this is a tad old (and i am hopelessly behind), but i have to pass it on anyway: threadbanger met up with bonnie simmons of simplicity pattern company, who gives viewers (i.e., you and me!) a lesson on how to make croqius/fashion sketches (those oh so important precursors to making your own designs). she makes it look easy, eh? speaking from experience with this sort of thing (i drew such things until my hands nearly fell off whilst a student at parsons back in '05-'06!), practice makes perfect. not suggesting you have to pull all day long drawings sessions like i had to...but if you keep up at it, you can get fairly good. give it a try!
as a related aside, two books that i found invaluable on this subject of making fashion illustrations (should you be interested) are 9 heads by nancy riegelman, and fashion sketchbook by bina abling. any of you designers out there have any alternative suggestions for fashion drawing/illustrating tomes? chime in!
(vintage) book peeks: fabric printing
here's another installment of book peeks! this time i'm showing off some pages from another one of my vintage books, fabric printing by lotti lauterberg. it's straight out of the late 50s, early 60s (it was published in britain in 1959, and in the US in 1963), and has a great mid-century mod vibe. if i remember correctly, i picked it up at chamblin's book mine, a HUGE and amazing used bookstore in jacksonville, florida.
what i think is particularly inspiring about this book and the images within it (besides the killer/covetable period interior shots and the awesome period furniture!) are the illustrations of how to put together graphically punchy, simple-to-do block prints...amazing results can be achieved with very little effort/prior knowledge. cut up a potato and play around, or carve a lino block, and make a repeating motif...too, too easy! ways i can imagine using these techniques on clothing:
-making a "yoke" or "waistband" at the top or middle of a dress with (your choice of) geometric shapes...maybe even make a wide band of shapes or a design at the hem of a dress or skirt?
-making one's own hand-printed fabric to make a whole dress, or to add punch to certain details on a garment, like sleeves, pockets, belts, or trim
-or, you could even completely cover or partially decorate a ready-made (maybe thrifted?) garment with said hand-printed motifs. imagine making a simple shape on the front of a tee, like a heart made of hearts, a circle made of circles, or a triangle made of triangles, for starters...
-on that last note, check out this killer DIY on how to cover a cheapy dress via potato printing by caitlin mociun that was featured on refinery 29 about a month ago. me love!
-also, also: see: lena corwin's printing by hand: a modern guide to printing with handmade stamps, stencils, and silk screens, one of the most beautiful (and informative) books on printmaking i have ever seen.
dispatches from my street(s)
this past week's observations, obsessions, and so forth:
-saw a girl near the flatiron building/5th/broadway/23rd street with what looked to be a puffer vest (i.e., a vest with a standing, funnel-like collar, that buttoned up the front) made from an old, lovingly worn quilt. meaning, it was a quilted patchwork vest. so, so cool. i love patchwork anything, so of course the garment in question caught my eye. it looked like the vest was handmade, from the remnants of a vintage quilt, perhaps. she was wearing it with jeans and boots, if the memory serves. it was pretty great looking, i've never seen anything quite like it before. the only thing that ruined it, in my opinion? someone (the wearer? the crafter/restyler/designer?) attached via applique a block with sunbonnet sue to the back of the vest. sort of took the look from homespun to country craft corner in a not-good sort of way, making it kind of cheesy/chintzy/odd. but anyway, interesting enough to stick in my mind...and tell you about. it's got me wishing i could find a great old quilt to turn into a jacket, vest or coat...but it'd have to be just the *right* one to work, you know...?
-the grunge thing i sort of mentioned a little from that last dispatch is SO STRONG. pete and i are making a game out of spotting all the combat boots/pixie boots, ripped tights and ditsy floral dresses on the streets in recent days whilst out on walks...it's kind of over the top. it looks costumey, no? it does to me anyway. i blame urban outfitters (and now topshop?), you can go right in and go whole hog on that look right now if you please. it's not for me, i'm not really feeling it so much, having been there the first time around... :)
-went to the african bazaar @ bam this past weekend: it was AMAZING.
(image via BAM)
for over 30 years, the brooklyn academy of music has hosted said african bazaar in association with it's dance africa event, and it features a cornucopia of food, art, clothing, textiles, music and decorative objects offered by vendors who hail from or associate themselves with the cultures (past or present) of africa and the caribbean (including the arts and foods beloved by african-americans). what a feast for the eyes, ears that event was! i was especially enamored with these things i saw: a tanned light colored leather bag, shaped like a little briefcase, the front of which was inset with multicolored, geometric fabric; piles and piles of african/dutch wax print fabrics and gorgeously graphic earthy mudcloth in shades of black, white and brown (i bought some of the latter to make a coat, i couldn't resist!); absolutely GORGEOUS, hand-stitched humungous leather (!!) earrings, and funky, summery straw toppers. i can't stop thinking about a girl i saw there, milling through the crowd: she was wearing a strappy, tent-shaped, empire-waist sundress made from a patchwork of african fabrics, each block about 6 inches across...i so want to make my own version of that very dress, if i can ever, ever find the time! *sigh sigh sigh* i wish they did this event regularly...more than just once a year! i want to be able to go back and visit and drool over all the amazing handmade things and textiles whenever i want! i'm definitely going next year!
[(which reminds me, anyone know of a place in NYC where i can buy african fabrics, particularly of the dutch wax print variety? will travel! do pipe up if you know of a store that carries such anywhere in the metro area! thanks!!)]