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.