Hunters Cloaks

The designs given for the hunter's cloaks show very textured surfaces built up in layers of different materials. As the Breathers wearing the garments will be dancing and performing I must consider the lining as this is an area that will also be seen. So during last nights Breathe club a couple of volunteers helped paint into the base shapes created last week in order to gain a range of mottled colours in rusty browns and reds. Having created a few samples the designer then wanted it to appear as though deep colours had been soaked up from the murky sea and graduating up to lighter shades. Similar to the base costumes, we used screen printing paints to sponge on the colours to gain the vibrant shades but also means the cloaks will blend well against these base garments. The images below show the final effect and I feel will create a good contrast against the textiles surface.

With the lining painted allowed for today to concentrate on decorating the reverse side. Before now I had a vague idea of how the designer wanted the cloaks to be textured and appear as though materials had been collected from the beach, but no idea of how to connect it all together. Unlike any other project I have found it really helpful to have the designer in the studios during all sessions as she has been able to clearly talk through ideas and indicate the materials she wishes to be used. So for the first time I felt confident to go away and start sewing sections together.

Using netting, cotton and other fabrics I began layering on the cloaks reverse. The layers are intended to appear thrown on so by stitching various sized circles simply holds them together where needed but also imitates that of barnacles. Below shows the beginnings of this technique and hopefully by the end will create a greatly interesting garment.