Childen's wear drafting and trying to find information

     I recently needed to produce a few garments for a child, and it occured to me that I had only one drafting book to reference for children's wear.

That book is the Winnifred Aldrich's  Metric Pattern Cutting for Children's Wear and Babywear. 

I have an older edition so out of curiosity I borrowed a newer edition just in case. I found there were  some changes to some of the basic drafts which made me wonder. 

Things like the calculations for neck width used 1/5 neck minus 2mm now its 1/5 neck plus 2 mm on some drafts.Were there errors in the older drafts or just typos? Strange.

     I wanted to find a draft for a one piece snowsuit. It is not a garment covered in the Aldrich book. The child would arrive after quarantining, go for fittings, alterations would be done there, and then be on camera two days later.   They didn't want a waist seam in the snowsuit, so I had to get it right the first time. I needed to find basic torso girth measurements for children so I could have some kind of reference point. "It shouldn't be difficult" I thought to myself....... Anyway, it sent me down a rabbit hole of internet searching.

I did finally find a study of children's measurements here, done in 1939. So I waded through all of this and got a number range for height. 

I called friends with children too! "how tall is your child? Can you take a measurement of his torso girth for me?"

What a run around for information! Oh I forgot to mention, all I received was height and a chest measurement taken by a parent. That is all I was working from. What a business! and let's not talk about the deadlines.

What else did I find? I found a snowsuit draft on a Russian website, which I downloaded for reference and I could follow along looking at the diagrams. My desktop translated the pages, except for the sizing tables!! because they are photos not text! Drat!

I was on Pinterest and I found an Italian children's cutting book. In Italian, of course. Again, I could follow along by "reading" the diagrams. But I don't think there was a one piece snowsuit draft there either. That book, by Antonio Donnanno is available here in English.

I decided to basically stick with the Aldrich using the flat overgarment blocks for jackets and the flat two piece trouser block, and melded them together so they looked right ot me.

Once I made the basic draft, one of the things I had to take into account was the thinsulate lining. My base pattern was for the lining, but the outer fabric layer needed to be bigger than the under layer. I think I read somewhere about re-calculating the draft for the amount and type of insulation being used, maybe it was on the russian drafting site, maybe on a german site....I can't remember now.

Anyway, in the end, I figured out how much bigger to make the shell and made a pattern for that too. 

It was lots of work mentally and then a lot of work just cutting and sewing them. (yes, plural! I needed to cut two of them) I think they turned out really well, The best part is that they fit. I breathed a sigh of relief. 

We did get stuck waiting for zippers to arrive, but all in all it went fairly well. 

The shutdowns have made getting supplies a bit more challenging! So many things are being shipped its a miracle everything gets to where it is going.

padding up!

I thought there was an extra week in November and I was really disappointed to find out I was wrong!
I have been very busy and the phone has been ringing off the hook, in fact I turned down a project because I just couldn't add one more thing to the list. Anyway, I am trying to keep up with blogging.

So,  I recently made a toile for an opera costume and fit it. It is quite a challenge to fit disproportionately larger body types for a number of reasons. One is that people do not get larger with any kind of controlled change. Each person gets larger in their own unique way.
I have to rely less on standards and more on modifying my basic drafting to interpreting the person's
shape from photos that are provided. One other challenge is the pattern shapes change in ways that you may not be used to: the pattern no longer looks proportional. I often find too, that men's wear gets a bit more challenging because there are fewer accepted style lines and darts than in women's wear.

This project reminded me of something I made earlier this year: a body padding for Falstaff.
It is never easy to make a body padding nor to wear one.
The actor and designer had a definite take on the shape they were after, and what they didn't want, and it was my job to create something. (in much too short a time, I may add)

They wanted a more realistic take on what had been done here in the past.
Right.

What has been done in the past? Well, everything from layers of batting hand stitched layer upon layer to an inner base, which could be as simple as a t-shirt with a small "belly" added, to a full unitard with combinations of rigilene frameworks and small crescent shaped bags of Lycra filled with styrene or plastic beads.

They wanted the padding to act like real flesh, compressible to an extent and be more realistic looking.
OK.

I decided to try to work with memory foam. I had never worked with it before and we had a difficult time sourcing what we needed in a short time frame.
I wish I had taken photos of the whole process, but it was so busy and this show had a very "organic" approach to it, that I barely had time to think at all. Sigh.

I started with a base of fine power net/Lycra.I knew I was going to have to build up the arms and legs, so I made a pattern for a close fitting bodice and a shorts. This way I had a waist seam where I could adjust the fit if needed.  I fit the base on the actor first. In the fitting the designer and I drew on it indicating key areas that I could reference once I was back at my table. I took quite a few measurements as well, and we tried to establish a final chest and waist size to aim for.

I returned to my room and then adjusted a stand to be more like his natural shape so that we had a reference point from which to build on. This was so important because we couldn't be making major changes in the actual fittings with the actor.

I began with my own sketch of a body shape, and figured out what attributes of that shape I could try to reproduce. I have to say that this is where my early training in life drawing painting and sculpture comes in handy.
I started with the belly, using some air conditioner foam to build up a bit of solid understrucure.
I then built up and created rolls of fleshy areas with memory foam. We punched holes in the foam wherever possible to allow a bit of air flow through to his body.  These areas of foam often consisted of two or three layers or blocks of foam that had a larger piece laid over top and wrapped to create three dimensions. We glued the under blocks in place as well as the wrapped edges with plain old white glue which seemed to do the best job of the many glues we tried.
Those foam shapes were then were covered in another lightweight power net/Lycra which gave  us the means to attach the rolls to the base layer or to another roll. The pieces were kept separate to simulate how I thought real flesh would behave. So, there is an overhang/apron of foam in the abdomen and another at the waist. this allowed the actor to wear his trousers waist up under the belly roll if he wanted.  The chest padding was separate as was the shoulder blade area. The arms and legs and seat were also padded up.
It took a lot of time to figure out and make, as I was also busy with the rest of the show and finishing up the previous shows. We proceeded in stages, I would figure out a shape, hand it off to Karen to glue and cover. Sometimes the shape is not quite right and we had to modify the chest by adding in a piece of foam covered separately, as we didn't have time to re cut and recover that section.

Once the padding was finished, we could then start on the clothes.
I confess that I just draped the clothes right on the stand rather than try to draft and work it out as a flat pattern. Draping just seemed more immediate and time was of the essence by then.
I found out in a fitting after it was finished that they wanted him to appear in a set of long underwear over this padding and I just about fainted! I mean the foam we were able to get was green and pale blue, and what was that going to look like? would it show through? Could we get long underwear on short notice that covered the padding properly? Of course we ended up making a set of long johns and Henley.  At that point the actor wanted some "anatomy" made for realism's sake, which needed to be removed at one point (they gave him tight jeans to wear at one point and there wasn't enough room) so we made him a "package" using the Lycra and styrene beads, and it was a complicated bit of business figuring out how to make that work.
Oh our work is never dull, I tell you!

tuxedos and tails

Ahh, this post will be a bit rambling! I feel quite tired!

What have I been up to lately?

Well it seems formal wear has figured prominently this fall. I had a call from a friend who was working on a tv show, and they needed a tailsuit in about two weeks, could I do it?

I already had commited to making some skating costumes but I did not have designs or fabrics yet  and you know what happens once you say yes to one thing, then all the other things suddenly start to happen!

So I said yes and the fabric arrived two days later. I started patternmaking, then cutting and then we made up a period tailsuit - waistcoat, trousers and coat, using very inadequate measurements, no fitting and crossed fingers.
Rush job number one!
Of course part way into the process, I received designs and fabric and the deadline info for the skating costumes. Yikes!
These had to have a fitting- just time for one fitting mind you- and the only time that everyone was able to be together- skaters, myself, and the designer, only left us a window of 5 days to finish and deliver.
That was rush job number two.

It had its share of challenges stretch fabrics for a tuxedo, non stretch for a sweater like garment....which I hope to get time and inclination to organize my thoughts so I can post about it!

A big sigh of relief when I received messages that everything was great and off they went to compete, and they won! Hurray!
Three days later I get an SOS message, and it turns out they needed to change their program completely and they had two weeks to pick new music, do new choreography and have new costumes made. Could I do it?
What can you say?  How terrible for them to be put in such a position!  I said yes.
So the change was to a tailsuit, with a nod to the Edwardian era, and with a bit of ambassadorial splendor.
So trousers, waistcoat, bow tie, order and medal, sash and a tailcoat. The fabric arrived Friday morning. I cut all day Friday, we sewed Saturday, fit it on Sunday and finished it on the Friday.  They tried it on ice on Sunday, and flew to their next competition Tuesday.
Rush job number three.
Oh, they won by the way! yay!

Then I got sick. Of course- too much stress and your body kicks you when you are down.

I leave tomorrow to work for a month in Montreal.
Four weeks to cut and make a show- which compared to what I have been doing, seems like "bloody luxury" as we say -but I am sure it will have it moments of being a rush job too.

Here's a photo or two for good measure. They were taken from their tumbler site. No photos of the tails for the tv show- I don't know if it has aired yet....

These two - Andrew Poje and Kaitlyn Weaver are just wonderful - as athletes and as people- they are as lovely as they look.

 That's all for now, I have to go and pack.

work table weeks 8 and 9

Time is flying by.
Week 8 saw the delivery of a missing fabric.
This jacket was based a bit on this reference, below.
Menswear is interesting because there are many options to play with, but for many people the details elude them because, lets face it, they are subtle. The changes are more easily seen over the decades rather than the season or the year. If you delve into it though, you are rewarded with many interesting details, and I have fun with these details, encouraging designers to consider incorporating them into the suits they want me to make.
 Nowadays- everything looks the same, whereas say in 1938 as this catalogue page shows, there are more "sporty" or casual models available. Still a three piece suit but a different vibe than one for business wear. The one on the left offers a two button, notch lapel, patch pockets, the bottom ones with flaps, and the back view has an expansion gusset, as well as a bit of fullness pleated into a half belt at the waist. The one on the right is a 2 button, semi-peak lapel, three patch pockets with inverted pleats, lower pockets with flaps and the back pleated into a half belt. Both have top stitching detail. We are going to go with the one on the right but with the plainer pocket style of the one on the left.

I have been given a nice blue plaid flannel to work with. I had a devil of a time getting it all laid out nice and square on my cutting table, so in the end, I had to cut the yardage in sections then block it at the iron table, using my metre stick and a square to then press it properly just to get it in a better shape to cut out. It literally took me most of the day to cut that three piece suit. 

Here is the back, just ready in week 9 with a fitting yesterday. 

Yesterday, week 9 also looked like this (below). I managed to cut out the shell of a velvet coat, cut all the bits and pieces needed for a pair of breeches that I fit earlier in the week, I cut out my last 1840's waistcoat and trousers, and switched back to the eighteenth century today so I can call fittings next week when that designer is back in residence. I cut another cloak and made a coat pattern and cut it in muslin. The I will have to flip back to my 20th century things, have a few last fittings, and cut some of the final bits like top collars and mark alterations. 

Tomorrow is already Thursday! I have so much to get done and I really could use another pair of hands- not so I have four myself, but another set of sewing hands. We have a lot to get done.

pint size

I have to say that making patterns for the woman's costume was a lesson in scale.
Having just made patterns for the men, the woman's pattern was unfamiliar in terms of what I usually see on my table.
It challenged me to some degree.
This week, I took on a project that challenged my sense of scale even more.

This is about half the chest size of the last men's shirt pattern I made! About half the hip size too for the trousers.

Since my daughter is now an adult, it has been a long time since I made something in this size.


I did find a child size hanger though.

This was a request made through a dance/skating connection, and although I am busy with the Opera project, I couldn't resist this.

I had a fitting yesterday, and all went very well. I will let you know what it was for after the event, as it is to be a bit of a surprise for the audience.

getting your money's worth

Well Happy New Year to everyone. I hope you had a nice holiday!

Now today I thought I should start to get back to work and I headed over to the studio to look at a pair of "breeches" that I was asked to reproduce.

A number of years ago Carol and I built costumes for this client. I built a cutaway coat, waistcoat and trousers and Carol built a lovely 1880's dress. These were well made and not cheaply done and I think the client had a bit of sticker shock initially, but they have used them for 7 years, and not even on the people they were built for. They have stood up to repeated wear and cleaning. So, I think they have had their moneys worth, as only the waistcoat has needed replacing after 7 years.

It turns out they had purchased other costumes which the "breeches" were a part of. Not sure when they were purchased, but it had something to do with a Napoleon costume.

I wasn't expecting what I saw when I opened the bag.

Ok you can call me a costume snob or whatever you like, but really, what a piece of crap.

This is Hallowe'en type costuming, and it pains me greatly to think that as a costumer, I may be lumped in with this kind of stuff.

My list of what's wrong:

1. They are made of cheap, see through polyester knit. I hope he had a coat that covered most of him.

2. They are badly sewn.

3. They are badly sewn even for what they are.

There is no stabilization in the front "fall" to prevent excess stretching at the waist.

The placket "points" haven't been turned at the point, they are just smushed. The placket points aren't even stitched down, no I lied, there is a handstitch on one placket holding only the inner layer of the placket to the front.

Look at the "waistband". The end hasn't been turned properly then the inner elastic has been twisted and caught when the button was stitched in place.

They were put together by serging and obviously the waistband and body didn't quite end up the same size.

There is no stabilization behind the buttons.

Even if you bash something out to make money, how can you send product out like this? It wouldn't take take much more to make them a whole lot better.

If you are getting costumes for your business, this is not getting your moneys worth, or wait, perhaps you do get what you pay for.

What a way to start the New Year!

finished coats

Here's a final look at a few coats and waistcoats that we have finished.

You've seen the process for the grey coat all along, the green coat is the made of the wrong side of the same fabric as our footmen coats. The cream coat is a very thin silk that needed a fair bit of supporting structure inside it. I love the mauve lining.

I'll be back to regular posting soon.

costume and sculpture 3

Ok, here's the last of this little trip down memory lane.

One thing that needs to be worked out for all costumes is how the actors put them on and take them off- usually, but not always, that is a straightforward issue. These were a bit different. In the costume above, we made a back opening using hammer-in dome fasteners. The rigilene overlapped onto itself and each piece snapped together with two domes for rigidity. The straps came from the shoulders and criss-crossed to the back for stability. The collar pictured here, was attached to the body by means of a dome on a short strap like a bra-keeper, and the wings attached with short pieces of elastic for movement.

The costume below, pictured earlier here, was put on and fastened by means of corset like lacing on the sides. Every so often we like to try things on so we can see how it looks.

After this stage, the costumes went to decoration and they were covered with colourful bits of fabric "feathers" as you can see below.

So another work season has come to a conclusion. It was a year of ups and downs, challenges and pleasures. I'm not sure what's up yet for the fall, I know that I will be doing a month of teaching and training so I am looking forward to that. I have to update a lot of my teaching notes and to be honest I learn just as much from teaching as my students do. I hope to be able to talk about some of that process and show you some of the fittings we do.

I am also going to be on the other end of the fitting process as I have volunteered to be a model for a corset show coming up this October in Toronto. My former apprentice, Jennie will be creating a "tailored" corset design for me to model- I've seen the sketch which is wonderful and my first fitting is next week. I'm looking forward to it- not sure about the modeling part but hey- I figure if something makes me feel nervous, I probably should push myself to do it. What's the worst that could happen?

Don't answer that! I'd rather stay in the dark a while longer.

Enjoy the remains of the summer, more to come,

Cheers!

variety

Here's a few shots of a variety of costumes on stands here and there in the wardrobe. Never a dull moment!
One of the interesting things about this job is the variety of work we are assigned to do. Every season is different, with different designers and shows and challenges. In some of the more stressful moments I swear that I would prefer to only make suits, but the reality is that variety is best. It keeps you from getting complacent or bogged down, or bored.

dance

Ahh, a costume that I didn't have to make.
Today is the big dance recital for the studio that my daughter dances at. In a town of 30,000 people, there are over 400 dancers enrolled and four and a half hours of performance time in many genres of dance.
I'm always moved to tears by the little ones who look so adorable, trying to remember their steps and not bump into each other, and amazed by watching children, including my daughter advance in their skills and poise and performance abilities over the past 6 years of dance.
I wish that it was something that was available to me when I was growing up.

I used to get involved making dance costumes but since it is a busy time of year for me, I am more than content now to just pay for them and happily watch.

velveteen doublet

Here's an updated photo of a doublet we are working on. It was previously shown here
in an earlier state of completion.
The trim banding is made from a piece of lightweight wool with a narrow gimp trim applied on one side of the banding.
The buttonholes in the sleeves are done, but the designer is now changing the buttons. Sigh.
What is left to do?
Well, linings to be slip stitched, change buttons, buttonholes down the CF, the armholes will be bound, as will the sleeves to finish them off. We will then attach the sleeves to the body from the front pitch point, over the shoulder, to the back pitch point, leaving the underarm open.We use heavy grosgrain under that section and stitch in the ditch of the binding into the grosgrain to hold the finished sleeve to the finished armhole. I hope that makes sense.
Attach and finish the collar permanently as well as the shoulder crescents/epaulettes.

In other news.....
I was given a piece of dyed velveteen yesterday morning for a jacket. The one piece of fabric I was missing for one of the shows. The problem is that the show techs on April 30 which doesn't leave much time to put it together, have a fitting and get it finished in a week. Especially since almost all hands are busy finishing up the other 15 garments for the show, and fittings get more difficult to schedule as the deadline looms.

one more doublet

One more doublet. I'm at 6 so far for the three characters that I am doing for this show. That doesn't include coats breeches, shirts and capes and all the rest.

This one was just basted up for a fitting. The fabric is flat mounted to washed and preshrunk white duck-I can't remember the weight but it's sturdy and tightly woven. We usually flat mount things like this by machine, not by hand.
I think that we will need to put in some spiral steel boning down the front edge, side fronts and side back, to keep him looking crisp and neat. We'll have to unpick a bit so the boning tape can be mounted on the duck and not go through the outside fabric. I should have done that before it was flat mounted but I obviously wasn't thinking clearly at the time. Don't even ask!
If the casing is in but the boning isn't needed there's no harm in having the boning casing there unused.

If the fabric frays easily, we will serge the seam allowances to keep it stable, and then the body is machined together. The sleeves are flat mounted on a lighter weight washed cotton and machined. The sleeve head has some gathering in it so that is put in, and the sleeves are basted or pinned to the armholes.
The skirts are mounted on duck as well, the edges basted back by hand, and then they are basted by hand to the doublet body. The collar is also just basted onto interfacing that we prepare for collars and basted to the neckline.
The reason it's done by hand, is that it is easier to take bits off in the fitting for either fitting or design changes.
After the fitting, the designer and assistant have chosen a lining for the sleeves, and the trim/banding that will decorate the fronts and skirts and sleeves.

stripes or no stripes

I don't know how I can manage to get photos mere seconds apart and see such a colour change!

Well, to stripe or not to stripe- today that is the question. Since I wasn't getting an answer, we basted on stripes on one side for the fitting and afterwards we tacked on some tailor's tape to give an idea what it would look like if the edges were bound in the cream lining.
We fit. No decision came....
Then we waited some more........
Everybody had their opinions, some even kept their opinions to themselves, others just rolled their eyes as I dragged the stand out to the fitting rooms again so the designer could look at it in proper lighting.
We waited some more. I was kind of hoping that whatever was decided, it would magically be further ahead each time I looked at it, but no, that wasn't happening either.
We waited some more.
Finally,
no stripes. Just binding. OK. Done. I think. I hope.

variations

Here again on the other side of the room, ladies wear is appearing on stands. I liked the design of the pleating on the skirt, it's unusual. The skirt is black velveteen, the blouse worn with it is lace over an ombre lining and it will be worn belted. There is also some kind of wrap or shawl affair draped around the shoulders. It's all very dark and a bit dramatic .


Compare it to this which is in the large wardrobe. Just a bit of contrast don't you think?