Maryam Dress – After seeing the Graphic Design Monogram Project results on the walls of VCUQatar, I realized the motifs, which represent a stylized version of each designer’s name in Arabic, were perfect for textile designs. With permission from the students, I decided to recreate them as knitted fabric designs. The student who contributed to the project in this submission is Maryam Al-Thani.
With a black and white printed student design in hand, I adapted each pattern to a grid in the knitting machine design program. Each stitch represents a large pixel, which was entered by hand. Some of the designs are large, because the motif is curvy and the pixels are large. (On a straight grid, it takes more pixels to make a smooth curve than to make a straight line or sharp corner.) In some cases, I changed the original pattern design to make it more suitable as a fabric repeat. Then I knitted each design, and in most cases, knitted them again and again to work out kinks in the systems and details of the designs. After washing, starching and pressing each piece, they were mounted on silk. One design was chosen to make into the Maryam Dress, which was draped on a mannequin.
Wearing symbols is already established as a ritual in the Arab world, such as soldiers wearing prayers woven into the fabric closest to their skin, and displaying holy words on one’s automobile. The custom of asking a noble person for their cast-off clothing, to absorb the powerful spirit, is an example of the energy that is retained in cloth. My work is imbued with vitality and spirit. Using symbols of these aspects visually represents the effect of the increased feeling of wellbeing on the wearer or observer. The next part of this research is to explore the act of using common blessed Arabic sayings knitted into textile designs. I will let the creative process guide me foreward.
