The Fashion Show!!!

So last Thursday and Friday I was working backstage at the Mid Cheshire Fashion Show, and I have to say I really enjoyed it! There was a mad rush to get the models dressed and ready to go out on stage in time, the atmosphere was really intense and insane, but I loved it! Above is a short video I took on my phone of some of the dresses on the catwalk, mine is there too. :)

My dress, the Front.

My dress, the Back.

I'm not going to lie and say I was 100% happy with my dress, but at least now I know what sort of standard to aim for, and what to expect for next year.

Nearly finished!

I have now made the needed adjustments to my dress for the Mid Cheshire College Fashion Show, and was unsure about my original plan's for the skirt. I decided that I would like to gather it all around, and not just at the back.
It's a lot shorter than I have expected, so the model will now be wearing black tight shorts underneath, and I will call it a feature. :)

Here is an image of my dress, this image doesn't show my dress complete, this is just me messing about with the gathering.

The Fashion Show will be taking place tomorrow and Friday, since taking the above picture I have now finished my dress, hopefully everything will run smoothly on the night, and I will be sure to keep you informed of how it goes, wish me luck!

Trip over to MMU :)

First off I would like to apologise for my lack of blog post's.

So yesterday I took a trip to Manchester Metropolitan University with College to see what sort of creative courses they have to offer, and see the work of previous students, and I have to say I was impressed! I have never really considered going to University, but seeing the work of previous student's has really made me think twice!

Not only did we get to see the work of previous Fashion students, but also the work of other students on creative courses. The talent was astonishing.

Fitting my Garment

Today I was finally ready to fit my garment to the model, Lauren Preston. There was an air of uncertainty and nervousness in the room as this was my first time fitting a garment to a model, I sensed that perhaps it was her first time modelling too as she also seemed nervous and shy.

I was relieved to see that my dress fitted well, and only a few alterations will be needed. I will be taking in the sleeves slightly, taking it in at the back were the zip will be and shortening the hem. I will also sew the netting (was underskirt) to the waist facing, as the facing naturally tries to stick up, I feel that sewing the netting to the facing will help to weigh down the waist facing and therefor make it less visible and my dress more streamline.

Its fits! I have asked my model Lauren Preston to bring plain black heels with her for the Fashion Show.

I'm so glad that my dress fits, and can't wait to get it fully completed. :)

Progress!

Since my last post, I have sewn on the embellishments to my front and back bodice, attached the facing to the bodice and attached my circle skirt.

 The diamond shaped embellishments for my bodice were quite time consuming as I had placed some of them wrongly and had to unpick. I also had to unpick some of the facing as originally I had forgotten to leave space for my shoulder sleeve to attach at the back, I have decided not to attach it yet as I don't know the measurements of my model, and feel it would be best to wait till I am called to fit my dress.

I still haven't completed my final garment, however I feel that I have achieved a lot today, and I am happy that I finally have the shell of the garment,  I am finally ready to fit my final design to the model! 

Continuation of the making of my final garment

Today I have been working more on my final garment ready for the Mid Cheshire fashion show.
I have now completed my sleeve, my diamond shaped embellishments, and began attaching my front and back bodice via the strips.

What I have accomplished today.

 I feel that I still have a lot of work to do if I want to finish my dress in time for the Fashion show, however I am happy to see it slowly coming together. :)

Lay Plans for my Final Garment

Today I have been creating the lay plans for my final garment. This is the first time I have created a lay plan, and after today I feel that I have a better understanding of the need for them.
We use Lay plans to cut down on the wastage of fabric. This is very important in industry as every penny counts, as they produce by the masses, even a little bit of fabric wasted could become very costly.
Below are some examples of my lay plans.

Above is the lay plan for the feature on my bodice, I have drawn the same pattern out in tailors chalk multiple times to show how I will try to reduce waste.

After I had completed my lay plans, I moved on to creating my sleeve. I have cut out the pieces, ironed on the interfacing and sewed the strip in place.

Feature on the bodice- colour clash?

I have been out and bought the final fabric for my garment, however I wasn't sure if the colours would clash or be too intense. I also wasn't sure how to hide the raw edges whilst keeping the volume and desired effect.

Feature for my bodice

Above I have created a quick sample of the feature for my bodice so I can see if the colours work well together. I feel that, although these colours are very intense, they will work as it tie's in well with my theme, and I will be using black for the  majority of my garment.

Experimentation one

Above is an example of the sampling of my bodice, I sewed the material together inside out to hide the raw edges. I don't like this technique as I feel it takes away the volume and ruin's my desired effect.

Experimentation two

Above is another example of the sampling of my bodice. To create this effect, I have sewn two different pieces of fabric together so that the raw edges are concealed, yet it does not take away from the volume. I personally prefer this effect and think I will use it for my final garment.