Do you have the time?

I'm really sorry for my lack of posts lately! I was really getting into it, but I've been busy with work and doing research for my university course, so I haven't felt like I have time. Yep, it is that time again, I've had my year in The Real World so now I get to be a student one more time. There will be a lot of work involved but this year we get to choose about our projects and I love the idea of getting to do things I am truly passionate about. It is really exciting. This is the year I get to make a Final Collection, which will be most favourite part of the course (even if I do complain about everything going wrong at some point or other). So here is a little post with photos from weheartit.com to do with studying and reading, that will just about get me through until tomorrow when it is time for my Friday Feeling.

 Some of these study areas are really inspiring, and will be going into my flat inspiration folder! I'm starting to create some personal collages on the walls in my flat, so these are really interesting for me.

What is the study area in your house like? Anyone going back to university this year?

Friday Feeling #2

Image is from here.

That's true, Friday is here once again and this week feels as though it has gone so so fast. This week I have Friday off work (I did work last night though!!) so I am going to have a day where I clean and tidy the flat in order for my lovely friends Heather and Josh to come around for a Wii Night. Heather is bringing the treats, which I am rather excited about... I don't even know what the treats are!!

Image is from here.

 So I think the evening is going to be filled with Mario Kart Wii tournaments and various games from Wii Sports... I can't really remember what games I have but I definitely have a few more and these two will definitely be entertaining!!

Image is from here.

I will also be going to work in York, which means a train and bus journey for me on both Saturday and Sunday, but I like train journeys!! I have plenty of books out from the library and I can read these and listen to some lovely music while travelling. I'm really enjoying work, who knew working in a clothing store could be so much fun. I also get to be a perfectionist without looking silly!

Image is from here.

  I also so badly want to do some sewing. I have some alterations to take care of for my friends but I am part way through making a bag, and I want a big sort out of all my fabrics at some point!! I plan to turn some of my storage shelves into my own little sewing storage where I can keep everything I own sewing-related organised and tidy! This might have to wait until I rearrange the flat though!!

This is my sewing desk, which will only get better as the year goes on!!

 So that is my weekend, as planned this Friday morning.

What have you got planned for the weekend?

Soothing Sunday #3 (On a Monday!)

Image is from here.

 Well it isn't anymore... it is Monday but last night I got home at 8PM and just wanted to sit somewhere like below!

Image is from here.

So I started this post last night and put it to one side to watch TV and eat pizza and lots and lots of sweeties. So here is what I would have posted yesterday:


My week has been filled with lots of time to myself, but I have loved it. I have visited CWI twice (that's where I did my placement) I'm pretty sure if I keep visiting that much they will think I still work there! The second time I visited, I took cake. Homemade marble cake to be precise! It was tasty and they all enjoyed it! I will be posting the recipe and photos on The Other Blog very very soon! The image is more blurry than anticipated but nevermind, it still looks tasty.

 I also did a spot of baking with my friend Heather (and I supposed I should mention her boyfriend Josh seeing as he did help a little bit). Another recipe to be added to that Cakey blog of mine, but with less photos! They were called Chocolate and Pear Muffins, however they aren't very muffin-looking (as you will see in the next photo) but they sure are very very yummy!

I have also started working at GAP Outlet, in the McArthur Glen Designer Outlet in -or should I say just outside of- York. I love it!! I have to travel but it is worth it and it has encouraged me to buy one of those Young Person's Railcards. So all is good, just can't wait to feel more settled and actually know what I'm doing a bit more!

Travelling will also encourage me to read on the train, so I visited one of the University Libraries and picked up a few books. This time (where I cannot go on facebook or play silly internet games) will actually enable me to do some reading without too many disturbances!

Getting up in the morning and switching on the telly has somehow got me a little addicted with One Tree Hill. It's quite early in the series (I think) so it is quite easy to get into.... and well I'm really enjoying it!!

So I think that rounds up my week. There will be lots more to come next Sunday (and I will really try to post it on the SUNDAY!).

A Level Art - Using Fabrics to Create a Picture

The image of the work above is one of my A Level pieces that I constructed with fabric. First I laid out some fabrics and placed a shiny, reflective vase in the centre and painted the composition. Next I redrew the picture but more simply onto some calico fabric and used the key colours from the fabrics to recreate it. As I had previously painted it, it was quite simple to portray it with fabrics, using the painting to give me the reflections in the vase. I attached the fabrics in an applique style with a zig-zag stitch around the outer edge, preventing the fabrics from fraying. I then used organza over the vase part to give the vase its shiny appearance. This worked well because the organza is translucent so you could still see the other fabrics underneath. To finish the piece off I embellished some sections of the fabrics (the ones that were patterned) with beading.

Image from my own camera.

Nonwovens Nonsense - The Trousers

A few weeks ago, I posted about the second semester's Garment Technology project FASHION: Decoratif, and showed a sample of a jacket front we had made based on a piece from Margiela's current Spring/Summer 2010 collection. We were given a floral jacket, which we decided to replicate in two different ways, and to also make a pair of trousers, to go with both. The deadline for this project was last Friday, however we have been limited in the construction of the jackets so these are not complete for me to show yet, but pictures of all finished garments will be up as soon as possible.

Originally we wanted the trousers to be sonic bonded, but with pressure growing we decided as a group to make them ourselves. The fabric we had chosen for our jackets and trousers was PVC, which we have now found out is a difficult fabric to sew and make garments from, but the challenge was worth it in the end. The trousers have laser cut strips and back pockets, based on a floral net curtain we purchased from the market. Below you will find the construction pages we put together and also a photo of the trousers we took before we put the waistband on.

All Images of Group work by Amy Gibson, Emma Clarke and myself, image of trousers is taken from my own camera

Deadline Week

It's that time of the semester again, the week we all dread (and sort of look forward to it being over) "Deadline Week". This is where hours of hard work go into completing projects that we have been working on for about 3 months. Sometimes we're sick of these projects, can't wait for them to be over and just power through the late hours of the night adding the finishing touches. Other times you can feel satisfied with the work, and just glad that you'll get a good mark that you can be proud of, this is usually when you'll have been really organised throughout the whole semester and put a lot of time into the project. This semester for me, in my Design Development module has been mixed emotions. I was fairly organised, worked hard and planned my time well, however you can never stop the little things going wrong can you? Anyway after a long weekend of non-stop Adobe Illustrator and putting the finishing touches on my work, I am quite pleased with the final result, especially the flat drawings and illustrations which I think have improved greatly from last semester! Here are some examples of my work:

Images of my work from my camera

A Level Art

In my A level art classes, instead of drawing and painting in the conventional way, I used my talent from textiles, sewing. I enjoyed this so much more, I found my work to be unique and completely different to what everyone else was doing.

I took some inspiration from Gustav Klimt's painting called "The Kiss" for one of my pieces. The colours and All Seeing Eye seen throughout this painting inspired my piece.

First I embroidered an eye using different shades of green and blue on silk. I then stitched some gold fabric with red swirls and twists in different ways. The eye was then attached to this and I embroidered the golden and red swirls with beads. The piece was designed to look luxurious, which was achieved by the intricate detail in the eye, the golden fabric and the beading.

Image of the painting is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gustav_Klimt_016.jpg and the image of my work is from my own camera

Nonwovens Nonsense?

This semester in Garment Technology, we have had group work in a project called Nonwoven: Decoratif. My group, made up of Amy, Emma and myself (all menswear designers) were given a leather jacket with embroidered cross-stitch roses embellished over the front and sleeves, designed by Martin Margiela. We were also asked to design and make some nonwoven trousers that would work with the key piece. Unsure on where to take this, we tried out a number of different experiments to help us decide on the route we would take with this jacket. We tried tie-dye, beading, painting, sculpting and just about everything you could think of. Eventually we came up with some very inspiring ideas.

Using PVC for all our nonwoven garments, we have come up with 3 very different, but well themed items. The trousers will be pretty basic, sonic bonded with laser cut strips and pockets as their decoration. The first jacket is clear with green coverstitched seams and bright red and blue felt roses placed in a similar fashion to Margiela's original jacket. Our second jacket is painted silver and gold with a haybale netting texture teamed with sequins and beading stitched to create abstract flowers over the jacket.

All of this has been challenging but very inspiring, and now as we watch the garments being put together, it is getting very exciting and we get closer to the end of year show that will document our items.

Below is an early sample of the jacket with roses, to display how these would work in the final garment.

Image from my own camera of work by myself, Emma Clarke and Amy Gibson.

Sustainable Style

Since the new term began in January, I have been researching into slow fashion and designing for a sustainable brand for Burton Menswear in my Design Development module. This has been extremely interesting as we not only had to look at the world around us and how fast fashion affects it, but we were also made to think about how we affect fashion and how we let fast fashion dictate our lives.

I am someone who rarely chucks anything away, after living in a small town in Lincolnshire for most of my life, I would rarely go shopping (due to lack of time and travel facilities). This would mean I was encouraged to keep hold of the clothes I had and to make the most from them. It also meant when I did go shopping, I'd buy something I loved rather than something that would be liked for a small amount of time. However that doesn't mean I haven't bought things and then only wore them a few times, surely that's is every girl's weakness?

I decided to aim my collection at a young market, to make them aware of sustainable fashion and to give them the option of affordable clothing that lasts longer. After researching into the more affordable end of the market for young adults, I found that Burton Menswear does not currently sell a "sustainable" collection or brand, so I decided to create one for them.

The brand is called Sustainable Style, and is aimed to be stylish, fit in with their usual seasonal collections, but to also contrast towards usual features and stand out as something different but also something good. Below you will find the Customer Board for this brand:


The customer is aged 20-30 years old, and would have a low disposable income. This fashion conscious gent, is creative, appreciative of music, has a great social life and loves to travel, however, he is also very aware of his personal social responsibility. He would choose this collection so that the items would last longer but would be in style with other items from Burton Menswear. The mood for this collection is also the mood for the brand, using natural shapes, features and fabrics. Below you will find the Mood Board for this collection, entitled Natural Nostalgia:


I am currently working on my design development for this brand, including unique features to make garments long lasting, but also very interesting.

Images are from my own camera.

Garment Technology - Rever Collars

The next area in Garment Technology that I researched into was Rever Collars. This gave me a better idea of what exactly I would be making in that lesson. Rever collars are made up of two pieces, the lapel (or rever) is separate to the main collar which gives more variety in shape and how it sits against the body that many one-piece collars. The board shows a variety of rever collars in knit, coats and jackets as well as flat drawings of them. Below this is the example of the rever collar I made. If I was re-doing this sample, I would change the shape and style of my rever, making it narrower and wider.

Images are of my own work and are taken from my camera. Thankyou to Nathan Whitehouse for modelling my final garment.

Garment Technology - Shoulder and Sleeve Details

The next research board I had to complete was for 'Shoulder and Sleeve Details'. I found this interesting in menswear because some of the details I found were very discreet. I was surprised at the range I found from appliqué to embroidered details, as well as stripes and tabs. The sample we had to make in relation to this research was a 'Strap-Shoulder Sleeve', which I hadn't really seen before. This was good because it showed me a different type of shoulder detail and how it sat on the shoulder, which could not be achieved by the other shoulder styles I knew.

Images are from my camera and are of my own work. Thankyou to Nathan Whitehouse for modelling my final samples.