Fashion Illustration 101

Sometimes I come up with style ideas for new projects, or styling details that I’d like to follow up on later.  The problem is that I have no way to record them – a textual description doesn’t capture the vision that’s in my head, and it means nothing to me weeks and months later.

Also, I look towards a potential future of creating garments for others – where it would be useful for both myself and the client to have a clear picture in our heads of what we’re working towards. So, I saw illustration skills of some sort as an important thing for me to effectively create original designs.

With those thoughts, I enrolled in the introductory class in Fashion Illustration at City College of San Francisco.  The instructor is Paul Gallo, whose classes I have taken before, and is an excellent instructor.  He has two classes in draping and bias design on Craftsy.  I had a great deal of trepidation leading into this class – I don’t really think of myself as an artist or illustrator – but I am familiar with Paul’s teaching style and figured if anyone would make this topic comfortable, he would be it. Continue reading

Drafting Patterns with the Moulage

My personal sewing projects have ground to a halt, because of two classes I am currently taking at City College of San Francisco.  But I am not complaining; both of them have been exciting and enriching.

The Moulage is a class taught by Lynda Maynard. She is an expert in couture sewing and fitting techniques, and the author of two books: one on couture sewing techniques, and a self-published book on fit.  She also has several Craftsy classes available, and I’ve just purchased her fitting class.

What is Moulage?

Moulage is a pattern-drafting system that aims to produce a skin-tight garment that fits your torso from neckline to hip, based on measurements.  I am told the word “moulage” translates from the French as “mold”, a way of molding a garment to your body.

The finished moulage can be used as-is for certain types of garments, including those for knits. But typically you use it as the starting point for making patterns of other types of garments. More on this later. Continue reading

Fitting the BF Oxford Shirt, Part 3

In this third and final installment of our fitting series, we’ll see how all the previous fittings converge into a wearable shirt.

At the end of Part 2, the body of the shirt was falling into place, with the sleeves and neckline becoming the major issues of focus.  We’ll tackle those, and show actual fitting photos of the BF Oxford Shirt.  (Here’s a link to Part 1 and a photo gallery of the finished shirt if you are new to this series).

Muslin F

Issues with the body

Everything is finally looking OK.  That horizontal balance line in front appears tilted, but it’s really posture and camera angle and not the garment.

Continue reading

Draping: The Final Project

I have successfully finished my course in Fashion Draping at City College of San Francisco!

I actually presented the final project about a month ago, and grades came out two weeks later; I’m catching up on my blogging.  (Rest assured the final article in the Shirt Fitting series is forthcoming).

The Assignment

The final project for my draping class was to create our own original garment, using all of the skills we learned in class over the course of the semester.  It had to be a complete look that covered the body; for example just draping a skirt wasn’t allowed.

Continue reading

Fitting the BF Oxford Shirt, Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 in a three-part series on fitting a shirt muslin for my partner.

In Part 1, we had discussed the importance of balance, as it affects the way the grain of the fabric hangs on the body.  I attempted to drape the neckline, armholes, and shoulders to better match the body, but I made a mistake – I did this all before trying to get the garment into balance.  The balance alterations caused several side effects with the other fitting adjustments, which complicated the fitting process.

In this installment, we get the balance issues sorted out, and then fix the placement of the back yoke and address the sleeves some more. Continue reading