Reflective Journal Part 2 | Design & Toiling
17:19
21st April '16
I felt like I was stuck working in 2D because I couldn't picture the shapes on the body so decided to move onto the stand. I took shapes from the photos in my sketch book and tried to translate them onto the stand which is a method of working I find a lot easier to create more interesting silhouettes. I prefer the bigger, more sculptural shapes I created which I'll sketch up and adapt more whilst continuing to create new silhouettes on the stand.
I felt stuck again because I'd designed from all the shapes I created on the stand and still hadn't created a design I really loved however, there were two shapes within the silhouettes so I photocopied them in different sizes and started collaging onto the body. I also practiced my proportional drawing again using the 9 heads book which really helped with poses as well as different angles. I created 10 different silhouettes and chose my two favourites to sketch and keep designing from. This method of collaging really helped me and I think I'll continue to use this method of designing in the future.
29th April '16
I've now decided on my final silhouette which I started trying to recreate on the stand taking pictures of the sides, back and front. I still need to decide if I'm going to do a hood and if I am how it'll work with the rest of the shape.
Today I started the shape for my final outfit. I decided to cut the front into a rectangle and square section, one 90cm by 100cm and the other 80cm by 80cm. I pinned these onto the mannequin on the bias to help it drape better and worked from the photos as well as with the natural drape. For the sides I used 2 metres of calico each side and started draping and joining each piece together. The sides added a lot more volume to the shape and I'm really happy with the statement silhouette.
4th May '16
I've started marking up the shape to show seam lines, folds, drapes, tucks, pins etc. and starting to put notches on. I found this part a bit tedious but tried to put loads of markings on and take lots of pictures so it's easier to understand when I take it off the stand.
5th May '16
I took the material off the stand to start making a pattern from it. I cut out the same measurements of pattern paper which I marked up and then traced from these patterns onto calico for my toile pieces. The hardest part was when I started pinning the calico back onto the body because at first I couldn't see how it worked however, once I'd found a few pin points I found it easier. I followed the markings for the seams but actually found it easier to look at the photos and let the cloth naturally drape.
6th May '16
Now the shapes pinned together again I've tacked the folds to hold them in place and also any pieces which needed attaching using hand stitch. When I make it in the final material I want to steam and press the folds rather than tack them so I don't make holes in the fabric. When I sewed the seams together I found the two top pieces inside seams particularly hard to sew and had to unpick it after the first attempt because the stitch had flattened the shape.
13th may '16
Today I thought I only needed to sample finishes like bias binding around the neck line and sleeves, which I've done, however when the dress was put on a person the legs were too restricting to walk in so I had to cut away the excess fabric on the inside of the dress. There was also a lot of excess at the back seam line so I unpicked this and let the excess out moving the seam. I've decided to take the whole dress apart to make completely new patterns, which feels like a step backwards, but I want to make sure my patterns are perfect so everything matches up ready to go into construction on Monday.
14th May '16
I've bought my final fabric; I wanted to get poplin cotton but the width wasn't wide enough so bought another cotton with the same crisp weight as well as buying the dissolvable fabric for the panels. For my toile I pinned it all back together and tacked the folds then sewed up all the seams. Although it was stressful starting again it's given me another practice at pinning the shape together.
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