Mini Collection

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This mini collection was designed when I was first applying to colleges and was trying to build up a portfolio to submit. I had only made a few garments in my life at that point and never even imagined I would actually be able to make any of the things that I had designed. 

When Covid hit in between my freshman and sophomore years of college, I gained a lot of extra time (as I imagine a lot of people did) and I decided I would begin a project outside of school that was purely for my enjoyment and as a way to test my skills. This is when I dug out my old sketches and decided to dive right in. All of the pieces in the collection are made using patterns, but I tweaked a lot  to fit the way I wanted them too or added things such as the long bottom piece to the white turtle neck or the hood to the brown turtle neck. 

The collection was inspired by the aesthetics of Iceland and was produced from the months of October to January of 2020 into 2021. It was shown in the Fashion Design Society's Spring Fashion Show at Ball State University in 2021.

Green and Gold Gown 

This gown was designed and made for my draping class, which I took in the spring of 2021 I was inspired by Dior's Spring/Summer 2021 Couture Collection and royal women's clothing from the Medieval Era. 

This gown allowed me to try a lot of new techniques such as using lace as an overlay so the gold fabric would still shine throughout, using piping in the seams so there is a variety of red lines that run throughout the dress, and problem solving the open back with a corset type back. 

Plaid Shirt and Brown Pants 

This shirt and pant combo was made for my pattern making class in the fall of 2021 and was inspired by Modern Folk Rock music and bands like Greta Van Fleet and Fleet Foxes. 

I started this project with a basic pant and blouse sloper and altered them heavily. The pants were altered to flare at the bottom and include godets. They were sewn together with exposed seams and include a half lining on the inside. The top was altered to include a collar and a pleated piece at the bottom, finished with a half lining along the placket and neck.

Suit and Matching Pants 

This suit was made for my tailoring class the spring of 2022 and was one of the biggest challenges that I have tackled since my studies as a fashion student began. The suit and pants are complete with a full lining throughout both. This is the first time I had successfully inserted a full lining into either a top or bottom. I was also able to work with 100% cotton and learn to care for it as my construction took place. I learned new hand sewing techniques and along with that, lots of patience. 

This collection, titled Organic Frills, was designed during the fall semester of 2022 as my senior capstone project. My inspiration was all things natural. I wanted to tap into that bohemian-esque style and attitude. I wanted to have a very natural color palette with the browns and green, but I wanted to bring some fun in with the purple and pink. I also wanted things to be very loose fitting and flowy hence lots of dresses and skirt and even the pants are flared are the bottom. 

For the class, I was assigned to design a seven piece collection wherein we would eventually make 2 entire looks. In the picture that contains all the designs together, there are stars next to the two looks that I chose to construct. Those being the sandstone dress and the outfit with the godet skirt, avocado tank, and sandstone cardigan.

I constructed the sandstone dress first.  I utilized draping in order to make the bodice portion of this garment and flat pattern to make the skirt portion. I first started with the bodice completing the outer shell and the lining then making the skirt to be attached. The bodice and skirt were time consuming in their own ways. The bodice proved to be difficult to sew because of the cup portion which I had never worked with before. Although it is not perfect, I am happy with the way it turned out. The skirt was time consuming because of all the hand gathering each tier needed. I used a basting stitch to gather the pieces instead of using a gathering foot extension because I did not have one handy. With each piece for the skirt, it had to be gathered to a specific measurement so that the next tier would line up perfectly. Each tier is gathered to be a smaller radius the lower the skirt goes in order to give a flare effect. 

I do not think I would've been able to construct this dress without the knowledge I gained during my internship at David's Bridal. There is no better way to learn how to construct something than by taking it apart. I learned a lot about how dresses are constructed, especially with a lining as well as perfecting other skills like hand sewing techniques and a new rolled hem technique. 

After the dress, I moved on to the construction of the skirt, tank, and cardigan look. I utilized flat pattern in order to make all garments for this look. The tank was the most simple. I utilized a pattern I already owned and altered its size, especially in the arm hole area. I then drafted a lining as well as the pattern did not have one. The lining is only in the front and not in the back, giving the tank a see through effect since the fabric is see through. 

I also utilized a skirt pattern I already had to construct this skirt. I altered the pattern to make the panels longer and also split them to insert godets, which I drafted myself. The biggest challenge to this garment was finding fabric. My drawings show very vibrant saturated pink and purple fabric, but I could not find any that I was in love with and ordering online would've taken too long. I decided to buy some fabric that I liked the texture of from the discount bin and dye it myself. In the end, the colors did not come out as saturated as I wanted them, but I am in love with the silhouette of this skirt. 

For the cardigan I utilized a bodice and sleeve sloper available in my university's sewing labs. I first altered the size 12 bodice sloper so that it did not have an darts. Then I altered a size 12 sleeve by cutting off the top portion to be used and drafted my own smaller puff section to be repeated three times attached to the upper sleeve. I also utilized a band to gauge how big my armhole would be at each attachment and that also helped when it came to gauging how much to gather for each puff. I attached a banding to the neckline which turned into a tie at the front. The most difficult part about this piece was drafting the sleeves. I think I made three different muslins’ until I found the way that worked just right.