Outfit #2 - Toile

I've now done the toile for my trousers for the second outfit. Since I was looking at saris when designing them I wanted to add extra free flowing material. I was original going to have it wrap the whole way around the trousers but once I pinned it it was too restricting so I changed the design to just one strip. I also found that it was too heavy so was dragging the trousers down !

 

The trousers are high waist with a fly zip and shallow waistband. I wanted them to be sleek so the top becomes the 'stand out' piece. I have taken pictures of the whole outfit but not when I had the waistband attached, so this first picture shows the waistband attached which obviously makes them a lot neater.

 

 

 

I really like this outfit as a whole and I think once I've chosen the material it could look really good. Now that I have my toiles finalized I need to update my working drawings and draw my fashion illustrations.

Outfit #2 Toile - Bamboo top

I re-did my toile for the top, this time adding 1.5cm around the pattern. I sewed the tucks from behind just on the sewing machine, although I think I still need to do a few stitches by hand to keep them in place. They will be where I've placed the two pins on either side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've also decided that I won't be having sleeves on this top as I don't want it to become too busy. This means that I need to take away the seam allowance around the armhole as I will be finishing the edge with bias binding   

The top was also too large for the mannequin. I am going to go back to my pattern and check that the back matches the front and then I will be taking the sides in by 2cm.

Overall I am really pleased with the outcome and I think I will be looking into making it out of plain cotton. There will be an invisible zip inserted in the back seam.

Outfit #2 Toile - Bamboo top

 

So here is how my first toile of the bamboo top went;

I think it worked really well and I think the pattern It makes is extremely effective. For this toile I didn't add any seam allowance as I wanted to see how it worked first. So I've gone back to my pattern and re-drawn it and  added 1.5cm around the edge.

 

 

I then neatened the edge as I wanted it to be straight. I will be adding sleeves to the top - I am thinking one puff sleeve with petals on top which I will hand sew only at the top so they can move, hope that made sense ! And then bias bind the neckline and hem.

To sew the tucks I have to sew on the wrong side with small tacking stitches. I am going to be doing another toile of the top and that one I will be sewing as it will be in the final garment so I will share with you how that goes too.       

 

 

Outfit #2 - Bamboo top pattern

I was really excited to get started with my second toile as I've wanted to try the technique I used out for while. I found the design in Pattern Magic by Tomoko Nakamichi, it's inspired by a bamboo shoot.

I began by tracing around a short bodice block and manipulating the shoulder dart into the waist dart. This meant I now only had one large dart. I also lowered the neckline before going on to draw the bamboo shoot onto the bodice. The pattern didn't give any measurements so I measured the distance between the lines.

 

I cut into the lines stopping at the bust point. I then closed the dart and flattened it.

Next I carried on cutting into the strips, making sure to cut right to the edge but not separating them. Afterwards I drew the lines onto the calico. For the pattern you cut on those lines and not around the strips.

So I cut the lines. The thing about this pattern is I can't make another pattern which is a 'whole' pattern as I need to be able to draw into the sections so I know where to make the tucks. I have stuck the pattern onto cardboard to try and keep it from ruining.

 

I will show you how it turned out in the next post........

Outfit #1 - Toile

I have now finished the toile for my first outfit. I am really pleased with the outcome as it looks exactly like the working drawing. Although there are still a few things to think about.......

 

1- Sleeves - I have done the sleeves differently as I wanted to try out different lengths. I prefer the one on the Left (on the second picture) as it has got a better shape. Although I think I still want it a bit shorter and to do this I will be having the casing for the elastic in the middle of the sleeve. So there will be two even sections.

 

3- Zip - For my toile I didn't need to insert the zip, but it will going in the back. I've chosen to use an invisible zip to create a sleek and smart finish. I need to think about when the best time to insert the zip will be.

 

4- Material - The material is extremely important as if I use fabric which is too thick it will ruin the dress and make it end up looking like a maids dress! I want to look at floral patterns which work well with the regency theme but pick out the colours which compliment the Indian theme. I am also thinking of having chiffon sleeves and underskirt

 

5- Embroidery - I am going to be sewing embroidery to the yolk, which is the small section underneath the bust and just above the skirt. I need to think about how much detail I will be sewing as it depends if I need to interline this section. But I will definitely go into more detail about this in a future post!