FINALY FINISHED

I produced a garment, print and textile samples based around the idea of obesity. I explored a range of textile techniques, experimenting with different materials and created a range of prints. I also designed a final line up with flats and made one of my garments.  

I mostly used my blog as I used it as if I was writing a dairy and used it to describe what I did on each day with the good and bad parts of the day. It’s a way for me to be reflective and help me keep to my time plan to ensure I finish in time. Creating the blog also helped me to improve myself as it allowed me to self- reflect. I also added pictures as a visual look on what I did throughout the week. I went back every week and went through how I felt on each day and what I effective or didn’t effective to push and encourage myself. I also used my sketchbook as if I’m writing a book as it tells a story from beginning to the end in a visual format and my blog helps to explain further how I got to each point. I think my sketchbook is my main source of expression and learning as I feel I’m a visual learner I prefer to work more in my sketchbook and spent most of my time on this.   

My aim was to explore both textiles and design which I think I did effectively, I created textiles and print samples and added print on to my final garment and final line up. I also managed to set up a interview for research purposes to explore the idea of glorified obesity in the African community.

Looking at the artist Victoria Reynolads’ oil paintings and drawings of raw meat deconstruct the idea of preparing flesh for the purpose of consumption and I created some responses to her work. This contributed in terms of colour and print design. Also exploring the idea of fatty tissue by stuffing tights which I then scanned in and manipulated the shape. I then looked at the shapes created and took the silhouette from this when designing. 

Some advice I found very helpful was one, during a one to one tutorial my tutor gave me a list of artist and may want to look at as she felt it related to my work and it was very helpful in terms of my development and inspired me with creating my final print which is shown in my final garment. The artist was called Victoria Reynolads as at the point I was looking at comparing the female body to animals. Another piece of advice I found very helpful was on another one to one tutorial where my tutor explained she felt like I should look more into the silhouette so I started experimenting on the mannequin by stuffing nude skin tights which helped inspire me during the design process. I felt like both advice was very helpful and had an impact on my development which helped me to produce the finals.

From this project I have taken away a lot of things which will help me in the future. I’ve learnt that I enjoy working in a certain way when exploring textiles, I combined my love for drawing and art by exploring my ideas and developing them and without me even knowing I’ve created a range of prints. By this I’m combining my love and skill for art with fashion which is something I’ve always wanted to master. I wanted to explore more into the textile aspect in design so I can combine both together. I have also learned how to develop ideas efficiently through mannequin work and research. Another skill I’ve learnt is how to present my work in an aesthetically pleasuring way to ensure I showcase my work in the best way possible, I feel like presentation is very important as it’s a reflection of your work and helps to show the story within your sketchbook. However I still feel like I need to experiment much more and take risk with my work, designs and materials. 

Pin It And Finish It

I came in extra early today to ensure i was able to secure a sewing machine, surprising the fabric was easy to sew with which i wasn't expecting as the fabric is so thick. I was trying hard to ensure i finished making my garment so i was able to photography my final outcome. Sewing the garment was easier than sewing the pockets. I found it difficult to make the pockets because of its 3D shape but one i made one the second one was a lot easier to make. Another trouble i cam across is when i was attaching the two top panels together i made a mistake twice on the front so i had to unpick it twice. Because of this it was causing the fabric to fray which was causing me to worry as i didn't want it to effect the print and also to show up. To help with this when sewing together the third tome i had to increase the seam allowance a lot more to try and stop the fraying showing and effecting the garment.

Time was running out and it was coming to the end of the day and i hadn't finished my garment yet, i still had my pockets to put on and also put in my zip. I decided that the best thing to do was the pin the pockets onto the garment inwards so that the pins cant be seen. At first i wasn't sure if i wanted to still at the pockets i asked the opinion of my peers and they felt like i still was not certain so i also asked the opinion of my tutor and she also agreed that i should still add in the pockets and pin it on to see how i like it. So i decided to pin it place in the way i wanted it to look. I actually really like the way it looked but i felt like the pockets was a bit too long so i cut off about 5 to 10iches off and repined it for the photo shoot. I actually couldn't get the model i originally wanted as she was busy as she had to look i wanted (dark skin and natural Afro hair) which went with what i was exploring in my book so i decided to go with someone else who id and excellent job. I pink my garment at the size as i hadn't added the zip yet, I borrowed a scarf from one of my friends which i felt would look perfect with the garment and use it to tie her hair up. I was very pleased with my photos from the photo shoot and these are some of my favorites. I decided not to add the belt and the under layer as I like the way it look as it was and i didn't want to over do it.

After the photo shoot i went straight back to finishing of my garment and surprisingly *not* the last to things i had left to do were the hardest. I didn't know how to actually attach the pockets to the garment, a few people gave me different opinions on how i may be able to do it. One of my friends suggested sewing from the inside from both sides then hand sewing the bottom but i decided not to it. After thinking on it i came up with an idea which i thought would work which it did successfully. I decided to fold in the edges inwards and sew on the outside as if i was sewing a hem. The only difficulty was because the bottom half of the dress is so full it it was hard to get the pockets at the right angle so  could see what i was doing it aside from that it stress free. Another thing i tried to avoided was the zip which i also hate doing but i was surprised at how well it turned out. Because i bought an invisible zip and the fabric i had i knew i was going to be hard to do so my tutor help show me the best way to sew the zip and without her i don't know how i would of sewn the zip in. But overall I'm very happy with my final outcome and the quality of my making.

Fabrication And Pattern Cutting

On Saturday I went fabric shopping which i have to say was a trip from hell, it took me such a long time to find what i wanted and was a very expensive trip to add to it.

I went to Shepard bush market as they have a range of fabric shops which sell nearly everything you need at reasonable prices. The main fabric i knew i wanted to buy was a thick and very stiff neoprene which is what gave me all my trouble. Not only was i looking for such a perspective fabric i was also looking for a difficult colour to find in that fabric which was a bright blood red. I went to a range of shops where some had the fabric but i was even not in the colour i wanted or not thick and stiff enough. After hours of looking I came across what i was looking for however it was not in the colour i wanted it was in white. So i thought to myself maybe i should buy it and try and dye it red however i didn't know if the fabric would take to the fabric, so i decided to take a fabric sample so i could go home and try dye it as a test batch. This was very annoying to me as i panned to buy my fabric on that day to ensure i could make my garment on time. On my way to go buy my zip i cam across one more shop where way at the back i found what i was looking for, it had the stiffness and the correct colour.It had the other little things that i was looking for like it being double sided and also having the tiny holes in it as i realised the smaller the holes the stiffer the fabric is. Because of my desgin the fabric had to be stiff in order to create the shape or i would have to but interfacing to stiffern the fabric to make sure  got the full shaping i wanted. I also needed to buy another type of fabric however i wasn't sure what type i wanted but i knew I wanted it to be stiff enough for my oversize pocket so it keeps the shape. I added up buying a thick cotton blend in red but i couldn't find the same shade of the neoprene but i thought it would be fine as it would much with some of the colours on my print. All my fabrics were very hard to cut up as they were both very thick and i also folded them as well. Because of this it took longer for me to cut out all my pieces than it should of done which set me back. 

Then on Monday i decided to go in to uni so i could pattern cut so i was ready to start making on Tuesday. I also made the pattern for my pockets which was very easy as i decided to change the shape last minute. I decided to keep it as and open pocket and because of this i felt like i had to change the shape as i felt to previous shape i had may look weird without the closing flap. It didn't take long for me to make this pocket i just used a measuring tape to measure up the size i want to pocket against my toile. I need to ensure I come in early so i can get a sewing machine and finish making my garment completely as my tutor as set up a photo shoot tomorrow. My surname starts with an 'O' so i would be one of the last people in the afternoon so hopefully that's enough time to finish making my garment. 

I also decided to print today as well so i could cut out  my top pattern pieces as well. I had some fabric i bought a while back and i actually cant remember the type of fabric it is. I pick my favorite print from the prints i and before by asking my peers on their opinion i went to the prototyping room to print on the fabric. The print came out much brighter that i want it thought it would look like but i really like the outcome. I think it came out better than what i expected. After printing, pinned and cut out my top pattern pieces and made a very silly mistake . I originally wanted the zip at the back but i forgot and i placed the back pattern on the fold so i decided to more the zip to the side as I had to more fabric left to reprint the design so i just worked with what i had. 

Pattern cutting / Toile

The past two days have been spent pattern cutting, I started off withe a basic dress pattern and adjusted it to my design and size in order to fit me model. I started of by picking the design that i wanted to make, i went about this by making a survey and asking people their favorite design as i was stick on a couple ideas. 

When making the actually pattern piece there was some problems i came across some problems while making my pattern piece but it was easily sorted with the help of Becca she was really helpful. One of the errors made was the catculations i made for the size of the waist which was too big but was easily sorted by subtracting some cms off the waist. I've also felt like its easier to take away than to add which work out to be the truth. It was all dome to trial and error. 

On Thursday I finished most of my patterns and made a toile on the same day, i did this to test the pattern  to ensure i prefect my design. After making my tolie and put it on a model to see if came out the way i wanted and to ensure it fits. After planing it on the model i realise they was a few things i need to change on was that the waist was on the dress was at the hips so to correct this i took a couple inches of the top pattern piece. The neckline was also a bit to high so i took about 3cms off the neckline. 

There was a few things that also had me worried aside from this, as you see in my design my dress bottom half is very 2 dimensional so to effective this i would need a stiff fabric so it keep the shape i intended. With the toile i use a cotton fabric which is very light and drapes well so it was hard for me to tell if i got the shape right. What was also helpful about the toile was it help me to think of the types of fabric I would want to use, I also didn't know where I wanted to place the fastening so with making the toile I can play around with where to put it. I decided on using a zip and place it at the back. 

 

The next step is picking the fabrics with this I'm going to take the my final design and tolie pictures with me to the fabric shop so i can test and feel different fabrics to effective the look i want. I'm going to buy my fabric on saturday so that next week i can print, pin and stitch all my pieces together. I still have one more pattern to make with is for my pockets. Next week is going to be a really intense but i'm going to ensure i finish of my garment so i can go back to my sketch book and refine it.

Victoria

When Sarah told me about the artist called Victoria Reynolads i was in love with her work, Victoria Reynolds’ oil paintings and drawings of raw meat deconstruct the idea of preparing flesh for the purpose of consumption. The meats stop being pieces of meat and become biological masses, alluring in their regular, almost crystal-like structure. The works elicit a visceral reaction of disgust, but after the initial shock, they pull the viewer in for a closer inspection of their meticulously painted details.

I felt this related to my work as i was at the point of comparing the human body to meat as the young girls are 'forced' feed without their will to become more desirable to males and how animals are treated to satisfy human demand. These are some of more responses to her work and intencially i made some prints which i really do like. I like the ambiguous meanings behind it. After playing around on Photoshop and exploring my drawings by flipping, repeating and changing the colour my favorite outcome is the top print. I like this one the best as from different view points people see different things and interpret it in different ways which is great way to get peoples imagination flowing and makes the print very iterative.  

RETHINK !!

I had a one to one tutor with Becca's today which really made me rethink the pathway i was going down. Originally i wanted to make a range of textiles for my final piece which she totally disagreed on as she felt my sketchbook and theme was definitely more design based which unsettled me. We also asked the opinion of one of my peers i asked her by going through my sketchbook I feel like I'm really not ready for this as i have not fabric and don't know what kind of fabrics i want i haven't picked a final garment or started pattern cutting so i feel like I'm way behind to start this and i don't know if i can finish in time and to a great quality. I feel like Ive got totally off stream and now I'm not sure where to start. I have a range of designs so i think i need to start developing my ideas so far. I've also bought a lot of materials for what i thought i was going to make which is now a waste however i can use it in the future. i bought a welt felting kit but i don't think I'll have enough time to experiment with this.  I'm feeling very stress right now but I'm sure I'll be able to do it, i just have a lot of sleepless nights to come.

yours, 

                      no sleep :(

One Out Of Three

Today I spent most of my day trying to prep for my final outcomes, I decided after speaking to Sarah that i was going to make a range of textiles including prints and textures.

 One of which was going to be textiles piece which consist of stuffed tights with cotton wadding from a pillow case which i deconstructed from a previous piece I made. Tights are also intimate,  yet cheap and disposable and abject. My aim was to produce something which looked like fatty tissue and portray the idea of being compared to animal and/or meaningless.  After this i want to work on top of it with acyclic print with a range of expressive colours to represent 'freedom'. Going back to the 'idea' of how the girls in the Mauritania's freedom is taking away from them and they are objectified and groomed like animals. Colour for me represents freedom, individuality and expression. 

I also want to buy more tights with a range of colours to represent both the western work and Africa as a whole. I wanted the tights to represent skin and as tights are cheap and come in range of colous i thought this would be the prefect choice. I've realised doing this is very time consuming so i have to ensure i have enough time.