Fabric Samples

This week is class we looked at fabric techniques, some which I had never done before and really wanted to try out. The first sample Is called rag rugging, this is an old technique used in the olden times to make rugs, hence the name. It is a simple but time consuming sample to do with a beautiful finish. You take a piece of hessian and and poke a strand of fabric through using a tool, you then poke the other end of the fabric strand close together. You then build it up until you are left with a covered surface. We used old strips on silk scarfs from the charity shop as well as an embroidery hoop to hold and stretch out the fabric. The outer circle was the same technique but the ends of the fabric would go on the opposite side of the hessian. I love the feel and look of this technique, the colours add to that pretty feel. Using longer strand of fabric will get you a different look, almost like tassels.  The next sample is smocking where you sew down please it certain places to create a texture. With this sample I just ironed in small pleats then added a stitch holding two pleats together. It's hard to explain but when you finished adding the stitches and pulled the fabric you were left with this diamond texture which I thought was very interesting. It's very simple but takes a bit of time. I had a friend who did this technique on a section of a dress, it looked stunning and now I know how to do it. The third sample I did was reverse appliqué and this is where you sew down several piece of fabric and then cut away to reveal the fabrics underneath. This is a technique that I knew already so it wasn't hard to do. Using the cut off bits I stitched them on top to add more dimension. Then we come to the last sample which was knitting. To some people this is a relaxing thing to do sitting in front of the telly, for me not so much. I did know what to do but it just wouldn't work for me and I was getting extra links and bits were coming off and I just got annoyed. I did create the smallest knitting sample that I probably would very achieve, I'm sure I would like it if I could actually get it going and looking less like a mess. It was interesting learning new fabric samples, someone of them would look lovely on a garment. 

Miniature Project

Miniature Project Inspiration Moodboard 

For our second week we were given the miniature project where we had to design a collection in miniature. We looked at some designers who made miniature garments like Vionnet and Louise Gray who is a designer who teamed up with barbie. The first tricky bit for me was to just come up with a theme because I'm used to spending a good couple of weeks researching and getting inspiration. I thought of doing a seasons/fairies collection looking at spring,autumn and winter as well as the dainty, pretty look to bring in that fairy feel. The scale of my dresses were quite small, with my dresses being to bigger then 10cm. I knew what a paper pattern should look like so making that wasn't so hard.My first dress was based on spring, with the beading representing blossoms. The satin and organza fabrics I used were quite light and floaty. The A-line shape and bell sleeves are quite mystical looking which I really like. The autumn dress Is a one shoulder A-Line dress scrunched up halfway on the waistline. To create that autumn feel I manipulated the fabric to look like the autumn leaves. On a mannequin the shape would look clearer. My last dress was inspired by snow/water drops on spider webs. I created this pretty dainty dress using satin, organza and beads. The organza reflects the sparkly snow fall which looks very pretty and fairy like. I would have used blue beads but didn't have any so I used what I had, even still I think it works quite well. Overall I didn't particularly like working on a small scale, more so when I had to stitch everything together because it was very fiddly and I couldn't get strong stitches like on a sewing machine. If I were to do this on a larger scale I would find some techniques time consuming. It was an interesting project to do but I don't think I would choose to do it again. I don't think my dresses came out too bad considering the time frame of 3 days and difficulty in sewing on a small scale.

Introduction Project

       

As part of my fashion foundation course i'm going to be writing a blog about what I do on the course and any other activities I do. I started last week and it was very full on, even on the first day. My teacher asked us to design and create a garment that illustrates us as a designer. When she first said that I was worried because in my last school the process of designing and making a garment took around two months. However because it was a fairly simple dress and I went straight onto making I got there in the end. I wanted to make something quite pretty, girly but mature. I made this dress for a young adult, so someone mature. The shape of the dress is quite playful with the neckline being a sweetheart with a v shape to make it a bit flirty. Because I had made garments before making the top was fairly simple. I used a paper pattern and then altered it to the shape I wanted. I was excited to put together the skirt of the dress because I hadn't done this technique before and how I imagined it looked interesting. As a designer It shows I like to try out new techniques when making a garment. On the calico fabric I drew where the other materials were going to go making sure I added some seam allowance for when I sew everything together. Sewing all the strips together was a bit fiddly. I wanted the panels to be see through so I used a sparkly lilac organza and a black chiffon to add contrast to the light colours. Because the excess fabric would show through the sheer fabrics I had to sew them down to make it look that bit more professional. The next thing to do was to sew the top to the skirt I did this by gathering the fabric at the top when I sewed, marking where the skirt should be halfway on the top. Initially I was going to put buttons but gathering the skirt to the top gave me less fabric to work with so instead I added a corset tie up feature. That was really the only thing I didn't like with the whole of the dress. Overall I love what I have created, the sheer fabrics in between the calico fabric works so well. If I had more time I would add some embroidery or some beading to add another texture. Hopefully this dress gets across what sort of a designer I am. I'm excited about what else I'm going to be doing on this fashion foundation course.