Never in my life have I had an entire week of school called off because of the weather! While it was nice at first, I started to go crazy by the end of it and also began to worry about my inability to work on my collection from home. The school re-opened yesterday and now I'm back in the game!
I began to prototype my first ensemble for the collection last week and have finally finished up the first draft of the prototype tonight. I already know what I'll need to adjust, and will probably make another prototype just to be sure that everything is perfect before I cut into my $25 a yard silk...
Another note of progress this week is that I picked up some yarn at Joann's yesterday! It was finally nice enough out that I could make the trek out to Alpine (usually a 10-15 minute drive), and I think MANY other people thought the same thing. I sat in traffic for a solid hour and a half. Hour. And. A. Half. I don't know that I can say it was worth it, really, but I came back triumphantly with 2 1/2 yards of linen, and three skeins of yarn. Conveniently enough, my favorite Salvation Army is right by the Joann's on Alpine... so I also triumphantly returned home with two new sweaters and a t-shirt!
The yarn is for a few bags and accessories that I plan on weaving throughout the semester that are intended to coincide with my collection. I just want to have fun with the bags and experiment with different materials to weave with. If you aren't picturing what I mean by weaving, yes I mean weaving on an old school loom. I have a small one (approximately 12 inches by 16 inches) that I bought to make decorative weavings with. My theme of Self Portraiture and the tools artists use to express themselves relates to the art of weaving, because weaving is the very foundation on which everything else is built in apparel. Weaving is the original method used to make fabric so it feels right to pay homage to the archaic practice in a modern, artistic way. I feel like one of the tools a fashion designer can use to express themselves in their designs is by weaving their own fabric. While it isn't realistic for me to weave my own clothing within the given timeline, I thought it was doable to make accessories out of weavings!
Attached is a picture of the first prototype of one of the shirts I'm making for my collection. I need to adjust a couple things and make it out of a lighter fabric for my second test, because my final fabric is about a quarter of the weight of the fabric I used in the first prototype.
I hope you all made it through the polar vortex safely and as warm as possible! If you're reading this from a state that isn't around the Midwest region, then consider yourself blessed that you did not have to experience -25 degree weather!
For those who want clarification on the title, it is a weaving pun. Google Irreplaceable by Beyonce, and also what "weft" means. Who says fashion designers can't make jokes ;)
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