Year Two Week Eight

 Week Eight 

In the last week during half term, I’d decided to make my personal project as I had interrupted days where I could make this in one go. I decided to make a tutu as this is something I would be interested in learning how to at University if my course allows this. I thought because of this if I create a tutu which I know would need improvement as I was self learning this it would give me a good talking point for the portfolio page. Before stating this project I made sure to research into how to make a tutu through watching videos on multiple platforms and reading into the steps on websites. This was helpful as it helped me to gather different makers opens on how to make it and to find the similarities that they all use, to understand the base steps. When cutting out the fabric I decided to mark a piece of large pattern paper with the measurements to help me get these accurately as I need to cut lots of layers of each measurement. I found gathering the tulle layers of this tutu challenging as when pulling the gathered stitched through they kept on breaking,  this could have been as if the quality of the thread. So I then had to pleat the tulle which was time consuming as there was metres to pleat into the small fabric band.  Once I had sewn each layer top the fabric band from the bottom to the top I put it on the mannequin and inserted the boning hoop into the channel I sewd. I then tacked down the layers in groups of three to eliminate some of the volume making it into more of a pancake tutu.  When pressing it from the bottom up I could see this really taking place as of the layers flattened. I think that overall this has worked well as of the way it doesn’t completely fall and holds some shape and it gives me a starting point on tutus that would be nice to develop in the future. 

In pattern cutting, I made and seed in my sleeves. I was confident in both these sleeves after doing them multiple times. Making sure to pull the elastic tight enough it will fit to the arm but not tight enough that it’s too fitted and uncomfortable. 

In this week I made a portfolio page on textiles, selecting the work I feel flows together and shows off skills. I also like how this shows I can work in a sketchbook.  

I also photographed my colour dress styling it to look 60s as this was my idea behind this dress. I think this was successful as people could tell the idea and the style of hair and poses help to show this.

Year Two Week Seven

 Week Eight 

This week we started our timed session of sewing our white on white shirt. I found that this went well as I had timed my toile making so when planning out my sewing time I knew that I wouldn't have to rush and I would have time to complete everything needed. In this session I completed everything I wanted too including the collar and the bib. I feel that the ruff collar process went well as this time I was familiar with the process, but this time did take longer as I wanted it to be neater and I talked it down more to the collar tie so that it was more stable. As I had thought ahead about it taking longer as of these extra steps I did allow more time so I didn’t need to rush. I think that the extra fabric tied all along the neck instead of adding this at the back has worked better as it looks more fluid and neat. 

In the next session, I sewd my bodice together which took less time than I had planned for so I also added my welts to the sides which I had planned to do the next session. I’m glad I could do this earlier as it means if something takes longer that I thought it would next time then I will be able to have abit more time that I had left for the eyelets to go in. 

I managed to shoot my colour dress this week, styling it to suit the dress. I also made sure to do my models hair to make the shoot look like the 60s. I think the results of this shoot are good as I gave my model poses to do so there is a range of movement and fluidity. This aided me to be able to finish this colour dress page as I had the foundations done but just needed the photoshoot. 

As I finished this I could then start on my individual architecture portfolio page. I found the process of setting up this page went well as I had an idea of what I wanted these page to feature. I like this page as I have shown the process of making this garment, from my moodboard, designs and then the garments. I think this works well for this page as it shows other ways the garments could be worn with the moveable ties to the paniers. 

This week we went on a trip to The William Morris Gallery to see the Women in Print exhibition which was inspiring to see all the prints made by women. This was also nice exhibition to see as we have a pattern crazy project this college year so it was nice to the range of patterns and colour which were put together. We also had a talk at Liberty archives this was insightful to learn the history about the company and how they store there prints to be exhibited and transported.

Year Two Week Six

Week Six 

In this weeks Pattern cutting lesson I learnt how to sew button holes on the new machines. I like how this has turned out as it is more straightforward than my own machine as this does it automatically with the settings. I think for my white shirt I want to use bigger buttons as these small ones got lost in the white bib. I think this bib works well over the top of my white bodice as it isn’t big enough to distract you from the shape of the bib but is long enough to look proportional.

At home, I worked my on white shirt toile sewing the sleeves with the new patterns to allow for me volume. I learnt that for my final shirt I need to gather the sleeve caps more so they fit into the armhole without any puckering. The Marie sleeve would also benefit from me pulling the elastic tighter so it fits around so it can hold the puff shape. The shape was also not holding as well as it could, as for this toile I used a poly cotton which is heavier pulling the sleeve down slightly. I like how the sleeve looks with the slit as it makes you see in the sleeve and how it’s constructed. When sewing this next time I will sew the netting in one piece instead of cutting it in half as I think this will better show the structure and will look neater and more intentional. Once I had done this I cut out my final fabrics and overlocked them so I was prepared for next week when I start making it finally.

This week we had life drawing, which I hadn’t done before. I found the process interesting as I don’t usually take time to draw fathering focusing on textiles. I liked experimented with poses as I usually only draw from the front angle on a two dimensional flat pose. Next session I would like to experiment with different media when drawing and now I am familiar with the proportions of the body I will try to keep the proportions right in each pose to make my drawings look more realistic. 

In textiles we produced cut and slash techniques. As this was a technique I was familiar with I wanted to create more developed techniques. I did this through sewing in different directions so when slashed the texture was all over. I also made sure the layers of fabric would ensure the top fabric would fray as I like how this looks when the thread is loose. 

For my portfolio this week I decided to work digitally to create my illustration for my colour dress as I wanted this to have sharp lines, I also need to draw small circles and emails and I thought this would be the best way to do this. I like the way that this has turned out as through the model I drew with the dress you can clearly tell the time I wanted this to be based on, the 60s though the style and hair. 

Year Two Week Five

 Week Five

In Pattern cutting this week I decided to make a ruff collar after creating my mood board for my white shirt project. I felt like this would match my inspiration of historical structure well as I was inspired by a picture of Queen Elizabeth the first with a v shaped hem and a ruff collar. I have decided to make my ruff collar go from either side of the the neck instead of going the whole way around as i felt this would work better given the ten hour time constraint. I still feel like this looks good with the garment as from the front it covers the whole neck but from the back you can see how it is structurally held t the garment and neck. I feel like he shape of the ruff also links to my structural theme as of the shape it makes with the curves. 

I found the process of sewing this ruff to be fairly straightforward in steps but time consuming taking about an hour, however this is a big part of my design so with the ten hours I feel like this is a good amount of time to take. When sewing the ruff you use three needles at one with a similar process to suing a princes pleater but done by hand. A few times the threads got twister when sewing, so I amended this by sticking the needles I wasn't using at the time to the table so they wouldn't get caught. I found this worked well as it meant the threads stayed neat and easy to work out the position for each needle to sew in. Overall, I like the outcome of this ruff as I feel like the shape is accurate and stands up well, next time for my final sewn shirt I will make the band on the inside of the ruff  long enough s that it can be tide round the neck instead of adding extra fabric to the band to do this, I'll do this as I think it will make this more sturdy and neater around the back of the neck. 

After doing this, I constructed a bib, which I found making the pattern for straightforward, matching up the front and back bodice together and working out the shape I wanted. As I made this experimentally I wasn't sue if it would lay right or work properly, but after making it I am pleased with ow it as turned out as I will be using this pattern for my final shirt as it lays on a person well and I'm happy with the length and width. This also didn't take long which is good considering the time limit. 

In Textiles we are sharing techniques with each other to experiment with. One peer started this off with knitting, as it hadn't been too long since the last time I had knitted once I had been reminded how to cast on, I got into the rhythm of kitting, but I did struggle on my first attempt with adding an additional loop when I was changing between needles. By my second try I have managed to create a long piece of knitting with minimal mistakes. I found it useful to have knitting demonstrated again as it meant that when casting on and especially off I did this with the right technique as this is what I usually struggle with. 

We also got taught smocking, which was my first time doing this technique and I found it interesting how it manipulates the fabric, however I feel for my wedding dress it may be time consuming to do enough of this to make a feature. I did like the they way that it made geometric shapes on the fabric, but I think I underestimated how much it will shrink the fabric down with the smocking so next time I will use bigger pieces of fabric. 

Within this, I also demonstrated a heat manipulation technique which I enjoy using a heat gun and fabric to melt through or using coins or other objects to leave their shape once the fabric manipulates around them. Our class hadn't done this before, especially with the molding so it was good they got to experiment with trying different fabrics and object to mold with. If my dress fabric allows it I think this would be a good technique to include as I like the way it manipulated the fabrics so it looks melting and burnt but also holds shapes which are bubble like. I found the experience of showing people this technique went well as I found this familiar to my work experience in the textile room at a secondary school. 

When working on my portfolio this week I decided to make the focus of my page photography, but still featuring designs on, as I haven't had a page with this focus yet. I feel like this worked well as to show I can also pose and photographing the skirt after making showing a wider range of skill. 

Year Two Week Four

 Week Four 

As I had been off for the last week before with illness, I started this week catching up on the pattern cutting and construction of the collars. When doing this I found watching videos helped me to understand the process and the measurements. I found making the patterns for the collars challenging still as of the many steps that goes into one collar and how you repeat and alter one collar multiple times to produce the top and under collar. However, the steps are becoming more recognisable as I go on.  

I then made these collars in fabric, bagging them out, and putting them on my mannequin. I think that these worked well as they all looked like my reference image and they held their shape well even though I didn’t use interfacing. The process of sewing these were simple as of the simple seams and I feel as though the corners have been pointed well from being sewn around. Next time to improve these collars, I would create more abstract and interesting shapes as they are quite similar with the rounded or squared corners. 

In Textiles this week I learnt about interlocking squares and how you can arrange them to make orang I like shapes. I liked how I could fold back pieces off the squares to make different designs and incorporate different fabrics and textures to make my designs more tactile. 

I collated my first year work to think about a portfolio page and I found that to show off my flower skirt I wanted to crate illustrations. I think this worked well as I managed to change my drawings from my book into interesting heads for my illustrations. I think this has elevated the page as you can tell it links to my skirt and the inspiration behind it. 

I also created weaves for my next page based on insects and I think it is an interesting way to show off my patterns mixing them and I like how the bright and darker colours contrast one another with the different directions of the designs.

Year two Week two

In Pattern cutting this week I learnt how to sew a pl for a cuff. I found this manageable as the steps wher broken down section by section so the information wasn't overwhelming. I think this was a useful skill to learn as I can now finish of a shirt properly with it looking neat.

This week I started my first portfolio page, looking back at my first project and pulling out work I thought would work well together and be of a good enough quality. I looked back at past patterns and decided to collage these.

As this my first page, I hadn't made a illustration before to this level so I learnt how to break down the process, starting with the heads and experimenting with shapes before deciding on the final head to start the process of my body. When doing this I found it useful to look at the shape of the fruit on which the garment was based on rather than a usual shape of a head to make it a more arty illustration. 

I learnt that my illustrations look good with the use of different media’s rather than just one flat piece, for example using oil pastels the make add colour details making it more interesting to look at. 

At home this week to expand on my sleeves,making it more historical and costume like I decided to make a Marie sleeve after seeing it in my 19th Century fashion in detail book as it really like the way that the sleeve bunches making volume. This also mixed historical and modern ways to make clothes as i made it to look traditional but used elastic to rough it in. If i was to do this again I would make the pattern longer to allow for the fabric to create the bubble shape when it bunches up. 

I also experimented with a circle/frill cuff but instead of flopping down this has stayed in the circle shape around rather cuff, which could be useful for a specific costume but was not what I expecting, this could of been because I lined it making it thicker for the weight or as it wasn’t gathered enough. 

Year two Week One

After a summer off, I am back for the start of year two of college. We have starting off by unboxing our new sewing machines and learning how to use them. This was useful as it meant that when it came to sewing my lessons, I would know what to do so I could start immediately. This was my first time using a sew machine with a touch screen, so it was interesting to see that I had so many stitch options and ow it was even able to embroider icons/ images onto fabric. We then constructed sewing machine covers for these so that we could hold the handle through the top and have pockets to store the feet. I found this a useful task to do as it helped to ease me back into the class structure. Whilst doing this ask it allowed me to practise my bias binding cutting and sewing as this is something I used to struggle with, keeping the stitches on he buas edge. I sew quite a few bias binding around the sewing machine backs in order to keep the edges neat and all of them went well because I made sure, they were pressed before sewing them making the bias tape more set in its position making it easier to sew it accurately. I also topstitched every machine cover when the handle comes through. This made me focus on accuracy and neat sewing as this is a part that is very seen. As I wanted them to be done in time, as once this was done others could add other parts, I made sure my sewing was quick but accurate, this helped me to understand these new machines and get back into sewing with a bit of a deadline.

 

We continued this into our textiles lesson, where we met the first years on this course, it was nice to meet the and o talk about what they’re interested in. When meeting them we assisted them into finishing off he machine covers. This was useful as it made me work on communication through teaching them how to sew with the new machines, introducing myself and explaining the instructions. I found this ask not bad as I was quite used to this from my work experience, as the students n the first year where in secondary school when I was at work experience, so I was fairly comfortable talking to the student I was with.

In our next pattern cutting lesson we made continuous strip plackets. I found the demonstration to be slightly confusing but when putting it into practice I found the technique to make sense. I had already made something like this when making skirt samples, but this was good to refresh as it made me learn how to use this as a cuff and my sample this time was more successful of my developed accurate stitching and how I managed to make the fabric lay flatter this time through taking more time to be precise when sewing it.

 

In textiles this week we started making portfolio work by firstly going through our old work, I found this helpful as it made me think about what I need to develop to be out in. To make this a successful portfolio page I took my fruit work from year one and started to design an illustration to make my design look more interesting. At first, I found this difficult to not make the face too literally or look too much like a face, so I decided on the pomegranate fruit to be the head. I experimented with what the style should be like using my left, right hand and continuous line or sketching. I decided on continuous line drawing the face as I like how to helps me to not get caught up o the detail of the face and how it makes it look more abstract. When drawing the body of this I found that it looked good with a log thin neck to contrast the large wide head to balance it out. I also learnt to keep the body longer to create fashion proportions. Over the weekend, I added designs to this through collaging magazine strips onto the body after trying to digitally draw the designs and not liking the outcome.

 

In my own time at home, I sewed a Marie sleeve as I saw this in my 19^th century fashion book and I wanted to test it out. When doing this, I learnt that using elastic works well to create gathers which once worn created volume. If I were to do this again I would make the sleeve pattern longer as the elastic and volume made it further up the wrist, so I should add more length. I really like the way that this turned out as I like how it creates the bulb shape throughout the arm.