Week 5 - Dress 2

Material : Purple Polyester Chiffon 

Cost Per Meter : £2.50

Amount Used : 2m (additional red chiffon needed)

Sourced From : ????????????????

To completely contrast to previous weeks for this dress using chiffon was something totally new. Hearing from other groups in previous weeks that have used the same material they said that it was a pain to work with and you cant force it to do something that it dosent want to do. Bearing this in mind i completely scrapped the pattern i had created as it would have been fidely and frustrating to make. I opted to not use a pattern at all, which i was apprehensive about as it was like taking my comfort blanket away. I played with the drapes it created and the use of cutting on the bias to increase movement.

The above picture really shows well my "tying" method where i draped the material over a stand then slashed it to create strips of material that i then tied together like a friendship bracelet but on a larger scale to create this mesh effect. I was planning to create a whole dress using this method but it was deceiving at how much the fabric shrunk so i opted to just do a small section and make it a feature.

As i run out of the purple chiffon, i had to add in another section of red chiffon that i had in my fabric bin and i sewed it along the 2 raw side seams and then attached it up to the mesh section for 1 dramatic cascading drape. Because its sewn on the bias it drapes and folds beautifully and when in motion the wind gets trapped in it like a parachute.

In terms of fashionability i do think this could be desirable if the seams were properly finished off and a slip underneath was sewn in. 

I found it particularly hard to attache a zip in as it kept slipping around. But since doing it i found out that you can use paper to stop the slippage which i will try next time.

The images above show the stages from start to finish of the mesh section at the back/front.

Design Details - A Day In Camden Market

I loved this loosely knitted/tied mesh top. I think that would be good to recreate in the chiffon if you shredded it and knitted with it!!

Week 4 - Skirt 2

Material: Interfacing (Gingham used for effect)

Cost Per Meter: £4.50

Amount Used: 2m

Sourced From: A1 Fabrics (Shepherds Bush)

This week we were ment to have a tweed/heavy thick woven fabric but instead we had this loosely woven interfacing which to be honest when i first got it i had no idea that it was what it was. After finding out i decided to use it as it was ment to but instead of it being hidden on the inside, i found that if you put the interfacing on top, it dulls the fabric down behind and this is evident with the use of gingham on my skirt.

Previously i have used the lace up corset fastening and i wanted to expand on that idea but transform it to be the way that the panels of the skirt were connected. Where the bold gingham is showing in the verticle seam lines, i left enough extra fabric to slash and tie bows all the way down which gives this very cute modern cowgirl vibe.

To ad an element of fun and interest to this skirt i drew a funky silhouette which comprised of 2 waves on each side seam. Because i had created the pattern in a 2D way and sew it flat the waved sides tended to sit towards the back, which although not planned i think is a nice detail.

Example of the bow tied seams and the muted colours
of the gingham due to the top interfacing coating

In terms of this skirt being "fashion" i think that the idea of the tied seams if secured properly with stitches would be a lovely finish on a garment like this skirt, or maybe used on the side of a sleeve seam???  

Shows the side wave inspired silhouette

Week 3 - Trousers 1

Material: Silver Crushed Velvet (100% Polyester)

Cost Per Meter: £3.99

Amount Used: 2.5m

Sourced From: Fabric Land

I tried to be different this week by making the garment required but making it in a way that it can be worn other ways elsewhere on the body. With this fabric i found it hard to pin and cut the pattern out because it is so slippery and it curls/mis-shapes really easily. So to overcome this i pinned the fabric down then applied the pattern to a flat smooth fabric.

I used a pattern i created last summer for a set of interchangeable men's shorts made out of cotton drill and pig skin leather which really contrasts with this velvet which is so soft. I have noticed that using the same pattern but different materials has given dramatic differences. The 2 pockets constructed on the hips kept coming out so maybe i need to attach some weights into the seams to make it hang right.

I also attempted a different seam detailing to previous garments. I did french seams all over and just to be cautious as i have never done this seam before i did it larger than average. But overall i think it was a success as it is so neat.

The zip i used goes round to half way up the back seam and this is the detail that makes this garment transformable from trousers to a cape like top with the slashed sleeves/legs. I think having a big expanse of fabric to flow is a perfect use of this material as its lightweight and picks up the wind.

Hip pockets become a structured shoulder piece.

Zip ending halfway up the back seam to allow for
a flush fit across the back.

Fabric shopping in Central London

On Friday 3rd February i went into Central London fabric shopping and to collect samples from the likes of "Cloth House", "Broadwick Silks" and "liberty".

All samples/pictures/details can be found in my fabric file among other fabric retailers from other locations.

Adam Andrascik

 When Visiting Selfridges, i visited the "Bright Young Things" section in the womens wear department and one designer really stood out from the rest for me. the simple torn sections of these garments makes it seem as if they are made from paper and are so delicate.

When up close i saw that around each tear there is a single line of stitching about 0.3mm away from the raw edge to keep the fibers secure and in place which i thought was an interesting drtail.

This is something id like to try but not in the fabrics used by Andrascik, maybe a heavy woven material, tweed even?

Pictured above is S/S 11, below is S/S 12

Week 2 - Dress 1

Material: Clear PVC

Cost Pet Meter: £2.99

Amount Used: 2m

Sourced From : Fabric Land (Basingstoke)

 This week it was my turn to buy the fabric and i thought that to actually learn something you jump in at the deep end and use a difficult to work with material and this PCV is such a pain to work with as it stick to its self and puckers all the tim in places you dont want it too.

 I created a pattern with 20 curved seams to see what would happen and i wont do it again. Trying to get the curves nice and smooth was not going to happen with a normal seam that you would sew. So, through research i learnt that in rubber clothing you don.t do the right2right side/wrong2wrong side, you over lay wrong2right side to create a layered flat seam. I had added 1.5 cm all the way round each panel so the overall overlap was 3cm which in an ideal situation is not good as your wasting a lot of fabric so i would only put on something like 0.5cm in future. It also left lots of ridges where the curved seams puckered which gives a great texture.

As with rubber clothing you would clean then glue the panels together, i thought no to that idea, and decided to see what would happen if i applied heat as i thought it would melt and stick together. To my suprize it actually worked. When heated with an iron (paper under and over to avoid stickage) the 2 layers fused together to create a strong bond with NO STITCHING!!!!

Due to the nature of the pattern i created there were seams that stuck out, and to make them visible i used black satin bias binding to create a silhouette line as with the hem and bust line.

On the back i tried a new fastening idea. A corset. which i thought would work well as it would be hard to squeeze into something tight, whereas this left room for ease.

In terms of fashion i think this is a predictable style associated with PVC (raunchy and sexy) but using the heat fusing brings it into a modern context.