Saturday 26 November 2011

TRICKY PART - THE APPLIQUE...

After completing my leggings and the base to my design I then moved onto attempting to sew on the appliqued shapes in the neatest way possible. The first attempt with just pinning it to the leggings didn't work as it bubbled up giving it an unprofessional effect. Then I tack stitched the shapes on prior to sewing and then sewed over them and they sewed on neater and flatter giving a crisper finish. Now I feel confident with this design working but still need to make sure the PVC will work and sew on properly so will have to sample that before starting my final attempt.

CREATING CUFFS FOR MY LEGGINGS...

The same way I created the waist band I also created some cuffs to finish off the bottom trouser which in this case turned out quite nicely and were simple to construct. The only problem I could have would be that the leggings are extra long so if they don't fit the model I would have to turn up the leggings and re fit the cuffs to fit the new length. Like them?

CREATING A WAIST BAND FOR MY LEGGINGS...

In yesterday's pattern cutting lesson I managed to finish my leggings with a waistband and cuffs. This was a simple process as I had to fold over the pattern and pin to waist or lower leg and over lock to fabric. I found this quite easy to follow but I need to improve my technique whilst matching notches because I found that the stretch fabric moved and the notches didn't match up. I felt that the waistband work very well and fitted exactly so I was pleased with this method.

Wednesday 23 November 2011

CREATING A DESIGN WITH MY OWN TEMPLATE...

For today's task we have had to create a template by merging poses and facial expressions we like together and trace off to create a full figure. I had to two attempt and chose the best outcome to then sketch over it my design from the last brief. I then added colour and focused in on features and areas that might need sampling and how it will function. At the start of this task I was getting a bit frustrated as I couldn't draw it free hand but then the computer made it much easier to cope with. I then started to enjoy the experimenting and knowing that I have created the template myself.

Saturday 19 November 2011

2 DESIGN SHEETS COMPLETE JUST 4 MORE TO GO...

I have already posted one of my design sheets up but now it's complete so you can see how more I have added to it. The first design sheet is based on a trousers and top outfit that uses inserts so I had to focus on stitches, zips, inserts, waist bands, button holes. Then I did another one which was a cape, top and skirt and had to deconstruct the features to see how I would sample and make it and what fabrics I would use. I am pleased with these now so they can go in my portfolio for interview for universities.
What do you guys think?

STARTING MY TOILE...

In the end I went with a flesh coloured Lycra from www.fabricland.co.uk
which was £5-99 a metre so was ideal to use for a Toile and the final leggings. I first started off by testing all the over lockers that were available to me to see which was the easiest to work with Lycra and the winner was in the Foundation Degree room. I then started by sewing the seams on the inner leg 1cm seam allowance up to the crotch area making sure all notches matched.Then I went onto sewing the crotch areas together matching them at the central notches with a 1cm seam allowance. Then I took it over to the mannequin and measured the waist to the stands size and realised it was about 2.5cm to big on both front and back so pinned it and took it in about 2cm from the front and back so it fitted. It still could do with a little bit more taken off but for now it's not such a big deal. That's all I managed to achieve from yesterday's lesson but I was working with stretch fabric so it took longer than expected.







CREATING MY BLOCKS AND PATTERNS FOR LEGGINGS...

For the last week I have been creating my leggings block for my manufacturing brief as I didn't want to use a trouser pattern. I found this process quite simple following instructions from a Winnie Aldrich book. After I had created that I could move onto patterning and simply traced around the blocks attached the front and back together removing the side seam and drawing 1cm seam allowance and that was my pattern done. I had to use 1cm seam allowance as I am working with stretch fabric so over locking the seams together. If you ever struggle to find a good pattern cutting book I recommend Winnie Aldrich it's simple to follow and has everything in it.

Friday 18 November 2011

DESIGN FOR LEONA LEWIS...

Hi I was just wondering if anyone would vote for me to design for Leona Lewis I would highly appreciate it.
The link is:
http://tlnt.at/rAQnZA
Thanks

Monday 14 November 2011

LYCRA SAMPLES...

At first I found it quite difficult to find Lycra samples but then I started to come across companies that specialise in Lycra production and requested a sample. They all range in price but the ones I like are the most expensive so I will have to purchase a cheaper Lycra to Toile my garment in. The best company was Borovick fabrics as they sent me a selection of different widths so I had a varied choice. Most of them were in a flesh colour so it is visible up close but far way it's barely noticeable.


Which one do you think I should choose?

SAMPLING ON LYCRA...

After collecting my own personal collection of Lycra samples I thought it would be a good idea to start sample the PVC onto the Lycra to see which was the least challenging to work with. I found that the thicker Lycra was easiest to work with whereas the mesh was a little bit to hard to handle under the machine and folded over and turned up. I thought the non mesh types were the best and would definitely be using one of the plainer Lycras to create my leggings block.


Which one is your favourite?

TROUSERS 2 - SAMPLING...

Last week I started to sample different PVC types with different sewing techniques to see which one would work the best. I thought that my fabric choice could be interesting with the use of PVC on Lycra so I machined stitched and hand sewed different widths of PVC together to see which I would like to use for the final garment. I felt that the medium weights of PVC worked the best as they defined shape whilst still being manageable with sewing. Also the organic silk gave an interesting texture contrasting to the shiny surface of the PVC, so i might consider using this for my final design. I also had an idea to sew teeth of zips into the seams and felt that this sample worked out quite nice and would look better in a larger scale.


Which do you prefer?

Thursday 10 November 2011

TOBIE GIDDIO...

This illustrator uses specialised media of Sumi Ink and Pantone films which creates the fusion of digital and wet media to give off a pixelated effect on the lines showing hesitation. The mood of her work is usually quite upbeat and energetic using an outburst of vibrant colours mixed in with monochrome shades creating a block pattern. Her style of work is quite condensed and small scale but he elongates his figures and makes them child like looking with scribbled, sketchy lines and primary colours. The market level of this illustrator would be suited for Couture due to the elongated silhouettes and awkward poses. I am attracted to her work as it is striking and is so simple but effective still allowing the audience to use their imagination whilst understanding what she is trying to get across.

Tobie Giddio inspires my illustrative eye, as her illustrations are free and innovative using a lot of colour and thick brush strokes. With her ideas she focuses more on the form of the garment than the facial features of the model, which I think, works really effectively with the thicker outline still allowing it to be part of the composition. I think I will start to experiment with the use of colours on photo shop and illustrator and scanning in watercolour markings and shapes and providing them with a professional finish on a digital media. I could also use collage and layer different wet media to gain that contrast in texture. She has been highly inspired by Alexander McQueen using similar structures in her illustrations as he does in his designs. Her work reminds me of the 60s era with optical illusion references and block colours in repetitive patterns providing a wide range of colours. She also incorporates nature into her design but makes them more apparent and defined with thick bold lines and blocks of colour.

JEAN PIERRE BRAVAGANZA...

This Illustrator uses a mechanical pencil and white a4 paper mixed with a range of digital media conforming proportion to be slightly unbalanced within his figures. The mood of his work is quite eerie with the disturbing figures and contrast of values used contrasting to the mood of what Yohji Yamamoto create in his work. His style of work is quite characterised and cartoonist with the disproportionate fashion figures using solidified lines and pure colours. My opinion of this work is that it is a style I would like to use to convey my ideas as it offers a chance to create an identity which isn’t usually found in illustration and allows the design to stand out with the striking poses. The suitable market level would be for Ready to Wear, Couture with the use of clean lines and motion within the illustration.
I am inspired by his work, as it is different for the reason being that the proportions of the human form are inaccurate which make his compositions look effective. I also like how he sees the human form making the audience use their imagination to understand what target customer he is aiming his garments at and what story is behind his characters.
I would experiment with similar medias of pencil and incorporate aspects of digital media and fine liner outlining the silhouettes and creating external shapes th
at coincide with his designs. Jean- Pierre Braganza has been inspired mostly by the human form and experiments with multiple shapes and pattern cutting methods to express every possibility. He uses a lot of black and organic fabrics in his design, which is evident in his illustrations bringing through parts of his garment design into his illustrative designs.