Gesundheit: good health
More commonly it is used as "bless you." It is German and my grandmother would always tell me this whenever I sneezed. I distinctly remember being a little girl and hearing her say it for the first time. I thought it was the funniest word I had ever heard. I didn't know what it meant, so she explained it to me. Ever since then, I would giggle whenever she would say it, and as I got older I began to say it to her when she sneezed. It became a saying that I associated with my grandma's love, care, and joy. She always had a good sense of humor and loved with her whole heart. Now that she has passed away, I can't help but think of her whenever I hear the word. I never use it with other people because it is reserved for her in my mind. My grandma was definitely one of my favorite people and is someone who I continue to strive to be like in my own character and actions. She never complained, always joyfully served others and continually found joy in the joy of others. I think it is appropriate that the letter "g" is the first letter of gesundheit and grandma, so that both are so closely tied to my garment and it's inspiration.
Draping "g" ideas on half scale.
half scale jacket
Paper: g_paper
Half Scale Sleeve conception
Knit Muslin Full Scale Drape
Muslin Shoulder Attempts
Cutting Notching and Sewing Final Fabric
Lining
Final Garment Shoot
Final Reflection
The amount of dimensions in this project really pushed me as a designer. Starting with the conce-ptual idea of choosing a word and using that letter to drape was a new process for me. It was very uncomfortable to start with something so literal at a letter and to turn it into this abstract idea where traces of it are not easily found in the finished product, but it was process that really showed me a new approach as a designer. The next dimension being taking that word and the meaning behind that and still incorporating that into the feel of the garment and thirdly having to match that to another garment was difficult. At first I was thinking of doing a garment that was more fitted and structured and I went into the project aiming to do a jacket, but as the draping evolved and the other factors came into play, it made more sense to do a blouse.This was my first time using lace and it was also a knit, so having to stitch all my notches to mark them was a new approach for me as well. I ran into a few problems when it came to deciding how to finish the neckline because I knew I did not want a knit binding on it but I had to attach it to the knit lining. I am very pleased with the way it came out. If I could change one thing, it would be the drape of the bodice of the blouse. I think I could have played around a little more with the shapes and options there. I liked the proportions of the blouse with itself (the sleeves to the bodice) but when I put it on with the pants, I felt the proportions were off a bit when matching the blouse with the pants and the waistline was lost amongst the big sleeves and the flair of the pants. To fix this, I tucked in the blouse to the pants to give it a slightly more defined silhouette. I think overall the project was successful because of the new approach and techniques I worked with in my technical process and overall I think the entire look is successful and true to each of it's respective inspirations.
Category Archives: Creative Technical Studio 2
The Pants Project
Pant Muslin Practice
Research Paper Notes and Image Inspirations
Google Doc Notes:
Music in Response to Vietnam War
Music Festivals – Promoting Peace and Anti-War Sentiments
“Counter-Culture Youth”
Summer of Love 1967 in San Francisco
Woodstock in 1969
“Three Days of Peace Love and Music” – half a million people attended.
Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker, The Grateful Dead, Crosby, Stills & Nash and Neil Young.
“The August 17 performance, which lasted just under five minutes, featured Hendrix manipulating his guitar’s sound by employing distortion and whammy-bar techniques. The end result was a remarkably realistic imitation of several war sounds, including machine gunfire and explosions. Just over halfway through the performance, Hendrix briefly plays the “Taps,” which is what the American Military plays during an honorary burial. By getting his anti-war message out through the unique manipulation of his guitar, Hendrix appealed to the thousands of concert-goers who came together for peace.” – http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/713/protest-and-rock-n-roll-during-the-vietnam-war
Edwin Starr’s song “War” 1969 – most distinct anti-war protest song ever.
John Lennon – “Give Peace a Chance”
Bob Dylan “Times They Are A – Changin”….
Gotta get down to it
Soldiers are cutting us down
Should have been done long ago.
What if you knew her
And found her dead on the ground
How can you run when you know?
- Neil Young “Ohio”
Vietnam war was the first war to have anti-war music permeate culture instead of Pro-War music.
“The Vietnam War was accompanied every step of the way by an anti-war soundtrack that touched on every tone—melancholy and touching, enraged and sarcastic, fearful and resigned—and that captured the long demoralizing impact of this war. And like the anti-war movement itself, it began without a significant audience in the early sixties, but grew to a critical mass by the war’s termination.” – https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/sixties/essays/protest-music-1960s
Bob Dylan – 1963 “With God on Our Side” – taking the idea of God every being on a country’s side during a war to be a ridiculous claim.
“But now we got weapons
Of the chemical dust
If fire them we’re forced to
Then fire them we must
One push of the button
And a shot the world wide
And you never ask questions
When God’s on your side
Through many dark hour
I’ve been thinkin’ about this
That Jesus Christ
Was betrayed by a kiss
But I can’t think for you
You’ll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot
Had God on his side” – Bob Dylan
“Come and sing a simple song of freedom
Sing it like you’ve never sung before
Let it fill the air, tell the people everywhere
We, the people here don’t want a war
Now no doubt some folks enjoy doin’ battle
Like presidents, prime ministers and kings
So let us build them shelves
Where they can fight among themselves
And leave the people be who like to sing.” –
Bobby Darin – Simple Song Of Freedom
Pattern Development:
Slash and Spread
Slit, wide bottom leg, high waist
Wide inseam
Slash and spread with high waist
Pedal-Pusher
High-waisted, wide legged, Pedal Pusher
Loose Pant with side slit.
PANT SKETCHES Process
Model Fitting:
Welt Pocket Sample
Side Seam Pocket:
Slant Pocket:
Yoke and TopStitch Pocket:
Pattern Development:
Pant Muslin/ Second Fitting
Final Pant Process:
Moodboard/HangTag:
Illustration/Flat:
Final Pant:
Research Paper: Swinford_Olivia_1960ResearchPaper
Reflection: At the beginning of this process I was very overwhelmed with the all the different directions I could take in regards to the 1960’s and the change that occurred then. I was most intrigued with the music of the 60’s and the influence it had on the war and war protests. From there I looked at the hippie movement tied to the folks and rock music of the time. I also then decided to look at a timeline of sorts of the music of the whole decade and there I saw more movement from one genre to the next and the amount of change that was happening on the music scene from the start of the decade to the end of the decade. From there, I was influenced even more by the concept of movement and finding a way that I wanted to incorporate that into my design. My design fluctuated multiple different times and at first I was going to use lace and incorporate slits into my design. I knew I wanted to show the skin in some way and contrast part of the garment with something more fitted versus something that was freer and gave glimpses of skin more. As I went swatching, I found the fabrics I now used. I had never fitted a garment to another person before so this was a challenge for me when it came to making and changing the pattern. I also have not really developed that many patterns before, so I was intimidated by my design at first. As I was making the garment, I found the white fabric to be very tricky to work with and I would say my biggest challenge was in lining up the diamonds perfectly and then attaching such a lightweight stretch mesh fabric to such a thick brocade and getting it to fall right. I also decided not to incorporate the slit I was originally intending on having in the front on the bottom of the pant because I did not want to risk loosing volume and I liked the way you can only see leg through the fabric at certain angles and with the right light. I feel very accomplished with this project and if I could improve upon it, I probably would probably fit it to my model even more precisely and I would understand how my fabrics work together better when sewing them together.
Project 1: Knit Black Dress
Process Drapes:
Process Sketches:
Morphs:
Final Sketch:
Knit Top Process Photos
Samples:
Facing on the left arm and binding on the right arm.
V Neck Samples
Binding close up.
Hem on Coverstitch Sample
Week 1 Reading:CuttoThinkResponse
Week 2 Reading:KnitDress
Trail Garment Process Photos
Final Sketch (Front, Back, Side Views)
The dress shown as belted and not belted.
Photoshoot
Illustration
Reflection
Overall I am very pleased with my final garment and outcome for the project. Working with knits was a brand new experience for me and I enjoyed it just like I thought I would. I always love draping with knits but I had never actually made a garment from my drapes of knit fabric. It had always just been to gain inspiration for sketches. I also had never drafted and made a garment with a cowl neckline or inserted a drawstring in a garment before until now. I definitely struggled with the coverstitch machine when I was trying to do the hem and armholes and I need to get better at sewing on the overlock and coverstitch in a circle. I most definitely learned a lot in manipulating knit fabric and how important it is to practice drape with the same weight of knit as I am planning on using for my final garment.
I am very pleased with my design and its qualities. If I did the project again, I might add another drawstring on the other side seam so as to add even more versatility in the looks it can create. The project really pushed me to think about design in a new way and the functionality of a garment in tandem with how it looks and how they can compliment each other. I enjoyed learning how to insert the drawstring the most. That is something I think I will continue to incorporate in my garments because of the versatility it can add to a garment and its functionality. Overall, I really enjoy wearing knits and using them because of their comfort because I think garments should be comfortable for the most part, or people won’t love living in them. Now I am glad that I have some experience in how to create with them.