Today's technical: skirt pattern drafting

Wow, today has been SO busy. We had technical today and we used our skirt blocks that we made earlier to draft a pattern for a skirt that we're going to make next week. We had to make some alterations after drawing round the block though; we had to shorten it, add pockets and pocket bags, add a zip fly, and add a waistband. We had to cut out all of the separate pieces that we'd need when we'd made them from the draft, and label them properly with fabrics and instructions and grain lines etc. There was a lot to do in the time we had and I had to rush a lot towards the end to get finished but I just about managed it! I was really stressed out when I got home though because I hate rushing and I was also reeeally tired, so I had a nice hot bath to relax. :) And now I'm just about to do some work on the sketchbook I'm working on for my design project inspired by my surroundings. I'm basing mine on my room, because it's literally full of things to be inspired by (my optimistic way of saying it's cluttered to death). I'm excited for Monday though because we're going to Bowes museum again because there is a Laura Ashley exhibition on and also another exhibition which is fashion-related - tailoring I think?! Still, it will be good. So until then, I'll be cracking on with my sketchbook. No rest for the wicked!!!
Here's a few pictures of the skirt drafting from today:

Lauren xoxo

Tailored Skirt Block Making and Topstitching

Hey everyone! Really sorry I haven't posted in SO long; I've been really ill lately. Freshers flu maybe? I'm not sure, but everyone seems to be ill lately, and I always seem to catch everything. But on the bright side, I'm on the mend! Anyway, I couldn't wait to tell you about the skirt blocks we made in technical! We actually did this the week before last, but like I said, I got ill, and I forgot to post about it haha. Being off sick has also made me reeeeally behind on other things in technical so I'm gonna have to stay back one day this week to catch up. Should be fun though, I like sewing! So expect more technical posts soon! Nonetheless though, my HUGE technical folder is getting pretty full now despite my absence!

SO. The first thing we did was cut out tiny little fifth scale diagrams of what our finished skirt blocks would look like, to keep as reference. I wasn't concentrating though, and I ended up cutting out one of the darts on one of mine, oops!

Next we were given sheets with a numbered diagram of the block on it, and also instructions on how to make it using the diagram. These were the sheets that we followed showing the method:

               

 

This was the main equipment that we used: a tape measure, tracing wheel, and grading square.

First we followed the instructions on the sheet to draw out our draft skirt block onto draft paper, making sure we use the grading square on right angles for precision. Here's what my finished draft looked like:

After we had finished the draft, we used the tracing wheel to trace our block onto some thick card. Finally, we cut it out, and it was finished! Sorry though, I didn't manage to get actual photos of the finished block on card, but it basically looked exactly the same as my draft but just thicker!

Then, to finish the lesson, we looked at a few seams and made some samples. We focused on topstitching, which is often used to strengthen seams on things like jeans. (Take a look at your own, I bet you'll find some!) We did three different types of topstitching, and overlocked our closed seams before we topstitched them. I thought they were all very easy to do! Here's some photos:

So all in all, it was an extremely productive lesson! I enjoyed it very much. The week after when I was absent, we looked at how to manipulate the skirt blocks. This is what I'll be catching up on when I stay back on wednesday.

More tech posts to follow when I catch up!

Lauren xoxo