing home comforts, and  the soft surfaces and animal prints refer to my comfort objects, the TY Beanie Babies series.

I used the rest if the velvet curtain to be the underneath of the beetle, and used pastels to draw an outline of the body. The white outline is my first sketch and I wasn't entirely happy with it because the jaws looked quite small, so I drew another outline in a different colour to change the proporsions and give them more emphasis. I also recognised that details can get lost when the shape is turned out after stitching, so I exaggerated the curves and spikes around the beetles head and thorax.

I pinned it onto the patchwork side, inside out, and stitched around the outline on the sewing machine which was quite a fast process, however I had to be careful around the areas that had really thick fabric so that it wouldn't get tangled or break the needle.

After it was stitched and cut out, I inverted the shape and could finally get an idea of what the end result will look like. I left openings at the back and front so that I could stitch across the middle to separate the thorax and abdomen, and then stuffed each side separately. Because of the shops being closed, I could not go out to buy stuffing so instead I had to find old cushions and pillows to empty. I managed to find enough and the stuffing in the cushions was quite compacted so I spent some time aerating it and fluffing it up , which formed a surprisingly huge amount.