Machine knitting class

Today I went to a machine knitting class. For those of you who do not know what a knitting machine looks like, I have included a few photos from today to give you a feel for them. Household knitting machines became really popular in the 1960’s, as an ‘easy’ way to knit jumpers etc. Unfortunately for the people who bought them, knitting machines proved much more difficult to master than regular hand knitting and they were soon abandoned in storerooms and cupboards by the dozen. But someone’s trash is another treasure, and now you can buy 2^nd hand, (as new) ones relatively cheaply on ebay and the like. Learning how to use them is another challenge altogether, which brings me to this class in the hope of gaining knowledge from those more experienced in the field.

Toileing: Developing a new design from a basic pattern

I use a t-shirt that I like to create a basic t-shirt pattern by tracing around the garment onto pattern paper. Then I cut out a new t-shirt using this pattern and sew it up to create a mock-up of the original garment. Once that is completed I put the t-shirt on a mannequin and draw on new design lines using my dds sketch as a reference. For this particular design, I also drape a cowl collar over the t-shirt to get the look I am after. When I am happy with the design, I mark centre back, centre front and the side seams on all the pieces, and cut along the design lines to create new pattern pieces. I then need to trace these out onto pattern paper and add seam allowance along the design lines. The final step is to create a toile of this pattern and check the fit and design on a person to see if any further changes need to be made (and further changes always need to be made!)

Dying

A common way to add a unique element to bought fabric is through dying, either commercially or by hand. At the moment I am trying different techniques to produce a stripe on wool jersey. I don’t want a graphic, clear-cut look so I am not using screen printing, but instead am trying to apply the dye directly using different brushes and a wet or dry base cloth. The use of bleach to pull out the colour is also adding interesting effects to my experiments.

Portfolio

These pages are from my digital portfolio and are a taste of the range of projects that I have completed and also give a sense of my design style. Enjoy!

Collection Update

Wow, June already- its amazing how quickly this year has gone. I am beginning to illustrate my collection at the moment- in preparation for the crits in two weeks. Its great to see how the colours work together across the collection and how the garments have developed over the course of this first semester.

Screen Printing and Repeats

Digital printing as explained in my last post- is great- for some applications, but sometimes you need the texture and graphic definition that only screen-printing will allow. I have included some examples of the print I am developing for the collection. At the moment there is alot of playing around with colour combinations and scale (very important). It’s amazing how a chance colour combination can produce a surprise stripe or direction. I am aiming for more of a textural creation with these prints rather than a defined image, to add interest and depth to the fabrics that I have already purchased.

Digital Printing

Digital printing on fabric is very similar to regular inkjet printing, where the fabric is fed through a large printer, with dye cartridges that are used in combination to produce the image. As a designer it gives you loads of flexibility because your print can be as wide as your fabric and any length so you don’t have to worry about repeating the pattern. Digital printing can also produce an infinite array of colours so there are no limitations in that respect either, though getting the right colours can be a trial. There is often a big difference between the image produced on the screen, and the colours created by the printer so trialling is hugely necessary to get your colours right. I hope to use some digital printing within my collection to add another layer of interest within the clothing.

Starting the second toile

This is the 2^nd outfit that I plan to make for my collection, and I just wanted to explain a little bit about the process of turning this idea on paper into a fully realised set of garments.

First, I look at each of the garments and work out which I will flat pattern make and which I will drape. The back of the jacket, for example, is definitely something to drape, while the pants will be made flat around the top section, then draped around the leg. I will then piece these elements together until the shape of the final garment emerges, and from there think about details like seam finishes and fastenings. It usually takes me 5 or 6 mock-ups until I start getting something working, and through this process my initial ideas inevitably change as I work with the fabric and understand what it can and cannot do.

Toileing

Above is a mock-up of one of my looks for the end of year collection. It appears abit haphazard, but rest-assured this is progress! The top has two sets of armholes and will feature a digital print in its final incarnation. At the moment I think it is too long, so I am going to shorten and widen it for a more dramatic silhouette. The jacket that goes with this look (not pictured) was unfortunately way too small, so it’s back to the drawing board with that. The pants are finally getting there, but need more work in shaping the side seam. This is the 3^rd toile and I can see that there will be quite a few more until I am happy with the result.

Colours

After much experimentation, I have finally got my colour palette pretty much finalised. I drew inspiration from my concept poster and John Wolseley’s watercolours of Tasmanian Lichen to create an earthy palette that is made more sophisticated through incorporation of grey tones, and more visually engaging by the use of purple and coral highlights.

Fashion school bubble?

I read an article in the fashion-incubator blog a few days ago and have been wondering how to approach it. It blames an influx of interest in fashion design on Project Runway... which might be true... somewhere. I certainly haven’t heard it as a motivating factor in my course. Apart from that quibble, Kathleen does make a really valid point- that designers rely on a huge support team of people, and without an influx in those positions- sewers, cutters, patternmakers, there is no way that the amount of designers can be supported within the industry. I would argue however, that this is a natural balancing act, and as designers find it difficult to gain employment as designers, they turn to other roles in the industry. I guess it is just up to the educational institution to give students enough of a breadth of knowledge to be able to have this flexibility.

Delivery

Today I received this wonderful delivery of yarn samples from knitalpaca and I can’t wait to order more, its so delicious and soft, and the colours are naturally occurring so are really interesting.

More Knitting Samples

I have been working with this handspun yarn for a couple of weeks now and have worked it into several different types of lace. I am liking the loosest one at the moment, because I think it really shows off the variegation in the wool. I am thinking of creating a really simply shape with this one, that would layer over the top of other garments in the collection.

Sourcing Note

Ah thankfully I have been told that my Marrickville supplier hasn’t closed down- he had just moved around the corner. Its a worry in this age of information that we can’t discover these things for ourselves, but yay, worries abated!

Design Update

These are a quick overview of how the collection is coming together. We have 5 weeks to create two ‘looks’ of 3-4 garments per look, and a catalogue of 12 looks, and a textiles samples range, and... etc. etc. I foresee many late nights ahead!

Wedding Fever #2

Princess Beatrice and Eugenie

I saw this on facebook, and think it is so mean, but hilarious. We were talking about the sisters in fashion theory class, and it was decided that the worst thing about their outfits wasn’t so much the outfits, but that they were pictured together. Something for the old PR machine to think about...

Sourcing Trip #2

Today I was on the lookout for fabrics to toile in, ie. cheap versions of fabrics to use for mock-ups of designs. Imagine my horror when all my staple shops for affordable fabrics have closed since I have been away! Johnathon’s in Marrickville has disconnected their phone line, and the two in Chinatown have been replaced with discount clothing stores. There is much talk of a return to quality in the Australian fashion industry, but how is this going to be possible when all of the suppliers are going out of business?

Wedding Fever

Source: The Royal Photostream on Flickr (seriously)

I prefix this post by saying that I am the last person to cheer for the Royals, but I must begrudgingly admit that I really enjoyed watching the Royal Wedding on Friday. We had a bit of a dinner party, and Pimms and lemonade, and maybe it was the booze talking but I really thought it was nice. Maybe deep-down I am sentimental, but finally seeing Sarah Burton step out of the shadows at Alexander McQueen made me really proud to be a designer. The man was a true genius and his death presents a great loss. Personally, I had a huge admiration for him and was unsure if the label could continue without him. But now I can see that the label lives on. So best of luck to Sarah, they must be HUGE shoes to fill and from what I have seen she is living up to the high standard set by Alexander. For a massive amount of information about the wedding, and who wore what and why- here is a link to the official site.

Sourcing Trip #1

I had a totally exhausting day yesterday trekking around sourcing materials for my collection. I was a bit disappointed at the selection of wool available out there, and I think I will have to check out some websites or something for a bit more of an inspired selection. Here are the results of my quest-

Writing about Sustainable Fashion

On top of creating a fashion collection this year, we write a dissertation into a selected area of fashion theory. I have been writing the draft up this week, and thought I would share a bit of my proposal-

“The proposed research will examine how the appeal of sustainable fashion design is broadened by moving away from an eco chic aesthetic towards the concept of sensory aesthetics. It will demonstrate how this shift allows sustainability and style to coexist rather than compete in the fashion designer’s repertoire generating greater creative possibility and mainstream interest in a sustainable approach to clothing design. In doing so, the research will first define the current sustainable fashion aesthetic before it proposes an alternative sensory aesthetic, and look at how this different approach changes the fashion designing process. Case studies will be used to analyse how designers have incorporated the new aesthetic into their work by slowing down the consumption cycle, using local resources, and encouraging collaborative design. These examples will demonstrate the creative possibilities of sensory aesthetics and redefine a sustainable approach to fashion design without the limitations that were present in past notions of eco chic.”

Designs #1

A couple more pages from my process journal. I am at the stage now of designing garments and outfits for the collection, based on draping exercises we completed in class. As you can see- there is alot of work to do yet!

Young Designers

These are some young designers that I really admire-

Source: http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/whats-on/exhibitions/exhibitions/manstyle2

Romance Was Born: The highly theatrical label of duo Luke Sales and Anna Plunkett is known for its craft-driven, over-the-top approach and favouring of one-off pieces. Their clothing is irreverent, fun and colourful with a firm tongue-in-cheek tone.

Source: http://www.threeoverone.com/

Three Over One: With the by-line “Honest, Hardworking, Men’s apparel” this label focuses on practicality and functionality. Each collection centres on denim, with the name based on the structure of denim fabric and is inspired by menswear of the 1930’s to 1940’s.

Source: http://www.instylemag.com.au/Article/Fashion/Latest-News/The-rise-of-Dion-Lee

Dion Lee: Lee graduated from the Sydney Institute of Technology and won the L’Oreal Fashion Festival Design Award in 2010 for his 6^th collection. His label mixes slick styling with an attention to detail, sharp tailoring and experimentation.

Source: http://www.songforthemute.com/collectionaw11.html

Song for The Mute: Begun by graphic artist Melvin Tanaya and fashion designer Lyna Ty, this menswear label won the Melbourne Fashion Festival Designer Award for 2011. They mix androgynous shapes with draping and muted colours for a sophisticated take on menswear.

Source: http://arabellaramsay.com/index1.html

Arabella Ramsay: Ramsay started her label in 2006 after studying textile design in Melbourne. Her style is quite preppy and quirky with a strong focus on original prints and fabrications.

Experimenting with knit

These are a couple of samples that I completed on my old singer knitting machine. The top one is a rib, suitable for a cuff, or around the hem of a jumper. The second is a bit of a pattern that I produced with a pattern guide- the machine has 20 of these pattern cards- lots more samples to go!

Mentor: John Wolseley

Tracing the Wallace Line; wing leaf and land, 1999
Source: Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery

John Wolseley inspires me because his work encourages a different vision of the world, but doesn’t force it on the viewer. This establishes a sense of excitement and delight when people discover things for themselves and means the work is more personally meaningful for each individual. A similar directive could be applied to the design of clothing, with the wearer discovering new things about their garment as they wear it. This would create a more meaningful relationship between the wearer and the garment as they interact and impact on each other.

Mentor: Maison Martin Margiela

Mask Bolaro Source: Maison Martin Margiela Artisanal Spring / Summer 2009
<http://www.maisonmartinmargiela.com/en/collections/PE2009/collection-1.html>

I am inspired by Maison Martin Margiela’s experimental but eminently wearable clothing, because it provides me with proof that creative and commercial success can co-exist in fashion. And while the fashion house doesn’t produce Haute Couture in a traditional sense, it does go about the production of clothing in a very artisanal way. The refashioned second-hand pieces are particularly interesting to me because they redefine luxury as an appreciation of expertise rather than expensive material. As a student, I often feel constrained by cost concerns so it is refreshing to see that so much can be created with so little material outlay. Also admirable is that all of this investigation is achieved without straying from the brand aesthetic.

Draping Pants

I just thought I would share a few pages from my journal, so you can see the direction that I am taking with my collection

Some of the shapes at the moment remind me of the Leigh Bowery outfit that I saw recently at the NGV ManStyle exhibition.

Why 20 x 12?

I realise that this should have come earlier in my postings, but I would like to explain why I have chosen my blog name. I guess it took me a while to work it out for myself, hence the delay. ‘20 x 12’ was inspired by a conversation I had with my dad about his youth- it was the nickname of a beach where my dad went for family holidays, so called because of the mission huts that served as accommodation along the beach. Mission huts are of a standard 20 x 12 square foot dimension and this is how the beach came by its unofficial name. From the outset I liked the sense of place contained in ’20 x 12’, and apart from being catchy, it is a nice note on my personal history. Additionally, I will start my fashion career in 2012 so it also contains personal significance for this reason.

So that is why I guess...oh plus I am a big fan of the 2012 disaster movie

ManStyle

Ties on display

On the right- the embroidered pattern for a man's waistcoat, on the left- the finished product

A costume from performance artist Leigh Bowery

Patchwork coat by Alasdair Duncan Mackinnon

I saw this today at the National Gallery of Victoria and have to say I was a bit disappointed. It had been billed as ‘the first exhibition to focus on menswear in Australia’ but I thought it was very thin on the ground. The exhibit had big holes in the range of fashion (meant to represent 18^th century to present day) and the links between outfits seemed tenuous. They didn’t even manage to put shoes with all the mannequins- covering some with pairs of paper ‘shoe-masks.’ Maybe they should have outsourced some of the outfits to provide greater depth in the exhibition. That said I really loved the footage they recorded of men talking about fashion. It was refreshingly honest, and demonstrated that men do actually care about what they wear.