Sunday 1 June 2014

Introduction

My name's Angus and i'll be undergoing the process of sewing my own plushies. I think that making my own plushies will provide me a challenge as I have never sewn before. Some things that inspired me to make my own creations is that I feel these inanimate objects are not only cute, but they also produce a sense of comfort by how soft it is. As a result, I will plan to make my plushies more sophisticated as time permits. First, i will do one without legs supporting it, the second one I will consider the use of a sewing machine and will use legs that stand and the last iteration will incorporate the techniques I learned myself, but will increase the size and complexity of materials used. My proposed timeline for this project is to get everything done until next Tuesday, but good thing I have done the first iteration today.

Moreover, it is time to discuss the sources used for my project. First, although I question that this would be an appropriate source, I find that this is a good source for the historical context of sewing. During the early ages of sewing, the tools used for sewing consisted of "animal bone and wood" while later used more durable materials such as "bronze and steel" (Askaroff). I find this information intriguing because makeshift tools were used in the process of sewing while I use metal sewing needles for my project. It shows how people had to make do with the given materials to sew; whereas I have access to more durable sewing materials which reduce annoyance and a sewing machine which makes the workload faster.

Askaroff, Alex. "A brief history of sewing threads". Home of the Sewalot Site. n.d. May 31 2014 http://www.sewalot.com/sewing_machine_threads.htm. Web.

Second, I find that this source is a useful source because it describes how the sewing machine has impacted tailors from across the world. The sewing machine was a product that was exorbitant in cost, but faster in processing of materials (Perkin). Some early designs of sewing machines included "lighter, smaller machines with ornate materials and fine wood" (Perkin). More information on this can be found here:

Perkin, Joan. "Sewing Machines: Liberation or  Drugery for women?. HistoryToday. 2002. June 1st 2014. http://www.historytoday.com/joan-perkin/sewing-machines-liberation-or-drudgery-women. Web.

More to come so stay tuned

4 comments:

  1. Hey Angus, interesting project and great challenge. I'm wondering why you're planning to finish the three iterations by Tuesday. What are your plans for the next three weeks? I also found an article about a consumer's process of a Build-A-bear workshop for you. It's interesting in the way that it talks about this process as a birth ritual for a children's toy...many interesting things to be read here! You might need to login to your ecuad account: http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.eciad.ca:2048/ehost/detail?sid=c6955a0b-66df-4e19-8106-cbbc8b7e37f7%40sessionmgr4003&vid=7&hid=4104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=asu&AN=505354666

    If you can't access it, here's a citation for you to reference: Lee, You-Jin. "Build-A-Bear Workshop: Its Aesthetic And Ideology." Art Education 61.6 (2008): 20-24. Art Source. Web. 2 June 2014.

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    1. Thanks for that helpful info Victoria, I will definitely research that article.

      The reason why I was planning on finishing the three iterations was because I thought that our product had to be finished by June 11th which is next wednesday. My plan for the remainder of the project is to finish my 2 other iterations and finish the essays around the remainder of the project in order to keep in line with the project's deadline.

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    2. Ahhhh I see okay! Great, good to know! Good luck you can do it!

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  2. Great iterations and good process. It was cool to see you using different materials to make these plushes. Perhaps in the future if you decide to make another one, maybe consider using different stitching techniques to create tighter stitches for your plushies but overall, good job!

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