All Categories - Eleanor McCormick

BA3A: WEEK 9

7/12/2019

This week I completed my toile, I am extremely happy with the end result, after talking to Laura last week I now have a bodice that fits and does exactly what I had envisioned! I had it on a model for the first time on Monday and when she walked the whole dress fell beautifully at the back and glided with impact, it didn’t fit quite right on the bust of my model but it fits perfectly on the mannequin, so I will try it on someone else next term to see if it is just the model as we are all different sizes. It has also helped me to visualise my final collection a lot better and I am now excited to create my next pieces and make them all up in final fabrics.

The fabric samples that I have been waiting to arrive finally came this week and I think they will be my final fabrics; they are made out of recycled polyester which helps with my sustainable practice goal. They look really lovely and I think they will do exactly what I need. I am going to order a meter of them and start to do some sampling so that I can be sure they are perfect. But it really does feel like everything is finally falling into place.

It has been quite a challenge to get the fit right, but now I have I feel a great sense of achievement. For my toile I ran out of organza to cover the whole of the skirt, the 10 metres that are there are not enough which is something I will need to think about when I am my final fabric and for my next toiles. I decided to do as much as I could with the fabric I have and I am very pleased with how the drapes have come out, they really add something to the dress.

BA3A: WEEK 8

7/12/2019

This week has been a break through for the fit of my dress, after a session with one of my tutors we were able to fix a lot of the fitting issues around the bust, her expertise in the field of bridal wear has helped massively and we discussed a lot of different ideas of how to take the design further, we discussed how to create the supportive inner structure and how this can be made a decorative feature.

Only having two half days this week has been a big struggle, but I now know where to go from here, over the next week I will complete my final toile, all with the correct fit. I am currently creating the patterns for the inner lining that will have a layer of net to increase the volume of the skirt from the inside.

BA3A: WEEK 7

7/12/2019

I woke up on Monday morning and decided that actually the jumpsuit was not what I wanted this time round, instead a dress that was very simple in the bodice, fabric covering the important parts and then really thin spaghetti straps over an open back to hold it up, then a skirt full of my drapes that I have been doing, I think this is going to be a lot more impacting and a clearer vision to what I have been doing already, the jumpsuit seemed to be a step backwards for now.

This week I had my toile fitting, I am really liking how its looking and I feel that my piece is really coming together, I still have a lot of work to do as the bodice just doesn’t fit right, I’m struggling quite a bit with this as I’m not quite sure what is needed to give it the support of coverage that it needs, next week I will ask for some assistance with this. The skirt of the dress is exactly how I envisioned it, full of volume and quite impacting, I have loved incorporating my hand stitch as I think this is really tying the whole piece together.

BA3A: WEEK 5 and 6

7/12/2019

This week I continued work on the mannequins, creating lots of different drapes, I began pattern cutting, looking through my pattern magic book I have found a technique that I think will work really well with my ideas, It creates a hollow circle in the garment (in an accordion shape) I have taken this Idea and began to experiment with it, instead of a circle I have tried with a hexagon to go with a lot of the other work I have been doing. I will sample this tomorrow but today I worked out and made the patterns for it, I am excited to see how this is going to look as I feel like this might be the key part I was missing that will help bring my idea together.

After buying some more fabric in greater lengths I began draping on the full scale mannequin trying to create the same unique shapes I was able to create on the half scale mannequin, i was unsure whilst I was pinning if it was doing what I wanted it to do, but when I stepped back and looked at it from all angles I really liked it, it had such personality and shape, it sculptural yet fluid, which is exactly what I wanted.

I began toiling this week, I have decided to make the jumpsuit from my line up, I think this piece will work really well alongside my research.

BA3A: WEEK 4

7/12/2019

This week’s individual tutorial was based around the edit we were asked to create, in the production of this edit I took some time to really focus on the work I had been doing and then exploring how I can move forward.

I began working on some hand stitch samples of fabric manipulation I am really loving how my work is coming out at the moment, I am keen to continue my exploration of draping on the mannequin, this is quite new to me as I often jump straight to pattern cutting, but I think the interesting shapes I am creating at the moment is really working and taking my work in a very exciting direction.

I need to have a bit more of a think about how I want to use this technique but also what materials I am going to use, I am still sure that I want to go down the environmentally friendly and sustainable route, so I will continue my research.

BA3A: WEEK 3

7/12/2019

had an individual tutorial with Ike this week, that has continued to help the development of my ideas. I have found an interest in smoking this week as it incorporates my love of hand sewing and creating manipulations and sculpture within the fabric. It was suggested that I take a look at Elizabeth Elliot who uses a similar technique to pull the fabric in different ways to create new shapes.

This week’s group tutorial was looking at our project proposals, this was really helpful as it has helped me to refine my ideas and make more sense of my inspiration, using the story of my first solo travel experience to Venice as a key theme for this unit.

I had been struggling to find away that all my research linked together in a clear way struggling then to find where to start with the design development. But after this tutorial everything is beginning to get a lot clearer and I feel like I have a better understanding as to where this project is headed.

ba3a: week 2

7/12/2019

This week we had presentations of our summer work, the feedback has given me a lot to think about, which has been extremely helpful, it was really helpful to have everyone tell me that if I want to make bridal wear then do it, don’t be pushed away from your dream if its what you really want!

We also had a workshop with Felicity Browne this week where we spent the session creating shape around the mannequins, I began playing around with more sculptural shapes, although I was not that keen of the shapes that I created in the end, it has helped develop some new ideas of different ways I can create and shape my collection.

BA3a: Week 1

27/9/2019

This week started with our first briefing for year 3, its starting to feel very real that we are in our third and final year, I’m not quite sure where the rest of the time has gone, it’s all gone by so quickly. The briefing has filled me with excitement for the year ahead, there are so many possibilities and I am looking forward to seeing where this final year takes me. There is a lot to do and a lot to look forward to so it’s all a go, the freedom to do what we want to do also helps the excitement. I have decided to focus my final project all on my trip to Venice, this trip was very special to me as it was my first-time solo travelling, the city was so inspiring and was a total confidence boost for me. Something I want to radiate throughout my work this year.

I also had my first individual tutorial this week, this was looking over the work I have done over summer, which was quite a lot. Having completed two courses on bespoke hand sewing for couture fashion and bridal wear at Central Saint Martins, I felt confident with the amount and quality of work that I was showing. My concept is close to my heart which is helping bring all of my ideas together. I have decided to create a bridal collection fully inspired by my trip to Venice, I took a lot of positives out of the tutorial and I now feel like I have a clear direction to continue in, I am to continue my research into sculptural form through paper and fabric, which will help me to establish some form of silhouette.

We had a lecture and seminar this week focused on the year as a whole and how to make the most of it. We looked at past students work, exploring what works well within a portfolio, looking at tips and tricks to create a professional and exciting portfolio that draws people in.