Evaluation

          Having come to the end of what has felt like a very brief unit, I feel like I have gained a great deal and achieved my goal, which I set myself at the beginning of the project in my learning agreement. I feel considerably more confident in my own ability as a maker and believe that I can now comfortably look at a garment and break it down in order to see each individual stage of making and know how to replicate it in order to make the same garment again from scratch.

I’ve extremely enjoyed making for the costume store as I feel like I have learnt a lot of invaluable lessons from each garment that I’ve made which will continue to remain as routine practise when starting any new project.

For instance I’ve learnt how important it is to check over your pattern pieces before you start making to make sure that they all fit accordingly to save on hassle and time later on. This I learnt with my shirt collar piece that was initially far too large and caused unnecessary headaches right near the end of completion, which was not a nice way to finish the piece.

For me the most challenging garment to make for the costume store was the 18^th century breeches and purely because of all the different features and elements of construction that they entailed. I think the breeches were the turning point for me as when I begun making them I felt out of my depth and very insecure about each process and what had to be sewn and how. This all changed half-way through however when something clicked and I got into the rhythm of it and felt confident enough that I was on the right track to continue without asking for assistance.

The Victorian blouse was the most enjoyable garment to make as it was the last piece that I was making for the costume store and meant that I could apply all that I had learnt so far in the unit and put it into practise. Once we were given the sample blouse to copy from, I deconstructed it and knew exactly what needed to be done first and noted all of the later stages of construction. This was a very gratifying feeling and a great way to finish the unit.

Having said this however, the blouse didn’t come without its problems. Whilst making the blouse I had my biggest learning curve of all which will be something I will value indefinitely. Whilst feeling very stressed over other work pressures I rushed the most important part of the blouse, which was the pleated organza on the front. In a bid to get ahead I thought I could skip several steps in order to get the same results but quicker. Of course I was wrong. In the end I ended up with wonky, uneven pleats and burnt organza. As frustrating and upsetting as this was, as soon as I cleared by head and gave it another shot I realised how important it is to take your time as you really cant rush the finer details or cheat patience. The results I achieved the second time round, I’m really pleased with as I did really take my time because I wanted it to be as neat and as perfect as I possible.

Running alongside the costume store, Breathe at times did make me feel like I had my work cut out for me. Every time I really got into making for Breathe and progressing with a piece, I felt like I had to put it down again and continue with the costume store. Because we only had one day a week and one evening session a week on Breathe, there wasn’t enough time to make a whole costume, which would have been nice, however I did get to silk paint and shirr fabric, which are both techniques I’d never experimented with or used before.

I really do feel like I’ve developed so much as a maker and come so far in such a short space of time. Each garment I’ve made represents the stages I have been through in order to get to where I am now which is a much more confident and independent costume interpreter. I’ve learnt valuable lessons and processes along the way and feel like I can tackle future projects head on without feeling out of depth or inexperienced which is exactly where I wanted to be at the end of the unit.

My finished Victorian Blouse

Here's is my finished 3rd and final garment for the costume store:

A few minor alterations to the original blouse that we were copying from have had to happen but I don't think that this has effected the overall look of the blouse at all.

My main alteration has been due to the silk organza and the early disaster i had with my first attempt at pleating. The replacement organza that I was given was very sheer which meant that when it wasn't pleated and layered several times you could see straight through it. This meant that where my button stand was supposed to be organza at the top where the pleats are, i had to to one long one in the white ottoman and then cover the top half again in the organza. I did this because I wanted to maintain the continuity of the blouse even though at first glance it doesn't look like there is organza covering it at all.

This also meant that where my collar was supposed to be two pieces of organza I had to make a collar insert out of the main fabric as you would have been able to clearly see the scruffy seam allowance which is usually hidden on the inside of the collar. This did make putting the collar on much trickier as the fabric became slippery and difficult to handle and meant that the finer and smaller details of sewing didn't turn out as nicely or neatly as i would have liked.

I've really enjoyed making this blouse and didn't find it too challenging at all as i was able to get on and complete it without having my tutor their to instruct me on things that I wasn't sure of. All of the alterations I had to make due to the organza were all near or less my own decisions which I think demonstrates a better understanding of construction and a bigger belief in my own abilities which I didn't have at the beginning of the unit.

Jester Breeches

Jesters Breeches!.....

Here are the breeches I've been working on for the Jesters. I'm really pleased with how well the fabric has turned out, I think it looks fantastic and represents the design really well.

I think I will probably have to puff them out more with netting on the inside at the waist, as the shirred fabric has caused it to pull in more then I anticipated despite making allowances for this.

Shirring Fabric

The next step towards the trousers for my Jester design is shirring the silk fabric I painted in the previous session. Before doing this however I've already backed the silk onto calico for more support.

'Shirring' is technique I've never used before, but from what I've seen it creates wonderful results and is going to be perfect for adding volume and texture to the costume. 

This technique is achieved using shirring elastic on the bobbin when you sew and noromal cotton or polyester thread for the top stitch and machine like normal.

Because there are so many stages that I need to complete first before i can actually make up the trousers I'm hoping that when it comes to finally assembling the trousers It's going to be quick and straight forward as the pressure is on and the work load is high!

Today when I was using the elastic in the machine I was getting extremely frustrated because the elastic kept snapping or coming out as a stitched which made the whole experience a bit of an ordeal! I think the reason for this however was  because i was winding the elastic up too tight onto the bobbin so when it was passing through the machine when I was sewing it was too tight so it snapped under the tension.    

Learning Agreement

Patience Is A Virtue

Today, In a bid to get ahead and keep on top of all my different projects I made a complete mess of my silk organza and have had to start again on a new piece of silk organza.

Despite knowing how important it is to take your time when making the pleats, as they all need to be exactly the same size, I thought I could beat the system and cheat. Oh how I was wrong.

I'm frustrated with myself for this as it was a stupid mistake to make because I was well aware of how patient you needed to be for this part, especially as its the main detailing on the front of the blouse.

Having marked all my lines I simply machined all of the pleats without going to the iron after each one to press it and make it straight. Instead I waited until the end when I pressed the whole thing in one go, burnt the fabric and wasted a perfectly good bit of fabric.

This has been a big learning curve for me as I've experienced first hand why it's important to take your time and not rush as I have wasted money that wasn't budgeted which is unprofessional and wasteful.

Final garment for the costume store

Victorian Blouse

I've had a very productive start for the third and final garment for the costume store. 3 days in and I've already made up the sleeves and put my darts in the front and back pieces. I'm feeling really positive about the blouse as I've looked at the sample and noted how each part is made and in which order they'll be made in which fills me will confidence as I know I cant get on and make it on my own instead of waiting on my tutor for instruction which is what I was like at the start of SDP.

The most time consuming part and the part that needs the most attention is the pleats on the front of the blouse. Each pleat needs to measure exactly 2cm in width and line up with the pleats on the other side of the button stand. I'm looking forward to this challenge as I'v never pleated anything on a garment before and I want to keep up the good standard of work that I believe I've maintained well so far. 

Collar Workshop

In today's evening  Breathe club i ran a workshop on how to make the Jester's collars. The session went really well and meant that a lot of progress was made which took a lot of pressure off, as up until today I felt like I was going to be responsible for making all 7 collars as well as a pair of breeches which added a lot of stress. This however was not the case and i felt a real sense of achievement tonight after a volunteer thanked me for showing her how to maker the collar which she really enjoyed as well as how to use an industrial sewing machine which she'd never used before.

Sessions like this evening have really spurred me on and made me want to get more involved and work hard to make good costumes for this project as it's for a really good cause and inspiring group of people who are all going to really benefit from having costumes designed and made for them.

Silk Painting

Today it was decided that i would be in charge of making all the fabrics for the jesters hose, sleeves and collar/hat pieces, because silk painting was the best way to achieve the fabric design on all the jesters.

For the design that i'm working on this is the fabric that i painted for the jesters hose;

I used salt to create the flames and plenty of water so that the colours ran together.

I really enjoyed this session as i learnt a really easy and effective technique which I've never used before and will definitely consider using for future projects. 

For some of the other designs we used batique and painted with wax which stopped the colours from running together and created some really interesting effects.

Here are some of the other fabrics we made for the other jesters;

Here we painted diamond harlequin shapes with wax for one of the jesters

I really like this piece as it really well replicates the design. I used a lot of white in this sample which nicely merged the other colours together.

My finished 18th century breeches

Here are my finished breeches!

 

Button holes are the final finishing touch that still needs to be added,
they will be done later on the special button hole machine.

Coin pouch and button fastening.
Below the 3 gold buttons are to be 3 linen ones,
i'm just waiting on those to be sourced and handed over to me.

I'm so pleased with how well my breeches have turned out. I've been very pickey with my sewing and the finer details when I could have been lazy and ignored it which is something I'll never do again, as for a first attempt at making a pair of 18th century breeches its a damn good one!

I think the one detail which i struggled with the most was the jiggers that are at the front of the trousers on either side of the front opening flap. This is down to the fact that they are the main detail so It was important that I made sure they looked perfect and not over work them as then your work will deteriorate and get worse. That's definitely a good point to consider and one that I've valued, and that's that whatever you work on the trick is not to overwork the fabric. If there's a small detail that could have been done better but is now past the point of enhancing, leave it because more often then not you'll only make it worse and not better.

Something else I've learnt from making the breeches is to be very carful with the iron. I've learnt to appreciate and love the iron as it can do wonderful things however It can also ruin something in a second. When I came to pressing my breeches after working on them I pressed on the seems where I'd overlocked which meant the fabric bruised on the right side and gave my fabric a slight sheen which is very frustrating. It's also very important to always put a piece of fabric between the iron and the garment to stop you from damaging it or transfering dirt from the iron.  

Developing the collars

In todays evening session I further developed the collars that I have been working on in the sessions. Since the tutorial meeting we had last week fabrics have now been designated to each set of designs and the characters within them. Because of this development, I went back over the collar that i had made, removing the colours that weren't in keeping with the design and changed them to the appropriate ones. This immediately improved the design and i can see already how its going to tie in with the rest of the costume and really bring it to life.

I think the costumes are going to work much better as an ensemble now as each character has a  mood board of colours specifically for them. When I was given the collars to work on at the beginning, I was also given a big box of fabric so had no order or real idea as to how they should work. This new system has improved the costumes significantly so I'm really pleased with the results so far.

The light at the end of the tunnel

I'm surprised at how quickly the breeches are coming together as at first I thought they were going to be very time consuming because of the pockets details and the fact that they're front opening etc. Fortunately its looking like I am mistaken as already I can see the end in view.

I've noticed that as this project has gone on I've got more and more confident with myself which I'm really enjoying as It's making me enjoy the work I'm doing more and creating a bigger sense of achievement. 

I remember at the beginning of SDP how dependent I felt on my tutor and how unsure I was at every step of the way, whereas now I'm looking at the sample pair of breeches that we're working from and knowing exactly what needs to be done next and how I'll do it. This is an extremely satisfying feeling and I'm looking forward to finishing the breeches and starting the blouse In order to see how far I can get on my own using the skills I've learnt.

It's all coming together

Today was a really productive day in the studio. I feel like i've finally got to grips with the process of looking at a garment and deconstructing it in order to see how it's put together - so much so that i feel confident enough in my own ability to get on with my work without having to constantly check with my tutor after ever step.

Today i carried out this technique and made really good progress with my breeches and as a result feel really happy with how well my works coming along.

I feel confident now that i'll have the breeches finished by the end of the week after 2 more full stints in the studio so i'll be ready to start the final garment for the costume store.

Tutorial

After a tutorial yesterday where i showed my sample collar to the rest of the team, it was decided that for some of the other collars which are smaller in the designs, i would adjust the collar pattern piece by simply adding in a pleat on either side of the neck at the shoulders. This would then add height to the collar which in some of the designs is required so is an easy, quick and effective alteration to make. For some of the other collar designs i will also add a bit of netting underneath some of the sqaures before i stitch them down in place to again add height and structure.

There are 2 collars on the desings that are different in and come down lower on the chest. For this design its been suggested that i use wire to add some shape and structure so that the collar can be manipulated into shape.

The Jester collars

Today we were given the designs that we will be working on for the Breathe dancers and discussed in our groups of our given designs how best to recreate each element of the design. I'm going to be apart of the 'The Jesters' team and will be responsible for making  the collars, a pair of short breeches and a Tudor style puff sleeve. In the Jester group there are a total of 8 Jesters all wearing similar costumes which link them as a group but also distinguish them slightly as individual performers.

I have been working on the collar which all the jesters wear, and came up with a simple method of making which effectively uses all the materials available to us to successfully replicate the collars in the designs. I'm really happy with how its turned out and am looking forward to running the workshop next week with the volunteers to make the remaining 7. 

This is the basic collar pattern a drafted which will be used for all The Jesters collars.

Very straight forward - i simply pinned onto the collar all the cuttings of fabrics and ribbon that are depicted in the design

I also added on a few more textual materials like plastic gauze and plastic bags to add volume and build the collar up. Once everything was in position i machined it all in place.
I think this is going to be a really fun part of the costume to make with the volunteers as it's straight forward and allows them to literally do as they please with the materials provided.

The Jester designs

These are the Jester designs we're making for the dance company. There are 7 Jesters in total and their costumes are all made up of different elements which can be attached to the base costumes which all the dancers will be wearing. We're making a lot of the costume parts in the evening workshops with the volunteers which is making it a much  more relaxing and enjoyable process as there is less stress and pressure to get all the costumes completed on time as we have so many pairs of hands helping out.

I'm in charge of making a sample collar which i will then have on display in the workshops so that the volunteers helping us have something to work from for guidance so that they know what we want the collars to look like.

The collars are all slightly varied so i will talk with whoever decides to make a collar what it is that needs to be different in order to make it suitable for a specific jester.

Overall i'm quite confident that as a group of costumes The Jesters are going to be enjoyable and easy to make as there aren't any huge elements that needs to be made up on mass.

For this Jester i have already made up the collar which will also be the sample collar to show in the workshop and for this design i will also be making the hose.

Group 2 'Toxic Sour' Corset Designs

These are the designs Yolanda came up with for the 2nd group which is made up of 2 corsets.

Group 1 'Candy' Corset Designs

These are the designs by Yolanda Collins that we will be working from for the candy themed corsets that our client has requested. Our client has specified that she would like 6 corsets in total, 3 sets of 2, all different in style and design but are different linked together through the use of fabrics, colour and surface decoration.

My finished Tudor Pie-Crust shirt

Here is my finished Tudor Pie-Crust shirt!

This is the first garment I've made for the costume store and a good one to get me started. I don't feel fazed now about making a shirt in the future as It's fairly straight forward and self explanatory once you get into the swing of it.

There were areas that I struggled with more so than others but overall I'm very pleased with the results and feel happy and proud to show off my achievements.

The stages of making for this shirt were very satisfying and enjoyable to do as I would concentrate on a certain area like the cuff on the sleeve and then work on something else so that when it all came together it was a great pleasure and looked really smart as a whole.

I struggled the most with the collar which did distress me as firstly it was too large, then it was too small which meant I had to lower the neck line on the shirt so wasn't as smooth as i would have liked. Nevertheless, I got it finished in time and am ready to start the breeches.   

'Get to the part where i lose my temper!'

Today was our last day working on the shirt for the costume store. Tempers were running high and there was a lot pressure to complete before the end of term. Having felt fairly relaxed over the last 2 weeks i knew what i had to do so felt confident that i could finish before the day was through, however when i came to attaching my collar i came across a problem and all work seized!

A problem i failed to see at the the start back when i was cutting my fabric was that the collar piece did not match up to the size of the neck on the shirt. Like when given any pattern to work from we're taught to always first go over and double check to make sure all the pattern pieces line up and coincide with each other, however this part of the shirt was overlooked.

Because this has been such a nuiscance and has set me back in terms of time, it's been a strong learning curve for me as i can now appreciate and put in to practise everytime i start a new costume how important it is to check over pattern pieces. This is something i'm going to do religiously at the very beginning of a project in order to save time and trouble.

Having painstakingly made my pleats for the pie crust collar all to the exact same size, it was a huge frustration when i came to put the collar on and found that the shirt neck was much larger then the collar piece. An issue that shouldn't be too hard to resolve, alas i was annoyed that i wasn't able to have my shirt completed and ticked off so that i was ready to put all my focus on the next garment for the costume store when back after Easter.

Each box pleat had to measure exactly 2.5cm wide all the way along  in order to ensure a consistent pie crust collar.

All that i have left to do on my shirt now is correct the collar problem and make button holes down the front plackett and on the cuffs, a task that will hopefully get done in one late night study session after the Easter break.

Breathe

Today i got a better understanding of what the Breathe project is about which is a separate project that coincides with the costume store as part of SDP. Since having a tutorial i'm feeling much more positive and driven about the project and what we'll have achieved at the end, as i personally will be focusing on fabric manipulation and looking at techniques which will best replicate the textures and colours of the designs we have been given. 

I'm looking forward to this as i haven't done much work with fabric manipulation so will be eager to learn new techniques which i will apply to future costume projects.  

Breathe Ensemble

Breathe Ensemble in Detail

This document has been adapted for the makers who will be making the costumes previously designed by the desining pathway in the previous project....

You are required to follow a series of ensemble designs in order to re-create a collection of 6 Breathe characters from Battle for the Winds performance. This document gives you further detail about these characters. This has been developed in conjunction with the director and incorporates his vision for the characters.  Though each design will demonstrate individual ideas remember to consider these as an ensemble. You will have a number or workshops to support the development of these designs including working with the Director and Design Managers on conceptual and practical ideas.

Habitat: The Breathers natural habitat is the beach, the beach is part of them, and they are part of the beach.  They exist on, and survive by the elements of the beach. They are timeless, and the invasion of Weymouth, the Olympics and Doldrum’s presence, is to be their first interruption for centuries.

Period: The characters are timelessness and made from washed-up debris suggesting that costumes and design could incorporated a range of styles, the director likes the ideas of scavenging clothing through the periods, (The other BFTW costumes are based in the 19^th Century so it might be a good place to start) and adapting/customizing with other artifact found on the beach or washed up by the sea. Junk and alternative materials should be considered as part of the vision.

Colour and Pattern: The Design Manager working closely with the director will present suggested colour pallet to you in January. Remember to consider the texture of the costumes and also that the costumes will be seen from a distance by a large audience who will be quite a distance from the performer.  Consider your ensemble as collective spectacular and maybe a collective colourscapes.  Remember that the ‘Breathers’ need each other to survive, and function as a chorus. 

Base Costume: The design team will be developing a base costume design with some 2^nd year volunteers. You should used this to base your design on. The reason for developing a base costume is that this will be supplied by the individual performer and adapted/dyed painted by the design team. You have £50 budget per costume (which does not include the base costume).

Performers: Though you will not be designing for specific performers but you will need to consider different body shapes while you are designing your costumes and you will be given a portfolio of performers from the company to consider when designing. It is the responsibility of the Design Manager (working with the director) to assign costumes to performers once the collection has been selected and adapt / tweak the designs to fit the performers needs. 

Who are the Breathers?

•      A tribe,collective   group whom only function when they are together.    
• ·        Borrowers/beach combers/debris collector. 
• ·        They are and ensemble
• ·        At one with their natural environment.
• ·        Timelessness (mix of past fashions/objects)
• ·        Eroded/worn down/broken down
• ·        They are the secret custodians to the Southwest Wind

·   The Breathers are an organic collective who are pure and innocent and wish no harm on anyone

·   No one really takes notice of them (They are part of the natural environment)

·   The Breathers live the winds, as a collective they are the winds whereas the regional wind gatherers collect the winds. (Organic vs. Artificial)

Other things to consider:

• Consider building the costumes to make visual impact – this performance will be seen by  10,000, & to prevent them from restricting performer’s movements (e.g. getting caught in wheelchairs)
• Must work both individually and collectively
• Texture is really key
• Exaggerated shapes to help them stand out/visual spectacle

Story Background

Story Background (possibly on-line, on flyers, on screen)

During the summer of 2011, the people of Weymouth noticed something unusual taking place along their sea front. Day by day, an unidentifiable set of unique looking creatures washed up onto the beach – often in groups of three and five, and seven: odd.

They washed up from all over the world.

Initially, their arrival struck horror and fear through the local community – “they look like sea–litter!” some cried, “Quazimodo!” others shouted, “are they human?” some asked.

In a short time, the local people realized that the new inhabitants were harmless, powerless, in fact, to be pitied, so they permitted them to remain, as long as they kept out of the way during popular beach time and, of course, during festivals or popular events. 

But, these creatures had come for a reason. And, on the eve of the sailing events for the London 2012 Olympics, when they suddenly appeared in full open view, there was outrage at their audacity.

The Play:

(Thursday)

The 'breathers' gather to celebrate the nautical adventure they are about to set in motion. As they have done for centuries, they begin to enact a ritual which honours the power of adventurous spirit, and the breath of the sound west winds. They have, within them, when they perform this collective ritual, the power to fill the skies with the great wind.

At another point on the beach, a contest is taking place, with a dark stony-faced and stony-souled villain, named Doldrum. The contest is an attempt to destroy the notion of peaceful competition, and give him a chance to steal the greatest force in the regions, thus giving him the might to stop the Olympics from happening.

As he examines the machines which have gathered the winds from across the regions, he hears the beach creatures, and, Seeing them, he asks  who they are.

“Who dares to disturb me?”

“A load of nothing” , he is told.

 He is told to pay them no attention, because, although they are strikingly odd and distasteful, they have no power other than to offend.

 “Nothing more than Sea – litter.  Not even worth the effort to pick them up and toss them away”

But Doldrum sees something else.  He sees in them, a force unlike any of the machine forces he has seen thus far. He sees in them the greatest threat to his mission; to stop all human celebration, to destroy hope.

As the beach people continue to enact their ritual, Doldrum takes flight, and  rushes at them. He intends to capture them, study them, steal their power, and destroy  them (or make them his servants).

His first attempt manages only to steal one –  and turn another to stone.

(Saturday)

A day passes and by Saturday he has now trapped more into see-through bubbles.

Witnessing their reluctance to be afraid, or run away, he becomes angry.

“You see what I will do to you and yet you dare to continue!”

Outraged by their audacity to express joyfulness, he  turns more to stone and finds other ways to  entrap them.  But to his frustration, the more he physically traps, the more powerful they seem to become – as if their power was coming from somewhere other than physical liberty, strength or might.

Now, enraged that a sense of celebration seems nearly invincible,  he concludes  they must be connected to some manufactured power source, some electrical surge.

“I will pull you from the wall – unplug you!”

Doldrum attacks everything – everything that emits light, sound,electricity. . And for a moment, it seems he may have succeeded, as the world plunges into darkness and silence.

And then, in the quiet of the darkness, a sound waves forward. It is the sound of a single breath, in and out. Then another and another. Soon the sound of breathing fills the air like a planet filling it’s lungs with life.  And then the beat of a heart, which grows and greows. It beats from  all sides of the sea front, drumming passion through the sand.

Duldrum is struck silent and motionless. He listens and watches with astonishment. And then he realizes the force he has so misunderstood. It is not the power of the machines gathered from the regions, or the physical strength, or might, or perfect form that  he could steal and thus stop the Olympics from happening, no, it is the spirit, the breath and the passion held inside. When he realizes this, his once stony heart and soul begins  to crack, and dissolve.

For the first time in his life he smiles, then laughs and dances! He dances to the rhythms made by the crowd. He starts to sing the songs he’d heard coming from them only days before. He joins in the celebration and gives  rise to the South-West winds which now rise as flames  across the sand and out into the water.

“Breathers!” he shouts, “the power is inside!!”

And as he watches the first breather he had stolen fly out and over the crowd, he breaks  into a million tiny pieces of sand. There is at that moment, a sudden gust of wind, which blows  him up and out to sea, and, as he flies, the skies fill with the sound of his voice, laughing with the breath of freedom.

The breathers hold  sand high in the air, sing, and let it fly with the wind.

'If i listened earlier i wouldn't be here'

Today i struggled with putting the sleeves in and making them fit.

I made my first mistake by over-locking the seams of my sleeve before i was done making it up which was a mistake for several reasons. Most importantly it means there's less seam allowance to work with so its more difficult to match design lines and get everything to the same length and the right size. Secondly, by over-locking before you press the seams open you bruise the fabric and press the over-locking into the fabric so that it shows through on the right side of the fabric.

Initially i thought that this would save me time but really i was only making more work for myself as i had to unpick part of the over-locking in order to get the gathered part of the sleeve to fit the armhole. So lesson learnt this week - DO NOT overlock seams until the very end!

I also found myself still making silly mistakes purely because i was rushing and not concentrating properly - when it came to putting one of the sleeves in i pinned the whole armhole into position only to realise afterwards once i'd already machined it that i'd sewn it on inside out! Mistakes like theses, which i'm aware of making before i make them are still a problem which i'm hoping to eliminate altogether by the end of SDP.

As a result, today i appreciated how patience is a virtue and how its better in the long run and overall to take your time the first time, instead of cutting corners and making more work for myself.

Fitting the sleeve gusset and machining the made up sleeve to the shirt front and back did require a certain skill and technique which i managed to achieve the second time round. Because of how the gusset piece is fitted it was very difficult to machine and avoid puckering the corners at the same time. 

Battle for the Winds

This week saw the end of the Battle for the Winds Concepts in Context unit, which is a huge theatrical event to mark the opening celebrations of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Sailing events in July. For the last 8 weeks i have supervised a group of 5 makers who have each made a costume for the county Devon which is one of 7 counties involved in this huge summer spectacle.

I have been working along side designer Sarah Dicks in order to help achieve her aspirations and bring her designs to life. My job has involved sourcing, fabric buying and managing a running budget as well as overseeing a group of maker in order to make sure they have everything they need to make their costumes.

Once Upon a Tease

As an extra project outside of our uni work timetable several of us from Level 5 took up the opportunity to gain some extra corset making work experience for a burlesque club called 'Once Upon a Tease'. In the first meeting we had with Samantha, the manager of the club, the basic brief and specifications were laid out for us; as a group of 8 we are to produce 7 corsets in total made up of 2 sets.

The first set is to be candy inspired consisting of 5 corsets - x2 all in one corsets, x1 corset and x1 underbust corset. The corsets in this group are to be the same theme/colour and link together through use of surface 

decoration, colour and fabric however not be the same. 

We were given this  image of Dita Von  Teese as an

idea of what Samantha had in mind for the underbust corset

as she specified that she wanted the suspenders built in

to the corset.

For the second set of corsets, sticking to the candy theme, Samantha wanted 2 corsets of a 'Toxic Sour' theme using emerald greens and Liquorice coloured fabrics. With both groups we're given a lot of freedom to put our stamp on it and come up with a lot of ideas ourselves as to the final design. We are to decide amongst us what style of corsets are to be made for the Toxic sour set with the only specification being that they have long bustles.

Time Plan

Over the course of the SDP unit i will also be managing a  number of projects both inside and outside the university. In order to manage my time time i've produced a time plan so that i can keep on track of my work throughout the duration of the unit.

12.03.12	Briefing	Costume store demo - Re-focus on project.
12.03.12	Costume Store	Begin cutting 19th century shirt.
13.03.12	Perceptions of Performance Briefing	Briefed on POP essay.
14.03.12	Once Upon a Tease	Take measurements, discuss designs/ideas.
15.03.12	Breathe	Intro and demo sessions
20.03.12	Late night study for BFTW POP: Matt Fletcher Lecture	Help finish off costumes for battle for the winds. Contemporary Performance: the context
22.03.12	Hand in learning agreement. Breathe	Making for BFTW
23.03.12	Break for Easter	19th Century Shirt must be completed.
10.04.12	POP: Guest Speakers POP: Tutorials	13:30-16:30
11.04.12	Refocus meeting Breathe club Once Upon a Tease	Introduction into next garment – breeches/waistcoat & blouse. Evening session 17:00-20:00 Begin drafting corset patterns. Have an idea of fabrics to be used – show Sam.
12.04.12	Breathe	Making for BFTW
17.04.12	POP: Guest Speakers	Alan Rogers – 10:15am Michael Walling – 11:30am
18.04.12	Breathe Club Once Upon a Tease	Evening session 17:00-20:00 Start cutting fabric
19.04.12	Breathe	Making for BFTW
20.04.12	Costume Store	Breeches/waistcoat finishing
23.04.12	Once Upon a Tease	Fitting and finishing.
15.05.12	Hand in	POP
18.05.12	Costume Store Once Upon a Tease	Blouse finishing Deadline for Corsets
21.05.12	Hand In	Self Directed project