#so I decided to do the ribbing in a wool silk blend I had in my stash

[vashti-lives]

Knitting is a constant battle between trusting the pattern and trusting your gut. My pattern wants me to knit another half inch of ribbing here but I think I’m going to call it now.

[clickablog]

More Socks and a Rhinebeck Rant

I finished the socks for Dawn and they fit her like a glove - so she says. Its hard to wear wool socks right now so I understand but come the first frost I hope to have a picture of them in action to post or I may have to kidnap them for the big web.

I tried to work on my Alpaca cardigan but the yarn just sticks to ya and does not illicit the same oo's and ahh's it got from me when I bought it. In this weather its more like ich and uck. This sweater will have to wait until fall.

I started a simple pair of 4x2 rib socks with "Socks that Rock" yarn in a colorway of jewel tones that I really, really like. I finished the first one in about a week. It had wandering cables spiraling down the leg and across the foot. Notice I say "had". I tried it on and it was too small - I went home and checked my sock yarn stash and I had nothing left that was close to this colorway. So yes I did - I frogged it.

Here is a photo of the new larger sock sans the cables (they got lost in the colors). The yarn pools and spirals with the 6 extra stitches that it didn't do before. Before the entire sock was mottled (like the current heel portion) - which I liked - so I was a little taken aback by the new color pattern that was created. I still don't know which one I liked more. Funny how the variables of yarn+knitting works.

I started a log cabin blanket to match the house we are under contract for. It's in LionBrand Fisherman Wool in natural brown and the red stripes are in LionBrand Wool. I like the colors together, they match the cedar on the house. I decided on the thin line of color at the end of every strip. As perfect as the front may look the back shows the masochist side of perfectionism - lots of ends to weave in. I'm trying to weave as I go. I don't know if I'm going to do the whole blanket this way or if I'm going to add more red - we'll see. Even though I am knitting a blanket for the house, we haven't closed yet, so I haven't canceled my reservation for the Roadway Inn in Kingston. House or not - I will be at the Sheep & Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, for the entire weekend, this year. Last year was my first time there - I was so overwhelmed with joyous wool fumes that I missed the Ravelry lunch and couldn't stay for the after party. I did secure all the wool I wanted with no regrets in that department. So this year I will Ravelry! And I will go with hubby and maybe a few friends and we will stay for the weekend and we will Ravelry! And I will restock my sock yarn stash. Its the one thing I loved most at Rhinebeck - all the great indie dyed sock yarn! I also secured a few hundred yards of natural charchol gray alpaca in sport weight and an alpaca/silk/merino blend worsted in beach colors. This year more sock yarn, less frenzy and more time to savor the wool fumes. I pledged to Susie (AKA Knitting Knoobie) that I would try to blog every week but we are going on vacation next week and I won't be blogging then. I will be finishing my socks in air and reading on the beach. We are currently reading Wally Lamb's "The Moment I First Believed". Or I should say I am still reading (Susie finished and I think Megan did too). See ya week after next.

[paulashelton]

A completed project blurb that reflects my project and practice. explaining research and production processes.

Initial Research The 1930′s

I started my research with the period between the Great Depression in 1929 through to 1939 (the outbreak of the first World War in Europe).

This time period was considered a ‘technical revolution’ with changes and improvements made to manufacturing, they accelerated at a pace far beyond that achieved in any similar time spans in modern history. There was a form of escapism needed by many people both in the UK  and in America to cope with the effects of the first world war and the subsequent economic downturn together with a new found interest in Hollywood films, Cars, Fashion, Holidays abroad and both watching and participating in sport. Many activities were now accessible thanks to the relaxed rules with getting credit for the working classes.

My main focus initially was Fashion from this era

In fashion a new technical revolution was taking place with many manmade fabrics being invented. nylon - used for tights and stockings. Zips -  was invented making clothing easier to wear especially with the new stretchy fabrics.

There was a surge in subscriptions to Vogue magazine both in the UK and overseas, many people saw the glamorous images of models and film stars as a distraction from the economic times of the 30’s.

I started to look at fashion in more detail, there was a return to more refined sophisticated glamour from the boyish and shapeless look of the previous decade, dresses were designed to show off curves, accentuate the waist and lower backs were exposed for the first time.

I looked at the designs of three prominent fashion designers at the time

Charles James Elsa Schiaparelli Madeleine Vionnet

All three took inspiration from the fabrics they were using rather than constructing traditional patterns, both James and Schiaparelli had no formal training with pattern construction taking inspiration from the fabrics and how they worked in conjunction with the female form.

The designer that interested me the most was Charles James. He briefly trained as an architect before training as a milliner. He used his experience working with millinery fabrics to support his sculptural shapes made into clothing for the rich and famous. He used complicated structures that had complex seaming arrangements, many shapes lacked any symmetry combined with geometric forms taking inspiration from his architectural drawings.

I chose 3 of his dresses that I found the most interesting from the 1930’s to look at in more detail for a better understanding of how he designed.

La Sirene dress A dress made from silk crepe that drapes over the body, made from a gathered tube cut on the grain apart from gathering over the bust and the back bodice. The dress was created using a series of horizontal tucks sewn onto a central padded spine.

Taxi dress Made from black wool ribbed knitted fabric the Taxi dress was called this because it was an easy to wear garment and could be reportedly slipped on in the back of a taxi. It was incredibly difficult to manufacture, one side of the top and the spiral wrap-over skirt were made without seams.

Coq Noir dress A dress made from black silk without any side seams, it is asymmetrical and all the excess fabric created by having no side seams is incorporated into a flute at the right back hip accentuated with the use of buckram.

Initial experimenting


Pleats, Tucks, Layering, Gathering

I started to experiment making toiles with cotton canvas fabric and a size 8/10 mannequin.

Using a medium weight cotton canvas material I overlapped panels and top stitched the seams so they were flat, then the panels were pinned to the mannequin and cut to the shape of the curves.

The material was used to make embellishments reminiscent of the 1930′s that were pinned in place around the neck line of the mannequin and down the centre front.

When the designs were discussed with my peers and lecturer the consensus was to be more ‘extreme’ with my ideas and create larger and more exaggerated forms.

Charles James used Buckram for adding shape to his hats, he also used it as to ‘pad out’ the material and create his unusual shapes for many of his designs. I  started to experiment with Buckram but instead of using the material as a means of making the outer material shapes, I decided to use it as an outer material.

Buckram has quite interesting properties...

Its coated with starch so when sprayed with water can be shaped and then if its left to dry it will retain this shape. It can also be further stiffened with the use of glue. The texture has a grid like appearance that changes when more than one layer is overlapped, also when light is shone through it the starch can be clearly seen

My first experiment making a garment I laid a piece of Buckram on the front of the mannequin and lightly sprayed it with water. When the material was shaped it could be smoothed into place but still has a wavy appearance, I wanted the clean cut appearance reminiscent of the 1930’s and didn't think the bodice achieved this. There is also a limited time span to shape the material due to it drying out after initially being sprayed with water and if it is ‘overworked’ the material will lose its elasticity, starting to fray - which can’t be undone. I found that Buckram is fine for creating simple forms for example when it is pulled over a traditional hat block but is less pliable when pulled in different shapes and directions. I preferred the appearance of the skirt as this is Buckram in its simplest form, cut to shape and curled at the edges, it also takes on a new appearance when the material overlaps and the light shines through it.

Research fashion inspired by architecture

Rosie Assoulin A fashion designer influenced by architecture who is known for her feminine structured garments. She was influenced by a cemetery in Italy for her Autumn/Winter 2015 collection by Italian architect Carlo Scarpa. The designer used the angles, lines, triangles, squares, and rectangles, of the building blending them all together for her collection.

Cinema Thinking about the decade I am working with I started to look at the architecture and found the interiors of cinemas really interesting. Their curves and shapes mimicked the fashions of the time. They were a very important cultural influence of people with many going to see films twice a week. Inside the cinema you could be transported to another world of glamour and luxury with swirling carpets and decorative banisters. I started to put some sketches together taking inspiration from the interiors and using Buckram to create shapes that suggested the elegance of this era.

Prologue Show/Work in Progress I have made two side panels out of 10mm MDF taking the measurements from the template for the “ideal women”. I am unsure whether the choice of material works so will consider this after the show. My initial ideas are to cover the shape with the Buckram so only the outline would be seen as the Buckram will drape over it. I need to think about how to connect the pieces together - one idea is to use “hook and eyes” which were widely used in the 1930′s.   My main focus is the Buckram and I am happy at this stage with the range of shapes I have made, how to display them will need more thought and I will wait for feedback after the show.

I need to do further research into 1930′s interiors, looking at the way they are styled in conjunction with the fashions of the same era. I have contacted a cinema museum in London which has photographs of original 1930′s cinema interiors.