Sunday 22 January 2012

Evaluation

My concept started on smoke signals and the meanings behind them and looking at the physical appearence and movement of smoke, to looking at the way in which smoke can have an affect on our emotions and senses.

I like the outcome of my project however I wish I had managed my time better. I had spent so long with the concept and research as my concept was unclear. Had it been clearer from the start I would have had more time to work on my designs and make them stronger. I feel I had many ideas that I wanted to explore but didn't have time to, e.g. print and draping.

I enjoyed the pattern cutting workshops and felt I had learn a lot from these methods of pattern cutting and will make me consider methods such as these and other innovative ways in my future work. I also wish I had time to expand on these further by experimenting with this methods,with different fabrics and different garments and comparing the effects.

I also which I had time to explore fabrication further. I had bought a very thin crochet needle in hope to create a very fine crochet piece made out of cotton thread, yet when i began I underestimated the amount of time it would take.

I felt my designs portrayed my concept well and the areas of my concept I had explored, however I could have explored the colour direction further. I did however enjoy playing around with my own clothes at home and seeing if they can be worn in unconventional ways but I didn't want to delve too deep down that route as I know of many designers that have done this before.

If I was to do this project again, I'd definitely have more 3D experiments to perhaps create stronger designs.

Friday 20 January 2012

Design Boards

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Design Board 2


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Thursday 12 January 2012

Concept Boards

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Concept Board 4




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Concept Board 10

Tuesday 10 January 2012

Otoshiana


I enjoyed this method of pattern cutting, although I found it a lot more fiddily than the vortex, possibly because I was working on a half scale. I liked the effect it achieved, although I was rather disappointed with my final product, perhaps because of my choice of fabric (organza). I liked the translucent effect it created (similarly to smoke, which is quite translucent yet can vary in thickness when it layers). However, i reckon this method would turn out a bit more effective if on a full scale. I'd like to perhaps try this method and see how effective it would be on thicker fabrics such as leather.

Sunday 8 January 2012

Vortex Pattern Cutting Workshop






1. Trace around basic bodice pattern, draw in bust dart and add no seam allowance. Join darts with a line.



2. Close bust darts and place onto stand. Plot points in a kite-like diamond shape on stand. Repeat this 3 times to create 3 concentric diamonds, marking centre point. Join up the points, ensure plot points are marked very clearly (with crosses) and ensuring the pieces correspond.
3. Take off stand, make the lines stronger with a ruler.



4. Dissect pattern into 4 different panels. Cut down the line of the outer piece and stick to larger paper - ensure that there is a line running through all pieces to be able to match the pieces up later.
5. With each piece draw a right angled line out from the mark line and add 5cm- this will be the pleat/fold line.
6. Stick down the next piece and make sure the lines match up - repeat the above for all pieces
7. Fold and make sure the pleats still work, then re-trace adding 1cm seam allowance around each piece.
8. Cut out all pieces in fabric adding notches.
9. Press the pleats to make sewing more accurate and emphasising the folds.



10. Sew together all pleats and pieces.




This is how the finished garment looked. I was very pleased with the outcome. The shape of our group's diamond meant that the pleats were slightly raised but still looked quite effective. This method was definitely more accurate and complex in comparison to the subtraction pattern cutting, but I still enjoyed the technique and would like to expand on this method further, perhaps seeing the different effects you can achieve with different fabrics and seeing whether this technique will fit within my concept.

Tuesday 3 January 2012

Trapped

I began exploring the idea of the impact of smoke on our emotions as opposed to the physical appearence and movement of smoke. I explored the idea of perhaps being in a room filled with smoke and the feeling of being "trapped", "restrained" and sense of sensory deprivation (sense of sight, smell and even sound being compromised). This led me think how I could portray this idea through design.


Junya Watanabe


The birth of the Uruk Hai - Lord of the Rings
The idea of being trapped in some sort of membrane, perhaps using this to inform design ideas - perhaps using a stretch fabric like power mesh or jersey stretched across the body and face.


Move by Rachel 0.37-0.57 The use of stretch jersey to appear as if someone is trapped inside.

A similar effect can be used by the same fabric which creates anti gravity yoga hammocks.