1820 Toile Final Evaluation

This 1820's toile came to be more challenging than I had originally thought. The basic construction of the bodice and skirt was quite simple and just needed a little common sense and relating back to the cutting on the stand classes at the beginning of the year. It was however the decorative elements that took a lot of time. I had not anticipated how demanding they would be and although I produced the patterns quite quickly the construction and experimenting to get the right form was quite time consuming.

I found the week of construction of the toile very stressful, this was mainly down to not anticipating the time that I would have to spend on other activities and classes, like our Candide performance and POP lectures. I feel I have done well to produce what I have in the time and am pleased with what I have produced, although I am disappointed to have finished a day later than my original time frame as this will have a knock-on effect into my next week and new toile. 

I have learnt a lot about time management and being flexible, and am striving to use my time in the studio as best as I can with not being able to take the toile off the stand. I have learnt that I need to be better prepared in terms pre-buying the fabric I am going to need, and not waiting until the day, as this held me up on one occasion, although I managed to fill the time, it was not the most efficient or logical was of working as I had planned.

In terms of skills I have learnt more about relating a pattern to cutting on the stand and using the grain lines and proportions as well as the reference image to work out the size of each piece. I really enjoy the process of building it up and being governed by the fabric, finding an exciting way to work. I have also found that going away and coming back with fresh look really benefits my ability to see the design lines more clearly and judge if something is out of place.

Overall I have enjoyed the experience of my first toile on the project and have learnt a lot about improving the way I work as well as drafting skills. The main points I shall try and improve on in the next week of drafting shall be to record my changes as I do them, in written and photographic form so I can see how it was before and after. Planning ahead is also very key and trying to keep to the working frame I have created as much as possible.