Dust yourself off and try again

The plan for today is to reinforce the piece using clear fishing wire to give the clothing extra stability and support. To do this, I will need to drill multiple holes around the outline and through sections of the piece before threading the wire through both the clothing and the drilled holes to help secure everything in place.

Before starting, I carried out a test with my tutor, Sam, to make sure the method would work. Although the process is quite fiddly, particularly when threading the wire back through multiple layers of material, the test was successful and gave me confidence to move forward. Once the wire has been threaded through, I will secure it on the reverse of the board using a staple gun.

I am hoping this additional layer of support will strengthen the piece further and help prevent any of the clothing from detaching, particularly after the setbacks I experienced earlier in the project.

Having my friends help me lift the work into a vertical position and even give it a gentle shake to test its stability was a great feeling. Seeing the piece hold together gave me much more confidence in the construction. In hindsight, everything happens for a reason. If the clothing had not fallen off earlier in the project, I may never have gone through the process of securing the garments with stitches and fishing wire to give them extra support. Although it was a difficult experience at the time, it ultimately leading to a stronger and more secure final piece.