For the Business of Apparel Decorating
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6 8 | Printwear M ay 20 1 4 20 1 4 M ay Printwear | 6 9 affected by the colors we select. We have every option—from completely contrasting colors to monochrome tone-on-tone pair- ings. Altering density and the interaction with the ground color can even be used to produce tints and shades. Line Weight: The thickness of a satin stitch, the number of passes on straight stitch runs, and the width of a motif path all change the character of a design. Thick lines can make a design look bold and heavy, thin lines can be airy and light. With these qualities in mind, we can tackle two types of single-color designs that great- ly benefit from their creative application. These include silhouettes and linework. SilhouetteS One commonly encounters silhouettes in single-color work. They are filled contours representing the outer edge of an object. Whether organic or man-made, the temp- tation is to use a fill stitch to quickly render the object as a slab. To add interest to the silhouette using the above qualities, how- ever, one can choose to take a sculptural approach. Simply put, one treats the design as a low-relief sculpture, drawing in shapes to define structures that would be viewed in the actual object depicted. Instead of creat- ing one large object stitched with a unidi- rectional fill, one creates areas correspond- ing with shapes that should be present, changing stitch type and angle in each so as to use the way light plays across the surface to create dimension. For example, a silhouette of a person might have the limbs, face, and hands in turning, carved satin stitches, and the wider spans of the clothing in curved fill stitches. The hair could be layered to frame the face in separate satins, and overlapped in as natural an order as possible. A truck might have the fenders, wheels, and the thinner elements around the windows rendered in satin stitches, the flat planes of the body panels in angled fills, and the grillwork carved in satins or layered in straight stitches. single-color designs Above: Simple straight stitches, judiciously applied, and with careful attention to density and detail, can render a design well even in extremely small spac- es. By implying elements and maintaining good densities, this design was created in a way that runs well and looks clean, despite its miniscule size. Right: The backhoe on this jacket back appliqué could have just as easily been rendered in flat fills, but with the separation and changes in stitch angle used on each panel of the body and in the ground give this silhouetted piece a lively reflective quality that become obvious when the piece is viewed at an angle. The natural dimension of the embroidery allows light to play on the surfaces like the actual machine. Sculptural silhouettes have a life all their own when viewed in movement. Far right: This Japanese Noh theater mask design is rendered entire- ly in one color of metallic silver thread. all of the light, shadow, and contrast are achieved through the use of carving and textural contrast. (Image courtesy of Erich Campbell/theonlystitch.com) PW_MAY14.indd 68 4/17/14 9:50 AM