This project has been very interesting and I feel I have learnt a great deal however I still feel there is much more for me to learn as well as skills that I really need to improve on. It believe this project has been a valuable experience that I will look back on and refer to in the future. I believe I have accomplished what I stated in my learning agreement by creating four toiles from Janet Arnold and Norah Waugh books, creating and keeping a blog, and finally by writing a written evaluation reflecting on how it went.
I found the challenge of doing something I didn’t know so well a lot bigger than I first anticipated, nonetheless I do feel that my cutting skills have improved and that sped up as the project progressed. I now understand how to manipulate the fabric around the stand as well as how to drape fabric. I hadn’t worked with Norah Waugh books before and although I don’t find them as clear as Janet Arnold patterns I defiantly feel I have the skill to work from both books again and I could probably attempt to tackle any pattern given to me as I have more faith in myself and a better understanding of the area than before. I have built up a sound knowledge of 19th Century female dress and was able to make a small folder of research images that will, I’m sure, prove to be invaluable in the future.
I have learnt to have patience when cutting on the stand and to manipulate the fabric slowly as I often got a better line when I did this. I also learnt not to cut away too much fabric before you are sure the seams are in the correct place. I discovered how important it is to cut using fabric that acts similar to what you will use as top fabric, this will give the best results in the end. However I was not always able to do this during this project. I also now realise how important it is to pad up your stand well because I had to remove everything on my mannequin that was perfect before Easter and then re-pad it when I got back again in April. This meant that all the sizes and shapes changed, not dramatically but enough to have to change parts of the bodices.
At the beginning I thought I would find the 1880s Janet Arnold dress the easiest as I have made a similar one in the past however this proved to be the hardest and longest to do. This dress, as well as work experience, led to me falling very behind. Time management was my biggest downfall on this project and I defiantly feel I need improve at it. I think I gave myself too much work at the start and then everything took much longer than I anticipated. One of the hardest things for me on this project was cutting sleeves. I felt I wasted a lot of time on such small parts of a costume when, if I could get my head around them, I would save a lot of time. This is maybe an area I should work on next year. Although I never stated in the learning agreement that the toiles had to be neat I wanted to make them to a standard acceptable for a fitting which I feel I did, nevertheless I wish I made them neater, kept them pressed and clean and also finished them better. However they are only toiles and I believe they achieve their function effectively. I really didn’t like the idea of blogging at first however when I got into it, it became much clearer and much easier and if I had had time at the end of the project I would have liked to format it better and spell check everything.
I have really enjoyed working with the other girls who are just as interested in period costume as I am. We created a really nice working environment around us which I hope to carry with me into level 6. I am now much more prepared for next year and have a much clearer idea of what next year will have to offer. I feel I have become a far more independent worker and I have a lot more confidence in myself and my making skills. Generally this project has challenged me and although it has been stressful at points I am glad I chose it.
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