"Billy The Kid" Red Dress

This is a production project that I made for the play "Billy the Kid." It is based on the rendering to the upper right, designed by Sylvianne Sherman (and used with her permission here -- thank you Sylvianne!). This was the first garment I made for a play at school. I have to admit that I was incredibly nervous. I started with draping a 1/2 muslin mock-up. I then took a pattern off of it and created a full muslin mock-up to be fitted on the actress. After the fitting I went right into the actual fabric and made the dress. Everything went pretty smoothly, thank goodness! I was really pleased with the final product -- the dress looked great on stage and the skirt moved great with the actresses movements! For the final look Sylvianne distressed the dress adding mud spatters and torn edges to complete the wild west look. I thought the distressing looked excellent.

Construction-wise, the bodice is lined with generic red lining. There is an invisible zipper at center back. The hem was left as is because it was later distressed to have a jagged, worn and ripped effect.

1830's Gown Drape, Spring 2012

 

This is an 1830's gown 1/2 drape that I did earlier this past semester. It is based on a gown from Janet Arnold's book (see picture at top). With this drape, I used antique satin instead of the usual muslin to drape it, which was quite a challenge! The satin has a very different drape quality - it is a bit springy and slippery, but definitely interesting to work with. It's also fun to have some color! I feel like the waistline could still be a bit higher and the petticoats could be fuller/stiffer to fill out the skirt shape more, but all in all I'm really happy with how this drape turned out. It was a big challenge to get all the trim in and figure out how it all worked. I also got to learn how to do cartridge pleats in the back (see close up picture). Yay!

The 1830s is sort of a neat transition time within the Victorian era. The gowns are moving from that simple, "Greek" style, high waisted look of the early 1800s into a stiffer more controlled silhouette. Right now we see that the waist is still high but it is making it's way back to the natural waistline. There is more form to the skirt and it is getting larger. Decorations are getting more elaborate. The sleeves are large and create a very horizontal look at the shoulders. We will then be moving into even larger and wider sleeves and skirts and the age of the crinoline!

18th Century Robe a la Francaise Drape Spring 2012

 

This is the first drape that I did this semester starting back in January! This is based on a rendering I was given from "The Rivals." It is a 1780's Robe a la Francaise. I started with creating the shape for the garment. First is the corset, or stays. This creates a very flat front and pushes up the bossom. With a hard dress form you just kinda need to stuff it a bit to create the right shape. On top of this is the pocket panniers and many petticoats to create the right skirt shape. The Watteau back was probably one of the most challenging parts of this 1/2 drape -- it completely and seamlessly becomes a part of the bodice and skirt...it's actually really neat!  

Final Crits!

Final crit presentation! Classes included: History of Clothing, Draping I, Flat Patterning, Costume Design I, Production Assignment, and Figure Drawing.

Here are a couple pictures of my final project in draping. The black and white photo is what the project was based on. I had to replicate the style and look of the photo as much as possible. I started with draping in muslin, then created a pattern, re-cut the muslin and made a mock-up, and then fitted that muslin mock-up on my model. Once I made the alterations to my pattern, I cut the pieces in the actual fabric and began to put it all together! I learned many, many new techniques for sewing and finishing. Overall I am very happy with how it turned out! I learned a lot and I know where I want to improve and what to watch for and fix next time!

First Draping Project!

For my first draping project I was given this drawing of a 1950's era dress. With draping you build a clothing form three-dimensionally on a dress form. You start with basic shapes -- bodice, skirt, sleeves, etc. -- and then work with them on the form in order to create the silhouette that you need. For this particular project I did not actually finish the garment. The finished product is what you see; a half, muslin mock-up pinned to the form. If I were to bring this to completion, the next step would be to use my pattern that I created from the fabric peices to cut out the whole garment in muslin and sew it together completely. I would then fit it on whoever it was made for, make the alterations to my pattern and hopefully cut the actual garment, sew it, fit it again, make any more final adjustments, and finish it (lining, zippers, buttons, etc.).

Portfolio and Photos

Here is a link to some more photos, plus my portfolio -- take a looksee! :D


http://s1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa335/sophiedahood/Portfolio/