Here are the final photographs of the National Theatre Hire Department breeches:
Tuesday 17 May 2011
National Theatre Hire Department Project Evaluation
Unfortunately due to certain circumstances I could not work on the breeches that I am making for the National Theatre Hire Department when I had initially planned to. These circumstances include not being able to start my breeches with the rest of the National Theatre students like I would have liked to because I was still supervising the production of 'Candide'. By the time that I was really to start SDP I found that everyone was too far ahead for me to catch up so I decided to start on my cutting on the stand project and come to the breeches at a later date because my tutor who would be talking me though how to make the breeches was also not available on my first day.
I talked to my tutor about cutting out my breeches before Easter Break so that I could maybe work just on the waistband of the breeches so that I at least had a few days start after the holiday. I was advised not to take anything home and that I would have plenty of time before my work placement.
Unfortunately my tutor fell ill on our return from the Easter Holidays. I asked all the other girls on the National Theatre project but unfortunately they said that they could not remember how to make the breeches and could not give me any help with making the breeches. As Sarah (another student on my course) had just returned from a placement in America she was in the same position as me. We tried to ask another tutor and the students for help but unfortunately this came to no success. So me and Sarah got to work on at least cutting our fabric out. By this point I started to worry about getting the breeches finished in time before I left on work placement.
When I went to cut out the fabric I had been given by my supervisors I believed that it was too thin and see though for me to make a long lasting pair of breeches out of. Upon asking them they decided that they wanted to ask for our tutors opinion before i did any more work.
Eventually after talking to the tutor it was discussed that I would back every piece on silisia, this meant that I needed to do a lot more work than other students making breeches, which really started to worry me as I only had around 6 days left by this point.
Fortunately one of my tutors allowed that I could take my breeches home with me and work on them in my spare time and have them sent back to university for the 16th May. This calmed me down a lot and made me feel like it was a possible job.
When I collected my thread to start marking up all my pieces I found that I only had the smallest amount of thread left on my role. I immediately told my supervisor and asked about getting some new thread the same colour. Unfortunately for reasons I do not know, even after asking a few times I did not get any thread. I am worried that because I did not have time to get matching thread and had to use white thread and the small amount of matching thread for neat hand sewing that this might effect my grading.
When I finally got to talk to my tutor about how to put the breeches together I asked to go though every step so that I can try and make them all at home. I took countless photographs of the sample pair to work from.
I have tried my very best to make the breeches as neat as possible and to my highest standard but unfortunately certain small delicate pieces did not turn out as well as I had hoped. I know you are not meant to blame your tools but due to not being able to make the breeches at university at all, I missed out on all the tools that the other girls could use. I fortunately I own an over locker which means that I could finish them neatly but unfortunately I do not have an industrial iron, I never realised how blessed we are to have them at university and how much easier they can make things.
This may mean that the breeches are made more to my own interpretation and my closest idea of replication the sample pair of breeches from the National Theatre.
I am aware that the students creating the breeches were often told to redo things and that they had done things wrong, this really worries me about my grade because I have not had an opportunity to have my work looked over and checked like everyone else.
I wish that I could have had time to finish or at least make a great start to the breeches but because I was alone I really struggled at times. I know that this project is called self directed and for this part I definitely was self directed and did not have any help in making the breeches, this meant that when a problem occurred I could not ask a tutor like other students but instead had to create small samples and work out for myself the best possible solution to solve a problem. This means that in parts maybe my breeches do not match everyone else's because I did not have the guidance others had, but I did make the breeches to my highest possible standard.
I found it hard balancing out working long days at the National Theatre and then working on this project all night. Although there are some parts of the breeches that could maybe be neatened up but I know that I spent as much possible time I had on them and work the best I could at making them alone.
I wish that I could have had the same opportunities that all other students had and really worry that my grade will be affected because my work will be compared to theirs.
However I did enjoy making the breeches and I feel that I have learnt a lot about myself, my own learning and how I can work alone with no guidance at all. I hope that I to take this with me into the third year and work more comfortably alone and independently.
All of my work was handed in on Monday 16th May in hope that my tutor can machine the buttonholes on (as I do not have a button hole maker at home) and that my supervisor can attach the buttons that had not been sent to me in time.
Biblography for the National Theatre Project
Cunnington, P and Willett, C. (1992). The History of Underclothes. Second Edition. USA: Dover Publications, Inc.
Davis, R.I. (2000). Men’s 17th & 18th Century Costume, Cut & Fashion, Patterns for Men’s Costumes. California: Players Press, Inc.
Fernald, M and Shenton, E. (2006). Historic Costume and How to Make Them. New York: Dover Publications Inc.
Friendship, E. (2008). Pattern Cutting for Men’s Costume. London: A&C Black Publishers Ltd.
Strong, R. (2010). Four Hundred Years of Fashion. London: William Collins Sons & Co Ltd. V&A Publications Inc.
Taschen. (2002). The Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute Fashion A History from the 18th to the 20th Century. Volume 1: 18th and 19th Century. Tokyo: Taschen.
Waugh, N. (2009). The Cut of Men’s Clothes 1600-1900. Fifth Edition. New York: Taylor & Francis Group.
Bibliography for 19th Century Cutting on The Stand Project
Bibliography
Arnold, J. (2009). Patterns of Fashion 1- English women’s Dresses & Their Construction 1660- 1860. London: Macmillan
Arnold, J. (2008). Patterns of Fashion 2- English women’s Dresses & Their Construction 1800-1940. London: Macmillan
Ashelford, J. (2008). The Art of Dress, Clothes Through History 1500-1914. Second Edition. London: National Trust Books.
Blum, S. (1974). Victorian Fashions and Costumes from ‘Harper’s Bazaar’ 1867-1898 – Over 1000 Illustrations ‘Harper’s Bazaar’. London: Constable & Robinson Ltd.
Blum, S. (1985). Fashion and Costume from Godey’s Lady’s Book. London: Dover Publications Inc.
Bradfield, N. (2009). Costume in Detail 1730-1930. Seventh Edition. California: Costume & Fashion Press.
Buck, A. (1961). Victorian Costume and Costume Accessories. London: Herbert Jenkins.
Cunnington, C. (1959). Handbook of English Costume in the Nineteenth Century. London: Faber & Faber
Cunnington, C and Willett, P. (1992) The History of Underclothes. Second Edition. New York: Dover Publications Inc.
Fischel, O. (1907). Die Mode: Im Neunzehnten Jarhundert. Munchen: Verlagsanstalt F. Bruckmann A.G,
Foster, V. (1986). A Visual History of Costume. The Nineteenth Century. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd.
Gernsheim, A. (1981). Victorian and Edwardian Fashion: A Photographic Survey. New York: Dover Publications Inc.
Gernsheim, H. (1951). Masterpieces of Victorian Photography. London: Phaidon Press.
Gibbs-Smith, C. (1969). The Fashionable Lady in the 19th Century. London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.
Ginsbury, M. (1988). Victorian Dress in Photography, London: Batsford.
Holland, V. (1988). Hand Coloured Fashion Plates 1770-1899. London: B.T. Batsford.
Hunnisett, J. (1988) Period Costume for Screen and Stage. Patterns for Woman’s Dress 1800-1909. London: Unwin Hyman Limited.
Johnston, L. (2009). Nineteenth- Century Fashion in Detail. London: V&A Publishing
Laver, J. (1947). Costume Illustration: The Nineteenth Century. London: His Majesty’s Stationery Office.
Levey, M. (1971). Painting at Court. London: Weidwnefeld & Nicolson.
Lynn, E. (2010). Underwear: Fashion in Detail. London: V&A Publishing
Sotheby’s. (1984). Nineteenth Century European Painting, Drawing and Watercolours. London: Sotheby’s.
Strong, R. (2010). Four Hundred Years of Fashion. London: William Collins Sons & Co Ltd. V&A Publications Inc.
Taschen. (2002). The Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute Fashion A History from the 18th to the 20th Century. Volume 1: 18th and 19th Century. Tokyo: Taschen.
The Gallery of English Costume. (1991). The Gallery of English Costume. Picture Book Number Four: Women’s Costume 1835-1870. Manchester: The William Morris Press Limited.
Waugh, N. (1994). The Cut of Women's Clothes - 1600- 1930. London: Faber & Faber.
Waugh, N. (1996). Corsets and Crinolines. London: Routledge.
Wilcox, R.T. (1948). Mode in Costume. New York: Scribner.
19th Century Cutting on the Stand Project: Evaluation
I have enjoyed this project and feel that I have learnt so much. I feel like I have achieved what was needed, more confidence in cutting for my Third Year of studying.
I feel that completing my time line has been vital for me to truly understand the 19th Century. This was a comment that I said at the start of the project, that I did not know much about the 19th Century and I wanted to learn more, well I definitely feel that I have achieved this.
In my learning agreement and also a post previously on my blog it says about only making half a toile to a finished standard for design two. However at the Easter holidays I decided that I would have plenty of time to make a full toile and that it would look more effective.
I think that also because the other students working on this project are doing a full costume I felt as though I was not doing as much work even though my Candide work really took over towards the start of the project and then because of work placement later in the month. And that maybe I would get marked down for having a smaller workload than others for this unit.
However I managed to finish design two toile to a very high standard and I am very happy with the way that it looks.
I decided that for design two I would not place sleeves in the blouse, this was not because i did not have time, but because I felt that with the blouse sleeves and the two sleeves on the jacket that it would create to much bulk when just looking at the garment on a stand. Within my work book is a pattern for the sleeve of the blouse if it was to be made.
If I had to redo anything for this part of the project it would be to machine in the second sleeve on design two as well as completing all the hems. I would have liked to have finished the decoration on design one rather than just completing samples but because of doing part of my project for the National Theatre Hire Department I did not have the time to create complete to scale samples of the decoration.
I am very happy with the finished look of both my toiles and have really enjoyed this project. I feel that I have learnt so much from the project and now feel slightly more ready for third year than before.
Monday 16 May 2011
Reflection on Research
I have really enjoyed working on this project and i feel that the research section was a great part of getting myself hooked to the project. I really do love books and history and learning new things, and when a project or an essay enables me to really go for it in the library and spend days looking though books then I'm hooked to the project. It has been the same with this project.
I am pleased that I decided to create a time line of the 19th century as it allowed me to really look at the costumes, rather than going oh that dress is pretty like many women do now days. I needed to look at at the cut of the dresses and how they fall around the body. This was interesting because after writing the time line I decided to see how much information really went in and begun to play guess the year of this dress down to the last 5 years. I was actually very successful and really pleased that my time line idea had worked at keep the information in my mind.
I found it interesting that when I tried to contact The gallery of English Costume to try and find an image or some more information on the dress I am working on that they denied having any images and stated that I should just look on there website which only said the same as what was in the book I had.
However in Ashelford, J. (2008). there was an image of the back of a gorgeous velvet late 1890s costume, but as the image was not very good I sent a email to the small national trust museum where it is held for some more images or information about the dress and they replied sending me these fabulous photographs.
This was great to get such detailed images sent to me so that I can work from them for my final design.
Please do look though my work book for more research.
Work Plan Reflection
Please see bellow the changes that where made to my work plan due to various situations, most of which are stated within my evaluations.
All the boxes in red are the week that I did the work in the end rather than the purple planned work.
I believe that I worked on this project as hard as I could, throughout this project I spent many late nights at University working till 9pm about two to three nights a week. I feel that I have does the most work I possibly can and feel really sad that my work plan got changed around so much and that I fell behind for a while.
Making of the Breeches
Please see the next selection of images of the process of making the breeches:
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