back to made by me
Past projects. More to come!
The West African print top and the Bubble dress. The top was made about 5 years ago, the dress about 2 years ago when I took a 2-month patterncutting and dressmaking course (at the London Academy of Dressmaking and Design). I enjoyed being able to draw on an earlier design idea and see the improvement in my patterning.
The above hood and skirt set were my first term project for my current course (HND Textiles). An allover print was applied to the woollen fabric (see images below). To achieve the colour blend I wanted on the skirt, this had to be done after the panels had been cut which, with 12 panels, made for quite a laborious process! I really enjoyed it though and I’m hoping to incorporate print into my current work as well.
back to made by me
Looking pretty cool, T!
Keep up the nice work 😉
Yes, T, looking pretty cool! Found your blog via “dressmaking”. ..I have a dressmaking studio in Portland Oregon USA…Pacific west coast…state above California. I’m intrigued by your course work and am interested in following your progress….should you find the time to put down your thoughts re: process. As a fibre artist myself…process is intuitive but should be experimental, as well. Good for you!!
R.
Thanks for your comments Raye, they’re very encouraging especially as I’m new to sharing my work on here! Sorry replying took me a while. I enjoyed looking through your images and inspirations too, very rich textures and colours (plus really enjoyed the turquoise thong story 🙂 ). Re: process, I guess I work best when I gather up a good bit of visual research and let my hands do the thinking for a little while, then reflect and sift through what comes out of that before moving on. How do you kick off a project, and how do you combine the dressmaking with the more textural work?
T.
T.
Mick Jagger….hmmm…gotta love his energy and his bum! Back to question: kicking off a project. The bane of my existence is looking at a pattern or ready to wear “something” (it doesn’t really matter what it is) and mentally I “make it better” or I should say mentally put my own stamp on it. It’s pushing an existing “something” one or two steps further. The problem, however, may be when to stop. That’s where you, the artist, becomes your own judge and jury.
I made a very simply, styled silk blouse today. The fabric is big plaid squares of reds, oranges, browns. It didn’t take long for my idea of embellishing the fabric…to go by the wayside. The pattern was enough. But I did cut it so that two of the darker brown shades of squares travelled down the front of the shoulders to the hem, with reddish squares directly below neckline to hem. The short sleeves I cut on the bias…so there’s a directional movement opposite the front and back. I’ll take some snaps and post to my website next week. My inventiveness, however, is not on the same level as yours. I am basically very classic….simple…subtle. You, on the other hand, are on the edge…judging from your hoods and painted fabrics. I’m interested in that…your creative cheekiness. Where does it come from?
R.
[…] like finding things that I can make into other things… as with the hood (see dressmaking). I found the t-shirt at a charity shop and thought the front and back prints would look cute on an […]