Portfolio - Fabric

I have diligently been sketching and planning and picking and choosing. It’s hard to believe but I have become quite attached to these designs. Thanks to Flickr I’ve been flaunting all my pages as I finish them.

This week we worked on fabric choices. I wanted to know all knits, whether it was sweater or jersey, anything stretchy really. Focus is on ease, comfort, effortlessness. The styles are pretty boxy and tunic-y for an “I just threw this on” chic on top and a fitted straight bottom to balance it all out. I also want to work on a few accessories. I’m not sure if these will be included in the portfolio but it couldn’t hurt to throw them into the illustrations when we get there.

I grouped the tops and bottoms together so they’d be easier for you (mostly me) to visualize when choosing the colors and fabrics. My colors were picked from the photo above of the strips are stained glass. These lines that frame that frame the glass are my inspiration for the vertical and horizontal pin tucks and pleats in each look. I love the different shades of blues and greens and even grays in the glass.

I mixed and matched and here’s my brainstorm:



So my looks ended up being (left column, right column):
1. Sweater + twill pants
2. Sweater + knit pants
3. Blouse + sweater jacket + twill pants
4. Sweater + vest + knit skirt
5. Blouse + knit pants
Still deciding on which pieces to actually make and photograph. Do I want to make them for myself? Do I want to model them myself? Do I want to hire a model a thousand sizes smaller than me and not get to wear the outfit? I don’t know!

Here are the final fabric choices:

Sweaters are made from a thick sweater fabric, originally blue or green mixed with white yarns to soften the deep tones. The ombre will be hand dyed by piece. There’s a definite stretch to the sweater fabric but the designs are so roomy there’s no need.

Blouses will be make from jersey knit fabric with a sheen. I wanted to mimic silk but give the blouses some warmth against the fall weather. They will have a great drape and flatter any figure. Again the ombre will be hand dyed by piece to suit.

Knit pants are in wool double knit. The wool double knit holds its shape incredibly well while still having enough give to fit any legs. Again the thickness of the fabric protects against the elements. Liken these to very, very thick leggings.

Twill pants will still have a good amount of stretch to hug your lower curves while still giving an esteemed trouser feel. These are straight legged and slimming to counteract the large sweaters and blouses.

All the sweaters and blouses have some ribbing to trim various necklines, armholes, hems and seams. These ribbings are super stretchy and soft to add that extra comfort and warmth to the tops.