The flou

The Flou Processes

Sophie Moore Fashion Atelier, Year Two March 2013

The Manipulation

Manipulation Sample The Toile Final Design Working Drawing Fabrics Production

The Bias Cut

The Toile Final Design Working Drawing Fabrics Production

Final Garments

The Manipulation Finishings The Bias Cut Finishings

Evaluation

Contents

The Manipulation I wanted to create a garment that contrasted with the traditional ideas of soft sewing, and so I designed something much more structural, which resembles my architectural and origami concept.

Manipulation Sample

The Toile

Before I begun my Toile, I wanted to experiment with my chosen manipulation on a larger scale and see what it would look like on the mannequin. By moving the folds around and exploring different angles I was able to get a better understanding for the way the fabric moved around the body as I altered it. I like the way my manipulation forms a focal point on the body and creates shape. The problem I will have to over come is the dispersion of fabric where the folds meet and end. I prefer the more centralised manipulation to the varied one, with the smaller folds at the side of the bust. I feel that a singular triangle shape creates a clean, minimalist atmosphere.

Once I had decided on what direction I wanted to take the garment in, I took a larger piece of fabric and began to manipulate this around the stand. My main goal at this stage was to achieve a successful way of dispersing the extra fabric from my manipulation. I found that this also helped with developing my designs as it triggered new ideas and a better understanding of how the manipulation worked.

Although I like the interesting formations of this particular manipulation design, I feel that it is very busy. And although it resembles the concept of architecture I don’t feel it flatters the figure. I want to achieve a conceptual designs but I also want to create something that works with the body shape.

Final Design After experimenting and developing ideas on the stand, I managed to achieve a successful manipulation. With two triangle shapes formed from folds and darts, strategically placed on the body to mirror the shape of the figure. I chose this idea because it is clean and slimline, yet it still has an interesting structure to it. I think the way I have positioned the shapes on the body enhances the figure, as the manipulation creates a form to the fabric. By cleverly folding the excess fabric I have been able to incorporate it into the garment.

The way the fabric has been manipulated creates a 3D effect to the garment, as the folded areas stand slightly away from the body. This adds more structure, depth and shape to the garment. I have had to be considerate in how I do this manipulation as if I had layered it too much or in the wrong place, it may have looked too much and distorted the figure in an unattractive way.

Considering the back of the garment I did not want to over complicate the design by repeating what I had already done on the front.

But I still needed to keep a flow throughout the dress.

To achieve this, where the folds met at the side seam I continued a fold through and around the back. This kept the design concept sleek. And although the front and back do not mirror one another I feel that there is unity. If I had recreated the folding technique throughout the dress, this could have been interesting but it would have made the dress bulky in areas where excess fabric needed to be dispersed, and I feel it could have become messy.

I like the size of the shapes I have done as I feel they are in proportion to the body, and create balance in the figure.

The Manipulation

Working Drawing

My final design for the manipulation dress is inspired by shapes and folding techniques that I discovered in my research. The shape and form of the dress is created from folds that come together to form triangular shapes. By using a more structured fabric such as organza I hope to create a soft sewn garment but with no drape. The shape of the dress is more of a shift dress, with a slight flare at the front. I feel that the design is very architectural and structural,resembling my concept well.

Fabric Samples

Silk Organza £14.95 p/m

Silk Organza £7.20 p/m

Poly-Crepe £3.99 p/m

Silk Crepe £50 p/m

Final Fabric

Silk Organza £7.20 p/m

I have chosen to use this organza as I prefer the weight and texture, compared to the others I looked at. I felt that it had a softer touch and less sheen to it’s surface.

Poly-Crepe £3.99 p/m

I chose this polyester crepe fabric because of it’s colour, I felt that the grey/brown tone was a direct reflection of my architectural concept.

Unfortunately my budget for this project could not stretch to buy a better quality fabric.This fabric will be the under garment, and I intend to drape it on the bias, to form a clean canvas underneath the chiffon.

I have chosen to work in silk organza, as I feel that this fabric has the structure I am after that reflects the nature of my architectural concept. I also like the transparency of it which links into my idea of a minimalist form.

I will have to be careful when working with the organza as it is is very delicate and can snag and tear easily.

Another thing I will need to consider is a fabric to go beneath the organza to form a slip.

Because I have decided to use a white organza I can be quite free in my choice of colour for the undergarment as white compliments any colour.

However I will need to consider how the organza may alter the look and shade of the fabric beneath. In terms of weight I will need to evaluate the drape and transparency of the fabric to compliment the organza.

Final Production

To begin my production I cut a piece of fabric long enough and wide enough to work with on the mannequin. I have chosen not to work with a pattern for this garment as the fabric is slightly different to the one I toiled in and marking the folds and points onto paper would become complicated, I felt it would be more appropriate to work visually, referring back to my toile as I worked. I firstly folded the fabric in half length ways, and tacked in a centre front, working with the straight grain. This would be my guide when draping the garment on the stand.

Referring back to my toile, I began to fold the fabric where needed to achieve the desired shape. The first fold I did was on the bust line, as this would be my secondary guide to work with along with my centre front.

I had to take care when forming the two folds on either side as it was crucial that these were symmetrical. The difficulty with the side folds were that they are on an angle and so fall partially on the bias, causing them to twist slightly in places. Once I had controlled my folds, I was able to work on the lower triangle form.

I had to keep readjusting my fabric in places as the manipulation affected the length of the garment.

Another tricky part was managing the excess fabric, ensuring that it wasn’t too bulky where the darts and folds formed to create the shape of the garment.

To secure my manipulation in place I tacked the folds down on either side, using a coloured thread helped to see where these were. It was important to hold these points in place so as when I took the garment off teh stand it stayed as intended.

Once I took my dress away from the stand, once it was secured at the seams and the manipulation points, I lay it on the table top to mark out my seams. Because I decided to use french seams, the lines where I tacked the garment will be my seams line. So cutting 1cm away from this will give me my seam allowance.

The picture shows how the dress holds its shape, due to it being made in orgamza and due to the nature of the manipulation. I like how the garment does this, creating an effect of a structural building within itself.

Cross Grain / CF

Bust Line

Waist Line

Hip Line

Grain Line

To drape my under garment I used the way Eva showed us in out classes with her. Using a simple grid, which shows the body points, the centre front, which lies on the cross grain, 45degrees from the straight grain.

This means the garment will be on the bias.

After marking out the points from my gross grain grid, using contrasting thread, I was able to drape the undergarment dress.

It was hard to drape at first due to the fabric, as I felt it didn’t have as much give as I expected. At times I pulled the fabric too tight, causing it to buckle in places and create pull lines.

By releasing it at the seams I was able to overcome this, however I still think I could have achieved a better, smoother drape with a slightly better fabric.

Once I was happy with the undergarment I placed the outer dress over the top to see how they worked together. In both aspects of fit and asthetic I was happy.I think that the contrast of the white organza against the grey works well, and makes the manipulation a feature. When draping the organza dress I made sure that I had enough room to fit the undergarment in.

However because of the surface textures of the fabrics, their rough surfaces cling to each other, had I chosen a smoother under fabric I may have over come this problem.

I decided to hand sew my manipualtion as I felt that I would have more control and the finish would be cleaner. By using a very fine needle and only picking up a few threads I was able to do pin sized stitches that are barely visible.

To finish the armholes and neckline on both garments I used strips of bias cut organza, which I french seamed to the edges and then pressed out. This creates a raw edged detail to the finishing of the garment.

I decided on an invisible zip fastening for this garment, as it has less bulk and the two layers can be joined together in a simple seam. I machine sewed the zip to the organza and then hand sewed the lining to the other side.

The important thing to remember when fitting a zip is to ensure that there are no loose threads and that you do not sew too close to the teeth.

The Bias Cut I wanted to create a garment that contrasted with the traditional ideas of soft sewing, and so I designed something much more structural, which resembles my architectural and origami concept.

The Toile

Before I began my toile for the bias cut garment I wanted to experiment with the folded features on the mannequin, in order to develop my designs and get a better understanding of how the feature may work on the stand.

By placing my samples on various parts of the body I was able to decide where I wanted to create a focal point.

To create the 3D effect, I have fused interfacing to the fabric then creased certain points to create pyramid structures.

(Refer to designs book for sample)

Once I had decided where I wanted to use the folded feature I wanted to experiment further. To create the 3D element, it is a case of drawing out a grid of squares and cross through lines. These lines are then guides to follow when creases.

However, I found that this doesn’t work when used on numerous lines. I t only works in signal lines, as the folded areas affect and distort each other where they meet.

To over come the problem I decided the best way to create numerous pyramids was to make them in sections and join them too each other.

Once I had worked out a manageable method to create the feature chest piece, I continued with the rest of my dress, working around and with my focal point.

Working with panels that were cut on the bias meant that I could drape a sleek garment to the body. I used square panels in keeping with my geometric architectural concept. I really like the contrast between the structural top of this garment to the loose draped skirt.

Final Design I think the silhouette of my garment resembles that of the classic bias cut dress. With a smoothly draped body and a loose hanging skirt. But the 3Dimensional focal point is a modern feature that reflects my concept. I will need to develop this idea however by finding a way of securing the points, such as a facing to sew them to.

The Bias Cut Dress

Working Drawing

For my Bias cut dress I want to still relate it to my architectural and origami comcepts. So I intend to have a structural upper half and a beautiful clean hang on the lower. The panels are all geometric shapes with only straight lines, no curves.

The dress will have an essence of a classic shape, much like the ones I looked at in my historical research, but the detail at the top of the dress will add a modern swing.

Fabric Samples

Poly-chiffon

Poly-Crepe

Poly-Crepe

Final Fabric

Polyester Crepe, ÂŁ3.99 p/m

When choosing my fabric I needed to be weary of the weight and hang, and whether it had a good cross grain to work with. I chose this deep blue polyseter crepe because of it’s good weight, I felt it would work well with the nature of my design, and it would hang well. The only problem with it is, that because it is polyester and cheap it has a lot of static build up.

Final Production To begin my production I firstly worked out my bias cut panels, using my toile as a guide. Again I decided not to work from a pattern for this dress as the fabric I chose to use was very different from my toile fabric and also the points of the feaure would have been complicated to mark. Eva also said that when she works on soft sewn dresses she rarely uses a pattern, rather she creates her toile and then goes straight into the final garment.

To work out my bias, I firstly chalked on the simple bias guide, of drawing a square at a 45degree angle to the straight grain. I then tacked in a centrefront point with a contrasting thread. Once I had worked out where I wanted my feature point to go, I marked this out, and ironed on the interfacing which creates the structure. I made sure to leave enough excess aroud the edges for a seam allowance.

By laying and draping my precut panels I was able to work out the guide lines for seams, which I marked with white thread.

Once I had marked out my shoulder panel, using the thread as a guide I was able to fuse on the interfacing to this part of the garment. Again ensuring I had enough excess fabric for my seam allowances.

To make the pyramids stand to be 3D I had to tuck them at points.

These tucks push the shapes up and out.

Also to secure the interfacing permenantly I hand sewed along the creases. Using a fine needle and matching thread to ensure little visibility of the stitches.

To secure the 3D features and the tucks that make the feature 3D I draped a facing, cut on the bias so that it hung clean to the body. I ensured that I had seam allowance and that the facing covered enough to fit.

I then tacked the points of the 3D shapes to the facing underneath.

To cut the back of the dress, I cut a large in half on the bias.

I then tacked wthe centre back with enough allowance and excess for a button fastening.

To create the skirt of the dress, I cut two large squares of fabric, I then placed the corners of these squares to the points of the bottom of the bodice. I allowed for a 3cm allowance on both the edge of the skirt and the bodice. I then marked the points where the panels meant, so that when I can to take the garment off the stand I knew where to line them up when it came to sewing them.

I decided to french seam my side seams and shoulder seams, for a tidier finish. I had to alter my back slightly as I found that it was quite tight around the bust. By creating a deeper V I was able to correct this. Because the centre back is on the bias I interfaced it on the insde as I wanted to prevent any stretching and mis-shaping.

To finish my armholes I cut a bias strip of fabric which I used as a facing. By turning the edges of the armholes in on themselves I was able to create a soft, full edge which gave the armhole a small cap sleeve and a little structure.

I decided I wanted a button and loop fastening at the back of this dress, as I felt that a standard zip would be boring. I found these pyramid shaped buttons which worked with the dress perfectly. To make my button loops I used a bias strip, folded in on itself and sewn. I then did a sample using the button to work out the size of each loop. I made sure to sew each loop at an equal distance and I checked that the button fit threw each one.

Final Garments

The Manipulation

Finishings

The Bias Cut

Finishings

Evaluation Overall I am happy with the result of my garments, I feel that they reflect my research and concept.

I have learnt a lot about the skills required in the flou, particularly that soft fabric can be unpredictable and that you must be prepared to work with what the fabric wants to do, and find solutions to this.

If I were to do this project again I would rethink the way i worked and try to work from a paper pattern as this slowed me down, due to having to constantly make alterations and changes to my design in order to make the garments fit and work.

Because this slowed me down I was unable to achieve the high standard of finishing that I would have liked. Although I am happy with my finishings, I would’ve liked to work on them more and make the garments to higher standard.

In terms of working with manipulations, I understand that you can only predict the way the fabric will go to a certain point, and working with different fabrics will cause the manipulation to vary.

When working with the bias it is important to get the cross grain exact, and to take into consideration that your fabric may stretch and distort. To overcome this I used interfacing in areas that I felt were vunerable to stretching.

I am happy with my fabric choices in terms of how they worked for my designs. The silk organza had perfect characteristics to create the shape, structure and formed I wanted out of my design. The fact that it was transparent and soft created a nice contrast to the hard nature of the concept.

The polyester crepe had a good weight for the nature of the design of my bias cut and because of this it fell beautifully, draping around the figure, mimicing the style of classic bias cut dresses.

I particularly liked the button fastening on my bias dress, as I felt this created an elegant feature. I have not worked with buttons and loop fastenings before, so this was a new skill that a learnt and had to consider, as the loops and buttons needed to match and be just the right size.

However, I would’ve liked to have worked with more luxury fabrics, particularly for my undergarment of the organza dress, as I felt that this fabric could’ve been of better quality.