Free Machine Embroidery

During my 'Dreamy' project I learnt to do free machine embroidery and created these samples, I tried using different fabrics and materials to create texture, such as paper, netting and ribbon. These initial samples then lead me to experiment with more ways to create texture on a garment and finally inspired me to embroider a similar floral design over the entire bodice of my dress. 

Screen Printing

Above are some of the screen prints that I did when sampling for my final major project.  I created the design for these prints myself on Adobe Illustrator, where I drew a small section of the pattern and then repeated it to create a complex and effective pattern that could be used on a garment. 

Initial Designs - Free Spirit Collection

 

These are just some of my hand drawn initial designs for my final major project - 'Free Spirit Collection SS14' 

Enterprise - Tote Bags

As part of an enterprise project we worked alongside photography students to create canvas tote bags to be sold at our Christmas exhibition, I decided to embroider images of cameras, based on photos taken by the photography students, on to my bags. Above are some samples that I did of hand and free machine embroidery. 

Artist Books

As a separate City and Guilds qualification I did a project where I had to research a chosen decade between 1900 and 1990s and all the main events that occurred in that chosen decade and then present my work as an artist book.  I chose 1960s, and chose to present my work as a series of Vogue magazine covers.  I made the covers using photoshop and wrote on them about the events that I had researched, for example the death of Marilyn Monroe and when Mandela was sent to prison, I printed these pages on to transparent paper and then screen printed the image of the 60s icons onto canvas paper behind. 

Final Major Project Research

For my final major project, I had to choose my own theme and research into it; finding trends, designers, techniques and garments that I could link into my own project.  After a lot of thought and research I decided on Festival wear for SS14.  Once I had chosen my theme I was able to begin my research and design process.

 

 

After looking through many colour trends and forecasts for spring/summer 2014, I decided on this one (above) because I feel the bright colours and warm tones are very much suited for festival style clothing.

 

I started by researching into the origins of festival fashion, for example 60's hippies and traditional bohemian fashion.  I found that a lot of the clothes worn in the 60's and at some of the first festivals, e.g. Woodstock, featured a lot of intricate embroidery and other embellishment, this inspired some of my initial designs and print designs, as shown above.

 

I found that a lot of the garments typically worn at festivals are vintage or one off garments and so I struggled to find a lot of shops and designers to research.  Although I found a few relevant designers and brands, I found that researching into celebrities that have a festival vibe about their style was one way to give me inspiration for initial design ideas and sample techniques.  Above are photos from actress Millie Mackintosh's summer 2013 look book, many of these images helped me to decide what garments I should put together as an outfit and also influenced some screen print designs.

 

My research and initial designs led to samples of techniques which I had found, for example above is a sample of free machine embroidery which links to the design next to it. 

Final Major Project Working Drawings

For each garment I have produced a working drawing to show the final garment and all it's detailing such as stitching and seams etc.

Ceramics

As part of our first year we were given the opportunity to explore with using materials other than fabric, for example clay and ceramics.  As a class we were given a number of lessons teaching us the basics of how to use clay and particular techniques.  One technique we used that I particularly liked was making clay lace, to do this we dipped natural lace into clay slip and then fired it in the kiln where the lace burns away and leaves a clay cast of the lace, however it is very delicate and so I decided against using it on a garment.  Here is a photo of a clay dress up doll and some of the outfits that I made as part of our Dreamy project.  

Print Designs

A technique that I really like using is screen printing, recently I have been exploring different ways to create print designs to be exposed on to a screen.  My favourite method is by using Adobe Illustrator to draw  a small section of a pattern and then repeating it, using some of the pattern repeat methods that I have learned, to create a large and more intricate design.  Above are some examples of this style of print design that I drew for my final major project at college.

Coat Exhibition February 2014

 



As our 'Dreamy' exhibition went down so well and received a lot of praise regarding the professional finish of both the garments and the presentation of the exhibition, we decided to create another exhibition but this time to display our Trenchcoats.

'Trenchcoat' Autumn/Winter 13-14

 

 





In September 2013 we started our trenchcoat project; we were simply given the title 'Trenchcoats' and had to research and develop our own garments from that starting point. I chose to keep the style of my Trenchcoat very traditional; double-breasted, epaulettes, safari pockets and a simple belt, however to make sure my coat was unique I decided to use suede fabric and a contrasting colour to highlight some of the features. After trying out many colour combinations I decided that using a very neutral and typical brown for the main coat with a bright red for the features would look the most effective.

 

'Dreamy' Exhibition 2013

In summer 2013, all the students on my course helped to put together an exhibition for the general public, to display all our garments and some sketchbooks from our project 'Dreamy'.  The brief of this project required us to research, design, pattern cut and make a dress or shirt based on the theme ‘Dreamy’.  After the project was over, our tutor asked for us to think of ways that we could present our garments that would not only reflect the theme but would also look professional, this is what we came up with...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVUDAYx74Uo

Video is 1 minute 52 seconds long. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

'Trenchcoat' Working Drawing

 

As a part of the design process we create working drawings of our final garments, these drawings show all the technicalities of the garment for example all top stitching, seams, pockets and fastenings.  A working drawing makes it really easy to pattern cut the garment, as all the features and details are clearly shown, it also helps when it comes to making the garment as you can see where all the top stitching and seams need to be. 

'Trenchcoat' Line-up

This is the line-up image that I created for my Trench coat project; I was exploring ways of using contrasting colours for my garment and so made this line-up to experiment.  Originally, I hand drew a figure wearing a simple coat, I then scanned it into the computer and used it as a template to draw a digital version on Adobe Illustrator, this made it easier to insert different colours.  I also tried adding different textures and fabrics in Adobe Photoshop to create more contrast.