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Sunday 10 May 2015

First Dress Toile (Part 2)

I then progressed to making a petal by sketching a shape on paper and using this initial pattern, and sewing a channel with wire threading through to see whether my idea would work. The wire proved to be too thick and heavy which meant it was harder to mould to shape the of the petal and was to heavy to lift the petal to stick out from the waist.
I also experimented with using an organza material for the insert but I decided I didn't like the finish - although it was slowly starting to look like my design.

Drafting Initial Dress Patterns and First Toile (Part 1)

The drafting of my first toile was pretty straightforward because I only had to make a few changes to the standard dress pattern to create my desired shape. Firstly I lengthened the skirt to make it midi length, added in a waistband, created a sweet heart neckline and then adjusted the darts to make the bodice into four pieces so would fit nicely around the bust.
I also made the pattern piece for the insert to go between the collar and bodice. As you can see below when I had sewn the bodice, it proved to be a bit big at the side seams so I had to then adjust the patterns accordingly.

Saturday 9 May 2015

Final Major Project - Inspiration and Primary Research

 
For my final project at college we had to write our own brief and choose a theme, so I chose to do 'Growth and Decay in Nature' because I felt there would be a lot of different elements to my theme which I could explore and design from.
My silver spray painted sheep skull which my uncle gave to me (not your typical 18th birthday present but I'd been after a decorative skull for my room for aaaages and I absolutely love it) proved to be the first object I photographed as a starting point for the project. I then took a series of photos from inside the conservatory in the Botanical Gardens in Sheffield of any plants that were in the process of blooming or decay which I found interesting - focusing on shapes and textures. I also had a look around Weston Park museum to see if I could find any animal skeletons/bones, however I hardly ended up taking any photos and the ones I did take I wasn't pleased with so didn't include them.
 


 
Em x