I'm still standing...

Yeah, yeah, yeah...
I didn't forget about that little patternmaking project that I was working on eons ago. It's still there. On my drafting table. Totally out of site :)

Here are some updates...
I'm on part 3 of the muslin-making process - making the 3rd muslin and praying it fits! Three's a charm, right?

I've done 2 fittings so far, each producing more work after it was all said and done. These are not the kind of weekend projects I typically go for. It's supposed to be stress-relieving, not stress-inducing! I'm not sure what's going on, but it was like I was doing alterations on a garment 2 sizes too large. I've been pinching out fabric like crazy, and the excess fabric still keeps coming. Where it's coming from, I have no clue! Honestly, it's probably still the leftover bust adjustment from the first draft. But I refuse to be defeated!!!

Anywho... I've ignored this project for a couple of months now, and this week, I plan to wrap it up, so I can move on to other things! The weather has been all over the place, and I'd like to have a few garments done by the end of the year. Wishful thinking maybe... but I have to set a goal for myself or I'll never get anything done!

More to come...

And it begins...

It's been a little over a month since my last visit. So here we go.

Have I shared how much I dislike clothing shopping nowadays?
I don't know exactly when this happened. I'm sure, those of you who know me personally, probably don't know either. I just kind of "fell off." It's a total contrast to the fashionista I was/or thought I was in high school and in the earlier parts of college. Maybe it's an understatement to say that I'm probably just a little bit jaded. Or I grew up? Nah. Things got too predictable for me. And once things become predictable, I get bored, and move on to something else.

So, as if I haven't tortured myself enough, I'm going to be making my own clothing because I'm finally fed up! Argh!!! I'm not just going to Joann's, picking up a pattern and making it work. I'm going to make these damn patterns from scratch. My own personal patterns, with my dimensions, fitting my lumps and bumps and everything in between, from scratch! Sometimes frustration can be the best form of motivation.

So why now? Well, I have all the tools I need right here to get it going, so why the hell not? I also love a good challenge. I love the feeling I get from having worked hard for something, rather than something just being dropped into my lap with little to no effort. And most of all, I'm tired of complaining (and sick of hearing myself complain) about not having any clothing that is my style! Not having clothing that is well-constructed! Not having clothing that is age appropriate! And not having clothing that fits right! Poo!

I understand the challenges I'm up against, and I'll share them, whether you want to read them or not :P This blog (hopefully) will be my motivation; a way to keep me in check by tracking my progress. I may not post weekly, but at least I will be documenting the journey. That's what it's all about anyway, right? (Is that a total cop-out?) :D

Ok, blah, blah, blah. I could ramble on and on, but I'm trying hard to self-edit. [Note: I actually deleted 4 paragraphs here... rants, of course ;)]

So on to patternmaking. Step One - Taking measurements.
[Check out my Flickr page to see my notes on what is in the photo]



My advice here is to make sure you have someone who can help you with the back measurements! The back, although you might think it won't be a big deal, WILL be a big deal. I took all the measurements myself, but had the d.h. double check a few areas. The key to successful patterns is accuracy!

Pattern #2, or more prattle... you decide.

Second assignment - Shirt
I'm just gonna toss this out there...
I have a tumultuous relationship with making shirts.

They feel tedious and monotonous to me... there are so many friggin' pieces that you have to remember to make, and of course, there is so much double and triple checking or 'trueing/truing' that you have to do to make sure the pieces fit together. Not to mention all the possible lumps and bumps that you have to remember to adjust when you are fitting - that is, unless your chest and back are the same (if you are 13!). And don't get me started on sleeves.

The finished product, if it works, makes me warm and fuzzy for a hot minute, but then I remember all the drama it took to get to that point, and I start hating shirts all over again. Same goes for pants.

So for our final project, being obtuse as hell, I picked the red one to duplicate because it's got lots of stress-inducing nonsense beautiful details on it:



The image is from an old Glamour magazine (I think Fall '07 or '08) and the dress is Gucci. Actually, both dress are Gucci.

I'm gonna skip showing you the pattern on this one.
Who cares anyway?! We want to see the end result! It's the American way!!!

Here's the muslin... (which I should've ironed)
Tweaked just a bit from the above image - same pleated front but wider pleats, tweaked collar, omitted the ruffles/pleats within the collar (I'm a masochist... but not THAT crazy), widened the placket, added additional fullness in the puffed/gathered sleeve and a similar yoke. The back has pleats and a yoke as well (was that redundant?).

 

Because I get really nitpicky *cough((anal))cough* when things I've made sit in front of me too long, I had to tuck this away after my teacher saw it and approved it. She liked it more than I did, but that's how it always is for me.

But I will STILL be making a few 'minor' corrections to the pattern. For sure on the sleeve, it's just too much/too big, even for me ;) When I tried the muslin on, it reminded me of a leg of mutton. That's totally NOT the look I was going for. And the collar/placket area is kind of [really] bugging me... I really want to extend the collar all the way to the waist and just add buttons or hooks to the bottom portion of it and belt it (like in the original picture), but I know in my head at least, that it won't lay right. And I'll get docked for not having both elements... like I care!? ;) I also have to remember, if it comes out ok, that I will probably wear it [in the privacy of my home, of course ;)]... so I have to pull back in the modesty department ;) I keeps it PG-13.

I'll be working on this, this week(among what feels like 300 other things) in a lightweight cotton fabric as it's due on Friday. And of course, I'll post pictures of it when it's finished [3 months after the fact].

PCC Fashion Revisited...

I wanted to post this earlier... but I got sidetracked.

Anyway... Here are a few snippets from some of my Junior College projects that were done somewhere between 1998-2002...

I was (and still am) interested in Costume Design...
So this particular project was from a class I picked for my elective. This is still one of my favorite projects!

Historic Costume:
There is very little machine work on this jacket. The majority of the jacket was done by hand, which makes it that much more special. I used a different mannequin so I had a little trouble fitting this on my mannequin, but you get the idea. We ran out of time as this project took a bit more time than anticipated (as usual), but there was an option to make a ridiculously large gathered skirt to accompany it. It required a ridiculous amount of fabric, so I passed.

   

Interior Details:
Lots of handwork (stitching, tubing, pleating, adding bones and bone casing).

  

Advanced Clothing Construction:
Corset. Included design and construction. My final design (I designed 4) included grommets/lacing, hidden boning, reversible back zipper and the corset is reversible. *Sigh* Gotta love the ambitious student. The pinning is for future bust modification.

  

You can see more of my fashion projects here (with full descriptors).