The Ball Dress – Part 2

I hate being creative sometimes. This is how my working process has gone so far…

The Under-dress

I cut a basic pattern for the under-dress. I did this using my basic bodice and skirt blocks and adapting them to my measurements as I went along. I removed the darts from the middle, which means it wont fit perfectly, but this will be adjusted by the toile. Simple strapless neckline and dart moved to the side seam.

Here are the very unflattering pictures of me in my toile (in my slightly untidy room). There are plenty of pins in it for adjustments. I cut the fabric on the bias, meaning that it will give slightly through wearing and skim my curves a little, being less rigid.

Adding those adjustments to the pattern I then remade the toile just to check it. And it fits well, which is ace. Job one done.

The Over-Dress

This is where the trouble starts. I don’t really know what I want to do with the top layer.

I played with diagonal patterns, and getting them to fit…

I played with gathering a bustle at the back….

Then I played with gathering around the body…

And then I gave up. I can’t decide what I want. I’m not happy with any of my ideas. Despair has set in.

So I thought I’d play with the fabric and inspiration hit me. I hate it when this happens. Sadly my mother is right. The simplest ideas are the best. This is me playing with the fabric and a belt I own and this is what I want my dress to look like.

So I’m going to do two layers of organza.  Each piece flaring hugely and wear it to the ball with my yellow belt so gather it.  I’m going to keep it really short to emphasise the volume.  Slightly different to my original notes but thats ok.  The bustle idea had been to encourage volume so this covers that really.  Sometimes the ideas can change quite drastically.

The Ball Dress – Part 1

As I have blogged very little about my actual design and make process this year I though I would blog the creation of a dress I am making for my boyfriend’s end of university ball. The ball is next Friday (29th) and I’m going to be heading home to work for my mum a couple of days before that, so I have tomorrow, Thursday, possibly Saturday and Monday to create this masterpiece.

Today I went to Shepherds Bush, my favourite place for cheap fabric and bought all the material I need plus some calico for toiling. The only thing left to buy is a zip and some matching thread.

I have a very vague idea of what I want, but my ideas normally take shape on the stand when I’m actually playing with the fabric.

Here are the initial notes I made on the tube today:

• cocktail dress
• strapless
• opaque under-dress with transparent over-dress
• fitting
  • semifitted?
  • fitted?
  • slight flaring?
  • slight bubble/cocoon of back?
• hem length
  • front
    • mini?
    • knee-length?
  • longer at back
    • entire shaped hem?
    • tail from draping?
• diagonal seaming
  • on over & under-dress?
  • bias cut?
• bustle at back
  • flower type shapes?
  • general draping for volume?
  • back flaring over draping?
• invisible zip down CB
  • length?
  • finishing – will edges show through transparent fabric?
• finishes
  • french seams
  • zip finish
  • hemming
  • neckline finish

Right, so those are my initial notes to work from. Tomorrow I shall draft the initial dress shape for both the over and under-dress and check the fit, then I can drape the bustle/backshape on the stand. I shall also post a photo of my fabrics.

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Stella McCartney anti-fur advert

Just watched this video via Catwalk Queen, its a brief advert for Peta, filming at a fur farm in America.

If these are the conditions of animals raised for fur in the USA, I dread to imagine the conditions they are bred in in ‘less developed’ countries.

I am completely anti-fur, and animal testing. I will only use cruelty free cosmetics and toiletries.

End of The Year…Results Are In…

My first year is over.  Where on earth did that go?

I handed in my project last week.  Spent all week trying not to worry about my mark.  Then on Friday morning had a really interesting talk about what the second year is going to be like.  I must admit I am scared and excited in equal measures.  In the second year we work directly with industry.  They set the brief.  Everything has to be absolutely professional and we have to get up off our own backsides to get on with it.  No more pushing from the teachers.

My big news is that yesterday I had my tutorial about this project.  Discussed the main project and the business report (that I winged as I had no idea how to write it) with my teacher and got my marks for each.

I got a first.

I actually got a first.

I still can’t quite believe it.  The 3rd project of my 1st year and I got a first.  I burst out laughing when he said it because I just couldn’t believe it.  I was really pleased with my work for this project.  I was hoping that I would get my highest mark so far.  But then I looked at everyone else’s work when we collected it on Friday and bummed myself out because it was all so good.  How did I do better?  Bizarre.

I am really proud of myself i must admit.

There’s a slight hitch in that several of my friends aren’t happy with their marks, and are having to redo some stuff.  So while I wanted to run around, jump up and down and shout a lot yesterday, before going out dancing and drinking in the evening, I chose not to tell my friends.  I didn’t tell them until asked directly, then I played it down and changed the subject and instead of drinking and dancing I went out for an ice tea with a few friends all of whom seemed miserable.  So that’s kind of put a dampener on it.  But I’m off out with some family and my boyfriend at the weekend so I’ll celebrate then.

I’m off out in a bit to buy some fabric and bits, I need to make a dress for my boyfriends ball next Friday.

x

My hate list continues…

Eyelets. I hate them.

Or more specifically eyelet machines.

Tuesday, went to use the eyelet machine at college. Couldn’t remember how to use it. There was no technician to be found.

So I bought a kit of 14mm eyelets in black. Attempted to use it yesterday. It was absolutely crap. You had to hammer it ridiculously hard, and then it didn’t curl the eyelet round properly anyway, and it chipped the black colour off it.

So this morning I went into college, determined to find a technician to get this done. Found a technician, and apparently the eyelet machine on the second floor no longer works. Joy. But there is some technical new eyelet machine locked away on the ground floor.

Eventually found a technician on the ground floor, to help me with this mystical new eyelet machine, but it doesn’t work on eyelets as big as mine. They are only 14mm for gods sake! So I ask what size they go up to… about half that size. Thats tiny! And thats the largest it does! Useless.

But the technician was really nice and helped me work out the best way to use the kit. This envolved brute force and 6 thats right 6 layers of fusible interlining.

But the fact is its done. Over. My garment is complete, excluding a few threads that need trimming. Hurrah!

Now I have until Tuesday to write a report on my materials, complete my range plan and complete my 3 sketchbooks. Not much then.

x

Success!

Went into William Gee this morning and they exchanged the wrong zips I bought yesterday for the right ones.

No hassle at all.

I thoroughly recommend William Gee, they are friendly, know their products and luckily for me they are a wholesalers, so have a large stock of everything imaginable.

x

Zips

I hate them.

Thoroughly and utterly hate them.

The garment I am in the process of making has 12 of them.

Most people hate sewing zips into garments, as its quite a difficult thing to get to look neat.  But actually I don’t mind sewing them into garments, especially the open-ended type that you see down the front of jackets or similar, and my garment has 10 of these.

No no its not the sewing of zips that annoy me, its sourcing 10 of the same zips in a matter of days.  Its very difficult to do.

Most haberdashers don’t stock large quantities of zips as they stock many different varieties, each in many different colours and several different lengths.  Add this to all the other products they stock in a premises that is usually very small, and you can see that stocking 20 of each zip would be an issue.

The first zips I bought were Opti zips from John Lewis.  I bought 4 for my toile and they worked very well.  Went back to buy more for my final thing and I could only get 4 so that had to be rethinked.

Then I spent Saturday morning going round every shop I could think of in Central London to try and find some 56 cm YKK zips.  In McCulloch & Wallis I managed to get 4.  In Borovicks I got one, and bless Brian who works there, he said he could order them in especially for me, but they would still take too long.

So thats 5 to go.

This morning I dropped into William Gee in Dalston on my way out with a friend and bought the remaining 5.  Only to get home this afternoon and realise that I’ve bought the wrong ones.  I bought YKK Vilsion zips.  The teeth are too chunky.

Oh good god the stress.

So tomorrow morning on my way to uni I am going to have to return to William Gee and exchange them for the correct ones.  Hopefully they will have all 5 of those.  If not I’ll be off to Kleins.

I am such an idiot.