WW1

The next project we have been set is a longer and more broader project, its for 6 weeks and the theme is based on World War 1 (as we are currently on the 100th anniversary) to start off the project, like the others i have done this by going on pinterest and creating a board and looking through not just pinterest but books, exhibitions and online at all the different pictures and fashion garments along with the medals and associations with the world war so i have a starting point for the project. To start the project we have to make a prototype in the way of making a doll from scratch and then the garment has to be based on that. there has to be similarities and a flowing theme throughout the sketchbook and final piece.

Page 1;

Like with any of the previous projects that i have done, i start with a mood board so i have a wide verity of images and possible themes that i could go into. i also created a pinterest board where i pinned different types of garments related to the war, i.e the styles and structures of the garments from that era along with the patterns ect. i've not really taken a liking to the structures of the dresses from the war times, so i feel that the theme i go down will not have any sort of relation to this.

Page 2;

For my second page of my sketch book i have scanned in pictures of my granddads badges and medals from the war, because of this i now understand the extremities of the this theme and the importance and background of what happened. also how close to home this theme is even though the badges are from world war 2 they still have a lot of meaning and i feel bring depth to my sketch book. Along side of this page i have been doing some research into designers and artist that work around the war theme, i have take a massive interest to the brightness of the poppies along with the structure of them and i feel that researching into "Georgia O'keeffe" this may be my theme for the war project as it is the main signifier of the war and when a poppy is seen, i feel it is an automatic thought of the war. 

Page 3;

Page 3 is the first practical page of my sketchbook and as an opening task i feel it working very well, using my chosen theme (poppies) i have created medals based on them using all old recycled and up-used materials. i tried working with a machines along with hand stitching as i feel it creates an old homely feel, and represents how the soldiers had to make do with what materials they had. i really like these medals as they are very much 3D and the brightness of the colours against the silver makes them look realistic. this has given me a few design ideas that i will be able to start sketching out.

Page 4;

Practical lesson on seams and basic pockets. (industrial sewing machines/iron) as many of the dresses during the war were very structured and particularly the men's uniform had several pockets within them. for the design ideas i am thinking about i don't think this will benefit me or my theme because i am not creating a garment from the era im taking the poppies as a theme itself. although getting used to the industrial sewing machines and over lockers helped a lot.

Page 5;

Following on from the previous page, i created a personalised pocket to go along with my theme, i feel from what sampling i have done so far that i want to add free hand embellishment created by the sewing machine to my design. the personalised pocket that i make had several different materials to create the green base of the pocket along with some stitching on top for embellishment, and the poppy flap was created using layers of different red coloured materials then heat gunned and some white acrylic paint added to it to create a rustic look. i feel that doing this has helped me realise that i need to select the right colours for my garment and although the colours do not massively clash i feel that they do not go together and i will need to look at this more closely when it comes to picking materials for my final design. 

Page 6/7;

On page 6 i have done some detailed drawing and freehand stitching (using machine) of poppies so i have a better understanding of what a proper poppy looks like rather than the basic two circles and a circle in the middle, i also looked at a yet to bloom popped and i feel that mixed in with larger poppies looked very effective on this page. the issue i felt with the freehand stitched poppies is they took a lot of time and repetitive sewing backwards and forwards to get the thick outer line so they would plausible to clearly being a poppy. although when the black "poppy seeds" were sewn in the middle is was clear what they were. i feel i need to work slightly more of the machine stitching to get them all similar shapes and styles so they dont all look different but i am very please with the hand drawings and i feel they are a lot more appropriate for a maturer adults garment than the basic poppy.

Page 8/9;

i have tried creating a basic surface pattern using just basic water colours and one paint brush, i feel this surface pattern is very pretty along with striking and very effective. although its not large big poppies its clear what they are and the variaty of colour and size ect could symbolise the health levels of the soldiers. by using the poppy surface pattern i have done two simple but effect sketches of how the surface pattern could be used on basic garments such as a long dress or a plain top and tutu. i feel that i can develop and take this surface pattern further and i may start testing it on plain material to see the outcome and where it would be suitable for my final garment.

Page 10/11;

just using poppies as a basic guidance, some including the surface pattern some not, i have come up with other designs that have other meaning to the war, for example the sache, shoulder pads and a blazer. this sketch book page has just opened the boundaries that i could cover with my theme.

Page 12;

Like i previously said, as our prototype/inspiration we have to create a doll from scratch using basic calico material, so on this page i have created faces using different techniques such as dyes, basic pens and watercolours to see which one gives the best effect on the material and i have done some rough sketches of eyes and face shapes so i know what type and style of face i want my doll to be. not only that but i have sampled how thick i was on the padding/stuffing to be inside of the doll by creating a cat and filling it out. i found this page will help me a lot and i will gain a better outcome when i come to make my doll. 

Page 13;

I have started sampling the shape that my doll is going to be and not only that but i have taken the opportunity to test out my surface pattern on the doll. i feel that it works very very well and looks even better on the material than it does within the sketch book, this is something i will be definitely taking forward and testing further to add to my final design.

Not only have i created the doll on this page but i have also looked at ways that i could include my embellished basic poppies. the idea of changing the colour of the poppy and adding it as the centre of an eye looks really good. i feel its very different and unique and could be used further when designing, although i feel that it may lighten and take away the meaning of the poppy and the brief of the war, but as previously said it is something i can look into.

Page 14/15;

Creating the doll was a lot simpler than what first though, i hand stitched around the edge as i wanted it to have a used/old rustic look to it. i also coffee stained the plain material so it also looked used. the i added hair using wool and drew on facial features like i had tried out several pages ago. i felt like because i had already done a rough sample of a doll this was a lot easier and looked a lot better. the clothes i created for the doll was a basic dress with frills on the shoulder and large ruffles over the skirt thinning out to a longer length. i thought this design was no unrealistic for when i made the main dress but the main one could be based around it. The fashion illustration next tot it is what i would look like if i was sketching it and i feel that it looks a lot better when its stretched out like it would be a larger scale.

Page 16;

i have tried more unrealistic design ideas such as a large poppy all embellished by that will not be possible to create in such a short period of time and also not having all the material that is needed. but i really like how a basic dress can be changed so dramatically with one stand out item.

also with the sketch and sever others that i have done i feel they need more colour into them as then look very grim and bleak and the breif does state its celebration of life from the first world war.

Page 17/18/19;

i have done some more realistic and some less realistic sketches of what my dress could potentially look like and shown how they have been influenced by my researched artists. i like this designs as they are bright and colourful and they are clearly shown to have a poppy theme, and along side this i have started testing and sampling vanishing Muslim fabric along with different material poppies and distressing them in different ways to see the outcomes

using a mixture of the industrial sewing machines along with over lockers like explained within my sketch book i have created the shashe/belt. i feel the industrial sewing machines are a lot better and quicker and less likely to break that a normal domestic sewing machine meaning the belt was done quicker and more efficiently. i added small green stitching to link them altogether aswell. i feel the sample of the first poppy was very successful although it needs to be mounted onto some plain calico material just to make it slight firmer. i am now going to make the whole belt the same way and the heat gun the edges but not to much just enough so it curls as the red material is very thin and melts very easy.

Page 20;

My final design is very colourful and layered like the inspiration from the Alexander McQueen research I did previously within the project, the bodice top is very plain and basic so the colours of the skirt are bold, but still having the sashe with the poppy theme, I also feel the skirt represents from the destruction to the brightness and happiness of the red poppies and the end of the war.

the finished belt/sashe on the basic of my dress. 

Page 21;

I have had to revisit and change my final design, because I feel I needed to add more surface pattern that I created along with the netting on the previous one was not possible with the materials I had available. But im still going to have the three colours. Also the back of the garment is going to have freehand machine embroidery. Along with this the sashe/belt is multifunctional.

THE FINISHED DRESS...

i am very please of the outcome of the dress and i think it looks a lot better now it is complete than what i expect. i think its addresses my theme very well and does it justice and clearly just by looking at it you can tell what the running theme was. i also like that i included all my strongest areas that i found during this 6 week project. (freehand embellishment/surface pattern and pattern cutting) over all if i could chance anything about the dress is that i would make the bodice top revesable but i feel the project run smoothly and like i said in the previous brief, its down to time management along with sampling and knowing what works and what doesn't due to trying it previous to making the garment.