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.

Upcoming work, drafting jeans and the weather

So this is what has thwarted my plans today.
I was at the train station bright and early and waited for two hours, and then decided by the time the train came in another two hours, it would be time to turn around and come home.
So I shovelled instead. Nevermind.








On the work front, I have some interesting projects both modern 1930's, (one of my favourites) and some Elizabethan costuming in the next few months.

One of the shows requires me to make jeans! How much fun is that? We are going to reproduce a vintage style of jeans, higher waisted, in non-stretch 10 or 12 oz denim, that can be danced in.

I spent part of last week making up a draft for them. Now I don't know if you have ever reverse engineered something but it is an interesting process. I mean I know what a typical jean pattern of this style should look like, but when I went a searching through my books, I couldn't find one that really fit the bill. I wondered if those drafts are so extremely proprietary that nothing similar is in a book....hmmm. I didn't have a pair of vintage jeans to take apart and examine, so I just have to work with the information I have.

What are the requirements of these jeans? They need to sit just below the natural waist- not on the hip, not hanging off the butt with the pockets at the back of the thigh with only magic holding them up.

      I have seen guys wearing jeans so low that I am tempted to follow them around the grocery store so I can see the inevitable wardrobe malfunction, but so far I have refrained. I wonder if future costumers will puzzle over how to get those jeans they wore in 2010 to look like that?

The jeans need to sit high into the crotch, let a dancer do the splits, squat, or kick his leg up above his head without splitting or limiting motion. They need to be slim in the thigh, but not tight. Many dancers have a 7 to 9 inch difference between their waist and hip measurements which isn't typical of the average person or the jeans they wear.

So the process starts with identifying how the jean fit is different from a regular trouser, and modifying the draft that I normally use. Slimmer in the thigh and leg, shorter rise, and most importantly a modified crotch curve. The first fit sample I made was ok, but I made the thighs a bit too snug and didn't get enough fabric over the cheeks so the CB seam had tension on it in the wrong area.
So a bit of analysis is in order, and this is the interesting part of the job- mulling things over.

 When you squat down in tight jeans, the expansion of the seat muscles require extra fabric length and width. If the thighs are not tight, it allows the body to move within the cloth. If the thighs are tight, it restricts that movement of fabric, and has to be compensated somehow.
The shape of the back fork and centre back seam run/angle are important aspects in allowing this movement.

So I will try my modified pattern out on a dancer next week, see if the modifications I have made work,  and then try to quantify those modifications, creating my own "jeans" draft, that I can reproduce in a variety of sizes.
When I get back to work next week I will try to remember to photograph my pattern for you to see.

In the meantime, stay warm!

year end thoughts and photos

Year end? Where did the time go?

I had planned on doing some posting while I was guiding Lela through drafting and fitting body coats, but it fell by the wayside due to her mother's illness and subsequent passing. We did get through quite a lot of drafting and fitting but I didn't have the wherewithal to document it as I have done in the past.

These are a few of the last things we've been working on- the tailcoats with the Ballet gusseted sleeves- they don't hang as cleanly as a regular sleeve it is true but you can raise your arms! The fitting I did last week was for these checked trousers with a dark grey jacket. I don't know why I like the checked trousers so much, but I do! I guess they feel rather cheery and they stand out compared to the more sombre grey suits that we had been making.

On Friday, we collectively decided that it was time to put down the shears and needles for a break before Christmas. I have 76 buttonholes to do (by machine of course) so I got all those marked and basted and ready, planning on getting over to my colleague's place to have them done when I was just hit by fatigue and I gave in to it. They can wait until the New Year. I just need a break, so I am taking one, since it has been a very busy year so far.

I wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas and all the best for 2013!

Onto another project

 I haven't really been neglecting posting here on purpose, honestly!
I have been very busy finishing up the one project while getting onto the next one at the same time. It wasn't supposed to work like that, but it did and it was a bit crazy at the studio.

I have 9 suits and 5 tail suits to make and I had to get all the patterns made and everything cut into fabric and basted up for fittings in Toronto on Monday of this week.

So, I had Denise, Lela, Emma working on the first project and had to bring in Jennie to meet the deadline, with Silvia putting suit jackets together for the second project. As the first project wound down, the others joined in, and we got everything ready to fitting stage by Friday afternoon.

It is always a bit nerve wracking going into fabric based on measurements that you didn't take, and that can be over 10 years old! Really. It sometimes happens that a dancer is measured when they join the company as an apprentice, then as they mature, adjustments are made on the fly, but the measurement sheets aren't updated. I know it sounds like an easy thing to do, but it is often crazy busy, and well, it happens.







So sometimes I luck out like I did in my first fitting here, where the dancer was pretty close to the numbers on the sheet, just a bit bigger in the hips. I just have to take in a bit in the upper body above the waist and move the shoulder line in marginally. I have to tweak the trousers a bit for size as well.
Everyone of these guys noted how long the jackets are, which they are not for 1920, but in comparison to today's fashions they are.
I have to say that it is a pleasure to fit dancers- they have incredible posture and pretty ideal shapes overall. They usually have built up their trapezius muscles and lats, full seats and substantial quads, but even amongst those similarities there are still differences.
For instance I have a two dancers, both 6'2" one with a 35" chest and 27 1/2" waist and 37" hip,  the other is a full 42 chest with a 34" waist and 44 hips.
It makes for interesting and challenging pattern making.


Now that I am home from doing my fittings, I have to regroup, look at the measurements I took and go forward from here, taking things apart and remarking and getting all the linings cut.

 I plan to have Silvia, Denise and Emma back to sew next week so there is a lot to do in the next few days to get ready for them to return.

For tonight though, Happy Hallowe'en!

sequined t-shirt and trouser

I realized I hadn't posted a follow-up to the sequined T-shirt post so here it is on the actor/dancer for a fitting.

The shirt needs to be slimmed in through the body, and have the sleeves shortened. We did put it on a dance brief that kept it from blousing up and out of the waistband as the dancer moved.

The trousers were Lycra and were able to be made without a fly opening. They had enough stretch to be pulled-on without excess fabric eased into the waist.
The leg length needs to be shortened. Again. One thing to note about using this type of fabric for loose hanging trousers is that without tension on the fabric around the body, the weight of the fabric causes it to lengthen more than you think it will. Having cuffs on them adds to the weight too. It also gets narrower as it lengthens, so that is another thing to keep in mind. Remember to cut the rise shorter than you do for regular wool trousers. (These are notes to self!) Of course who knows when I will have to cut stretch 30's trousers next? Could be years from now.

Anyway, if these were tights, you have tension in both directions and that lengthwise stretch is controlled and minimized. Of course it is difficult to predict so the only option is to cut them out and fit them to see.

sequined T-shirt

Here we are ready to fit our sequined T-shirt.

It has been flat mounted on a nude coloured lycra, then basted together with a zig zag stitch. I didn't cut it with too much ease, so I have seam allowances to let out if I need to make it bigger, but it doesn't look bad on the stand.

The front placket area has been stay stitched and Silvia found a bit of shiny fabric to simulate the collar fabric, so, just waiting now for the fitting to be scheduled. No control over that scheduling, and we didn't get it today, so I am crossing my fingers that it happens tomorrow.

I may have to attach it to a dance pant, I should have prepped one!! Maybe I can do that first thing in the morning.

FYI: a dance pant or pantie, is a stretch brief that is attached to a shirt. Usually the shirt hem is shortened so it is only hip length where the dance pant is attached, and it reduces the bulk of a tucked in shirt, and keeps the shirt from pulling up out of the waist of the trouser or at least limits the amount that can blouse above the waist. It also keeps the costume looking the same every time it is worn.

The trouble with attaching this t-shirt it to an inner pant is that this shirt is a pullover, which means that the pantie will have to be detachable at the front so he can put it on.

That doesn't make it better for a possible quick change.

Hmmm.......well we'll see how much time he has to change in and out of it and how bulky it is tucked into lycra trousers.

And you thought oh well, it is just a t-shirt, simple right?

the sparkly part of the job

Today I received the sketch and some reference for something sparkly! yeah!

The sketch is lovely but I will just show you the reference here which is a look worn by Gene Kelly.

I have to make a pair of flat fronted period cuffed trousers in this lycra with vertical spakly stripes and a golf type T-shirt in a stretch net with broad bands of tiny sequins.

How much fun is this?

The pants are already cut out and in a basket ready for the next lucky stitcher who finishes what they are currently working on. (I can't tell if they are looking forward to it or not, hmmm...)

The shirt required a little sample in black and white drill for me to figure out the contrast placket, facing and collar which will be in a solid sequined fabric in silver. The body of the shirt will be flatted onto a flesh coloured base fabric so it will appear to be see through, but that will conceal the construction details of the placket and facing. The shirt fabric you can see at the neck of the stand where I pinned it before trying out my collar idea.

I think it is going to look great, and it is fun to do a little bit of the glittery bits amongst the wools.

This look should also be ready for a fitting next Friday when our designer is in house.

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.