Week 3

Generic Leggings

The generic leggings are typically a pair of skin tight pants, ending at ankle length with an elastic waistband. As leggings are worn as a second skin, they should allow for maximum stretch, therefore should generally be made from a cotton lyrca or nylon lycra blend. Leggings are traditionally worn during exercise due to their comfort, stretch and ability to retain body heat.

The generic leggings were fairly basic to construct. I had slight trouble attatching the elastic to waistband, as I didn't add enough gathering to it so that it could fit tight, yet not restrictively to the body.

Leggings Formed/ Deformed

In examining the form of the leggings, myself and Danielle experimented by stuffing a pair of tights. Our aim was to alter the function and appearance of the generic leggings. We bought stockings from the supermarket and stuffed them with clothes and tried to put them on. We then tried various ways of wearing them. It was interesting to explore the varity of ways you can wear the leggings, altering its traditional function and appearance. Whilst experimenting with different possibilities, we took a series of photos which turned out really well. In the photos, they barely resembled what most people recognise as leggings. Unfortunately I don't have the photos anymore as they were saved to my usb, which I lost. I only have them printed in my folio.

I stuck the pictures in my book and I started designing. I got some interesting shapes yet none of which I felt related to my theme I was thinking about. Close to when they were due I was still trying to figure out which one I would make, then I decided that I really liked the singlet cut and paste exercise so maybe I could use that idea to come up with something I was happy with. The leggings I produced in the end I was really happy with. I think they showed what I was trying to make them show and they just looked simple yet effective.

Leggings formed/ deformed exercise

Week 2

Generic Singlet

Week 2 we were introduced to the generic singlet. Learning about the construction of the singlet showed a great contrast between the generic men's t-shirt. The men's t-shirt is obviously more baggy and is in a big size so it didn't need to be fitted on the mannequin. Yet the generic singlet that we produced was tight fitting and adjusted to fit the mannequin. After making the singlet, I put it on the stand, which is where I discovered what areas needed to be altered and taken in. Although i didn't make another toile for the singlet, i made numerous patterns to attempt to perfect the shape and size of the singlet so that it fits snug on the body.

Singlet- Cut & Paste

I found that the cut & paste exercise was simple and very effective. I like the idea of taking a generic object and altering it by either flipping, cutting or pasting it in an alternative way to alter its appearance and function.

Using illustrator, I used my original technical illustration of the generic singlet and i rotated it, then copy & pasted it several times to create a design i was satisfied with. From this technical, i then came up with a pattern, which i thought i had done correctly, yet once i began sewing, as always i had gone wrong somewhere in the patternmaking stage and the front piece was shorter than the back.. I tried to ease it on without stretching it too much, but it still bunched up slightly at the side seam. Instead of binding and coverstitching the edges i used the coverstich machine on raw edges as an alternative and to allow them to curl over. Overall i'm happy with the result of my cut and paste singlet, next time i will double check with the riccarda to make sure my patterns are correct.

Week 1- T-shirt

Week 1 we focused on the generic t-shirt. We looked at the methods of construction, the ways in which it is cut and the basic finishes that are applied. This being our first week of stretch, I was a bit a rusty. The t-shirt i made in class had several mistakes and slight inaccuracy. For homework, we had to design and create a 'geometric' t-shirt. I stuggled with this exercise as the pattern I produced was not quite right and therefore the construction of my garment became confusing and was left with a dodgy looking t-shirt. I was really impressed with what other people came up with from the class, most of them were simple shapes and designs, which is what worked well.