Chloe Cooper
Ocean Threads
Ocean Threads combines traditional handcrafted methods of crochet, felting, and embroidery to shift the textiles into a contemporary context. Combinations of textured handiwork brighten atmospheres and encourage physical tactile interaction. Essential to this practice is the handmade element of the textiles, as creating things digitally or through a machine removes the textile-designer-hand connection to the pieces. This design practice draws inspiration from images of coral, exploring the random arrangements of vibrant colours and unique textures. The handcrafted textiles employ a bright colour palette which creates a sense of fun and quirky originality providing people with an escape from the muted colours often seen in New Zealand.
This collection encourages people to take a moment to connect with the hand generated textiles through sight and touch. The unusual tactile blends and juxtaposing colours of the textiles foster personal emotional experiences. The bags showcase handcrafted textile designs intended to distract the user from the monotony of everyday life. The intense colour and tactility of the textiles is used to generate connection and conversation between the wearer and others. The tactile appearance and nature of the outputs encourage physical interaction with the textiles. They are marketed at a target audience who are keen to stand out from the crowd and unafraid to go against the grain defying common trends.
The bag called Maze has a wet felted base with couching details. The pocket is crochet loop stitch with embroidered loops around the outside to blend in and give it a more organic shape. Attached to the pocket is a piece that is a combination of needle felting and embroidery.
The top of the Bobble Bag, is crochet bobble stitch with needle felting in the spaces between the bobbles. Vibrantly coloured french knots pop against the contrasting background. Basic crochet stitch makes up the bottom of the bag with some couching embroidery.
The third bag Loopy, is crochet loop stitch with yarn tied in and these strands separated for a wavy effect. The brightly coloured, chunky loop stitches draw people in to touch, and view the intricate details on the top of the bag. These details are comprised of a mixture of wet felting and needle felting, with additional crochet loop stitches.
