Fabric Patterns

a project by Marleen van Griethuysen

Inspiration

Inspired by the Pattern Design elective, I decided to use one of the patterns to make a tote bag. In the elective, we had to create patterns with a nature theme. My pattern was inspired by forms of mushrooms.

Design Decisions

First, I looked for a way to screen print on a big piece of fabric (1,5x3m).



When I realised that making the pattern seamless on a big piece of fabric would have been very hard, I decided to first cut the fabric in the pattern for the bags.
I decided the size of my bag will be 40x45cm, then made a simple sewing pattern for the bags.

Screen Printing on Fabric

First, I prepared a big print screen for fabric.
I had two slightly different fabrics - a yellow soft synthetic one, and a blue one that was more like a suede.
I used a puff paint base to mix the paint.

The paint did not transfer well to the blue fabric. I had to use an extra piece of fabric underneath it to up the pressure on the fabric. This way, the paint transferred better from the screen to the fabric.



After I screen-printed all the pieces, I let them dry for a few hours.

Branding

I wanted to create a label for the bags to make them look more finished. I created my own logo in procreate and transferred this to an illustrator file.
I made a template to engrave my logo into labels, with the laser cutter. After that, I've sewn everything together into a bag and finished it with the lock machine in the fabric station.

Finishing

I took the bags with me to the printmaking station where I used the heat gun to puff up the paint.

I did the same steps to create the pencil case, but here I also made a zipper on to the fabric.