Last minute costuming

I am tired.
Exhausted actually, but I finished a very last minute project tonight after "work". A pair of jeans, a shirt and modifications for a bought shirt to do in a week cause Andrew and Kaitlyn are off to Sochi.


Strangely enough, I have been working on jeans at "work" and this project happened to include a pair of jeans. Very serendipitous
It was very nice fabric to work with as far as velvet goes, and is a deep rich black that gets washed out in hasty photo sessions.

Stretch black velvet jeans. With red top stitching. A happy combination!

I got the fabric Friday morning, took the afternoon off my regular job, washed and dried and pressed the fabrics, made a shirt pattern and had the shirt cut out, with instructions for making to be handed off to Silvia by 5pm, jeans patterned and cut out by 9:30 pm. Made them up to the waistband point on Sunday afternoon, and managed to get the last bits done tonight.
You don't have to be crazy to be in this business but it helps!

 Faked front pockets.

 Inserting the zip and edge stitching the fly.
There is a nice trick to doing this that I discovered while figuring out the jeans for work. I will follow up with it later, I promise!

Fly done and top stitched.

I stopped taking pictures after this because I just lost documentation motivation!

Sorry for the sideways view.


I think they turned out quite well, I just hope they fit perfectly, because there isn't time for a fitting which is really nerve wracking because even though I have my patterns for the last few things I made for reference, it is a style change- lower waist, closer fit through the legs and a stretch fabric- and I prefer to fit and know for sure than hope for the best, but at this late date hoping for the best is all I can do.

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 reflections and new beginnings.

Well, a new year has begun!
It came in quietly at our house, due to a terrible headcold that I probably picked up from visiting relatives at Christmas. Not naming any names, Kelly, Sheldon, Lily!

I haven't spent as much time blogging recently, as you can tell, and I did wonder if I really had much more to say, but I think the lack of blogging has to do more with the feast or famine nature of the business. If there is a lot going on, I have a lot to talk about, If not, I don't.

I worked almost 12 months continuously over 2011-12 which is unusual in my business. Don't get me wrong, I was very pleased, but almost too busy. The work itself is more often than not an adrenaline rush of accepting contracts and then getting the projects done in record time because of delays caused further upstream in the process. It seems to be the nature of the business, but can be very wearing after 25+ years of it.
This year seemed to have more in common with the famine nature of the business, which isn't good for the pocketbook, but has been productive in terms of reflection on going forward through what I think are the next stages of my career. Looking towards figuring out how to use my skills towards something that is less wearing in the frantic department if you know what I mean.

It's funny to try to assess yourself and your skills and where you want to go in the near future; maybe some of you do it on a regular basis- making 5 year plans and such, but that hasn't been something I am used to doing. It is time though, to make some changes, and to figure out what they are.
So....
In between the few jobs I have done this fall, I have been busy getting my book project together. I am so close to finishing the main photography and moving on to the next stage, I can almost taste it. It has been an enjoyable if sometimes frustrating process and a steep learning curve, but I hope to be able to offer it up before year's end. When that happens, this blog will likely be moved to its own dedicated site where I can amalgamate all these things I am planning.

The other project that I have in the queue for consideration is a pattern making service. At first, I was thinking that it would be useful for the theatrical community exclusively, but I have had a few nudges towards offering either standard size men's patterns of period or modern design, or a custom pattern service for individuals of non-standard proportions. These ideas would take some time to develop fully and I am not sure of the marketability of them or where exactly to aim my focus, so that is why they are still in the queue of consideration.

But today is not for consideration of these things.
Today is for a toast to the New Year, a day to get out for a ski or a skate, to begin as I mean to carry on and ignore the cold- both the one in my head and the rather chilly temperatures today.

I wish you and yours a very Happy 2014!

It's the small things...

I was re-reading an older manual on tailoring the other day, and they were describing making turned 

belt loops and said something along the lines of how hard it is to turn them. The book didn't even offer up a technique in the first place, so I guess the writer assumed that the reader would figure something out.

It is the small things sometimes that make a process go along smoothly, so in case you are feeling irritated by trying to turn your beltloops, here is a little technique that we like to use.

 First cut a strip of fabric double the finished size (width)of the belt loop plus two seam allowances. Mine are finished 3/8 inch, so I cut a 1 1/4" wide strip. 3/8"+3/8"+1/4"+ 1/4". Lay a piece of narrow cord down the centre.







Fold the fabric in half, right sides together, and stitch across the top catching the cord, then down the long side of the strip, being careful not to catch the cord.

 You can try pressing the seam allowances open (or not), then invert the fabric right sides out over the cord.

The turned and unpressed tube is shown on the bottom, finger press the seam allowances open- you can insert a darning needle to get them started, and press the belt loop flat.

Edge stitch by machine, taking care to edgestitch down one side and then up the other.

Cut to the desired length. Done.

In my mind's eye...

I had a call from a former co-worker the other day, and it set me to thinking about drafting and how we want to follow the instructions given, plug the numbers into an equation and presto, at the end of the day you will have a pattern for that garment you see in your minds eye.

Well it just doesn't work that way, does it?

Anyway, my friend was making costumes for a community theatre group and had to make a frock coat for a gentleman with a 58 inch chest and a 64 inch waist. Yes, a challenging figure to draft and fit for. So, he picked up his trusty photocopy of the MTOC, (that he hadn't used in years)  and started to draft a body coat for this gent, plugging in his numbers and diligently following the instructions. Then he got to the point of knowing that it didn't look right and he called for help.

After dinner, over to my house he came with his draft, and his book and his frustration with it all.
What can you do in a situation like this?
So we sat down, and I tried to help him, without referring back to the original draft, because I knew it was trouble. Did he have a full set of measurements, no. Balance measures, no.  Photos, no. OK, so we are just winging it here, so I started drawing on his paper  correcting where I thought it was wrong, and offering encouragement where I could, without completely overwhelming him with information.

The point to all this rambling is that I wished I could help him visualize the shape of the person and relate it to the pattern lines on the paper. This is where photos are so helpful because they can indicate things that you may miss in person, or at least sometimes give you a bit more of an objective viewpoint- a bit of distance in a way.

The numbers are just numbers and they don't always indicate where the shape is. One of the most difficult shapes being the very large- because people don't gain weight in a proportional manner.
The drafts for these sizes often apply the extra sizing in one area- the centre front.
As you can see by my drawings, in profile, adding to the CF  looks like it would work, but when you see the shape straight on, you realize that the body is more complex. In this case, the pattern needs manipulation at the sides as well. In reality there are many pattern manipulations that could be done for this body shape, I am just simplifying to make a point. I will point out again and again, that it is so much easier, to have fabric to pin away rather than have to rip open and repin or guess how much more is needed. I don't advocate making a huge shapeless garment but don't be too skimpy either.

Is there a one size fits all solution? No, sorry.  Since each body is different, I do think that visualizing the body shape in three dimensions helps to understand how the fabric will go over it. I guess it is more like sculpture in a way. If you can see the shapes in your minds eye or drawn out on paper, you may have a better chance of success when applying the numbers, or feel freer in deviating from the formula, when things are not working.

In other news, I am making progress on my instructional booklet project, I think I have much better quality now in the photos and like any teaching project, I too have learned a few things along the way!

What have I been up to?

What have I been up to? A lot of little projects it seems.

After delivering their long program costume, I watched Weaver and Poje's Skate Canada performance last week-end.
I was so nervous! I am accustomed to seeing costumes I have made before the public does- and any small tweaks can be made at a dress rehearsal. Not with these! I was glued to the television, looking for problems, checking that everything worked and looked OK. I did see a couple of things that needed work so they came back to me and I have tweaked them a bit more.
I do have to say that I thought they looked great, and I am very critical of my own work. They also had two personal best skates and won second place right behind Virtue and Moir (the reigning Olympic champs in ice dance).
I think they have momentum and will accomplish great things in Sochi!

Next,
I don't usually take on private clients but occasionally I do - usually when other work is in limbo or hard to come by so, I drafted a new shirt for a old client, did some alterations on a few expensive off the rack jackets for another person, and may have a commission for a suit coming up.

The other thing that has been taking up my spare time lately is putting together a photographic instructional booklet for tailoring. The idea began while I was teaching and morphed a bit over the years from a text document that would be accompanied by samples to something more visual. I have worked on in fits and starts over the years, but always was pulled away by other work.
In our work context, we spend time making samples as we change and improve and invent methods. We may be asked to do something unusual or we have come up with a way of dealing with a common technique that is more efficient. We generally make some written notes to go along with the samples, and keep them in a box at work. They can be reviewed for years this way. They have been invaluable tools for training on the job when we have a new seamster, or just to refresh the memory when dealing with little used techniques. A couple of years ago Silvia made up a booklet of photos documenting  the process of building fall front breeches, which was very nice for us to have and refer to.
Silvia's photo booklet, combined with the lack of instruction available online or in person, has led me to revive my old instructions and combine them with detailed photos in order to eventually have a pdf booklet of some of the tailoring techniques we use.

My photography skills are being put to the test! Sometimes I yearn for the days of film and a Pentax K1000. 

So I am plugging away at it, hoping to get at least sections of it done.

For now, that seems to be what is going on.

Velvet survival

 Well, it seems that I have survived the velvet  after all.
It did require a bit of careful basting, especially when dealing with the collar. I used a heavy shirt fusible in the collar stand, but only one layer of lightweight interfacing in the fall. The velvet is not overly heavy, but it has more thickness than a regular shirting. The fall of the collar therefore needed to be a bit deeper to account for the turn of fabric at the top edge.
In the top picture I still had the top collar edge  basted because I wasn't sure it would look alright with a top stitch, or would behave under the presser foot of the machine. It did in the end.

The design called for the shirt sleeves to be rolled up, but of course the backside of the velvet would show if I made a regular shirt sleeve. Instead, I made a separate tubular cuff
and attached it to the shortened sleeve of the shirt. The cuff then folds up onto itself a bit and it is tight enough not to slip down the arm.

To finish it all off, it is attached to a brief, which keeps it looking nice and tidy no matter what movement is happening in the upper body. It also prevents the shirt hem from bunching up when it is tucked into the trousers.

I didn't put buttons on it, just sewed snaps on to close it up to the mid chest line, so nothing distracts from the velvet, which is a really fabulous colour I must say. Very flattering look, deep colour, simple cut, and rich looking fabric, and not as bad to sew as I had thought.