OTO: Blanket Making Process

Materials: Wool, Tufting Gun, Electric Drill (for mounting shelves), Wool Pusher, Bobbin Winder, Projector, Hot Melt Gun, White Latex, Squeegee, Tufting Fabric etc.

Steps
1. Wooden frame: I first made a wooden frame to support and hold the fabric to be tufted.

2. Pattern Design: Use a projector to project the design onto the white fabric and then carefully trace the outline of the pattern with a pen.

3. Using the Tufting Gun: Under the guidance of the technician, I began to learn how to use the Tufting Gun, which included understanding how to hit straight and curved lines, as well as how to control the spacing and stopping of lines. Since this was my first time using the Tufting Gun, I continued to practice controlling the curvature and direction of the lines until I had full control over my strength and direction of movement, and then I began to fill in my designs.

4. Pattern Filling: Starting from the outer outline of the pattern, I gradually fill inwards. During this process, I constantly adjusted my technique to ensure clarity and overall aesthetics. However, due to the difficulty of controlling the spacing of the lines, I often have to continue to add details after filling in the colour blocks.

5. Back Finishing: After Tufting, I brush the back of the fabric with white latex to hold the threads in place. The fabric was then cut to the desired size and the excess edges were secured with a hot melt gun.

6. Anti-slip mat attachment: After spraying glue on the back, I attached anti-slip mats to increase the stability of the blanket.

7. Surface Finishing: The surface of the blanket was finished with a wool pusher to ensure that the woollen threads were flat and neat.

In choosing the colours of the wool, I tried to show clear layers, but the actual result was not as good as expected. The transition between colours was not as layered as desired. Also because it was the first time I had come across this technique, I was not proficient in the use of the tufting Gun and could not get the outline of the pattern to work well. However, the process was very rewarding and laid a technical foundation for my future exploration of fabrics.