I have been working full time for the whole of the easter holidays and it has really drained me of creativity because i have been sooo tired. I'm begining to worry about not getting all my sketchbook work done by the deadline.
I'm really going to have to work so hard to get it all done in time.
I've got to my fed up with uni stage now where i have little to no motivation and i would just rather curl up and sleep for a week. I'm really struggling to do more designs like the one i am making aswell because i am just not getting any goood ideas for them. This unit is really not looking good and i am feeling very disheartened. I am really hoping that my toile fits sarah and doesnt need much adjusting because i really need to start feeling good about this project again
Monday, 12 April 2010
Second day of toile making
Last night i finished making my toile but the top didnt seem to match up correctly so today i went into uni to put it on the stand and try and figure it out. i think i have managed to make it work but again i'm not going to know until sarah puts it on.
i really hope it fits her otherwise i might cry.
i really hope it fits her otherwise i might cry.
Pattern Making attempt 2
YAY! they like the design and the new fabric!!
So today i have been making my pattern which has been quite challenging because my brain doesnt seem to want to function at the moment. I have managed to get my pattern made and have started making my skirt (i'm making a skirt and top now) its annoying though because Sarah, my model has gone home so i cant get her to try it on and make sure it fits so i am just praying that when she does go to try it on it all fits.
So today i have been making my pattern which has been quite challenging because my brain doesnt seem to want to function at the moment. I have managed to get my pattern made and have started making my skirt (i'm making a skirt and top now) its annoying though because Sarah, my model has gone home so i cant get her to try it on and make sure it fits so i am just praying that when she does go to try it on it all fits.
Fabric sourcing with Hazel
Today, Wednesday 24th May, me and Hazel went fabric sourcing in Fabricland becuase none of the fabrics i had sourced already were really suitable for what i am making now.
Annoyingly but also luckily i found some really nice fabric that was pretty much perfect for what i was doing but the colours of it are completely different to my original colour pallete so now i'm going to have to try and sneak some designs with that fabric into my sketchbook.
Now that i have the fabric sorted i'm feeling much more positive about what i am doing and can start making my toile. Just keeping my fingers crossed that the tutors will like the fabric too!
Annoyingly but also luckily i found some really nice fabric that was pretty much perfect for what i was doing but the colours of it are completely different to my original colour pallete so now i'm going to have to try and sneak some designs with that fabric into my sketchbook.
Now that i have the fabric sorted i'm feeling much more positive about what i am doing and can start making my toile. Just keeping my fingers crossed that the tutors will like the fabric too!
New beginings
Tuesday 23rd May.
Due to the disaster yesterday i have decided that i would much rather make something completely different because it would probably be easier and is hopefully more likely to work. So i went into uni and ran the idea past the tutors who had luckily been thinking the same thing. They gave me a few ideas about what i could do instead and i went away and started doing some designs. I showed Karen some of the designs i had done and thank god! she liked them! So tomoro and tonight i am going to do some more designing and maybe go looking for fabrics so that on thursday i can go in with a good idea of what i want to do, get it checked and hopefully start my toile
I'm feeling really deflated though so i'm a bit worried that i wont get much inspiration.
We also had our buying and merchandising deadline today which wasnt too bad. I got all my essay done last night so just had to print it off this morning. I really hope i do well at it because i am clearly not very good at the whole design and make side of it and have always been more interested in the business side of the fashion industry so i will be really upset if i dont do very well.
Due to the disaster yesterday i have decided that i would much rather make something completely different because it would probably be easier and is hopefully more likely to work. So i went into uni and ran the idea past the tutors who had luckily been thinking the same thing. They gave me a few ideas about what i could do instead and i went away and started doing some designs. I showed Karen some of the designs i had done and thank god! she liked them! So tomoro and tonight i am going to do some more designing and maybe go looking for fabrics so that on thursday i can go in with a good idea of what i want to do, get it checked and hopefully start my toile
I'm feeling really deflated though so i'm a bit worried that i wont get much inspiration.
We also had our buying and merchandising deadline today which wasnt too bad. I got all my essay done last night so just had to print it off this morning. I really hope i do well at it because i am clearly not very good at the whole design and make side of it and have always been more interested in the business side of the fashion industry so i will be really upset if i dont do very well.
Toile review
Monday 22nd May.
Well i'll be honest, my toile review went disasterously and i would rather not talk about it.
Well i'll be honest, my toile review went disasterously and i would rather not talk about it.
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Toile making
Now that we have chosen what design we are going to make we need to make a toile.
For my bralet I used dressmakers tape to mark on the stand where i wanted the seams to go and what shape i wanted the bra cups to be, then using a similar fabric to what i will be using for the real thing i modeled on the stand to get each pattern piece. These were then digitised onto Modaris so that i could create my final pattern, adding seam allowances etc.
It took me quite a while to model it on the stand as there were five pieces to model and all were quite an awkward shape but once they were done i got a really good idea of how my bralet will look once its made.
Now that my pieces are on Modaris i have been able to adjust them so that all the notches match accurately and that all my seams are the same length. I have walked my pieces round to make sure that the seams will match when it comes to sewing them.
All I need to do to the bralet now is add seam allowances and its ready to print. I am pleased with how its come out but am worried that during my adjustments i have changed it too much and it will no longer look how i intend it to. I guess the only way i will find out is to print it off and make the toile.
For the knickers i found a basic 'pants' block to trace round, i made a rough toile of the pants and found that they were HUGE. I am going to have to digitise the pattern block into Modaris and reshape it to make it much smaller. Once this is done i will have a pattern for my knickers. This shouldn't take me long so with any luck i will start making my toile in our next practical session.
Fingers crossed it will all go to plan
For my bralet I used dressmakers tape to mark on the stand where i wanted the seams to go and what shape i wanted the bra cups to be, then using a similar fabric to what i will be using for the real thing i modeled on the stand to get each pattern piece. These were then digitised onto Modaris so that i could create my final pattern, adding seam allowances etc.
It took me quite a while to model it on the stand as there were five pieces to model and all were quite an awkward shape but once they were done i got a really good idea of how my bralet will look once its made.
Now that my pieces are on Modaris i have been able to adjust them so that all the notches match accurately and that all my seams are the same length. I have walked my pieces round to make sure that the seams will match when it comes to sewing them.
All I need to do to the bralet now is add seam allowances and its ready to print. I am pleased with how its come out but am worried that during my adjustments i have changed it too much and it will no longer look how i intend it to. I guess the only way i will find out is to print it off and make the toile.
For the knickers i found a basic 'pants' block to trace round, i made a rough toile of the pants and found that they were HUGE. I am going to have to digitise the pattern block into Modaris and reshape it to make it much smaller. Once this is done i will have a pattern for my knickers. This shouldn't take me long so with any luck i will start making my toile in our next practical session.
Fingers crossed it will all go to plan
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Picking my design
Yesterday we had to show our tutors our mini collection of 6 designs, in groups we decided which of the 6 we liked the most and chose which one we were going to make.
I will be making a bralet and knickers set but i am not entirely sure how its going to be made yet, i'm looking forward to starting working on the stand to figure out where my seams will be etc.
I will be making a bralet and knickers set but i am not entirely sure how its going to be made yet, i'm looking forward to starting working on the stand to figure out where my seams will be etc.
Tuesday, 23 February 2010
Manifesto
So, we are halfway through our manifesto unit now, its going ok but i am begining to worry about getting it all finished in time. By Monday I need to have 6 of my favourite designs set out for my tutors to pick one for me to make. The problem is, I can't pick my 6 favourites! Hopefully during the week i will have done more designs and out of them will come my favourites.
We were able to choose anything we wanted to design for this project which was good because it meant that I could choose underwear.
Other than the worrying about time etc I have really been enjoying this unit. I have had to do so much research to find out what lingerie is available and in what sizes, I never realised just how many styles and shapes there could be. I was amazed as to how expensive some of the higher fashion sets are, one of the bras I found was £150!
I found a lingerie company that I had never heard of before called Myla, they are based in London and design really gorgeous underwear and the best thing about it is that they do bras with a 30 back size! Only problem is that they are expensive and it will be a long while before I will be able to afford to shop there.
As part of this unit we have to create a Design Manifesto which sets out our design ethics and aims. I am finding this quite easy when it comes to deciding on my views and ethics but struggling when it comes to actually writing it. In our manifesto we have to say what our opinions are on eco fashion, I have done some really eye opening research for this. The most memorable of what I found during this research was a documentary on Channel 4 called Kill it, Skin it, Wear it which tackles the issue of the fur trade. The presenter went to fur manufacturers and spoke to various people about the fur trade, what she uncovered was both shocking and reassuring.
The first place she went was to a mink farm, the minks there were all kept in cages and it looks relatively clean and humane, to kill the minks they were taken from the cage and dropped into a box which had gas released into it which killed the minks in a matter of seconds. This seemed like a really humane way of killing the minks and i think that as long as the minks are farmed specifically for fur, live a comfortable life and are killed in such a humane way then i think it is no different to farming cows for food and leather.
However, later in the programme she saw footage of a fox farm where the foxes were in cages far too small for them to be comfortable, the animals showed obvious signs of distress and it was really unclean. In order to protect the fur the farmers didnt want to shoot or stab the fox so they would stamp on their head to make it unconcious whilst they skin it. After the fox had been skinned you could see it blink, to show that it was still alive, i think that this is horrible and disgusting and i don't see how anyone could ever be so cruel. There is no way that a fox fur coat or stole is worth causing an animal such pain.
The programme showed the two different sides of the fur trade, i think that watching it made me realise that in some cases its not as bad as many animal rights group make it seem but also it can be much worse than I have ever imagined it to be.
I dont think i will ever use fur in my designs as i do not think that an animal should be killed for fashion. I do not mind using or wearing leather because cows are primarily killed for food and leather is an added bonus to this so i think that if the animal is going to die anyway it would be a waste if the leather didnt get used.
We were able to choose anything we wanted to design for this project which was good because it meant that I could choose underwear.
Other than the worrying about time etc I have really been enjoying this unit. I have had to do so much research to find out what lingerie is available and in what sizes, I never realised just how many styles and shapes there could be. I was amazed as to how expensive some of the higher fashion sets are, one of the bras I found was £150!
I found a lingerie company that I had never heard of before called Myla, they are based in London and design really gorgeous underwear and the best thing about it is that they do bras with a 30 back size! Only problem is that they are expensive and it will be a long while before I will be able to afford to shop there.
As part of this unit we have to create a Design Manifesto which sets out our design ethics and aims. I am finding this quite easy when it comes to deciding on my views and ethics but struggling when it comes to actually writing it. In our manifesto we have to say what our opinions are on eco fashion, I have done some really eye opening research for this. The most memorable of what I found during this research was a documentary on Channel 4 called Kill it, Skin it, Wear it which tackles the issue of the fur trade. The presenter went to fur manufacturers and spoke to various people about the fur trade, what she uncovered was both shocking and reassuring.
The first place she went was to a mink farm, the minks there were all kept in cages and it looks relatively clean and humane, to kill the minks they were taken from the cage and dropped into a box which had gas released into it which killed the minks in a matter of seconds. This seemed like a really humane way of killing the minks and i think that as long as the minks are farmed specifically for fur, live a comfortable life and are killed in such a humane way then i think it is no different to farming cows for food and leather.
However, later in the programme she saw footage of a fox farm where the foxes were in cages far too small for them to be comfortable, the animals showed obvious signs of distress and it was really unclean. In order to protect the fur the farmers didnt want to shoot or stab the fox so they would stamp on their head to make it unconcious whilst they skin it. After the fox had been skinned you could see it blink, to show that it was still alive, i think that this is horrible and disgusting and i don't see how anyone could ever be so cruel. There is no way that a fox fur coat or stole is worth causing an animal such pain.
The programme showed the two different sides of the fur trade, i think that watching it made me realise that in some cases its not as bad as many animal rights group make it seem but also it can be much worse than I have ever imagined it to be.
I dont think i will ever use fur in my designs as i do not think that an animal should be killed for fashion. I do not mind using or wearing leather because cows are primarily killed for food and leather is an added bonus to this so i think that if the animal is going to die anyway it would be a waste if the leather didnt get used.
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
sooo, i havent done a blog since november that is quite shockingly awful.
A lot has happened since then, i have finished my pattern cutting and construction unit which involved making a shirt with collar, sleeves and buttons with button holes which i have never done before.
In december we had a debate about eco fashion which was really interesting as it made us really question whether changes need to be made to the industry and if so what changes needed to be made.
We were also briefed on our next unit, manifesto. I am really looking forwards to starting this project as i have already had a lot of inspiration for it. We have to make one of our designs at the end of the unit which i will have to bear in mind when doing my designs.
A lot has happened since then, i have finished my pattern cutting and construction unit which involved making a shirt with collar, sleeves and buttons with button holes which i have never done before.
In december we had a debate about eco fashion which was really interesting as it made us really question whether changes need to be made to the industry and if so what changes needed to be made.
We were also briefed on our next unit, manifesto. I am really looking forwards to starting this project as i have already had a lot of inspiration for it. We have to make one of our designs at the end of the unit which i will have to bear in mind when doing my designs.
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