Final Images

Evaluation

    Within this project there have been so many new skills and elements to learn; most importantly for me has been the development of my own critical judgement. Being able to discern what will look best, what works and what doesn't by eye and being able to recognise when I need to alter things. Evidently this is not a skill I will gain over the short time of this project but something I hope to develop more over the next year and beyond. The contextual studies and screenings which have complimented this project so well have been of immense value, they've helped me to distinguish my likes and dislikes, discover the evolution of my own personal tastes and decide where my interests lie. Through the decoration and sleeve workshops I have been able to implement some of this development and experiment with different ideas and concepts. With all my decoration samples I have been able to experiment and play with different materials, whether it is piecing lace together to create new patterns or layering beads and ribbons and lace to make a new trimming each sample has taught me something different. I have loved this opportunity to explore and discover new ideas and I would love to be able to continue this on into third year.

    The romantic tutu itself was an immense challenge, being two making projects behind the rest of the group I was very concerned about how well I was going to fare on this task, fortunately I found myself equal to it and with a lot of hard work was able to keep on top of the workload. Particularly I found the machine sewing difficult and coupled with such unforgiving fabric meant I struggled to keep my bodice looking as pristine as it needed to be. Next time I would be more careful with my tacking as when I went to take out it left very clear marking on the fabric, I would try to keep it really, really light. After sewing together my bodice I tried it on the mannequin and discovered that as I had cut out my pattern pieces I had not allowed extra for ease (we had draped on the mannequin) and therefore my bodice was too small. I was forced to let the seams out slightly at the side to compensate, luckily I checked mine early enough and had not applied the piping so it was easier to alter than some others who checked later on in the process. 

    With the tutu there were also several things which if I was to repeat the process I would have done differently, namely sewing on the layers following the inside line of the Basque. I didn't, in this case, understand the instructions clearly and was too late in actually figuring out what they meant. As the net, like the satin, tears and pulls very easily I did not want to risk unpicking and re-sewing in case of causing more damage. Instead this is simply something I will learn from in future along with other elements of the bodice. I found myself enjoying hand-stitching, both in the bodice and the decoration samples, the petals were difficult but very satisfying to sew on. The invisible thread was, naturally, very difficult to work with but I found that the technique suited me; with a little more practise I would have been quite confident at it.

    Throughout this project I have felt my confidence grow in all the areas we have covered; with Mark's support I have developed both my practical and contextual knowledge and understanding. The historical lectures we had in the opening of the project were also exceptionally beneficial and I've been surprised how much it's influenced and aided the rest of my work, understanding how the different schools of ballet were established and how this has influence their particular style and technique was both interesting and illuminating. I know now that I am interested in both the historical and modern development of ballet, I want to look in more detail at the progression of classical and modern ballet including how it is likely to continue growing in the future. I am looking forward to continuing these studies into the next year.

Tweaking the decoration

Placing and Practising

Tweaking the decoration, I spent a long while playing with and working out the decoration. I knew I wanted to interpret the design slightly differently to how it was placed on Dexter's sample; Dexter's idea was to have the petals as though falling across the dress as though blown there. I wanted to keep this gently hap-hazardous feeling but create more shaping with it. I created a really soft line across the body with slightly more fullness over the bust and sweeping to a very fine line across the stomach to the skirt. As it reached the skirt I wanted a very gentle fan which was slightly wider to the right side to keep the asymmetric line continuous across the entire body. This differs from the sample which is a gentle sweep across the body continuously building rather than expanding in and out.

The Final result

Bodice Details

Dress Photo

Photo's of my dress on the day of the presentation! I'm really pleased with how it looks on Faye, it fits really well around the back and is a nice length on her. I've found several elements really tricky mainly to do with the bodice but not of them have been really detrimental to the overall effect. I wish I'd been able to keep the bodice fabric looking neater but that's been due a mistake with the initial pattern drafting which resulted in me having to let the fabric out at the sides; a problem several others have had as well. The decoration looks much lighter than Dexter's sample but I feel it's a closer colour to the design and am quite happy with the result. Here the petal's are just pinned on when I take it back to the studio I will play around with the petals a little more before sewing them on but it's nice to be able to see how they look and move on a body.

Presentation...

We had our presentations today to the rest of the year group, it was really great to see how everyone else was doing and the variety of different projects we were all involved in. The Ballet Group were first up which was good as it didn't really give us time to be nervous. We'd practised a bit before hand but I still ended up saying something entirely different to what I'd planned! I didn't have enough hands to hold cards and wanted my arms free to be able to move and use different samples; I find cards really distracting and so tried to do without but nor sure how successful it was. As a group I think we worked well and perhaps with a little more practice it could have been very good.

It was nice to see all the costumes together even in the different stages of completion and I'd asked Faye (one of our wonderful first years!) to model for me so it was so elating to see it on a model and moving. Even though it hadn't been made to her measurements she was a really nice fit. It was a little low at the side which is something I'd consider next time I made a bodice and it was great to be able to see how the bodice and skirt worked on a dancer. Faye also wore ballet tights and shoes which made the look complete. I'm hoping to be able to get some proper photo's done before we finish as it would be a wonderful memento! I learnt so much from being able to see her wearing it and it gave me chance to play with the decoration samples, I've interpreted the design on mine slightly differently to Dexter's with the petals flaring slightly over the bust sweeping in at the waist and then fanning gently out over the skirt. I personally like this effect as I think it feels very soft and accentuates the shape really well, however with Dexter house bound (!) I've not been able to get his opinion.

Decoration progression

Here are the three samples I chose to develop, I still need to finish my lattice sample tomorrow, I've nearly completed the two bodices and the tutu plate sample is at least basically finished. I still might develop it further as I'm not entirely happy with the stoning on it. I do like the beading and think it will look really nice with the  movement of the dancer.
I decided to back the Kitri sample with black cotton velvet instead of calico as I really felt the calico ruined the effect and the velvet completes the look. It was worth experimenting with as I've decided I do not want to work with velvet in future. It has frayed, left black bits over everything it's touched and picked up endless amounts of thread and other pieces. A good lesson for future projects.
The close up of the Faune bodice show's the beading I've worked into the lace, trying to create highlights and  lowlight, I would like to develop this by adding more cream beads to emphasis the highlights.
The decoration samples have been a really good way to learn more about designing and how to create readable, characterful costumes.