Certain types of linen are such a joy to sew. I know this might sound completely ridiculous to some, but all fibers have their tendencies, some try to escape, some snap needles into shards, but linens, for the most part, sew and press in the most gratifying way, a way that makes sewing worth it. Today I made extremely wide leg blue linen pants, based loosely on some Japanese samurai clothing I had seen at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston recently, and from watching The Seven Samurai during that same visit. I actually think many of these pieces will be inspired by ancient Japanese garments, as they are very conducive to the doubling of flat wall pieces and dramatic fashion statements. The shirt was a bit of a mess, I had an idea in my head that was totally wrong and was forced to improvise a little. I might even have to re-figure out how to wear it tomorrow morning. I think that has proven to be the most difficult part of this process thus far, the terror of fucking something up and having to start over. There is no way to budget the time for that. I can tell that I am getting a bit tired and today there were several self imposed issues that arose due to lack of forethought. Luckily ingenuity works really well for this shit, and extra seams as well. I had sort of forgotten to put a curved crotch seam into the pants, probably because I was focusing on how amazing they were going to look as a wall sculpture, but also because I was going pretty math heavy on the pattern and lost track. Actually all of this work has been pretty math-y so far, which is fun, it is all really basic geometry stuff, not necessarily basing this in patternmaking rules at all, but I have been trying to look at trends and balance the shapes by finding ways to keep numbers balanced.
I don't mean to make this blog very complain-y, but I feel as this diaristic approach lends itself to me just saying that this work is making me quite sore! The left side of my neck has been borderline unbearable since beginning this process. I know it is stress and sitting at the machines, but it is really a hindrance. And while I am whining, the Bushwick base coming from every angle is SUPER distracting. It isn't even something that is bothering me because of noise but the actual vibrations make it hard to focus. Like I said, trials and tribulations.
Below is the incarnation of yesterday's pieces and the wall pieces meant for tomorrow.
Outfit, July 03, 2013
Blue linen circle pants with seams and geometric hem. July 03, 2013
Knit shirt. July 02. 2013