This week has been really full of college work, but I thought I would pop in with an update on the project.
Today I have been knitting like crazy, about 9 hours non-stop! It is using four needles and complicated intarsia pattern so my eyes are going funny..cannot wait to share the result soon. Now is a few pages from my sketchbook, mostly designing. (Please click to enlarge, if you want to see detail).
For me, the most important thing when starting designwork is to get ideas down on paper fast. I have a few pages filled with simple, sometimes repeated, thumbnail drawings and then can pull developed ideas from these later. There is not a lot of colour either, which my tutors tell me off about ;)
As part of the criteria for the Final Major, we must print at least one garment, so I kept this in mind throughout. With knitting being my chosen textile, I hoped to recreate a knit look through printing. I used the knitted samples made from vintage patterns, scanned them into photoshop and put into repeat. Then could use the photocopier to play about with scale. This was such a fun method and proved really helpful for the final print. Below are my two choices.
Actually I chose to print two garments, via screenprinting…if you have ever tried this you will know how hard and unpredictable it can be. I am not so happy with the end result but it cannot be helped >.<
These last two spreads show my final designs. I was so indecisive with this project, it took me days to make a proper decision! It is actually a mixture of both pages, but only two outfits. I say only, there is quite a lot of work in them, which I should be doing now..
Thanks for reading about my project again! (If you missed the previous posts, please read here, here and here ^-^)
Ooooh this all looks massively exciting! Can’t wait to see the finished result of all that knitting! x
Hi there :)!
Love your designs ^_^!
A while back you said you purchase your fabrics from a vintage fabric store, and I was just wondering exactly where this store is?
Hope your final project goes to plan :D!
x
Hi Louise, sorry for a late reply!
I think there may be some confusion..I usually buy my fabrics from local charity shops or vintage textiles fairs, or there is a clearance fabric store in Gloucester city I occassionally visit too.
I once found a vintage fabric shop in Brick Lane, but it was so so tiny!!
I hope this helps a bit! :)
Looks like you’ve been putting a lot of work in! I look forward to seeing the final result.
I really like to look at your designs, so inspiring! And some day, I would like to learn to knit too, and to be able to make some simple projects…
Great projects, i really enjoy seeing your sketchbooks.
Love all your designs and the print sounds really amazing!! I just finished up my show and collection PHEW! I actually have a video and some pics on my blog if you fancy having a look!
http://www.beckydazzler.com
Hey! I discovered your blog a few months ago and just put it in my “top faves” so I don’t forget to read it :)
I love hearing about projects like this! To finish school here in Switzerland we have to do a big project (called “maturaarbeit”), and I chose to sew a “mini collection” inspired by the ocean (deep sea), and film a presentation video and mock-campaign-photographs, so I kind of did a project like this too (of course less professional since I’m a self-taught sewer…).
You have inspired me to start a project like this again (since after that project that took about a 1.5 years I had kind of “oversewed”)! I realized I need/want to work on my sketchbook more consistently and collect stuff and test fabric etc.
Also, I’ll be studying biology next year, but I’m not sure yet if it’s the right thing for me, on the other hand I don’t know if something creative like fashion design is right for me either, so I love reading about stuff like this and what a fashion student does every day (projects and work that goes into studying fashion design, which I assume is what you’re studying?).
So, in short: please continue sharing stuff like this in the future! :) (love the sketches btw :))
Hi Nina, thanks for your lovely comment!
I am really glad you enjoy looking at the college project, you are right, I am in my first year studying Fashion Design. However, I am only 17 and not working at University level yet. Also, I mostly taught myself to sew before joining the course, we have learnt more about the design process this year.
So don’t worry, you can do this sort of thing too! We have criteria to stick to with this project, but it is something fun to do at home too :)
Please keep reading as I post the final stages of the process! x