Long Sleeve Leotard - Step by step

Today in class with Gillian we learned how to construct a long sleeve leotard.

These are my notes on the step by step construction.

Step One
Draw Pattern.  Make adjustments..

Step Two 
Cut out Fabric
NOTE* mark the right side of each piece with chalk.  This makes it easier to place pieces together with out having to think too hard about which is the right side.

TIP - The right side of Lyrca fabric feels itchy.  The inside feels softer almost silky like.  There are other ways to tell but I find this the easiest way to remember.

You should have 6 pattern pieces for this project.
Two sleeves, a front, a back, a bra shelf, a gusset.

The Assembly
 
Step Three
Elastic and Twin needle Bra shelf

Step Four
Join cotch seams together
In this order...
Gusset (rightside) up
Back - up
Front - down
Sew...

Step Five
Join back and front shoulder
 (including the bra shelf with this.  I made the mistake of forgetting it and had to unpick it)

Back - up
Front - down 
Shelf bra - up
Sew...

 Step Six
3 thread - attach bra shelf onto front ( not back)

Step Seven
Attaching the sleeves.

Sleeve always on top.
Make sure sleeve has a notch in the centre.
position hold underarm seam with end of sleeve seam. Hold centre notch on the centre shoulder seam.  Stretch garment to ease in the curve of the shoulder in the sleeve.  Once you have reached the centre point.  Align the two end pieces together and continue.

repeat with second sleeve.

Step Eight
Closing the sleeve and the side seam of the leotard.

Start at the side seam and sew up to the armpit.  before you sew over this seam push the front seam down and the back seam up. (This is to stop any bulking in this area). Working with front side up

Then along the other side - working with front side up.  You start with the sleeve and work you way to the armpit.  Again making sure you push the front seam up and the back seam down. (revered for before this will make sure both seams at the front are both pushed down.

Step Nine
Elasticate leggs and neckline
twin needle.

Sun Smart

Sun smart is the final constraint in the design brief.  As I seem to be on a little bit of a roll here typing out my random thoughts.  I thought I should just keep going...

Sun Smart.

I love this concept. In the past sun smart clothing has not been the most attractive protect garment to wear. In fact it feels like a drag.

And this here lies the problem with our younger generation. And to be totally honest me.

I hate wearing rash suits.
They make me feel so claustrophobic.
I hate the feeling of a sticky salty wet rashie all over my body. yuck. And this is the major reason I try to avoid wearing them.

Yes I know I should and I do. Only when I know I going to be exposed to the sun for long hours at a time.

So I guess my problem with this lycra material sun smart clothing is that it just not comfortable to wear. Not for me anyway, and I'm sure a lot of other people feel that way too. 

I found some examples of Rashies.  There doesn't seem to be a lot out there... Not that I could find anyway. There seems to be a bit of a gap in the market for fashion/trend rashies.

rashie by zimmerman.

Research -
This week I went into my local shopping centre to see what I could find for sun smart swimsuits. Citybeach had 3 styles available on the floor they were very attractive and all of them were cap sleeved options.  When I looked around at the swimsuit option there was a wide range of bikini swimsuits to choose from all of them were quite exposed, the most common style found was the triangle bikini.

Adidas x open ceremony 2012 (release date July/August 2012).

Modesty - Let's get to the crotch of it.

Swimsuit 1915.  Image from "The Swimsuit" by S. Kennedy.

"Modesty: The gentle art of enhancing your charm by pretending not to be aware of it." 

by Oliver Herford.

Modesty...

Culturally this means different things in different countries. It also means different things to different ages groups.

The opposite to modesty is exposure.  Dressing immodesty is too much skin being shown.


If we look at the traditional dress of Indian woman. It is a Saree.  A Saree is a long piece of fabric wrapped around the body. It ranges from four to nine yards in length that is draped over the body in various styles. The most common style is for the sari to be wrapped around the waist, with one end then draped over the shoulder, baring the midriff. The sari is usually worn over a a petticoat with a blouse. The blouse has short sleeves and a low neck and is usually cropped at the midriff.

http://www.utsavfashion.com

Banarasi Sari

Woven out of fine silk and bearing elaborate golden embroidery either along the border or all over, the famous Varanasi sari made in the holy city of Banaras in Uttar Pradesh state since the ancient times is ranked among the finest traditional sarees of India. These saris are quite heavy due to its rich embroidery and are donned by Indian women only during special occasions like wedding, parties and festivities. Most ladies wear heavy gold jewellery to complement the Banarasi sari.

Back to Modesty...

Culturally it is okay to show the midriff in Inidan culture.  I personally find this to be too much skin or maybe I should say the wrong type of skin showing...  So I guess modesty is tied into our cultural, social, religious, family and personal beliefs, and what we deem to be beautiful and acceptable.

Here are some images of different modest swimsuit I came across.

The modestkini for young girls.
Looks very much like the swimsuits worn in 1915.

http://www.burkini.com

Where to start ... Let's talk about India!

So many random thoughts start going through my mind. 
The fusion of the 3 components make this quite a challenging design brief. How will I get all three to work harmoniously... ?

Here are some of my preliminary thoughts;



INDIA
Colour is a big part of Indian Culture.
 In fact I recently read a book on colour which refers to the different meaning of colour in different cultures and the book referred to Indian's version of Western cultures Navy blue is Fuchsia!

So happy about this cultural influence in our design breif as colour is a hug part of my personal design aesthetic. I can wait to experiment with vivid colours as prints and creating something new!!



The major colours used in traditional India colour palate is red, fuchsia, yellow, gold, royal blue, green.

I'm thinking of sarees, bindi's, gold jewellery, bangles, Bollywood, sequins, colour, delicious food. Indian Elephant.


What also comes to mind is poverty, polution, beggars, smell, traffic, cows...

more on this later.
Mx

The Design Brief

QUT Creative Industries

Bachelor of Fine Arts (Fashion)
KFB202 DESIGN STUDIO 4 2012

MODERN MODESTY: A layered brief

The brief encompasses three critical and current trends in today’s global world;

India as a design influencer,

modesty as a progressive social trend,

and sun/weather safety addressing our climatic environment.

India; a country of mysterious paradoxes,
where civilisations and times intermix, and where unity is created through diversity.

India is of huge importance to us, and not just in terms of growth – it is a country that is currently experiencing significant upward creative momentum, driven by the growing middle class. This has remarkable implications from a design perspective; never before has India been at the forefront of every design-minded person as it is now. The diversity of culture, rich use of textile traditions, and uniquely modern use of colour and print form a starting point for this brief.

A significant aspect that is ingrained in Indian culture and religious values is modesty, a concept which defines the second layer of the brief. Modesty is a forward thinking social trend that designers need to explore and address, with the emergence of our modern global world. Modesty is not about being modest in colour, print, texture or design creativity, it’s about revealing less, restraint, and being modest with body exposure.

The third layer for the brief and perhaps the most pertinent to our region is sun safety. Queensland, proudly referred to as the ‘The Sunshine State’, has a UV (ultraviolet) index during the summer period that is regularly rated as extreme, and exposure to the sun can cause irreversible skin damage with less than six (6) minutes of exposure.

In this intense setting, with the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, many people (adolescents in particular) are still sun baking and wearing minimal protection in the quest for a golden tan. Even after extensive and wide-ranging public health programs to promote sun safety, the current ‘Sun Smart’ message does not align well or appeal to the audience that is at most risk – 50% to 80% of an individual’s lifetime sun exposure occurs in childhood and adolescence. A new approach to the sun safe message must be found and perhaps masked by other motives that appeal to all audiences. The message may need to be stealthily applied, and in reference to the other facets of the brief, a push towards ‘fashionable’ or ‘modern’ modesty could be one of the answers to a very complex and critical health issue. This sub-theme may seem at odds to the overarching themes of India and modesty; however, the connections are actually quite strong, in the context of a new global culture where a more modest and covered look becomes forward thinking and progressive.