Design Clothes for
Yourself
Expensive Looking Clothing You Designed
Yourself - What a Feeling!
Store bought is fine but what if you
want an outfit to wear that is truly unique? Then you might
want to design clothes and make up your own fashion trends.
Excited? Take a quick look at what it takes to become a
fashion designer. Yes, you could be out of the ordinary loop
and making your own clothing right now. Here are a few tips
to get you started.
Fashion trends change with every
season and most women cannot afford to buy a whole new
wardrobe that often, much as they'd like to be able to do
so. Other women may not care for the styles currently
available, leaving them to opt for retro or vintage
clothing. Some will simply stick with the wardrobe they
already have. Then there are some creative sorts who decide
to sew their own clothes from patterns they devise for a
truly unique look.
What's Your Deep Desire?
If you have an urge to design clothes,
you should give it a shot. Even if you don't know how to
sew, it's easy enough to sign up for a sewing class.
Learning how to design clothes can prove a satisfying hobby
and will save you a bundle of money.
Beginner Clothing Designs
If you're a beginner, it's best to
work from an existing pattern. Classic styles are easiest to
modify, as the lines are simple. Find a pattern for whatever
garment you'd like to design. A dress or skirt is a good
choice. Pants and blouses can prove difficult to fit or
modify. There is another way to get started in designing
clothing. And that is to enroll in ...
Fashion Design Courses
Some people seem to be born with an
innate talent for fashion, that intuitive ability to put
together imaginative combinations of colors, textures and
accessories in stunning costumes that others of us, less
fortunate, might never have imagined.
Perhaps one of the most famous fashion
designers of all time, Coco Chanel, had this to say about
fashion: "Fashion is not something that exists in dresses
only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to
do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening."
Her passion for fashion design
represents that innovative, yet classic timelessness that
some of us can only dream of … yet, if you are one of
those lucky individuals, pursue your dreams! Fashion design
courses are a good starting point for the aspiring fashion
designer, providing a way for you to test the waters and see
if fashion isn't your dream career.
Options for Careers in Fashion
Design
There are a number of fascinating
career paths you might follow, including fashion design,
textile design and niches within the industry, such as
becoming a fashion journalist or a specialist in 'green'
design, fashion store design or fashion accessories.
Other fashion niche careers you might
find a fascinating career path include menswear, bridal
gowns, knitwear and active sportswear. Many a young designer
has made a big splash in the fashion world with these
specialty creations. You might also opt for the marketing
and merchandising aspects of the fashion
industry.
To whet your appetite, try attending a
few fashion school graduate shows to see the creations of
the best and brightest new designers. You'll surely be
inspired to see how your own sketches measure up.
Your next step might be to get online
and survey the many fashion design schools and their
curriculum. Look at their credentials, in terms of the staff
they employ, the fashion houses their grads have been hired
in to and the scope of fashion design courses offered by the
school.
You may be surprised to learn that
there are fashion design schools which offer fashion design
courses to aspiring designers not yet out of high school.
This attractive option allows you to
explore the variety of careers available within the fashion
industry, without spending a fortune on a year's tuition.
For example, if your fashion passion is textiles, you can
sign up for fashion design courses which focus specifically
on that area of the industry. Learn how to design textiles,
knitwear, 'green' wear, or take a course in fiber
technology.
Tips for Making Your Own
Clothes
Working from the picture on the
pattern envelope, get a sketch pad and pencil and lightly
sketch the clothes item as pictured. This is the starting
point for your own clothes design. Now add your own ideas.
Do you prefer a longer, shorter or wider hemline? Should the
waistband be changed?
A dropped waist has a slimming effect,
whereas an empire style tends to visually add weight if
you're the skinny type. Patch pockets are easy to add.
Should the bodice be looser or more fitted? When you design
clothes, you're the boss.
Rewards
It's really rewarding when you start
designing your own fashion outfits. You'll never run out or
wonder what you are going to wear to the next event or even
tomorrow at work. Once you get really good, people will
start asking you where you shop for clothing. That's the
ultimate compliment!
Once you have your new clothes design
just as you imagine, figure out the changes required to your
pattern. For example, if you're making the waistband wider,
lengthening the hemline and adding patch pockets, you need
to calculate the change in the existing pattern pieces and
create the patch pocket piece.
When modifying the pattern, lay the
pattern piece over another piece of tissue paper. Trace the
pattern piece. Use a transfer pen to transfer all the
markings from the pattern piece to the tissue below. Now you
have your new master pattern.
Getting Cloth
Purchase the necessary yardage of
pattern cloth, a special fabric with a graph of all over,
evenly spaced dots. Purchase extra yardage to accommodate
your modifications.
Become a Pinup Model
The next step in the clothes design
process is to pin-fit the pattern pieces to your body to get
a preliminary idea of how your fitting works out. When
you're happy with the fit, use a large stitch length, stitch
your garment together and try it on. Make any final
adjustments in fit right on the pattern cloth, your new
master pattern.
You're now ready to sew your new
creation. Your garment should fit like a glove. Now that you
are designing your outfits, you might even consider making
them for other people, maybe even begin a fashion career. If
you live and breathe fashion trends, perhaps fashion design
courses in fashion journalism is your cup of tea. You could
well end up writing for Vogue, Elle
or any of the top fashion magazines.
How cool is that?
|
