Once i had stitched all the lines it was time to move onto stitching them together. i pinned along the line lining up the seams. once it was pinned along the line i stitched them together until i had them all together. once complete i laid them out to check them over. the final step was to add me to the top. much like what i had done with the rest i pinned myself to the centre of the top row and stitched it together. with the attachment of my portrait complete the final part left is to figure out how the piece will be hung. 
Category: Ideas & Development
Stitching them together
One i finalised the layout i stitched them together in their rows of five. stitching them from behind to hide the seams. as some pieces had been cut a bit larger than others it was difficult to line them up, this was through my own error while cutting up the canvas.
Planning the layout
Taking print outs of all the photos i arranged them into the layout that i wanted. this meant i was able to move them about to make sure i was happy with the positioning. due to a change in positioning plan i had one portrait too many, i decided to take myself out and put me alone showing my sense of isolation but supported by everyone in my life.
Making the eyebrows
Taking a piece of canvas i mixed different shades of brow and painted it using the brow brush. this also included blonde and grey, i also made some darker shades of brown with the scraps after cutting from the original piece. looking at the photos i drew out the shapes of everyones eyebrows then cut them out. after cutting out the shapes i glued them in place. i stitched the eyebrows in the same way that i had done all the other details.
Eyebrow tester
Using an eyebrow brush and paint i tested out adding texture on the skin texter piece. from this i learnt that it was difficult to shape the eyebrows and this left it a bit messy. i also tried cutting out the shape using fabric, this looked fine but i liked the texture from the eyebrow brush. this gave me the idea to paint canvas separately then cut it out like the fabric eyebrow to get a neater shape.
Creating the new photos
Using the college projector i drew out the remaining photos onto canvas. i traced out all of the remaining photos onto the canvas, the original set out for the project was to use different techniques however i liked the collage that i decided to stick with it. after drawing out the images i blocked the projector to check that i had drawn all the details. i cut out all the shapes of each image gluing them along the way. once all the faces were glued it was time to move onto the next step. i drew out all the details darker so that they were able to be seen under the light of the sewing machine. using my sewing machine i traced the outlines of all the images, adding textures into hair and clothing. once all the faces were sewn the final step was to cut all the loose threads as well as still needing to figure out the eyebrows.
Racial issues
the initial plan was to paint all the different skin tones once i had finished the collages. however with a few complete they looked well with the canvas keeping them uniform. however one friend is a person of colour so i was worried about the racial issued with leaving her skin the cream white of the plain canvas. i decided to send her a message to address these issues. with written confirmation that she is happy for it to be left plain, i have decided if i have enough time i will try to figure out if there is anything i can do for her skin tone but my main focus is to get all the faces complete in time. 
The process
The way in which the process of making the faces is done is by first projecting the image onto the canvas and drawing out the details of the face. i then turn off the projection to check that i haven’t missed out on any of the details. the next step is to cut up pieces of scrap fabric using the original photo as reference. then using a glue gun to old the fabric in place, i left out all the eyebrows as i needed to figure out what i would do for it as i felt that cutting it out of fabric would make them look too thick. once i had all the fabric glued into place, i stitched around it all using my sewing machine, including adding the details that i hadn’t added using fabric.
The first piece
To get things rolling with my project as i had been busy with my dissertation, i started with this experimental collage. i really liked how this turned out and due to time limitations with doing the other textile techniques i decided i would continue on making the rest of the faces in the same style.
Projecting
To begin the process of my project i went to my dads house to use his projector. i loaded the photos onto his laptop then taped a piece of canvas to a board. i resized the image to best fit the canvas, i then traced around the faces. i was limited by how much canvas i had brought with me so was unable to draw out all the photos i had.
Maeve Dawson Art 