Transformational Reconstruction

Transforming a dart's shape and position has the ability to turn a garment with a boring cut into something exciting with an imaginative cut. After observing and creating some practice samples, we were able to create our own bodice front that pushed the boundaries of what we had just learnt.

 

 I started with pinning my basic bodice block to the stand, taping the darts shut. Now, providing that it went through the bust points, I could draw a line on to the bodice. I chose to experiment with a smooth curve and a sharp angle. Once I removed it from the stand and added in balance marks, I cut along the line. I realised that it overlapped when flat. To overcome this I cut into a straight edge, which would mean adding material – and therefore gathering material when it came to sewing it together. I think that this has enhanced my design of the dart by making it more aesthetically pleasing.

Garment - Deconstruction, Reconstruction

Pinning panels of the deconstructed shirt and jacket together on a table first proved effective; I stitched the shirt sleeve’s curved edge to one of the jacket’s straight edges and this gave an outlined three-dimensional shape on the mannequin. It fell from the shoulder quite comfortably so this is where I positioned it; however on reflection I feel that having a large amount of material at the waist is not very flattering.

The arched effect of the collar on the hem is successful and contrasts with the angles on the rest of the hem. I also like the turned-up part of the hem as it features an iconic part of the jacket, just in an alternative way. The downfall of this is that the panel does not look deconstructed enough and still resembles the jacket. If I were to make this again I would have simply used the folded detail for the hem as opposed to the entire jacket piece. The shoulder structure would have worked better if it were moulded around an armhole, too.

Deconstruction, Reconstruction

With a second-hand tailored jacket as a starting point, I unpicked most of the seams to reveal the panels and shapes that I was left to work with. I began arranging them in various positions - upside down, diagonally and upright to use the jacket's decorative detail differently.

        

I was pinning the jacket panels to the stand, raising material at the shoulders and hips to make it sculptured. After realising that by working straight on to the stand I was restricting my work to the shape of the mannequin, I started to work 2-dimensionally.

I experimented by pinning curved edges of the fabric to straight edges producing 3-dimensional shapes that looked far more interesting than what I was making before. I introduced a cut up second-hand shirt too. Draping shapes over the stand that I had pinned together off the stand created interesting design ideas that I could later flip, rotate or mirror to produce a final garment.

Pleating

Sharing with us his expertise and handy tips, a business professional of fifty years held a workshop where we learned how to create card patterns for pleats as well as handle and experiment with some pleating samples he had brought with him.

I took advantage of the opportunity and experimented with some by working on a stand; layering up and teaming soft, subtle pleats with harsh and more 3-dimensional ones. I like how the cube-like pleats frame the armhole, yet contrast in both colour and shape to the ruffled V-pleats.

When constructing a pleat pattern, attention to detail is key. I measured and marked along a piece of card every 3.0cm then joined the marks vertically and diagonally (both ways) with a pencil. Once I knew my lines intersected at the same points I scored along each line. I then folded along the lines, making "mountains and valleys" creating a V-shaped pleat. Two identical patterns need to be made so that fabric can be sandwiched between them, and then steamed.

Dart Manipulation

Our introduction to pattern cutting was based around creating interesting and unusual shapes on the stand. I began by wrapping spot and cross paper around the mannequin, pinching in areas and folding the paper so that it was as close-fitting as possible. I then coated all of the paper in tape, drew on some experimental style lines and cut down the centre back line to remove from the stand.

After cutting along the style lines to reveal my shaped panels, I pinned them to more spot and cross paper, ensuring they were flat. For any that did not lie flat, I cut a straight line in to the panel towards the raised area, then measured the extension.  I traced around the panel and extended the notches. Once I had unpinned the panels, I added a 1.0cm seam allowance to each piece, cut them out and used pattern notchers to mark the notches. Finally, I labelled each pattern piece with relevant details, including a grain line.