Pattern Drafting Bodice (Attempt 3)

I have completed my third attempt of pattern drafting keeping in mind what Nancy had advised me. I rolled over the 1 1/2cm seam allowance twice and stitched them down before stitching the darts and shoulder straps. The edges were flat and there was no puckering of the fabric. However I found rolling the edges first to be difficult to line everything up accurately, especially with the darts. I did some research on garment construction and watched some instructional videos demonstrating the steps to making a garment and I found that finishing the edges was the last job. I will have to revisit Nancy about this and just see what she says as I'm not sure I'm doing it right. I could try rolling it twice after stitching it together. I also found that there were different types of ways of finishing edges and I may have to do some research sampling some to find the best suited for the different parts to my bodice. I did how ever find a way of holding the edges down without pins to stitch them. I pinned the edges and ironed the folds, I then could take the pins out to stitch.

Pattern Drafting Bodice (Attempt 2)

For this week I have been working on my second attempt of pattern drafting a bodice while rectifying the issues I had previously. My main focus was to make the neck line larger to fit your head through. I was able to calculate the measurements that needed taking off by layering on a mannequin an existing garment of sizes and shape I was happy with over my first attempt. From this I could measure the change in size of the neckline. I found it difficult to change the pattern block making process as the shape and size of the armholes and shoulder straps relied on the starting point of the original neckline. After quick evaluation I realized I could keep everything where it was first and change the neckline after drawing the block.

Also on this test I planned to try a larger seam allowance of 2 cm to help me pin and sew the edges over. I found that the after sewing the edges puckered outwards and it wasn't sitting right. I took this problem to Nancy in college to get some guidance on where I was going wrong. She was able to tell me a lot of what I could have found out from just books. she said that I should be fixing the edges before stitching it together. That the seam allowance should be 1 1/2 cm and i could either over-lock and fold over once or fold over twice. This shall be what I try for my next attempt of pattern drafting. As I need to be using a smaller seam allowance I need to find a different method of hold down the fabric while I'm stitching. On my next attempt I will be trying bondaweb as a glue to hold it.

When stitching the piece together I made sure that all the darts were facing inwards. I did some research of darts in a pattern drafting book and it confirmed my theory that the darts are to face inwards on a garment.
I tried stitching in a zip but once I had the zip in place I found that it was a closed zip and that it finished at the smallest point, making it impossible to fit over the body still. I'm unable to get an open ended zip in 7" I will have to extend my bodice into a dress and have a long zip that goes into the skirt.

Tutorial with James

My tutorial with James today pushed me into sourcing some answers to some problems I;m having. I'm having problems with my pattern drafting with finishing the edges and holding it in place with pins to stitch. James has pointed me in the direction of Nancy in seeking help and reminded me that I could use bondaweb as a glue to hold down the edges while I sew. I shown him my drawings and to continue with these and use them as patterns for material samples and structures, as I was planning on doing. He's also referred me to look a Martin Margiela exhibition at Somerset House.

Designer Research

As recommended I have focused on researching some fashion designers that I feel relates to the interests of my project. I have collected images from designers that show form, fold and lines within their clothing. More images can be found on my Pinterest. I'm planning on looking into these designers' work even more to find more

I have also looked at designers' collections for S/S 14 and it looks promising that whites and pales colours will be a popular trend as well as fabric pleats. I was mostly impressed with Christian Dior's S/S 14 Ready to Wear show as his work shows a lot of form, pleating and white.

Donna Karan                                         Channel     

Yiqing Yin                                           J.W. Anderson

David Koma                                   Christian Dior S/S 14

Repetition of Lines in Architecture

The last couple of weeks I have been working in my sketchbook. I have collected images of architecture and building details that I can see hidden line of repetition. I have used these picture to draw over to pick out the patterns of the line formations. This indicates the beginning of my ideas and where my interests originate.

Tutorial with James

My tutorial Today has given me a push for more research but into designers. I need to find the trends and colours of Spring/Summer 14 as this is when my work shall be finished for. I had been planning on doing this but it has made me think about it more and to get me into the mind set of fashion designers. James also mentioned about a maximum of three colours theory. That you should wear no more than 3 colours. I think this is important for when I'm choosing colours. I certainly feel like I like white and pale colours, maybe gradients between the two or even a splash of something bright within the light colours. From looking at last year's S/S trends, pale and white colours were certainly important.

Tutorial with Mel

Another tutorial with Mel and I have shown great progress already since I last saw her. I've made my first attempt at pattern drafting and I now have a better understanding of the process and how I can adapt it. Once I am fully confident with the making of a bodice I need to revisit my samples from previous work and see how I can combine them. I am also planning on working my way through the Pattern Magic books to assist and create new kinds of forms with the bodice pattern.