Dubied Knitting

For our latest project i wanted to try and use the dubied knitting machine to do some fine gauge knitting and to get more experience on it 

Since ive been looking at the Barcelona Pavilion i wanted to use stripes and also pockets within some of my pieces as Mies van der Rohe designed some chairs ( shown below ) which looked at the thought it seems like little pockets that are padded so i wanted to try and use the same effect within my work.

I also am using stripes within my pieces to relate to the lines and structures within the Pavilion 

In these images i have arranged all the needles into a pattern of low and high butts so above you can see when move the cams into the middle on the carriage it knits the high butts only to start to form the pockets

Here i have knitted a few more rows to get bigger pockets so i can stuff them with filling to make them padded

Above are the pockets when i began to stuff them once i have stuffed them all i put the cams but to normal and knit 2 rows to close the pockets and seal the padding in

The piece is above when it is still on the machine you can see the padded sections and I've also done some stripes and also cam patterning which are the little squares

This is the finished piece of knitting you can see the padded areas and also the stripes and cam patterning, overall i am happy with the piece and feel it relates to my context

Above is the other side of the knitting as you can see where the cam patterning was it is a wavy stripe which i really like the effect of

Teaching Poppy to Knit again

Poppy had asked me if i would help her to learn to machine knit again and i was really pleased when she asked me as i love being able to help people 

Poppy just wanted to be reminded on how to do everything like cast on, knit and cast off just to get the hang of the basics. It was good for me to test how i am at properly teaching people and what methods of knitting work best for beginners 

I started with the simple e wrap cast on which is a process of wrapping the yarn around each needle in a looping motion

Once she had done the start 10 rows she could hang on the weights and begin to knit which all went smoothly. 

Showing Poppy how to knit showed me that i can teach people how to knit and to just trust myself and believe that i have the ability to do so. 

Once she had knitted a few rows and become confident with the machine i was able to show her how to cast off, which for most people is the most confusing part 

I found it was best to show how to do a few and talk through each step so that she could get a hang of me doing it then once she was happy i was there to talk her through each step but not take over and this worked really well as she soon got it but just needed me there to reminded her what step she was up to.

I really enjoyed doing this for poppy and showing her how to knit again and it is defiantly something i want to carry on doing and help more people 

Architecture - Mies Van Der Rohe

In my tutorial with Will i explained how i was feeling a little lost and not really knowing what i was doing within the interiors project. 

Will was really helpful and i said I'm look at urban architecture and then he suggested that i looked at the architect called Mies Van Der Rohe. 

I straight away loved the buildings he had designed as they are all such clean lines and beautiful structures and yet so simple. 

So we then said why don't i make something to go into his most famous building - The Barcelona Pavilion

The Barcelona Pavilion building is for many architects their favourite building in the World. It’s architecture is pure poetry, simple honest planes of stone with slim, graceful polished steel cruciform columns. The integration of water through two shallow pools brings calmness and reflection to the pavilion. 

The architect Mies van der Rohe was interested in developing free flowing space and this is done using walls as planes in isolation, joined by sliding elements or glass. Thus the wall is expressed as a single element with space flowing around it. The majority of the pavilion building is constructed out of (cream-coloured) travertine which gives the building a luxurious feel and aids the perception of spaciousness.  - www.e-architect.co.uk 

From looking into the Barcelona Pavilion I'm going to use the colours above from the building to create some knitting interior fabric to complement the architecture

Last day at Derby

Final day at Derby so today was just a general maintenance day cleaning the knitting machines, replacing needles and just making sure that they are all in working order 

Overall my time at Derby has been amazing and i have really enjoyed it!

It has made me sure that i would like to be a technician at a university helping to encourage people with knitting and share my knowledge with students as i really enjoy educating people in different techniques and then seeing that they do with that skill i have taught them and seeing what design that they can create with encouragement and the skills do make such beautiful pieces. 

We also had Uppingham yarns come in and do a talk about different yarns and he also brought lots of very unusual yarn in with him and also had some for sale

It was great to be able to see some swatches of these different yarns knitted up and how they looked as a knitted piece

Below is a yarn called raving which i fell in love with

In the knitted swatch it was very light and airing which i didn't expect and i can defiantly see this being something i could use within my work

After he spoke about all this yarns i went and had a chat with him about whether he would be able to come to Norwich and do a talk and share he knowledge with students and he said he would so hopefully he will be coming in to Norwich soon. As i really felt that seeing the different yarns in person rather than just over the internet really give you an idea of how you can use them and also how the look and feel and how they could work within your work.

So on leaving Derby i feel i have learnt a lot not only about being a technician but also about myself and what i enjoy / want from life

I love being able to teach and encourage people with knit and see peoples reactions when they make something they didn't think was possible.

But also about me how i need to still learn a few things so i can help people to the best of my ability. 

So yes i still want to be a technician!

Derby day 5

So today Charly had managed to get me a visit to John Smedley knitwear factory in Lea Matlock

It was amazing to see inside John Smedley's as there are not many knitwear factories left in the UK 

They had so many machines and different processes not only for the knitting but even to get the current thickness of yarn as well 

The image above is of some yarn that has been used but then put back onto cones and have been put back in multi colours which i loved as you could just knit it as it is and could create a self colouring piece

Above are the trims to go onto finished jumper or tops 

In the image above are some of the collars and trims coming off the machine all attached 

This image is of the knitting machines computer 

The machine above is the oldest machine in the factory which is still being used but is about to go into the archive as it isn't used a lot anymore so they want it to be kept in the archive

This was the room with all the Shima machines in, they also had some stoll machines in there as well 

They had some of the shima machines that can knit the whole garment so that means the garment with have no seams 

 

 

 I really liked being able to see the seasons colours and also my two favourite colours in action

Once the garments are made they then go down here where they are washed 

Above is the dying process where you can dye yarns all in the torpedo barrels 

I then got shown around the quality checking and linking room 

Where all the garments are linked together to make into the final garments

They are then packaged up and labelled ready to be sent out