apron wings: an education

I am currently enjoying the tail end of my summer break before my senior year at ISU. I am working on my Bachelors Degree in Costume Design and I thought I'd share a few of my class projects from my last 2 semesters.

This is my final project in a construction class last fall. We had to create a period-piece bodice of our choice. I chose the Belle Epoch. This was my first experience draping and creating a pattern using a sloper.

This past spring I took a course in Tailoring. One of the most difficult skills I have ever tried to learn. I would love to master this skill but I need years not weeks. This jacket is still not finished,it still needs buttons, hand bound button holes, and (obviously) a good steam and lint roll. I used this Vogue pattern but did not use the instructions because we had to use old school tailoring techniques. I'm definately gonna finish this jacket when I get back to school and can get a little help from my instructor. I ended up having all the fabric on hand for this project, the wool was a hand me down from my grandma and I had the lining in my stash already--I love when this happens!

For my final in Tailoring we had to make a corset. In my Costume History class and in the Tailoring lecture on corsets we learned about the unpleasant side effects of wearing a corset. I won't go into to detail but it wouldn't take you long to look it up and you would be horrified. Many costumes require corsets and they don't have to be worn in harmful ways so corset making is a necessary skill for the costume designer. Because this corset had to fit us and we had creative control I decided to make mine a little funny. I dyed it a coral-red and I hand painted some sad faced organs on the front with the word Be Kind to Your Insides.

I am excited every day by the amazing things I get to learn and the people I encounter along the way. Today I am leaving for the sunny state of California for Costume College to hopefully gain a little more knowledge and a few more skills!!!