Week 02/03

 This week I managed to make most of my suit in college.

Sewing the panels on this trouser went well as when pivoting the fabric to change directions I snipped the fabric so it has created neat and sharp corner. This worked better than my toile, maybe as of the thicker fabric or as of lining the fabric up better. I started to work on the trousers and I originally sewd the godet in between the trousers at college, and I thought this went well as of the neat seams and marking the darts to show where the godets needs to be sewn, but when I went home to carry in sewing the trousers realised had sewn the godet on the wrong side of the trouser leg. I had sewn the godet on the inside rather than the outside so not only was this on the wrong side but if I had left it it would not flare out as it would be stopped by the other leg. The layer on top of this trouser leg would also not allow it to stand out as of the opening being on the outside leg. To amend this I unpicked the godet and the other side of the leg which I then sewd in.

I made sure to try different positions for the pocket and where it sits above the godet as I wanted it to be sewn in the best place. I decided that I did not want to pocket to overlap with the godet as of the fabrics are the same so having a small piece of the yellow trouser between them could be useful to break up the patterns and colours, creating contrast. I didn't want the gap to be too large as I still wanted the pocket to be about where your finger tips are to keep this functional. When positioning the pocket I also made sure to pull the other layer of the trousers down to see where that would position to make sure it didn't overlap on top of the pocket to much hiding it and taking the feature of the pocket away.

Next I sewd the zip in I decided to not add the decorative stitch around the front fly zip that it would usually have, especially with jeans, as I wanted these to look like suit trousers more than the top of jeans. I also didn't want this stitching to take away from the pattern of the trousers by drawing attention to the zip. l added a a hook and eye to the waistband of the trouser to connect the two pieces and make sure they stay together when the person is wearing them without drawing attention to this as is a practical feature rather than a visual feature. Before sewing the zip in I decided it would be a good idea to attach the trouser leg that has two layers together so it would not move around and become distorted when sewing the zip in.

I found sewing the lining together a task I could handle as it is like constructing just a usual bodice. However, when attaching the back lining and facing together he pin for holding the pleats for the lining came out so I sewd it without making the lining too long for the facing. To fix this I unpicked this seam, repinned it and then reseed it. I found gathering this sleeve harder as of the thicker fabric compared to normal cotton, which is something to consider when using this fabric in the future depending on what I need this fabric to do. I put the foam into the shoulder to act as a shoulder pad and this was necessary to do before the lining went in as this is sandwiched between the layers with the lining going under the foam supporting it. 

Trying to poke through the top of the shoulder triangle shape was very challenging as of the angle and fabric, I had to use different object to poke through to fabric such as a pen, knitting needle and my hands. I found that the knitting needle worked the best as of the thinness and point. In the end the angle was to sharp so when trying to push the point a seam came un done  making me have to resew it.

I also had to trim the fabric down to the stitching multiple times on the seams so that it became less bulky but the point was still to sharp so this didn't help much. If I was to resew it less angled it would not match my design and look so striking. Before sewing the lining it I put the jacket with the foam in on a body to see if it was too long as I didnt want to cut it down too far without seeing where it sits. At this point I can tell that the foam is too long as when it sits on this shoulder it is causing the triangle shape to go backwards as it can't sit straight ups. To fix this I trimmed the bottom down muiltiple times, checking each time on the body, that it is sitting straight up. I think that using this foam as a shoulder pad has worked well as the foam I have sued can support the fabric and shape very well not being to soft to hold it up. Using this has also accentuated the shape making it stand out more as it stands up making the patterns and the shape down the arm more visible from the top.

When it came to the hemming the jacket and sleeves I decided to fold both the fabrics into one another so you couldn't see the raw edges and top stitch them as of the differsnt lengths of the jacket I thought this would give the neatest result. I also thought this would be best for the sleeves and the lining and outer layer where different shapes. I think that this has worked well as it looks neat and you can't notice the top stitching unless you look at the hem closely.

This week we filmed our pattern crazy fashion film, which I organised the place, time and filmed. I made sure to get my ideas across to improve my communication skills as I needed to make sure the group were positioned right to film and organised. I found that some member of the group weren’t as focused as other so I made sure to refocus them and make sure they where doing what the rest of the group were. 

Week 23/02

This week as I managed to finish my toile I could starts my final suit. I didn’t manage to complete as much as I wanted to over this weekend as I attended an offer day event at Plymouth Arts university, which was very useful for me in the process of choosing where to go.

When cutting out my fabric I didn't think too much about where the larger parts went as of the repeat but when it came to the smaller parts I wanted to make sure that there wasn't too much white and empty space to make sure that the colours still contrasted, this worked well especially for the pockets where I wanted the purple pattern of the pocket to contrast against he yellow jacket which wouldn't have worked as well as it did if the pocket was white. 

When constructing the back panels I found it very helpful to use the industrial press between seams to keep them crisp and neat between sewing each panels. I found using the industrial press and the wooden clapper helped the seams to set more when pressed which helped the overall outcomes look from the outside of the seams. I think this made my jacket more effective as there was a point of interest, with the contrast, on the back so people don’t dismiss this and only look at the front. I also like how this feature displays all the different patterns in one place as it make sure all my patterns are seen easily before featured in other places.

When I was making my toile I was wondering if the seams would be bulkier using the cotton drill, especially on the back and around the neck where there is smaller panels and where the most seams meet. However, I have found that this is not a problem  and I think that the industrial press has helped this especially with the clapped making the seams flatter. It is useful to know that the seams didn't get much thicker as I like how structured this has made my garment, fitting in well with the suit jacket style. However when I was bagging the flap of the pocket through I did have to trim to sides down to make the edges less bulky, especially where the points where for the zigzag triangle shape as otherwise the points would not have been sharp. After trimming the fabric down closer to the stitching it made the point strand out and not be round which is successful.

Before sewing the pocket on I made sure to try positions and fold over the collar, which also features seam allowance, to make sure l haven't placed it too near the edge of the jacket to be overlapped. 

Week 16/02

 This week was half term and as I had managed to make my patterns the previous week in college this week I could focus on my toile making, I started with the jacket and constructing the raglan sleeve. When attaching the sleeves via the raglan I struggled with angling the fabric when sewing it in to make it fit the shape of the bodice patterns. This may be as resolved when using thicker fabric, cotton drill, or if I add slightly more length to the part of the sleeve which would match up to the Neck.

When I got to this point, I had already cut and sewd the side seams of the sleeve together ready to be attached to the front and back of the jacket, when I realised that when pattern cutting I added the curve into the inside of the arm instead of the outside to be curved outwards with the triangle shape. This meant that I had to remove the curved shape from the inside and redraw it on the outside, whilst I was here I also made the curve wider to make it more of a feature as it didnt look wide enough of the incorrectly made pattern. I had to redo this as if I kept it not only would it not be accurate to the designs shape but the curved arm would be hidden when the arm is relaxed or down.

As of the way I used sharp corners in this raglan it was challenging to change the directions to sew the shapes of the raglan sleeve between the shoulder, I would make sure to snip up to the sewing line to make sure when pushed through the triangle point can be sharp. At times if the seam allowance around the point was making it harder to push through or looked bulky I would trim the excess down, which let it be bagged out.

After seeing this arm correctly sewn into the raglan and bodice, I decided that the triangle shape at the shoulder may be too small and not tall enough to stand out as I wanted it to as I want this to be a large feature that is focused on in my design. To make the pattern larger, I went back to my original draft and thought about the point where the two sides meet and redrew where the new point could be. I used the original draft as it meant that I could be sure the point wouldn't overlap with the other side which was useful to me as l didnt want to change the direction of the triangle, only the length. I also made the triangles wider to allow for the length added so the angle of the triangle isn't so tight straight away, hoping to making the bagging out process easier, I made sure to snip the top of the triangles shapes, once cm from the point, so that there isn't too much excess fabric.

I decided to use calico for this leg because it would replicate cotton drill the most which was helpful to me as it helped me get an idea of how the cotton drill will behave with the thicker fabric as of the similar drape and density they both have. The trousers do not hold themselves as I was hoping that they would but I think that this is because of the way that they are made majority with the cotton with drapes lightly and is thinner than the cotton drill is. If this is still a problem when I made it in cotton drill I could perhaps use starch spray to make it more structured.

I found making the pattern of the lining for this jacket challenging to do on my own, so I waited until going back to college to ask for a dive when it then made since and I am more confident in this process now. I found this difficult as I wanted the lining of the jacket to not going onto the triangles at the shoulders as there would be foam inside this but sit under it, supporting it so I was confused how to excicute this based off of the patterns I had already created.

Week 9/02.

After completing a raglan sleeve sample, I can start designing my garment after having a better understanding of what the jacket could look like. I think that the triangle shape in the shoulder could be larger to make this stand out more and be a bigger element. 

In my design process I found it useful to draw on an image of the raglan sleeve to help me visualize what the designs would look like on a body, or mannequin. It also helped me to develop my designs as once I had done one design, I could develop this on the same page to show clearly how I have developed my thinking. This also helped me to think about my designs as I knew the scale of my current raglan sample so having the drawings over this helped me to think about what size they would need to be. 

I started pattern cutting with the raglan sleeve, which I used the same method as learnt in class, before tracing each sections, front, back and sleeve. I found the process of this first step overall okay but I did have to slightly adjust my thinking as I am not using the normal bodice block. Once traced I spilt the sleeve in two and curved the sleeve and added the shape to from the shoulder pad. I then traces the back pattern onto paper, flipping it to create the back piece in one before drawing lines where I would want the different panels to be. These then got traces of with seam allowances, keeping the drawn back pieces as a reference to me helping my see where each piece would go, noting down each pieces number to keep the sewing order simple. 

Making the patterns for the trousers was slightly challenging as I needed to think through which way to cut the pattern to allow the cut out section in the trousers to be in the right direction. When cutting and lashing the trousers bock to be made into flairs I made sure to note down the measurements so that I could replicate it for the other leg. Trying to match up the different panels for the back and the front took time as I wanted to make sure the side seams would line up.

I found that pattern cutting this suit pushed me as I tried to not keep the blocks shape in my garment especially with the jacket and raglan sleeve. I think I worked well to develop my trousers as I developed my trousers design to have more layers and patterns. I found tracing off each pattern helpful rather than cutting the patterns up as it helped me to have a base to go back to from what my patterns would of started from. 

I also made sure to put my patterns digitally onto my design so that I could see what it would look like on my final garment to check that the patterns contrast each other and check that they fit into the place I want them too. This also helped to to complete a lay-plan so that I could order my fabrics with the right amount of fabric for each pattern and section of my garment. 

Year Two Week Eleven

 Week Eleven

This week I added the pleats to my collar and cuffs and sewd these both down. This went well as it meant I know now how much fabric I need to pleat to find the measurements of these perts of the garments. 

I also made my shawl pattern by connecting the front and back bodice together at the shoulders. I then put it on the mannequin and roughly drew the shape I would want this to take. Drawing this on the mannequin was useful as it helped me to see how far over the shoulder I wanted the shawl to be and how far down the front it should be. Once I had done that I made a more confident line whilst it sas flat so l could cut this out. I like the way that this fabric has draped with this and I have a similar thickness fabric from my wedding dress which I think replicate this well. I like how it covers the shoulder of the sleeves but stops before the main design on the sleeve showing the cuff.

For my personal project portfolio page, I shot my tutu. Styling my model to find my moodboard and posing her to show off my tutu but also making it look like a costume as how it could be worn. I am happy with the result of this photoshoot as I made sure to get multiple angles and ballet poses to make my portfolio page diverse. 

I completed my last session of life drawing this week. It was interesting that this week was a female model as it meant I could experiment with this different form and shapes. I also like how we did quick timed drawings and walking as this is something that I wouldn’t usual experiment with. I think this looked interesting on the page as of the way it looks like multiple bodies and different poses. I think this will work well in my portfolio as it is a talking point as is interesting to view as someone who didn’t draw it. 

This week I managed to finish my sustainability page, adding a quote to the page to better explain my concept and adding three initial design ideas from my sketch book but illustrated better to link to my page. 

As my sustainability page didn’t take too long as I had already been working on it, I managed to move on and complete my white shirt page. This went well as the night before I had already planed what I wanted to go in the page and where. With minor tweaking and adding a small pattern to this page I have managed to finish it. I think this page where’s well to show my process as I feature my moodboard, fashion flat, pattern, samples, diary of making and then the photoshoot of the final garment. 

Year Two Week Ten

 Week Ten 

This week in pattern cutting I continued to work on my toile sewing the collar together, I found this shape has worked well to reflect my design but it is slightly not long enough. To make this work I will alter the pattern and make it wider to fit around the whole neck. I’m not sure why it is not wide enough to fit the whole neck but I will measure these both again to work out how much more I need to add. I also continued to unpick the wedding dress, detaching the two skirt layers from the bodice. I found unpicking the lace layer from the bodice to be challenging as it is sewn in many places and the beads on this layer come off easily so some of these have fallen off whilst unpicking. However, these fallen beads do not affect my design and I think the roughened dress will not be affected by these missing as of the style. 

In the textiles lesson this week we worked on portfolio, and I clarified my moodboard for the personal project- tutu that I made. This was useful as it’s helped me to set up the beginning of this page and help to inspire me for the photoshoot I planned for the next Monday. 

I worked on my next page pulling work from my sustainability sketchbook to see what I can use for this page. I decided to pull some of the initial designs and re illustrate them to make them of a higher quality and so they fit into my page better. I decided to cut up my final garment for this page as I havnt done this yet and I felt it will make the page stand out better and to ensure my pages don’t get repetitive. I am finding this page challenging to do as I feel like it has been a bit of a struggle to get the elements of this page to work together and show the journey of me making this garment. 

In photography I shot my white shirt and my garment in the group architecture project. I feel that my white shirt has worked well especially in the photographs. The way I have shot this shirt has made the sleeves stand out and look overly big at the top with volume, the way I wanted it too. I like the way that the netting is coming out of the slit in the top of the leg-of-mutton  as it shows the structural elements. I think the dark great background has also helped to make my shirt stand out as of the contrast against the white. One of the tutors asked another class to guess what the pathway I want to go into is based off of my white shirt and they said costume so this proves my white shirt is working and clear what I want to go into based on the historical side. 

Year Two Week Nine

Week Nine

This week in pattern cutting to develop my shirt, I added the Dorset buttons that I made. I found the process of making Dorset buttons slow at first because I was using thin embroidery thread which took too long to blanket stitch around the ring of the button. After doing this for one ring I decided to switch to embroidery thread as this is bigger so it takes less time to blanket stitch. 

As this was my last session in making this shirt I had to also add the bias binding to my shirt neckline. This slightly twisted when sewing it but as this is covered by the bib this isn’t a big issue. If I had more time I would maybe redo this so it’s flatter. 

This week I completed my patterns for my white on white dress. When making the belt part of this belt I stated by roughly sketching the shape I wanted by putting it against the stand, I then solidified the lines so I was easier to see this. The first draft I thought is more accurate to my sketch but doesn't look exaggerated enough and looks quite plain. I decided to extend the bottom curve deeper and the curves is more fluid and sits better on the mannequin. I also like the shape of this as this pieces sits just under the bust with the high curve and how the bottom goes to the dropped waist making the audience see this as the attention is drawn to it.

To help me physically visualise the height of the collar I want for this design I used a collar I had made for my white shirt project. This then helped me to measure and draft my new pattern by being able to measure how much longer I wanted to make the collar based of this band collar.

As the sleeve block is quite fitted I made sure to open the slashes enough that this would be a comfortable sleeve without being too baggy to replicate the style of dress I am making accurately.

I then started to make my toile, which start simple as all I had to do to start this was sew the darts in the bodice and sew the shoulders and seams together. When sewing the sleeves I made sure to think about all the ways I could sew them to get the best result. I like how the sleeves flow over the cuff as it creates a nice drape and doesn’t go too far over the cuff.