10 Minute Kimono From a Scarf Tutorial!

Right, by popular demand, but without photos, a quick tutorial on my scarf kimono!

Dead simple and fairly cute kimono style jacket from a second hand scarf! Make your own by:

• Folding the scarf in half
• Marking out a rectangle either side, which is the fabric you'll lose between the sleeves and sides
• Cut out the rectangles, stitch the cuts closed
• Turn right way round, and cut the neckline/neck hole.

I left my front unfinished since my sleeves and hem were frayed, but you could finish it with a rolled hem. 

Hope this is a useful enough explanation but questions are welcome!

University Competition, and My Return to Studying!

"As humans, we are curious: we are driven to discover, to illuminate, to visualise and understand.

This sense of inquiry is key to the design process – and also to the scientific method. Both physics and design demand creative thinking, and the drive to explore. Both demand imagination; an interest in people and their experience; a desire to see the world in a new way.

Design a ‘mini-collection’ of two outfits, menswear or womenswear, which explores the commonalities of physics and design.

Seek parallels with a scientist’s approach. Conduct your own experiments. Develop processes which provoke discovery and thought. Search for patterns, correlations and new ways of seeing things.

You could:

Investigate how materials can be combined or transformed

Experiment with new construction processes – or apply existing processes in a new way

Be inspired by intriguing theories – like relativity, chaos theory, string theory, or multiverse theory

Consider patterns and structures on a micro or macro scale : symmetry, waves, molecular geometry, cosmology

Examine movements, behaviours, transformations of particles, matter, or electricity

Look into fundamental forces, including gravity and electromagnetism

Create beautiful data

Start your own inquiry - propose new solutions for fashion design."

So, this is my first project upon my return to University! It is a competition project for FAD, and there is prize money available! After a very hectic trip to London Science Museum, I've decided to look into regular and irregular polyhedrons. I'm doing a large initial collection of 40 menswear choices and 40 womenswear choices, to be narrowed down by my lovely tours at uni. I'll update on the final selections but also on the winners when they are announced! 

Over Summer, I've not done very much sewing at all. I've made minor projects like dresses and a PE for Little Sister, with the only real projects being a grey pencil skirt with white piping and a scarf to kimono transformation. I'll do a couple of separate posts for those!

Thank you for your continued reading, couldn't be doing this without everyone out there supporting me and showing a long-term interest.

Men's Dress Shirt into a Toddler Dress! NOW WITH PICTURES!

After posting photographs of Little Sister's new dresses on Reddit, the public demanded a tutorial. Well, you all asked so here it is!

YOU WILL NEED:

• Sewing Machine
• A shirt, men's or women's are both fine. The bigger size the shirt, the more volume you can get into the skirt of the dress!
• Scissors
• Chalk
• A tee shirt that fits your subject well.

First of all, lay the shirt flat. Decide on wether or not you'd like a volumed skirt like in the photos above, or a straighter dress that looks more like a long child's shirt. These instructions will be for this particular kind of dress, since it's a bit more complicated. Once the shirt is laid flat, lay your existing tee shirt on top of it, matching the centre fronts roughly. It isn't a fine art, so just roughly the middle is okay. Fold the tee shirt sleeves in gently so you can see the shape of the arm hole. Pin it in place to the shirt, so it can be used as a pattern. Cut carefully around the tee shirt sides and arm holes making sure to leave the collar and shoulder seams of the shirt intact.

You should end up with something that looks a lot like this:

To decide on a length of bodice, you can either measure your little girl, or guess based on the tee shirt. Make sure that when you cut the shirt across to form the bodice, you're cutting roughly between two buttons otherwise it won't work quite right. Once the bodice is out out, hang on to the sleeves from the shirt. With the bottom half of the shirt, gather the top edge using either a gathering stitch or gather by hand. Adjust the gather to line up the side seams of the shirt and the newly cut bodice.

Stitch the side seams of the bodice. If you haven't already, unbutton both the skirt and bodice sections, then lay them right side to right side, with the bottom edge of the bodice lining up with the top gathered edge of the skirt. Pin, making sure that the side seams line up throughout, along with the front plackets (bits on either side with the buttons/button holes on!). Stitch. You should now see your dress!

At this stage, you can either leave it sleeveless, by stitching a facing on. You do this by using a 2inch wide strip of fabric stitched right side to right side on the outside of the garment, then folded back in and stitched carefully for security to the shoulder seam seam allowance. 

To add proper sleeves to your little dress, the easiest kind is to add slightly gathered/puff sleeves.

Again, use your tee shirt as a guide to get the shape. Lay the shirt sleeve folded as it would be naturally and then lay the tee shirt or your bodice on it, folding back the sleeve and following the outline for the arm hole. Adjust the length of the shirt sleeve as you see fit, and then stitch into the bodice as you would any other sleeve.

Any questions? Now show me yours!

Intertexuality

Intertextuality is using one piece of work to provide context for another. An object, be it a piece of art, a garment or even a person is given meaning by its creator. There are other theories in that the context of the piece is given by the viewer.
Context and intercontextuality are important as they are what define for the viewer the overall message of what they are seeing. This can be played straight, such as a nun wearing a habit and a crucifix, or it can be used to askew social norms and make bold statements, such as artists like Madonna or Lady Gaga wearing the same items, Items and garments are given meaning by the situation that they are placed in and the other visual or sensory cues that they are partnered with.
Intertextuality is important in all aspects of life and is used regularly in fashion. It has been used famously by many celebrities often by incorporating controversial slogans or religious objects in the way that they dress. It has also been used to make a statement in a similar way by designers from the last few decades. This act of using a object in a way that it isn't meant, or by adding to it, for example the way the Sex Pistols shook up the image of the Queen, can be a political, religious, or just plain rebellious statement on the part of the individual or the designer.
Another theme that has arisen from the theory and use of intercontextuality is bricolage. Bricolage is essentially taking a selection of mismatched styles and using them in such a way that it creates a suitable ensemble. For example, steampunks mix the grittier side of punk with the elegance, beauty and clothing design of the Victorian Era. On paper, these two styles don't work together particularly well, with each being the overall antithesis of the other but through the use of clever styling and an understanding of context, amazing outfits are put together. This act of mixing styles and removing aspects from one to another is also a way of making a statement, this further removal of the subculture from the socially acceptable norm. 
I'm a great believer in the theory that nothing is every original. Everything we do, everything we think, everything we design and create is made from influences around us. The author Austin Kleon published a book entitled 'Steal Like an Artist' and it details how influence is all around us and how we should note other people's work in regards to not it's overall quality as a piece, but breaking it down into factors that we like and dislike and then go on to use the factors that we enjoy or approve of in our own work.

Fashion and Status and Gender Identity (A Rant!)

Regarding a recent lecture at University:

This lecture made me really, oddly passionate. Due to my own personal beliefs, the subject of status and women is really interesting. After watching the advertisement videos and assessing them, it's quiet clear that the marketing of fashion really does escalate the feelings of status anxiety detailed by A. de Botton. I believe this phenomenon of social anxiety is used against women far too heavily in modern culture.

In previous years, status was achieved by marrying into a well-to-do family and almost entirely all status was handed down through the family to the men or given by your occupation. It is still like this to an extent and an example of this can be seen in how people respond to what degree you have chosen to study. For example, you are judged to be more intelligent and studious if you are doing a law degree than if you are studying a performing arts degree. Previously, this need for acceptance and status was barely noticeable but since the beginning of mass media and fast, efficient networking abilities, the pressure really is on both genders to be the happiest, fittest, healthiest and best dressed individual the world has ever seen.

In this instance, fashion and advertising is being used as a control mechanism, to force men and especially women into the right mental state of unhappiness and dissatisfaction to spend money they don’t have on things that they don’t need.

“We spend money that we do not have, on things we do not need, to impress people who do not care.” 
― Will Smith

However, from the early Victorian era, fashion has been a way to express status and control people. The corset is a prime example of this. It was a way to show that a lady was the correct socially-acceptable shape and held the right qualities to be a woman worth marrying, but it was also a way to supress their sexuality and in some case even caused them proper physical harm. There are recorded cases of young women being forced into corsets by social convention and pressure, to then find that in their later years they are so disfigured due to prolonged restriction of their bodies whilst growing that they could never be without the corset again.

I think that all of this is ridiculous. Women should be allowed to be women, and judged not by how they look but by their own individual merit. I would much rather be remembered and respected not for the fact my hair looks perfect or I’ve somehow finally achieved the pore-less, flawless look that I’m bombarded with every day, but for my contribution to my field or who I am as a person.

In the presentation, I particularly liked the slide about cross-stich and swearing, as I have a very similarly themed tattoo. 

First Week at Huddersfield Uni

Good evening you lot!

Ava's Apparel HQ has moved away to Huddersfield! As of last Monday, I'm officially studying for a degree in Fashion Design with Production and Marketing. So far, it's been a wonderful experience, I've met like-minded people regarding fashion but also a handful of my other interests. I've had to condense my studio down enough to fit into my uni room, but what with living alone now with no television the turn-around times on the ETSY store are significantly improved.

I've recently also upgraded all of my pattern drafting and cutting items in the studio, so I can explore further and be more adventurous with my designs. The extensive university library has books on how to improve the business, but also is choc full of historical patterns from which I can take drafts to produce my own versions (both straight from the originals or adjusted to my own design!)

Speaking of the business, not only are there new FEZ options in store available now, I'm currently on a 3 day turn around time AND if you use the code UNI25 at checkout, you get 25% off your order to celebrate my first week of university!

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/AshleighEllan

Half Way Review!

Well, June already.

Just a quick update, and an apology for disappearing a bit! This year has been going well, and is a marked improvement on sales this time last year. I've mainly been working on waistcoats for customers and extra ones to add to the etsy store. Some of you may have seen them already. They mainly include a forest green waistcoat with a military feel, a very military-looking red dinner waistcoat and a TARDIS/Dr Who themed waistcoat lined with tan satin, featuring a pocket especially for your sonic screwdriver.

I have at least two book reviews to upload, one on general sewing and pattern drafting, and one on the History of Fashion. I've also been studying hard to come up with outfits for myself for Weekend at the Asylum in September. So far I have a couple of ideas floating around that I'd like to explore but nothing substantially solid.

I've missed you all!