CHUNKY CROCHET SLOPPY JOE

...This is a work in progress....Crochet using chunky and D.K yarn in cotton and unusually for me some Acrylic. I am working on staple pieces to embellish with my Harajuko style dolls heads for the Leeds Fashion show 2009. The sampling has seen use of crochet ribs and stocking stitch knit using variable needle sizes.

... I found how to create mock cable in crochet by use of bobbles and relief crochet chain stitch for the lower top.

The upper egding makes use of a overturn shawl collar; which again has crochet rib and mock cable. I am happy with the textures created, something a little different for me from my delicate knits, but need to work on the silhouette now....to be continued!

....I will be launching my designs at the forth coming Twisted Thread, Knit & stitch shows 2009. http://www.twistedthread.com/pages/exhibitions/listExhibitions.aspx

...IN A COUNTRY GARDEN-new collection

One of my many ongoing projects! Finished title 'In an English Country Garden...' A collection inspired by the lovely flowers of England and the way the images of cells of the body can often mimick flower style. Crochet plays a huge part in this collection with Lily, Rose, Poppy, Daisy, Bluebells (my favourite flower along with Poppies) and Foxgloves all having a say.


...I am working on this project to have finished A3 size samples and 1-2 finished garments for my launch at The Knit and Stitch Show at Alexandar Palace, London in October. But its hard going as I am also working on 3 other collections to have samples made for this. Including Bridal, Vintage (inspired by iconic figures) and Harajuko dolls (Younger funkier collection, which if I have enough time! will take part in the Leeds Fashion Show 2009). So far at least on this 'In a Country Garden...' collection I have all the 9 design boards finished and am working on the A3 swatches.

...The collection includes use of curved seams and natural fibres, with silk, bamboo and milk yarn crochet details.

...This image shows my workings so far on Poppies, Roses, Daisy and Bluebells, all in crochet in Sirdar Juicy bamboo on a 3.5 hook.

...Image depicts mood board for the collection.

....I will be launching my designs at the forth coming Twisted Thread, Knit & stitch shows 2009. http://www.twistedthread.com/pages/exhibitions/listExhibitions.aspx

'AMALGAMATION'

...This dress was an amalgamation of new and previous ideas between my friend Iza and myself. It uses Polish Linen cut on the bias and huge mohair (Charity shop buy a few years ago, and been sitting in a box asking to be used ever since) crochet Irish roses, mixed with net and recycled feathers...

...it was difficult to make the roses big enough to have textural impact without being too heavy, not sure if this was achieved. As one project very often leads to another, I am now working on new items based on this idea.

The dress was called 'Monet' because it reminded me of his famous poppy painting. (A painting I grew up with on my mums wall, which I looked into everyday to find new things)...

Overall an altogether cosmopolitan dress! with Yorkshire, Polish and Irish connections in its making. Enquiries for purchase of this item or similar can be made through http://www.ustrendy.com/angel-hattons-quirky-little-knits/

....I will be launching my designs at the forth coming Twisted Thread, Knit & stitch shows 2009.http://www.twistedthread.com/pages/exhibitions/listExhibitions.aspx

LEEDS FASHION SHOW 2008

Next steps!...After graduation I became involved with Leeds fashion Show and showed an 'amalgamated' collection with my friend and peer Iza Antczak under the name Antczak&Hatton....

...It was amazing to see how easy it was to combine two previous collections together with the help of some crochet!...

...we mixed her whites with my flesh and navy colours to create a fresh new collection...

.... at the show we created our first showcase stall which featured knit and crochet samples and new items which were a collaboration ( to be seen on next post)....I am in liason with the show organisers to show at Leeds Fashion show 09 with an individual collection under the name of Angel Hatton's Quirky Little Knits, this would involve a younger client profile and closer to off the peg designs...

....I will be launching my designs at the forth coming Twisted Thread, Knit & stitch shows 2009.http://www.twistedthread.com/pages/exhibitions/listExhibitions.aspx

REDISCOVERED PHOTOGRAPHY

After trying to do some house keeping on my computer images I came across these four photographs which I took in Spain several years ago...

...I often use close-ups of everyday things which most people do not notice are there...

...I then use these as inspiration for my hand knit and crochet patterns. This is done by covering the image with tracing paper and sketching using graphic type lines over the most interesting parts; these lines are then transfered either directly into sampling or onto graph paper to logically and mathematically work out the stitch counts...

...These images of bark and grass were taken at the Gaudi park, Barcelona, and were used as stripes and bobbles with colour blending. Other photographs used useing this method were taken at Ephesus, Turkey. This was used in sampling for 'The String vest' which can be seen in an earlier post.

....I will be launching my designs at the forth coming Twisted Thread, Knit & stitch shows 2009.http://www.twistedthread.com/pages/exhibitions/listExhibitions.aspx

THE POM-POM PROJECT

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1021804@N23/

My good friend Alison introduced me to a fabulous project being generated through Flickr. The rules are to make a woolley more than 6 inch pom-pom and take photographs of it tagging places. In the Autumn there will be an exhibition of the pom poms all together hanging from trees in Bournemouth, UK.

I decided to have some fun and use film titles as my inspiration. The upper image was entitled

'Fatal Attraction' and the lower image 'Gridlock'

Other titles I used were 'The Italian Job' and 'Sweeney Todd' these involved tomato ketchup and pom poms made from spaghetti!

Please come visit the pom poms in Bournemouth.

....I will be launching my designs at the forth coming Twisted Thread, Knit & stitch shows 2009.http://www.twistedthread.com/pages/exhibitions/listExhibitions.aspx

TUNISIAN CROCHET HALTER

Unusual for me to use Acrylic but this crochet top was made from plain and a mottled yarn. The yarn was from left overs in a charity shop so guess its kind of still recycling. The top uses plain treble and doubles on a 5.00 hook in double knit. I used the mottle yarn to emphasise the top area, with the plain to edge it. Tunisian or as I have on some occasion heard it Turkish style crochet has been used for the mid drift section, using simple double Tunisian crochet stitch...

...The lower body has been a mixture of trebles and chains and plain trebles. It has a tie back fastening and pussy bow to the neck. This piece was intended to steer my crochet to a more commercial vein and orginally was going to be a maxi dress. However it worked best as a top which can be worn in layers. It is now in E & A boutique Glasgow.

....I will be launching my designs at the forth coming Twisted Thread, Knit & stitch shows 2009.http://www.twistedthread.com/pages/exhibitions/listExhibitions.aspx

RECYCLED CROCHET BRACELET

Today I have mostly been working on.......recycling my left over cabbage! yarn. This also makes use of the inside of certain spun yarns around inner cardboard tubes...

...Take one inner cardboard tube and Crochet a 4 treble width band until it is long enough to wrap around the tube, inside and out. Once long enough wrap around the tube which has previously been painted in a corresponding tonal colour. Then slip stitch using a darning needle the ends of the band together to secure on the tube.

...Then pick up (using a mixture of your left over yarn ends) a stitch of the wrapped around band and make chains, anchoring at random points up and down, around the bracelet. On this one I have made a focal point by creating a circle of chains at one point which has been reworked into to form a free style flower. The chains can then be reworked if desired with rows of doubles and trebles to form a sculptured look.

....I will be launching my designs at the forth coming Twisted Thread, Knit & stitch shows 2009.
http://www.twistedthread.com/pages/exhibitions/listExhibitions.aspx

WHEN IS A KNIT NOT A KNIT?!!!!

One of the things I love experimenting with is the mixture of knitwear with wovens, to construct a new idea which is not what one would necessarily preconceive as being knitwear...


....Also I wonder why there seems to be very little mixture of crochet working with handknit???? Yes we see knitwear with finishings (sealings) of crochet but not when both are implemented into the main..... On my collection 'The Line of Beauty' (Which is a phrase used to describe the sinulous 's' shape formed by the female ideal) I used basic Treble crochet with basic stocking stitch hand knit with knitted and crochet bobbles. Debbie Bliss 100% pure silk was used along with reminants of cashmere, Alpaca and mohair Silk

The 2 work really well together and by doing this it makes for half the work as the seams are joined during the making and not at the end, which are much neater and less bulky.

Slight mixing of the needle size can also add texture without over complicating the pattern writing.

This image depicts a swatch sample using knit , crochet and wovens, albeit the woven in this case being flesh, naked; to give the appearance of the knitwear floating.

....I will be launching my designs at the forth coming Twisted Thread, Knit & stitch shows 2009.

http://www.twistedthread.com/pages/exhibitions/listExhibitions.aspx

ECO - THE NEW STRING VEST!

This was a project close to my heart. The research of how fashion and knitwear can be ecological. I looked into not only materials but production and employment

I loved the idea of string! and found some organic biodegradable string from a local shop...this gave me the idea of playing with the stereotyped string vest

It took many hours to de-ply the strands of string to create a crochet lace weight yarn

Other fibres I chose to work with were banana fibre, bamboo and Soya silk

Some of the fibres I sourced from Wingham wools, Yorkshire and had my local spinners group spin it into suitable weights, before hand dyeing with natural dyes

This banana, possum and bamboo fibre yarn was dyed using beetroot.

.......

I will be showing at this years Twisted Thread exhibitions......http://www.twistedthread.com/pages/exhibitions/listExhibitions.aspx

PRACTISE MAKES PERFECT?

Artistic first interpretation or developed work practised upon? When I first started out I worked with the ideas in my head and used all the ideas....

...before going back to University I began a European discussion on a new site which sparked many a international comment: Being that does education in the arts make creativity staled and institutionalised?...


After being in the University environment I now find free form style knitwear much harder than before and tend to work from a swatch samples design side...

...results being that although I now can quite quickly produce a plethora of knit samples/ knit swatches, which conform to industry standards...the question remains within me have I sold my soul to the devil?!!!!!

( I will be exhibiting at the Twisted Thread, knit and stitch shows, England In 2009, dates to follow. Please come visit me)

KNITTING FOR CHILDREN

Knitting and crochet for kids I believe should be fun, and does not need to be stereotypical. It can be both funky and classical. The illustration shows a machine and hand knit coat which is padded like any other winter coat with an interlining of 'recycled plastic bottle' padding and lined in breathable organic cotton. The outer knit I have designed for a Dubied machine which creates pockets for more of the white bottle fibre to give the fun resemblence of snowballs. However I am sure it could be recreated in handknit or crochet. It is complete with cotton velvet trims....which makes for a very posh classic little girls coat.

Mittens!...or at least one of them! mmmm I have had this silk multi-coloured yarn for some years now, and began to crochet a lovely coat from it for myself. However it is one of those yarns that somehow seem much nicer on the ball than when made up. (one of the reasons I never finished it and of course time....am so busy making for everything else that things for me get left....so for Alison! ( http://knits-and-pearls.blogspot.com/ ) haha who has been trying to get me to finish the cardigan, I decided to make fun things for my daughter out of it instead)

So.....I managed to make her new mittens, with a plan to make a hat and some leg warmers.....anything else would be far too much as she would insist on wearing them all at the same time!...but typical she wore them once and lost one...so guess when the bad weather comes round again I will be having a case of Deja Vu.

Trying to find a new P.e bag has been an issue. Whenever I buy one for my daughter they end up having draw strings which go wrong and are left trailing just ideal for falling over. So since I am working on a new collection which is younger than my normal client profiling, being based on Harajuko dolls, I practised and made her a crochet bag with Harajuko cats. (she loves hello kitty!) The main bag used side saddle stitch, which is ideal as it alternates direction and therefore helps eliminate over stretch.

U.K. KNITTED TEXTILE AWARDS

After graduation I entered the U.K Knitted textile awards and was chosen to be a finalist at the twisted thread exhibitions. The garments I choose for the touring exhibition are shown in the images. I won the free place at the exhibitions at Alexandar Palace, London, The N.E.C, Birmingham and The show ground, Harrogate, along with a years subscription to Knitting magazine (please click on the link opposite stating Finalist......)-( or click on the title link)

Evening dress showcasing my skills in hand knit, crochet and industrial and domestic machine knit. Along with wovens. This dress was sold to a lovely lady in the states to be worn on New Years Eve 2008.

Hand crochet back detail cocktail dress, still in my possession and in consideration to be shown again on my own stand at the Twisted Thread shows 2009, along with many new works.

My favourite piece, now sold, again to somebody in the U.S, to be worn at christmas.