The Process

Dear reader,

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.

Fashion Sketch

Technical Sketch

When I sketch I test my designs for aspects like balance, contrast, proportion, line, etc. There are two types of sketches. One is called a fashion sketch, the other a technical. The first is mostly for testing how the design will potentially look on a body. The latter is a reference point as it usually includes small details like top-stitching, all seams, front and back views, and other important information for the construction of the garment. You will notice that the final product is not exactly the same as the sketch. This is normal

Pattern-Making
 There 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:

1. Drafting- Taking measurements and drafting a pattern piece accordingly on paper.
2. Flat-Pattern- Using a pre-made, basic pattern block and manipulating what is already there to create your pattern.
3. 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