My name is Charis and I am the
designer, and owner of 'Trunk & Bobbin'.
Because education empowers us to make
more aware decisions I wanted to compose a blog detailing my process
of design; taking you through the steps of building garment from
start to finish.
I have decided to photo-journal the
development of a dress I have named 'Sally Sailor'. I will be
focusing in on the steps- Research, Objectives, Sketching,
Pattern-Making, Cutting, Preparing a Muslin, Pattern Alterations,
Garment Construction and Finishing Work. I have included a glossary
for your convenience as there are some technical terms included in
this blog.
Without further ado, let's begin.
Research
Every garment has it's own unique
research process. Sometimes it is slowly put together in my mind as I
collect bits and pieces of inspiration over the course of many months
and other times an idea comes to me in an instant. Either way, I rely
heavily on careful observation from the world around me, and the
creativity of other artists and designers. Being cognisant of the
beauty around me, and in tune to what is easy on the eyes is my main
source of inspiration. So much of my research takes place in everyday
life when I am going out to do errands or grabbing a cup of coffee.
It is not unusual for me to deconstruct the ensemble of the
fashionista passing by on the sidewalk or even to take note of the
most exquisite details in the natural world.
Clothing design is a unique form or art
as it is three dimensional and is worn on a body. Because of this
while I am dreaming up a design I am always considering how I will
construct it. Occasionally I need specific instruction on how to sew
a specific design. For this I will take my research to the books or
look at historical or current fashions to find specific how-to's and
clarification.
I do keep an eye out for new trends
coming down the pipe to keep my work fresh and current but hang on to
those trends very loosely to maintain an individual appeal and
long-term wear ability. I rarely look at fashion magazines, I find
very little useful inspiration in them and prefer to design with the
body of an everyday woman in mind.
Objectives and
Considerations
During the research period of my design
process I always spend time considering what this design is to
accomplish. I am always striving to make a garment accomplish a level
of versatility.
For 'Sally Sailor' these are questions
that took me through my design process.
-What season am I designing for or is
this going to be a multi-seasonal piece?
-What are people wearing and how can I
tap into what people like?
-Will this be suitable for formal,
in-formal, or both occasions for wearing?
-Will the silhouette
of this garment be attractive on many body types?
-Will this design be easy to wear in
several different settings?
-Is this design artistic and unique?
-Can this design be sewn in a way that
it won't fall apart?
-Will the style attractive and
fashionable over a number of years?
-Can this design be versatile as a
stand-alone piece or a 'layered' ensemble?
-What fabrics will be used?
-How can I make this design
low-maintenance and comfortable?
Sketching
The purpose of sketching is two-fold.
One purpose is to test a design for aesthetic appeal. The second
purpose is to have a reference point for pattern making and garment
construction.
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| Fashion Sketch |
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| Technical Sketch |
Pattern-MakingThere are 3 commonly used techniques for making a pattern. Every designer uses varying aspects of each technique depending on the specific needs of the design.
The three techniques are:
- Drafting- Taking measurements and drafting a pattern piece accordingly on paper.
Flat-Pattern- Using a pre-made,
basic pattern block and manipulating what is already there to create
your pattern.- Draping- Manipulating a piece of fabric directly on a body or a mannequin to achieve your design and then transferring that shape into a 2-Dimensional shape on paper.
Armed with a good clear ruler, a
sharpened pencil, pins, calculator, paper, masking tape, cutting utensils,
and a mannequin, I begin to build the paper-patterns using a mixture
of all three techniques. This can take anywhere between 2 and 10
hours depending on the complexity of the design. 'Sally Sailer' took
approximately 6 hours for the first draft and all three methods were
used.
Cutting
Cutting is the term for transferring
your paper-pattern onto fabric so that it can be sewn. Each
seamstress follows different steps for this process. For me, my steps
are typically as follows:
- Place pattern pieces on the fabric and be sure they are lined up accordingly to the correct grain- line of the fabric.
- Keep the patterns in place either with weights or pins.
- Using fabric chalk and a ruler to add all seam allowances and hem allowances as needed
- Cut the fabric pattern pieces out accordingly.
*(Note: I always pre-wash my fabrics
before cutting so that any changes to the materials like shrinking
occurs before it is sewn. This does not happen with mass produced
clothing.)
Preparing a Muslin
“What is a Muslin?” You might ask.
Well, a 'Muslin' is the generic term used in the sewing world to
describe any test copies of a design. A Muslin is often sewn with a
less expensive version of the 'Fashion Fabric'.
The purpose of sewing a copy before hand (or several copies) is to
check that everything is fitting, and looking precisely as you (the
designer) would like it to.
For the dress 'Sally Sailor' it took
five Muslin's of the collar alone to get it right and 2 muslin's of the
full dress to get the desired finished look and fit. You will notice
in the photos that much of the finishing work is not done on the
muslin's as it is not always necessary for checking fit and details.
For example, if looking to achieve the right shape for a collar it is
not necessary to sew a lining on or finish the edges.In the case of
this dress and most of my designs I will sew more than one muslin.
Although I don't do the finishing work on all the muslin's I will
finish the final muslin so that it can be worn. I do this so that I
can test how it works in everyday wear.
Pattern Alterations
Each change that is made on a muslin
must also be changed on the flat paper pattern. So there is a back
and forth that happens between muslin and pattern where alterations
are made accordingly. Before any secondary muslin is made, a pattern
adjustment is made.
Garment Construction
Garment construction
refers to the actual building process of the physical design; in
other words, the sewing part.
Contrary to what many people think, the
actual sewing aspect of designing and constructing a garment is less
than half of the time it takes to complete a design from start to
finish. Let's define sewing as the basic process of attaching one
pattern piece to another until the whole garment is made.
There are four basic steps included in
the sewing. One, pinning the pieces together to hold the fabric in
place so that it will not shift. Two,is sewing either by hand or with
a machine. Three, is pressing. In order for the garment to have a
nice clean finished look and to sit flat against the body, the seam
allowances must be flattened with a hot iron. And four, is
finishing the seam allowances so they do not Frey. There are
different techniques for edge finishes but one of the most common is
surging the edges. Or wrapping them in
what is called bias tape.
In some cases, if a seam is not exposed to the body, it does not need
to be specially finished.
(Note: Steps, Cutting, Preparing a
Muslin, Pattern Alterations and Sewing are all used
interchangeably.)
Finishing Work
In any garment there are always final
details that need to be done. Depending on the garment this can
include adding closures, sewing on
buttons, hand sewing, tacking , adding
embellishments, and hemming.
So, this is a condensed description of
my design process.
I realise it is a lot of information as
there really are a lot of steps that go into making clothing. I do
hope that this blog was enlightening, enjoyable and educational. I
feel that education empowers us to make more informed decisions and
it is my hope that you feel more equipped with this knowledge.
The end.
Glossary
Silhouette- Like the
common use of this word, a silhouette is the outlining shape of a
garment when on the body.
Grain-line- There are two directions that threads run in a piece of fabric. One runs length-wise, and the other cross-wise. These two are two types of grain lines.
Seam Allowance-Seam allowance is the area between the edge and the
stitching line on two (or more) pieces of material being stitched together.
Hem Allowance- The allotted material calculated into a pattern in order to make a hem
Fashion Fabric- This is a
term used to distinguish the fabric that will be used for the finished
garment.
Surging- A type of thread finish to a raw edge of fabric.
Bias Tape- Bias tape is a small strip of fabric which is cut so that it can bed and curve and the raw edges are all tucked in so that nothing can frey.
Closures- Closures is the
term referring to the way in which we can fit our bodies into a
garment. For example, zippers, buttons, hooks and eyes, and lacing
are all types of closures.
Tacking- Tacking is a
stitch done by machine or by hand to keep otherwise loose pieces of a
garment in place. For example, one might take a waist-band in place
to keep it from flopping around.
Embellishments-
Embellishments are any details added to the surface of the fabric on
a garment. For example, embroidery, applique's, decorative buttons or
ribbons can be forms of embellishment.
Hemming- A way to finish an edge and enclose it raw edge so that it does not frey. It is most often found on the bottom of a garment.
The End
