Shirt...finished!

...and so I have finally reached my last garment for the National Theatre's Hire Department, and once again I found myself with a bit more of a challenge than I had been given with the waistcoat and certainly the chemise.

I originally started with a quick tutorial with Dexter to outline the basic process for making the shirt: First the front opening would need to be constructed, then the back would be gathered and applied to the yolke to then be attacked on to the front. The sleeves and cuffs would then be constructed and sewn together before sewing the godae onto the main body of the shirt and attaching the sleeves. Finally the collar would be constructed and the shirt would be overlocked and hemmed. I was advised by a fellow student to take care when attaching the yolke as the stitch lines needed to be as straight as possible and it was very easy to mess this up.

The shirt was gathered at the back......and the cuffs.The collar had a pleated detail, and the front was buttoned up with four buttons.
The added godae allowed for extra arm movement during the 18th Century.

I had not anticipated the amount of work that would need to go into this garment - if I had forseen this I would have tried to allow myself more time to make this, like giving myself two weeks rather than one. This sense of short time is what has pressured me into leaving more mistakes than I would have liked - where faults occured I did my best to rectify them, but if they persisted I left them in the best state I could as I would rather hand in a more completed shirt than have a partially completed shirt with highly bruised fabric and the signs of last minute stress on it! Again, the best way to resolve this would be to plan my time much better and refer to my time plan constantly to review whether I am on track with my work or not.
Once I had completed my shirt I unfortunatly noticed that the front piece was uneven and would bulge out once the shirt was buttoned up. To rectify this I feared I would have to pull apart the entire shirt, so I decided to leave this error.

It comes as a relief to me that after our hand in we shall recieve further feedback from our tutors to rectify any issues with the garments so that they are at an acceptable standard to hire out.

(Luckily I had my housemate's Coffee Viking on hand to borrow to model the completed shirt...I feel that Apocalyptic Metal and pillaging and the 18th Century don't fit so well together).

Overall I am pleased with the outcome of my shirt, though I look forward to seeing which areas I need to improve in order to make it a good enough quality for the National Theatre Hire Department.

Another late one - Breeches feedback.

Just as a reflective note: I need to keep on top of my blog and up to date!

When I submitted my breeches to my tutor Dexter he had the following points to make for the quality of my breeches improve:

- Button hole stitch underneath the arrow heads of the front fastening to stop any fraying. I completly re-did these arrow heads as they were uneven to begin with and I was able to improve this area.
- Re-sew along the bottom of the cash pocket to conceal any stitching when the pocket is used.
- Get into a habit of trimming any loose threads once you have finished sewing a line.
- To neaten the cash pocket remove my prick stitching, iron under the pocket on the main body of the breeches to reduce bruising then iron the pocket mouth, pin it in place and prick stitch again.
- To neaten the welt pocket baste down the welt, unpick the uprights, straighten them out more and re-sew them.
- For the crotch I needed to unpick the stitching and re-sew it to make sure that the seams are sewn all the way to the edges so that when they are pressed flat they will lay as flat as possible and will be comfortable to wear. Dexter also noted that the sign of a good maker was that the seams for the crotch crossed perfectly, so I aimed to do this as best as I could.
- A point that must be maintained the next time I make a pair of breeches is that the waistband and kneebands must run smoothly and evenly to show professional craftsmanship.

Blog Tutorial and PoP!

...and so, I was given feedback on my bloggy blog!
Ideally I am supposed to post daily and to give a weekly reflection. I need to refer to my original time plan and learning agreement, focusing on what I have been learning through my sewing skills and any improvements I have made. I need to do much more research (and yes, reflect on it!). I need to be critical of my work or lack of, recognise these issues and address them.

Another fun addition to my mountain of work was the final decision on my Perceptions of Performance essay. I'll be writing about Alice in Wonderland, and how the story has been adapted to suit a variety of audiences. My initial idea came from the idea of the transition from book to screen to stage with the likes of Phantom of the Opera, but I think my enthusiasm for my last minute idea won my tutor over! One of my points will hopefully look at how the sinisterness of the original illustrations (Tenniel) ranges in its adaptations to a more child-friendly look (Disney) back to a more modern look, but still slightly unnerving (American Mgee). I shall be diving into the world of silent movies, ballet and possibly even porn!
Down the rabbit hole I go...