"Depth Charge" Bomber Jacket

This was a project for first year 3rd Quarter construction. We started off with a basic block, just a front, back, sleeves and collar.

We decided on a theme for our class; "The Life Aquatic". This theme could be interpreted any way we wanted, as long as it was reflected in the final design of the jacket. I decided on a WWII-era Navy theme, influenced by the uniforms and patches, as well as the colors of the sea and the grey of a battleship. Here is an inspiration board I put together to reflect the theme.

After settling on a theme, I got to work sketching designs in Illustrator. I find it easier to sketch in Illustrator, rather than by hand, since I can easily move design lines around without erasing and re-drawing, and I can block in and switch out colors more easily. I came up with five designs.

Ultimately, I decided on the second design, with a slight change to the back. I used a heavy synthetic fabric for the main shell fabric, and a brushed twill for the grey shell fabric. The front zipper is a heavy #10 metal tooth zipper. The jacket is lined with a lightweight twill and has a zippered inside pocket.

Princess Line Dress

This was the final project for my third quarter patternmaking class. We were to find a princess line dress to "knock off" using a sheath dress sloper as a starting point. Once again, I enlisted my girlfriend to find dresses she'd like.

We settled on this dress by the Japanese company Mary Magdalene.

Front

Back

The basic shape of the dress was easy to pattern, but the sleeves proved to be quite a challenge. They are essentially raglan sleeves that are elasticized at the shoulder and hem. I drafted them as actual sleeves with an underarm seam, and this made it more difficult than if I had just made them like really wide straps with no underarm seam.

Another interesting part was the center back panel. I put a seam at the waist of this panel, and the top section is a double thickness, with channels stitched across to accommodate the elastic. The elastic pieces were cut to a specific size and tacked at either end.

Everything else was pretty straightforward, just lots of lace and trim. There is a small invisible zipper at the waist on the left side seam. The dress is made of 100% cotton sateen. It is not lined, due to time constraints on construction.

Alterations: Restyling Project

One of my most recent projects was a restyling project for my alterations class. We were assigned to make at least three alterations to an existed garment to give it a new look. I chose this blazer that my girlfriend has had in her closet for some time.

It didn't really fit her very well, particularly in the back and the bust. I took it in at the sides and added contour darts to the back to help with the fitting. For other styling changes, I shortened the sleeves to about elbow length and added black velvet cuffs, secured with silver buttons. I also added pocket flaps to the front patch pockets, secured with the same silver buttons. Black velvet ribbon trim was added to the collars and lapels, and I replaced the front buttons with the same silver ones I used on the cuffs and pockets.

Here are the results, with a few detail shots:

There is also a skirt that goes along with the jacket, and my girlfriend is trying to convince me to make it into a pair of shorts with the same velvet cuffs. We'll see...