Persona 5 saw its worldwide release on April 4, 2017, I like many others with a soft spot for the series (and a flood of new fans) became instantly engrossed in the game’s world and problems.
With immersive cut-scenes, a dynamic soundtrack that you can’t ever seem to tire of and a cast of easily loveable and relatable characters, Persona 5 delivered to its players an introspective storyline fraught with very real-world issues; and I could not get enough. But if you are already here and reading this post then you most likely know all that, so let’s move on shall we?
Inspiration struck me one day and I found myself designing the most intricate wall hanging I have attempted thus far; 5 different colours and more carrying than I felt I had the capacity to handle, it quickly left me feeling defeated.
A grand total of 18 bobbins
Luckily for me, I have wonderful internet friends (Hi Keredya!) who shared my woes and soon we had decided that maybe I should try carrying things vertically instead of horizontally.
That would make my fabric far less girthy and enable me to worry about holding onto fewer threads; I figured it was worth a shot.
After much trial and error, I settled on making…whatever this is. Pegboard cost me around $7 at the Home Hardware and a couple bucks in dowels.
Now, if you squint at the picture above, you may notice an error that I wish I had picked up on; I just wrapped the yarn around the dowels and didn’t put it on a spool.
After bashing my head against my own stupidity for a few minutes, I came up with a solution involving some old toilet paper rolls, corrugated cardboard and a bit of tape:
Not pretty, but it is functional.
After I had finished rewinding the yarn around my makeshift spools, I placed some alligator clips on the board and fed the yarn through them to help maintain order, and trepidatiously began to work.
Oof, that glare. And what a mess of yarn!
I struggled with maintaining my tension, I was unused to carrying the yarn vertically; dropping a thread after 1-5 stitches meant that I had to be more aware of how I anchored my stitches before I moved onto the next segment.
I decided that it could be fun to share my progress on my Magnum Opus, so I fired up the computer and streamed some of my work.
I was shocked when a newly acquired internet friend (Hi Kain!) had enough faith in my design to stake claim to the prototype, and so it became a commission I never expected to have.
The back of this thing is a complete mess.
I learned quickly to place my work on the blocking board at the end of each stream, this helped to maintain the shape and speed up the stretching process that was inevitably going to take eons.
I lost track of how long this tapestry took me from start to finish, I am sure I can figure the math out if I were to try but let’s just say a long fekkin’ time.
21″ long on the blocking board
11″ wide on the blocking board
Hover over the images to see measurements
For the backing, I decided to go with solid black and white trim to match the front. The inspiration for this whole project came from the tarot cards that are a staple of the Persona franchise.
Although I wasn’t wholly satisfied with the end product (what with it being the prototype), the customer voiced their enthusiasm and gave the stamp of approval to ship out.
The lighting in these pictures is a little on the cool side, I need to become a better photographer next!
Overall, I think the effect of the chain-link design turned out really nicely and the pattern itself translated well into the end product.
Things I learned from all this:
My tension is shit if you throw more than 3 strands of yarn at me. I need to practice working with more yarn until that becomes second nature.
I work better at a table, and it was fun to share my work as it was developing.
However, I work faster and more efficiently when the camera is off and I can throw something up on the TV to distract myself.
Tension matters in areas other than just the hook; when whip-stitching the bottom of the tapestry I must have pulled too hard and bunched the bottom up a bit. This was mediated later but I can still see a slight issue there and it will haunt me forever.
I have a long way to go before I can claim mastery of my craft.
Want to follow me around without being picked up for stalking?
I have priced these banners at $150.00 CAD each, and I take commissions on a first come first serve basis. All items are made at the time the order is placed and are not just held on hand. Expect between 3-4 weeks before your creation is ready to ship. Pricing is determined based on labor and material costs with the shipping cost being extra and fluctuating based on where I am shipping the order. A 50% initial deposit is required before any work can be started on your order. Payment options include Paypal, and ETransfer.
Let the Phantom Thieves steal your heart, and a place on your wall: Persona 5 Joker Tarot Card Tapestry Persona 5 saw its worldwide release on April 4, 2017, I like many others with a soft spot for the series (and a flood of new fans) became instantly engrossed in the game's world and problems.
