Showing posts with label Sew-Green. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sew-Green. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Sew Green 6/7
Today I was going to go to Sew Green for an hour after Carrie's presentation, but her community evaluator never showed, and it ended up running late by HALF AN HOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thus, I was unable to go to Sew Green, since by the time I actually got there, it wouldn't have been enougth time... This sucks, since Sew Green is closed on Thursday, and now I won't be able to sew all week. I guess it's okay though, since I need to finish my bibliography and research commentary, as well as my research, so I guess it's okay. This will give me more time...
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Sew Green 6/2
Today we made tiaras for the Ithaca Festival to fund raise for Sew-Green. We took a metal band, and then tied tulle around it, with flowers and ribbons. It was a lot of fun, and I ended up doing it for the whole time I was there. It was nice to take a break from sewing and give back to Sew-Green.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Sew Green 5/31
Today we were going to start the Nest dress, and at first, we laid out the pattern, and picked out the kind of burlap fabric I was going to use (I forgot the specific name on the spot, for some reason...) I draped it, and it worked well, but then I realized that the pattern had a cowl on the dress. Not only that, but there were no sleaves, and pleats in the wrong places. We started to cut the pattern, and try to adapt it, however it was off-center, and difficult to measure. Sew Green was really busy with apprentices that day, and after a while, Autumn told me that it wasn't going to happen. She told me that if we were to do this dress, she would be pretty much doing the dress for me, and that it would take all of our time. Stunned, I tried to think of how I could occupy myself for the rest of the time I had. I at first looked at the denim skirt, and started to aimlessly rip the seams of my torn jeans, trying not to despair. After a while, I jumped up and started sorting through the fabric I had, looking for something that I could use, and be inspired from. Finally, I settled on the purple stretch-fabric, and the white jersey. The jersey was plain, but the purple fabric was not enough. I decided to make the pattern just the way it was, and then paint the dress. But first, I had tape the pattern back together...
I pinned my fabric to the patterns, and started cutting the fabric. It took a lot longer than I thought it would, and by the end of the day, I had only cut out the front and back, but I was glad to have gotten something done.
I pinned my fabric to the patterns, and started cutting the fabric. It took a lot longer than I thought it would, and by the end of the day, I had only cut out the front and back, but I was glad to have gotten something done.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Sew Green 5/24 and 5/26
On these two days at Sew Green, I pretty much worked on my shirt. I realized that I couldn't double face the collar, and ripped those seams out, settling for a rolled hem, and then continued on to the bottom hem. Then on Thursday, I sewed on the sleaves. The sleaves took a while, since I went slow, but were not bad at all. The only problem is that they are sewn with the wrong side out (it was curling, and easier that way!)
I'm really excited to start the Nest dress. I have the zipper, the tulle, and even the pattern! Autumn is copying the pattern so that we can start immediately on Tuesday. Yay!!
By the way, in case you were wondering, I left on Thursday slightly early so that I could go to Carrie's presentation.
I'm really excited to start the Nest dress. I have the zipper, the tulle, and even the pattern! Autumn is copying the pattern so that we can start immediately on Tuesday. Yay!!
By the way, in case you were wondering, I left on Thursday slightly early so that I could go to Carrie's presentation.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Sew Green 5/17
Normally I don't come to Sew Green on Tuesdays (though I was supposed to add Tuesdays on as I got more free in APRIL!), because I always seemed to have something going on, and believe me, I tried. But this Tuesday, I got done from my French Competition award ceremony on time, got a ride home, and drove down to Sew Green (it was rainy!).
At Sew Green, I met many other apprentices, and although the music taste was much quieter for this group of young girls, the conversation and enthusiasm was much more extreme, and there were more people than on Thursdays. Thankfully, my project wasn't occupying as much of Autumn's time as usual, since it was a pattern, and I sort of knew what I was doing.
Autumn was relieved that I hadn't cut the cloth yet, since she was worried that the head opening might not be big enough. I added more cloth when cutting, so that there was room for error. When I first folded the cloth in half, and laid out my pattern (which is only for half the shirt, by the way), I realized that I was pretty much cutting a hole in the middle of the cloth, and wasting a lot of fabric. So I folded it over twice, so that I was optimally using the fabric, and cutting out both the front and back of the shirt at the same time. I traced the pattern, and cut, and it worked like a charm. I then pinned the head opening and tried it out, and it worked just fine.
I proceeded to sew the shoulders and sides (though my machine's tension was a little messed up- the thread had come out of the bobbin tension), and then it was time to go already. I tried it on quickly, and realized that the body was WAAY to big! Well, at least it's not too small. I'll have to fix that next time...
Last thing: Autumn says that she can come to my WISE presentation. YAY!!!!! I'm excited and nervous too!
At Sew Green, I met many other apprentices, and although the music taste was much quieter for this group of young girls, the conversation and enthusiasm was much more extreme, and there were more people than on Thursdays. Thankfully, my project wasn't occupying as much of Autumn's time as usual, since it was a pattern, and I sort of knew what I was doing.
Autumn was relieved that I hadn't cut the cloth yet, since she was worried that the head opening might not be big enough. I added more cloth when cutting, so that there was room for error. When I first folded the cloth in half, and laid out my pattern (which is only for half the shirt, by the way), I realized that I was pretty much cutting a hole in the middle of the cloth, and wasting a lot of fabric. So I folded it over twice, so that I was optimally using the fabric, and cutting out both the front and back of the shirt at the same time. I traced the pattern, and cut, and it worked like a charm. I then pinned the head opening and tried it out, and it worked just fine.
I proceeded to sew the shoulders and sides (though my machine's tension was a little messed up- the thread had come out of the bobbin tension), and then it was time to go already. I tried it on quickly, and realized that the body was WAAY to big! Well, at least it's not too small. I'll have to fix that next time...
Last thing: Autumn says that she can come to my WISE presentation. YAY!!!!! I'm excited and nervous too!
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Sew Green 5/12
Today in Sew Green, I came in with my purchases from my Wednesday shopping session at JoAnn's, very disappointed with what I had bought. Autumn pulled out some stretch cotton (or Jersey) that she had saved up (so I will return the linen), and so now I have white cloth for my painted dresses. We also discussed what I would like to work on now that my dress is almost finished. I'm going to be working on my chinese shirt next, which should take very little time, since we can use a basic sloper (design for a shirt), and adjust it. After that, I'm going to start working on my burlap inspired dress (see the Nest), and use the tuil that I bought for that. It turns out that Gir has the perfect pattern for that dress, and I can just use hers! It's really fantastic, because I was having difficulty finding the right pattern, and she just happened to have the perfect one. She's going to bring it in next Thursday.
I then finished off my dress by cutting off the 8.5 extra inches of cloth, shaping the bottom like I had wanted it to be (like shirt tails of a man's collard shirt), which I did by hand, since it was faster, and easier for me (it came out pretty even!), and then doing a rolled hem along the bottom. The bottom seem is not perfect, since doing a rolled hem on a sharp curve is very difficult, but you can't really tell from a distance. Once the hem was finished, the dress was SOOOO much better! You'll get to see it next Thursday!!
Afterwards, Autumn and I set off to work on the shirt. First we took the basic sloper, and traced it on this thin, brown paper. The dart that was already pre-drawn on the template was elimated by rotating the sloper, and getting rid of the gap, since the cloth was stretchy, and had no need of a dart. We then measured my own body, to adjust the width of the pattern, extended the neck for a turtle neck, and made small cap sleeves (tiny sleeves on some t-shirts that only just cover one's shoulder). The sleaves were pretty much like small semicircles, which used the same curve as the arm hole curve of the sloper (which had been made steeper since the shirt would be a t-shirt, not a sleevless shirt).
I then cut out the pattern, and took it home along with my cloth to hopefully cut it over the weekend.
I then finished off my dress by cutting off the 8.5 extra inches of cloth, shaping the bottom like I had wanted it to be (like shirt tails of a man's collard shirt), which I did by hand, since it was faster, and easier for me (it came out pretty even!), and then doing a rolled hem along the bottom. The bottom seem is not perfect, since doing a rolled hem on a sharp curve is very difficult, but you can't really tell from a distance. Once the hem was finished, the dress was SOOOO much better! You'll get to see it next Thursday!!
Afterwards, Autumn and I set off to work on the shirt. First we took the basic sloper, and traced it on this thin, brown paper. The dart that was already pre-drawn on the template was elimated by rotating the sloper, and getting rid of the gap, since the cloth was stretchy, and had no need of a dart. We then measured my own body, to adjust the width of the pattern, extended the neck for a turtle neck, and made small cap sleeves (tiny sleeves on some t-shirts that only just cover one's shoulder). The sleaves were pretty much like small semicircles, which used the same curve as the arm hole curve of the sloper (which had been made steeper since the shirt would be a t-shirt, not a sleevless shirt).
I then cut out the pattern, and took it home along with my cloth to hopefully cut it over the weekend.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Sew Green 5/5
Fuel burned out! Will finish this soon...
walked- gorgeous trees/light/flowers- inspired!
got in, showed hiddeous mess of a dress I had messed it up at home (see Side Seams from Saturday)
ripped seams- actually becoming fun! This material is easier to rip out seams than others
tried to fit The dress wasn't laying down the front symmetrically. Something was not right
laid it out, averaged numbers- still not look right Turns out the averages were completely wrong anyway (just looking at it, you could see that it didn't fit the curve of a body. Pretty much the dress had been wrapped around, and totally asymetrical.)
Asked if we can measure body instead I actually took measurements of my bust, below the bust, waist and hips, and then measured how far down from my armpit each of these sections were, and then mapped them out on the cloth. This was by far the best part, since I could see the outline of a body forming as I charted it out.
much better curve The result
took LONG time I was charting out each and every point
finally pinned together two sides I had to pin together the two side seam lines, which is a lot harder than it seems, since they are on opposite sides. So pretty much I placed my finger on one side, and tried to match it up with my index finger on the other side. It didn't work perfectly, but oh well.
arm seam not long enough I didn't sew far enough up the side to the arm
SEWED SIDE SEAMS BIG accomplishment!
arm hole not meet properly... back and the front not sewed up to the whole way, so the arm hole was connected unevenly
oh well!
finish bottom at home? bottom = bottom hem
bye bye!
okay, I'm looking at this later, and realizing that it is sort of cool. It's like poetry. I want to keep my journal entry this way, since it's raw, but has all the main points. I've added some clarifications so that people understand what's going on
walked- gorgeous trees/light/flowers- inspired!
got in, showed hiddeous mess of a dress I had messed it up at home (see Side Seams from Saturday)
ripped seams- actually becoming fun! This material is easier to rip out seams than others
tried to fit The dress wasn't laying down the front symmetrically. Something was not right
laid it out, averaged numbers- still not look right Turns out the averages were completely wrong anyway (just looking at it, you could see that it didn't fit the curve of a body. Pretty much the dress had been wrapped around, and totally asymetrical.)
Asked if we can measure body instead I actually took measurements of my bust, below the bust, waist and hips, and then measured how far down from my armpit each of these sections were, and then mapped them out on the cloth. This was by far the best part, since I could see the outline of a body forming as I charted it out.
much better curve The result
took LONG time I was charting out each and every point
finally pinned together two sides I had to pin together the two side seam lines, which is a lot harder than it seems, since they are on opposite sides. So pretty much I placed my finger on one side, and tried to match it up with my index finger on the other side. It didn't work perfectly, but oh well.
arm seam not long enough I didn't sew far enough up the side to the arm
SEWED SIDE SEAMS BIG accomplishment!
arm hole not meet properly... back and the front not sewed up to the whole way, so the arm hole was connected unevenly
oh well!
finish bottom at home? bottom = bottom hem
bye bye!
okay, I'm looking at this later, and realizing that it is sort of cool. It's like poetry. I want to keep my journal entry this way, since it's raw, but has all the main points. I've added some clarifications so that people understand what's going on
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Sew Green 4/28
Today I walked in to Sew Green hoping I would get to finish my dress. But I didn't. I almost did... sort of. However, I took my time and did my best. I first sewed the arm holes with a rolled hem. This takes me forever. By the time I finally finished, for some reason, it was almost time to go! Autumn quickly fitted the dress so that I could sew the side seams at home, and I happily packed up and headed home. It was a good day of work, even though I didn't get finished. Next time!!!
Also, for those of you who are interested (thank you Mr. Byrne), I did not get to walk to Sew Green :( My parents were out for a week, and I wouldn't have been able to have been able to get a ride home, so I took the car. Shame, shame on me! It was really hard to park because of an event on the commons too!
Also, for those of you who are interested (thank you Mr. Byrne), I did not get to walk to Sew Green :( My parents were out for a week, and I wouldn't have been able to have been able to get a ride home, so I took the car. Shame, shame on me! It was really hard to park because of an event on the commons too!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Sew Green 4/14
All righty! I've gotten a move on!
So I started out by showing Autumn my sketches based on the cloth I had gotten last time. I had done a Chinese-style turtleneck (which will be posted soon), which I actually really like. She thought it would be really cool and really easy to make, which was a confidence booster. I have all the materials for it as well (including the buttons!), so that makes it even better! I wasn't able to design anything for the blue cloth, and was going to give up, when I remembered I had had the idea of using it for my blue jay skirt. We had a short brainstorm, and then Autumn came up with the awesome idea of using different colored blue denim pieces for the skirt. It would look fabulous! I was really excited. So Autumn has some old jean fabric in her studio, and I have brought in an old pair of jeans that will be cut for their pattern, and then also used for the skirt. Turns out my project will be pretty green after all!
We then moved on to my dress. I pinned the sides of the dress for the side seams and marked them. I also marked the pins for the draping of the cowl, and then sewed the cloth along the pins. I found out that I really like the green sewing machine. It is quiet and smooth, and runs like an angel. I think I'll try and use it from now on. I like it better than my own machine! And also, today I was able to sew perfectly straight lines!Unfortunately the two sides did not come out even. I ended up sewing the seam again instead of ripping it, since it was a pretty tight seam, and then gave up when it was still uneven. One couldn't really tell, and I'm not in a fancy design school. It probably won't even show in the end.
I then learned sewed the hem of the back of the dress. This was hard. One had to roll it over twice, and roll it while you sewed it on a very thin hem. Autumn cut little slits to make it stay rolled, but then the slits got caught when I was sewing it. We ended up taking out the whole seam (Autumn actually took out most of it, saying that she was partially responsable, and though she wasn't, she's way faster at taking out seams than I am, so I ceded responsability), cutting the extra seam allowance (there was too much), and then after she started the first part (so that it stayed down), it was a lot easier to sew, and it ended up looking really professional! We then sewed the front and back sleaves together, and I tried it on like a smock. It was so cool! Next time we are definately finishing it!
I ran into Wendy towards the end. Thankfully, she barely remembered my name. She commented on how my progress was very slow, and I said that it was still awesome that I had almost completed my first dress. She misheard it as awful, but I made it clear that that was the opposite of what I had said.
So I started out by showing Autumn my sketches based on the cloth I had gotten last time. I had done a Chinese-style turtleneck (which will be posted soon), which I actually really like. She thought it would be really cool and really easy to make, which was a confidence booster. I have all the materials for it as well (including the buttons!), so that makes it even better! I wasn't able to design anything for the blue cloth, and was going to give up, when I remembered I had had the idea of using it for my blue jay skirt. We had a short brainstorm, and then Autumn came up with the awesome idea of using different colored blue denim pieces for the skirt. It would look fabulous! I was really excited. So Autumn has some old jean fabric in her studio, and I have brought in an old pair of jeans that will be cut for their pattern, and then also used for the skirt. Turns out my project will be pretty green after all!
We then moved on to my dress. I pinned the sides of the dress for the side seams and marked them. I also marked the pins for the draping of the cowl, and then sewed the cloth along the pins. I found out that I really like the green sewing machine. It is quiet and smooth, and runs like an angel. I think I'll try and use it from now on. I like it better than my own machine! And also, today I was able to sew perfectly straight lines!Unfortunately the two sides did not come out even. I ended up sewing the seam again instead of ripping it, since it was a pretty tight seam, and then gave up when it was still uneven. One couldn't really tell, and I'm not in a fancy design school. It probably won't even show in the end.
I then learned sewed the hem of the back of the dress. This was hard. One had to roll it over twice, and roll it while you sewed it on a very thin hem. Autumn cut little slits to make it stay rolled, but then the slits got caught when I was sewing it. We ended up taking out the whole seam (Autumn actually took out most of it, saying that she was partially responsable, and though she wasn't, she's way faster at taking out seams than I am, so I ceded responsability), cutting the extra seam allowance (there was too much), and then after she started the first part (so that it stayed down), it was a lot easier to sew, and it ended up looking really professional! We then sewed the front and back sleaves together, and I tried it on like a smock. It was so cool! Next time we are definately finishing it!
I ran into Wendy towards the end. Thankfully, she barely remembered my name. She commented on how my progress was very slow, and I said that it was still awesome that I had almost completed my first dress. She misheard it as awful, but I made it clear that that was the opposite of what I had said.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Sew Green 4/7
When I walked into Sew-Green today, I was a little disappointed to find that I wouldn't be working on my project right away. But I quickly got over it, realizing that I was getting a ton of help, fabric, and fun for free, so I better be ready to help out when I can. Our task wasn't even work. It was fun too!
We were supposed to design and remodel t-shirts for Sew-Green's booth at an event in the Women's Center encouraging young teenage girls to be confident and outgoing. There were guidebooks on how to re-fashion t-shirts, and our job was to make a few demos, without sewing a single stitch! At first, I was perplexed. How am I supposed to do that?? But after flipping through the book, I found a t-shirt that had been made into a cowl, and since I've been in a total cowl-obsessed phase, I pounced on the opportunity and started cutting up the t-shirt, and weaving strips of cloth for making the seams. My cowl ended up looking pretty good! It wasn't as good as the demo (somehow they never are), but it was wearable! I'll be able to take it home and show you guys after the show.
After finishing the shirt (honestly I did it a little fast, not just because I was excited to see it made, but honestly because I wanted to move on as well). Autumn was a little panicked. She wanted to start all over with the draping, using a pre-made cowl as an example instead, since she was worried about it not looking like my sketch in the end. It was sort of nice to know that someone was concerned about my project, but also ironic that she was more worried than I was! I felt really bad for making her worry, and reassured her that during my project, one of my goals is to learn how to be less of a perfectionist (an new goal, which I've made up on the spot!), and that if I don't finish five pieces, that is absolutely okay, just as long as I learn more about making clothes. I wanted to learn how to drape a dress, and so it was okay if it wasn't perfect. It was a learning experience, and an experiment.
So I set to work with the design I had draped, and after unpinning it, I set to work using chalk paper and a pokey rolling tool to copy the pattern on the other side of the cloth with chalk paper. I did this by pinning the cloth directly in half, and then slipping the chalk paper under the cloth. I then pressed the pokey rolly thing into the cloth, and the chalk imprinted the other side.
I then added a one inch seam allowance to both sides. Afterwards, and this was the scary part, I cut the cloth along the seam allowance line! After cutting the cloth, I pinned it back up, and it looked like a dress! Yay! I've been told that next time I will be able to finish the dress, but I'm not sure. We'll see.
Towards the end, I was able to look in the fabric bin that Autumn brought in for me to sort through. It was very kind of Sew-Green to offer these fabrics for free! A lot of them weren't usable for my project, but I did find two pieces of cloth that were quite nice! There was an orange stretchy material, and a blue material. I took swatches of both (though I think I've lost them unfortunately!). My homework this week is to design a garment using this cloth, since I need other cloth to start my next few pieces.
We were supposed to design and remodel t-shirts for Sew-Green's booth at an event in the Women's Center encouraging young teenage girls to be confident and outgoing. There were guidebooks on how to re-fashion t-shirts, and our job was to make a few demos, without sewing a single stitch! At first, I was perplexed. How am I supposed to do that?? But after flipping through the book, I found a t-shirt that had been made into a cowl, and since I've been in a total cowl-obsessed phase, I pounced on the opportunity and started cutting up the t-shirt, and weaving strips of cloth for making the seams. My cowl ended up looking pretty good! It wasn't as good as the demo (somehow they never are), but it was wearable! I'll be able to take it home and show you guys after the show.
After finishing the shirt (honestly I did it a little fast, not just because I was excited to see it made, but honestly because I wanted to move on as well). Autumn was a little panicked. She wanted to start all over with the draping, using a pre-made cowl as an example instead, since she was worried about it not looking like my sketch in the end. It was sort of nice to know that someone was concerned about my project, but also ironic that she was more worried than I was! I felt really bad for making her worry, and reassured her that during my project, one of my goals is to learn how to be less of a perfectionist (an new goal, which I've made up on the spot!), and that if I don't finish five pieces, that is absolutely okay, just as long as I learn more about making clothes. I wanted to learn how to drape a dress, and so it was okay if it wasn't perfect. It was a learning experience, and an experiment.
So I set to work with the design I had draped, and after unpinning it, I set to work using chalk paper and a pokey rolling tool to copy the pattern on the other side of the cloth with chalk paper. I did this by pinning the cloth directly in half, and then slipping the chalk paper under the cloth. I then pressed the pokey rolly thing into the cloth, and the chalk imprinted the other side.
I then added a one inch seam allowance to both sides. Afterwards, and this was the scary part, I cut the cloth along the seam allowance line! After cutting the cloth, I pinned it back up, and it looked like a dress! Yay! I've been told that next time I will be able to finish the dress, but I'm not sure. We'll see.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Sew Green 3/31
Today I walked to Sew-Green! I felt guilty for always driving, it was nice weather, my parents said they could pick me up when I was done. It was perfect! The walk was really nice and refreshing, and I got there 15 minutes early! I'll definately make a habit of this (despite the heaviness of the stuff I have to carry) if it's nice weather.
I started off at Sew-Green today by cutting out the front piece for my fabric. It was the same length as the first piece, just ten inches longer because of the cowl. I had brought in two old dresses and a shirt with a cowl. The old dresses will be used as scrap/inspiration/material, while the shirt I brought in to copy the cowl. I love that shirt. It's a purple, babyphat cowl necked shirt, and although I can't wear it easily in Ithaca, I wear it a lot to parties and in Miami. After seeing how the cowl looked when finished, and discussing some ideas on how I wanted it to look, I started draping the cowl. There will be enough cloth since Autumn decided that although draping along the bias would give a better affect (the fabric I'm working with is a little too heavy), draping along the lenghth will be fine.
Draping took me a long time, in fact, longer than it should have. I only got it off the mannequin towards the end of the session. I first pinned the cloth the way I wanted it (which took the most time), and then tried to smoothen the fabric along the body, getting rid of any puckers. I soon realized that due to the cowl, the boddice was never going to be smooth. Because of that, I thought, why not exaggerate the folds, and make tucks instead? Unfortunately, this idea was only thought of after an hour of struggling. I was being a little bit too perfectionistic, and perhaps something I really should learn during this project is to try one's best, but then let go a bit, and be willing to let a little bulge here and there go (or else I'll never finish!). Once Autumn approved my work, I drew with chalk the seam of my dress (litterally! right on the cloth, over all of the pins and bunches). I then kept the pins for the draping of the cowl, but removed all of the other ones and took the cloth OFF the mannequin! I was really impressed how litteral of a translation it was from mannequin to straight cloth. I thought it would be a lot harder.
I'm going to start sewing next time! So exciting!
I also asked for another copy of the sewing machine parts, so FINALLY I have the list! (I had forgotten it the first time, and kept on forgetting to ask for a new one). I know pretty much all of the parts, but it's nice to have a copy for reference.
I also asked for five more bags to sew for practice. This will kill two birds with one stone, since I can help kids by making school bags, and practice sewing at the same time (though we'll see how much time I get for that!)
Finally, I found out that Sew-Green actually has a box of patterns that I might be able to use/borrow! This will definately help me get a head start on making real clothes! Unfortunately the box was hidden today, and we were unable to find it. :( Next time!
I started off at Sew-Green today by cutting out the front piece for my fabric. It was the same length as the first piece, just ten inches longer because of the cowl. I had brought in two old dresses and a shirt with a cowl. The old dresses will be used as scrap/inspiration/material, while the shirt I brought in to copy the cowl. I love that shirt. It's a purple, babyphat cowl necked shirt, and although I can't wear it easily in Ithaca, I wear it a lot to parties and in Miami. After seeing how the cowl looked when finished, and discussing some ideas on how I wanted it to look, I started draping the cowl. There will be enough cloth since Autumn decided that although draping along the bias would give a better affect (the fabric I'm working with is a little too heavy), draping along the lenghth will be fine.
Draping took me a long time, in fact, longer than it should have. I only got it off the mannequin towards the end of the session. I first pinned the cloth the way I wanted it (which took the most time), and then tried to smoothen the fabric along the body, getting rid of any puckers. I soon realized that due to the cowl, the boddice was never going to be smooth. Because of that, I thought, why not exaggerate the folds, and make tucks instead? Unfortunately, this idea was only thought of after an hour of struggling. I was being a little bit too perfectionistic, and perhaps something I really should learn during this project is to try one's best, but then let go a bit, and be willing to let a little bulge here and there go (or else I'll never finish!). Once Autumn approved my work, I drew with chalk the seam of my dress (litterally! right on the cloth, over all of the pins and bunches). I then kept the pins for the draping of the cowl, but removed all of the other ones and took the cloth OFF the mannequin! I was really impressed how litteral of a translation it was from mannequin to straight cloth. I thought it would be a lot harder.
I'm going to start sewing next time! So exciting!
I also asked for another copy of the sewing machine parts, so FINALLY I have the list! (I had forgotten it the first time, and kept on forgetting to ask for a new one). I know pretty much all of the parts, but it's nice to have a copy for reference.
I also asked for five more bags to sew for practice. This will kill two birds with one stone, since I can help kids by making school bags, and practice sewing at the same time (though we'll see how much time I get for that!)
Finally, I found out that Sew-Green actually has a box of patterns that I might be able to use/borrow! This will definately help me get a head start on making real clothes! Unfortunately the box was hidden today, and we were unable to find it. :( Next time!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Sew Green 3/24
Today was a very exciting day at Sew Green. I got to start my first dress! (the owl). So, first thing's first is that Autumn and I looked over my sketches again. Since I wasn't experienced making very detailed sketches, I was missing a lot of stuff. One thing that she noted was that in the flat sketch of my owl dress, the back was low slung, and that if both the back and the front were low slung, then if the model relaxed her shoulders, the dress would fall off! I needed to sketch a new back for the dress, and after much thought, I decided to have a wide racerback. I didn't want a halter, because then the straps would have been too close to the neck, and I didn't want a narrow racerback, since that would make it look like a tank top. I wide racerback looked a bit more formal.
Autumn told me that the biggest limitation in Ithaca is fabric, and especially since I have a limited budget, I should design with a specific fabric in mind. The only problem though is that I don't know how much of what kind of fabric to buy. So when I walked in, and we were planning to make my owl dress, I still didn't have any fabric for the dress. We decided to visit the Sew Green store, and I was about to settle for a fabric that was a little rougher and stiffer than I wanted, when I spied the perfect fabric in the back of the store. I seem to always find the best stuff in the unmarked section. Since there were some stains on the material, I got the whole thing for free, but I feel bad taking the fabric without paying, so any fabric that I have left over after my project, or that is left over from my own personal inventory, I plan to donate to Sew-Green (along with any left-over money).
I now have two gifts from Sew-Green. One is approximately three square yards of the material I needed for my dress, and the other was a small, half yard portion of fake fur, which will be perfect for the sleeves of the jacket that will go with the dress. The dress fabric is the exact color that I had wanted, and even had some stretch! The only problem is that it was shiny polyester, and although I can turn it inside out, and then it won't have any shine, I need to think about whether I want it to be shiny or not.
We then started draping. First, I used bias tape (though it wasn't real tape, but just shoelace material- I actually liked it better, since it draped like my fabric), and pinned it on the mannequin in the shape of the neckline and arm lines of my dress. This probably took the longest, since I had to make it symmetrical, and just how I wanted it. I then cut the fabric for the back piece. When cutting the material (polyester fabric is woven in a loom, with one continuous strand), one cuts parallel to the finished edge (or selvage) along the lengthwise grain, unless it is a fabric that one can rip along the crosswise grain. The link below explains the weaving process, and how to cut the fabric properly according to what kind of fabric it is.
http://www.scrapquilts.com/fabric_grain.html
The image below shows the selvage, bias, and grains, but the website isn't as good at explaining how to cut the fabric or why one needs to be so specific.
The dimensions were as such: for the width, I measured from below the armpit on one side of the mannequin to the other, and then added ten inches. For the height, I measured from knee height to the shoulder, and added ten inches to that as well. After cutting the fabric, I then folded it in half and sewed a loose stitch down the very center (so that I would be able to pin it straight down the back and have it even on both sides). I pinned the fabric along the spine of the mannequin, and smoothed it out. I then traced out the neckline on the fabric. Unfortunately, that was about as far as I got. We ran out of time, and there was also the problem on how to drape the cowl neck.
When draping a cowl, one needs to leave about ten inches of cloth on the inside, so that the cowl hangs, but does not fall. Because of this, when we had cut the cloth along the center, we could drape the cowl along the top of the cloth, but we wouldn't have enough cloth if we draped it along the bias (diagonally), which may produce a more dramatic cowl, like the one in my sketch, as well as have less fabric along the straps. Personally, I don't really see the difference, but if we do drape it along the bias, I would have to have a seam in the middle of the dress to add more fabric. I really don't want to do that, but I guess if I have to, I could add a belt or something. However, this would mess up my painted coral. Perhaps I can do a diagonal seam, which I would mostly paint over with the coral, and hide it. We'll see.
Autumn told me that the biggest limitation in Ithaca is fabric, and especially since I have a limited budget, I should design with a specific fabric in mind. The only problem though is that I don't know how much of what kind of fabric to buy. So when I walked in, and we were planning to make my owl dress, I still didn't have any fabric for the dress. We decided to visit the Sew Green store, and I was about to settle for a fabric that was a little rougher and stiffer than I wanted, when I spied the perfect fabric in the back of the store. I seem to always find the best stuff in the unmarked section. Since there were some stains on the material, I got the whole thing for free, but I feel bad taking the fabric without paying, so any fabric that I have left over after my project, or that is left over from my own personal inventory, I plan to donate to Sew-Green (along with any left-over money).
I now have two gifts from Sew-Green. One is approximately three square yards of the material I needed for my dress, and the other was a small, half yard portion of fake fur, which will be perfect for the sleeves of the jacket that will go with the dress. The dress fabric is the exact color that I had wanted, and even had some stretch! The only problem is that it was shiny polyester, and although I can turn it inside out, and then it won't have any shine, I need to think about whether I want it to be shiny or not.
We then started draping. First, I used bias tape (though it wasn't real tape, but just shoelace material- I actually liked it better, since it draped like my fabric), and pinned it on the mannequin in the shape of the neckline and arm lines of my dress. This probably took the longest, since I had to make it symmetrical, and just how I wanted it. I then cut the fabric for the back piece. When cutting the material (polyester fabric is woven in a loom, with one continuous strand), one cuts parallel to the finished edge (or selvage) along the lengthwise grain, unless it is a fabric that one can rip along the crosswise grain. The link below explains the weaving process, and how to cut the fabric properly according to what kind of fabric it is.
http://www.scrapquilts.com/fabric_grain.html
The image below shows the selvage, bias, and grains, but the website isn't as good at explaining how to cut the fabric or why one needs to be so specific.
 |
| http://www.thetraintocrazy.com/2010/02/clothing-sew-along-week-2.html |
When draping a cowl, one needs to leave about ten inches of cloth on the inside, so that the cowl hangs, but does not fall. Because of this, when we had cut the cloth along the center, we could drape the cowl along the top of the cloth, but we wouldn't have enough cloth if we draped it along the bias (diagonally), which may produce a more dramatic cowl, like the one in my sketch, as well as have less fabric along the straps. Personally, I don't really see the difference, but if we do drape it along the bias, I would have to have a seam in the middle of the dress to add more fabric. I really don't want to do that, but I guess if I have to, I could add a belt or something. However, this would mess up my painted coral. Perhaps I can do a diagonal seam, which I would mostly paint over with the coral, and hide it. We'll see.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Second Day at Sew Green (3/17)
I didn't write about what happened during my second day at Sew-Green partially because I didn't have time to craft a good journal entry, but mostly because I had difficulty putting it into words. Here it goes:
I was really excited to go to Sew-Green on Thursday, since I thought I would be able to start sewing. Unfortunately, Autumn was sick! I feel guilty for being disappointed, but honestly, I was a little. I wish her the best at getting better! So for the first five minutes, I didn't really know what I should do, since everyone had their own project, and I hadn't really started mine. So I went around, looking at other people's work, while they looked at my sketchbook. It was pretty neat, and I wish I could have had more time to see their work.
Then Wendy called me over to look at my sketchbook. Flipping through my sketchbook, she asked me what my goal was. I told her that I wanted to be able to create five of my sketches. She immediately started trying to tell me that it was not possible, and that I should settle for something less, like just sketching, and then making only one of the dresses I had sketched (the simplest one). But I already know how to draw. I want to learn how to SEW. To say the least, I was crestfallen. I know that fashion design students spend years learning about fashion design, but I want to learn as much as I can, and I don't care if I don't finish all of the garments. I want to try.
Thankfully, Gir saved me with a destraction, and she started to teach me about draping. We got out a manniquen and a bunch of different fabrics, and I started draping a pinning the fabric onto the body in a resemblence of a dress. The purpose was to feel the different fabrics, and know how they fall. I think I did pretty well! Check out my work below!
She also got out a book on draping, which was a college level book, and had pages and pages on how to make cuts fit the body by using darts. Darts are the seams around the bust, accounting for the chest. They can be really complex. I didn't know there were that many kinds! There are princess seams, darts at the shoulders, and ones that come up from the waist. There was even one that cut accross the breasts and made a t-shape, though that's not very flattering, and is out of style because it flattens the breast.
Draping is important to know what your style is going to look at. From draping, one can sketch what you drape, or even start cutting and sewing while draping. I also learned about sheaths. Sheaths are when you take a basic cut in muslin, and stretch the cloth so that you have perfect corners, and a perfect fit in muslin. Then you can use this muslin template to make more of the same style, or edit the cut to have sleaves, darts in different places, or different versions of the same shape. I will probably be using sheaths at some part, since Autumns said I should use similar bases in my sketches, and build on similar cuts. The only problem is that they are very time consuming and difficult to make, so most people don't use them.
After I was done draping, I took a look at two saris that Gir was planning on buying, and as we were about to leave, I caught out of the corner of my eye a piece of faux fur that would be perfect for my Owl sketch! Wendy let me keep it as a gift, and even gave me a special box to keep it in! I was really excited.
We then started talking about manniquens. I had seen some duck-taped mannequins that people had made to fit their own bodies, and asked how it was done. Basically you wear an old t-shirt and get taped all around with duck tape. Then the duck-tape cast is cut off of you, and stuffed, and you have your own model! I was really excited at first, thinking I would have a really cheap mannequin, when suddenly I thought about the duck tape. When I asked Wendy how much it took, she said I would need 3 rolls, or 15 dollars worth! I know this may not sound like much, but with my $100 budget, it would be really a blow on my finances. I don't know if I'll be able to make one, at least not right away. Right now, my plan of using myself and stuffed animals seems like my cheapest alternative.
Then we had to leave, since a class was starting. On the way out though, Wendy asked me if I realized that Gir was just a helper, and that I was not Gir's apprentice. I wonder why she asked me that? I know that Autumn is my mentor, and I hope that I was not imposing on Gir. After all, it wasn't very busy that day, and Gir had been really excited to teach me draping.
I hope that at the next Sew-Green session, I will be able to start on my dress, and if not, be able to start learning how to make a certain kind of garment, even if it's a simple t-shirt.
Oh! One last thing! At my first Sew-Green meeting, I seemed to have lost an article that was one of my main inspirations. I was really sad about it, but then I did a thourough search on the internet, and what do you know? After about three search sessions, I found it hidden in someone's wedding blog! It's an Oscar de la Renta wedding gown! I love Oscar de la Renta. I posted it below. Enjoy!
 |
| http://honeybeeweddings.blogspot.com/2010/09/i-love-you-oscar-de-la-renta.html |
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
One Thing I learned...
Something I learned, and forgot to mention:
During my Sew-Green meeting last time, I learned how to do a close stitch for a hankerchief. Well, today for a present, I got a scarf, and finally realized what they were talking about. You can shift your needle to the edge of the presser foot, and sew right along the edge of the silk after folding it very fine. This creates a thin seam. I will really need this if I decide to use any silk or fine, flowy materials (gauzy materials too!) that need a thin, light hem. I learned how important this is for a polished look in Project Runway, otherwise you can see the jaggedness of where you cut it, and it's a disaster
The other thing I learned that I was supposed to share I unfortnately forgot!!! Oh well, I'll get back to you when I remember...
During my Sew-Green meeting last time, I learned how to do a close stitch for a hankerchief. Well, today for a present, I got a scarf, and finally realized what they were talking about. You can shift your needle to the edge of the presser foot, and sew right along the edge of the silk after folding it very fine. This creates a thin seam. I will really need this if I decide to use any silk or fine, flowy materials (gauzy materials too!) that need a thin, light hem. I learned how important this is for a polished look in Project Runway, otherwise you can see the jaggedness of where you cut it, and it's a disaster
The other thing I learned that I was supposed to share I unfortnately forgot!!! Oh well, I'll get back to you when I remember...
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Plan for Next Week
This morning, I was working on preparing for my Mock Trial Competition, when suddnely, I realized that I would be at the competition on Thursday! This means no Sew-Green this Thursday. I was devistated, since I was really looking forward to draping my dress, but perhaps it was a blessing in disguise, since I will have more time to finish sketching, and organize my materials and how I will finance this project. I'm starting to get a little intimidated now that I am getting closer, but I must persevere!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Mentor Meeting and My first day at Sew Green
During my mentor meeting today, Ms. Lasher and I had a short chat about my upcoming first day of my apprenticeship at Sew Green. We decided that since we wouldn't know about how the first day went until the next day, that we would meet Monday of next week in order to have a full meeting.
My first day at Sew Green!
I walked into the room, and was immediately greeted by smiling faces and a warm, welcoming classroom. I finally got to meet Wendy, and Autumn was there too. I recognized Gir, a former student of Ithaca High School, who is now an apprentice of Sew-Green. Everyone was hard at work on their sewing machines, making drawstring bags to be sent to school children in third world countries. Sew Green often has projects aimed at donating to charities. For example, Sew Green once made dresses for little girls in Africa. It's quite touching to know that the bag you were sewing for practice wasn't just going to be a wasted effort, but aftually help someone.
Right off the bat, Gir, gave me a very entertaining run-down of sewing machine, telling me all of the parts of the machine, and how they worked. Unfortunately, in my later efforts on making bags, I forgot the sheet with all the names of the parts. I will have to remember to get it at my next visit. However, the names were quite straight forward, and I remembered many of them from my sewing lessons when I was little.
As soon as my intro was finished, I was set to work, making bags. I made three bags in 1.5 hours, which is VERY slow compared to some of the other sewers, however, I got the hang of sewing again (for the most part!) I realized that my lines have become very messy, and since we had to sew next to a very thin edge, I was having a lot of trouble. I feel like I would have had an easier time on my own machine, but I am really rusty, so who knows. In the future, perhaps I will pin my seams while I am practicing, and gradually reduce the number of pins, in order to have my edges line up.
At the end of the day, I got some one on one time with Autumn. She looked over my sketches, and gave some comments. One was whether or not I wanted a theme. Usually fashion lines have one piece that ties everything together. I need to decide what that will be. Another was that, although I have labeled my sketches, I need to draw flat sketches of the clothes (as though they are lying on the ground) with all the seams shown, and lots of detail. I'm glad I have a lot of space in my sketchbook! Finally, I should be designing while keeping in mind that the more I can alter the same pattern and come up with something new, the better, that way we can work with the same pattern and add stuff on.
Next week, Autumn said that I we would be able to start draping my first dress! I'm really excited. We're going to start with the easiest piece, which is the dress with the coral painted on it (see Sketchbook). In the meantime, I have to expand my sketches with the flat sketches, and come up with some more designs and options so that we have many to pick and choose from. Right now I have 3 favorites. Obviously, since I plan to have 5 outfits, I need some more sketches.
One last thing that I forgot...
We talked about the cost of cloth. Cloth can be really expensive, and currently I don't know how I'm going to get the money. I was thinking of dipping into my wages, but I really want to save up for college. Right now, that's my back up plan. I get 40% off all the merchandise in the Sew-Green store, since I'm an apprentice. That's HUGE! I have yet to explore the store, but that will definately be a way to save money. Also, I'm currently desiging clothes with realtively low cost materials (muslin, stretch cotton, etc).
One idea I had for raising money would be to get my models to sponser me. Since the clothes would be made to fit them, they could pick which outfit they want to model, and bid for it. The highest bidder gets to model the outfit, and then keep it so long as they pay for all of the materials. This would give me a budget, but at least I would have money to make the clothes. Alternatively, I can think of it as an investment for myself, making clothes that I would wear in the future, and paying out of pocket. This would be easier in that I would always have a model (me), but I would probably put an even smaller budget on each outfit in that case, since I really don't want to be broke!
My first day at Sew Green!
I walked into the room, and was immediately greeted by smiling faces and a warm, welcoming classroom. I finally got to meet Wendy, and Autumn was there too. I recognized Gir, a former student of Ithaca High School, who is now an apprentice of Sew-Green. Everyone was hard at work on their sewing machines, making drawstring bags to be sent to school children in third world countries. Sew Green often has projects aimed at donating to charities. For example, Sew Green once made dresses for little girls in Africa. It's quite touching to know that the bag you were sewing for practice wasn't just going to be a wasted effort, but aftually help someone.
Right off the bat, Gir, gave me a very entertaining run-down of sewing machine, telling me all of the parts of the machine, and how they worked. Unfortunately, in my later efforts on making bags, I forgot the sheet with all the names of the parts. I will have to remember to get it at my next visit. However, the names were quite straight forward, and I remembered many of them from my sewing lessons when I was little.
As soon as my intro was finished, I was set to work, making bags. I made three bags in 1.5 hours, which is VERY slow compared to some of the other sewers, however, I got the hang of sewing again (for the most part!) I realized that my lines have become very messy, and since we had to sew next to a very thin edge, I was having a lot of trouble. I feel like I would have had an easier time on my own machine, but I am really rusty, so who knows. In the future, perhaps I will pin my seams while I am practicing, and gradually reduce the number of pins, in order to have my edges line up.
At the end of the day, I got some one on one time with Autumn. She looked over my sketches, and gave some comments. One was whether or not I wanted a theme. Usually fashion lines have one piece that ties everything together. I need to decide what that will be. Another was that, although I have labeled my sketches, I need to draw flat sketches of the clothes (as though they are lying on the ground) with all the seams shown, and lots of detail. I'm glad I have a lot of space in my sketchbook! Finally, I should be designing while keeping in mind that the more I can alter the same pattern and come up with something new, the better, that way we can work with the same pattern and add stuff on.
Next week, Autumn said that I we would be able to start draping my first dress! I'm really excited. We're going to start with the easiest piece, which is the dress with the coral painted on it (see Sketchbook). In the meantime, I have to expand my sketches with the flat sketches, and come up with some more designs and options so that we have many to pick and choose from. Right now I have 3 favorites. Obviously, since I plan to have 5 outfits, I need some more sketches.
One last thing that I forgot...
We talked about the cost of cloth. Cloth can be really expensive, and currently I don't know how I'm going to get the money. I was thinking of dipping into my wages, but I really want to save up for college. Right now, that's my back up plan. I get 40% off all the merchandise in the Sew-Green store, since I'm an apprentice. That's HUGE! I have yet to explore the store, but that will definately be a way to save money. Also, I'm currently desiging clothes with realtively low cost materials (muslin, stretch cotton, etc).
One idea I had for raising money would be to get my models to sponser me. Since the clothes would be made to fit them, they could pick which outfit they want to model, and bid for it. The highest bidder gets to model the outfit, and then keep it so long as they pay for all of the materials. This would give me a budget, but at least I would have money to make the clothes. Alternatively, I can think of it as an investment for myself, making clothes that I would wear in the future, and paying out of pocket. This would be easier in that I would always have a model (me), but I would probably put an even smaller budget on each outfit in that case, since I really don't want to be broke!
Friday, February 11, 2011
The Interview
Yesterday I was interviewed by Ms. Autumn Newell for an apprenticeship at Sew Green. They seemed to really be what I was looking for, offering lessons in clothing construction and design. Apprentices work at Sew Green, and then get one-on-one lessons when they aren't helping out with the store and school. I'm really excited about both parts of the apprenticeship, since there's a possibility that I can work with kids, as a teaching assistant.
I found out a bit more about Sew Green's goals of environmentally friendly fashion, and got to know Ms. Newell. It turns out that she went to the Fashion Institute of Technology, which is the rival of Shonali's school, which was Parson's (see My Interview with Shonali). She seemed really interested in what she was doing, and made me excited about it as well.
I really hope that I will get the apprenticeship. If not, I will probably take classes at Sew-Green in any case, or try and learn from my friend's mom (she made her own prom dress!), and some of the other people on my list (see Bibliography). Perhaps I can teach myself, though I'd need someone to guide me and help me out when I get stuck...
Anyway, seeing my constraints in schedule, and a shortage of slots, it seems that I will only be going there once or twice a week, and more as I finish my Mock Trial competition and more people finish their apprenticeship. In the mean time, I plan to take apart an old tee-shirt (the jeans were a little too intimidating), and see how the pieces fit together. However, I'm so excited that I'll probably take apart the jeans as well. I'm starting to see the creation of clothing as something more scientific than I had initially imagined. You have to measure each section so that it fits and falls correctly, measuring how large you want your seems to be, making adjustments, and calculating how the proportions will change because of it. Maybe I'm making this a bit too mathmatical, but since I love math, it will be fun to weave in some calculations into my sewing while I'm at it. Who knows, it might be really helpful.
I found out a bit more about Sew Green's goals of environmentally friendly fashion, and got to know Ms. Newell. It turns out that she went to the Fashion Institute of Technology, which is the rival of Shonali's school, which was Parson's (see My Interview with Shonali). She seemed really interested in what she was doing, and made me excited about it as well.
I really hope that I will get the apprenticeship. If not, I will probably take classes at Sew-Green in any case, or try and learn from my friend's mom (she made her own prom dress!), and some of the other people on my list (see Bibliography). Perhaps I can teach myself, though I'd need someone to guide me and help me out when I get stuck...
Anyway, seeing my constraints in schedule, and a shortage of slots, it seems that I will only be going there once or twice a week, and more as I finish my Mock Trial competition and more people finish their apprenticeship. In the mean time, I plan to take apart an old tee-shirt (the jeans were a little too intimidating), and see how the pieces fit together. However, I'm so excited that I'll probably take apart the jeans as well. I'm starting to see the creation of clothing as something more scientific than I had initially imagined. You have to measure each section so that it fits and falls correctly, measuring how large you want your seems to be, making adjustments, and calculating how the proportions will change because of it. Maybe I'm making this a bit too mathmatical, but since I love math, it will be fun to weave in some calculations into my sewing while I'm at it. Who knows, it might be really helpful.
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