Fashion Design Essentials

TECHNIQUE

38. Rote, Rules, and Roughs

A fashion designer may be tempted to avoid

steps in the creative process to meet deadlines

or simply reap the rewards a little sooner.

Whether it's in sketching, pattern making, or

sewing, bypassing steps could undermine the

final outcome.

• Sketching: A sense of the shape and flow of
  a garment can often initially be found in a
  rough sketch. Repeating that process on paper
  provides a place where details can be finessed
  before the actual garment is being developed.


• Pattern making: Measure twice, cut once.
  Mathematics is a univ ersal language, and
  there is little room for improvisation when it
  comes to accuracy. How pattern pieces inter­
  lock, how they are based on clear and detailed
  notations on a pattern, and how they adhere
  to the body's measurements are all based on
  a system of rules.


• Construction: Basting seems like the biggest
  waste of time, until something goes wrong. In
  the end, thinking about basting usually wastes
  more time than actually doing it. These tem­
  porary stitches serve much the same function
  as a rough sketch. They let you assess how the
  garment is coming together without taking per­
  manent, and in some cases irreversible, steps.
  In addition to getting it right the first time, each
  and every phase of preparation provides an op­
  portunity for inspiration. The rules don't neces­
  sarily change, but the ones you apply, as well
  as how, when, and where you apply them, is a
  creative act in itself.

82 Fashion Design Essentials

First stage of sketch:

the rough

• ..

" ,

. -, "