ImagesMagUK_November_2020

www.images-magazine.com NOVEMBER 2020 images 27 KB TIPS & TECHNIQUES A commission from Stanley/Stella saw clothing and accessories brand Platypus design two striking hoodies that were then embroidered by Ian Widdowson of Premier Embroidery Anatomyof an embroidery www.platypusclothing.co.uk www.premierembroidery.co.uk The ‘Love Your mother’ design consisted of 11,582 stitches. Both designs were digitised by David Sharp. The globe consists of land, sea and waves all stitched in a tatami stitch and edged with a satin border. The design measured 250mm high, contained 55 trims and 11 colour changes, and took more than two hours to sew. The surrounding text was two colour: a white inner tatami stitch and a black satin stitch edge. A cut-away backing from TC Threads provided a strong and stable backing. It did, however, contain more trims in order to properly create all the different components of the design. The text was created using a black inner tatami fill with a white satin stitch border, and a cut-away backing from TC Threads was again used. The design was framed up for Premier Embroidery’s Barudan machine using a 300 x 290mm hoop. A combination of Marathon and Sulky rayon threads were used. The equally impressive ‘Break free’ design was similarly 250mm high. This was a simpler design, reports Ian, featuring just two colours – he used black and white Marathon rayon threads – and only 56,521 stitches. The figure of the woman was created using a tatami fill stitch with a satin border around the outside of the shape. P latypus was founded by Maxine Abbott and Sarah Esau with the intention of offering clothes and accessories that stood out against “boring black and white fashion”. Specialists in hand-dyed and custom pieces, the pair met manufacturer Stanley/ Stella at a trade show and were commissioned by the company to make a couple of pieces to promote its Cruiser hoodie. “We were inspired by 60s protest graphics for both designs and created a retro aesthetic,” Maxine and Sarah explain. “We wanted to highlight important causes through this work, such as the ‘Love your mother’ graphic, which is about how we have to actively improve our relationship with the environment. ‘Break free, be happy’ is simply about body positivity, accepting yourself and letting go of your insecurities. “’Love your mother’ is a simple tie dye spiral, and ‘Break free, be happy’ is made using the ice dye technique, melting dye into the fabric using ice. We really enjoy the dyeing process as you never quite know how a garment will turn out, and that suits our work perfectly. “We gave the designs and garments to Ian [Widdowson] at Premier Embroidery to work his magic and he did a fantastic job as always. Adding embroidery to a piece really brings a design to life and makes a luxury piece.”