Fashion Half Cut

Episode 12:

Demystifying Blocks and Slopers

This episode is all about one of our favourite bits of kit…blocks!
(or slopers as our lovely American friends call them)
Join us as we discuss what they are, how to make them, how to use them and the different types that we’ve come across in the industry and at home.

Our new favourite definition from Rhinannon Bydawell:
(A block is……)

“a basic pattern that you create so that you don’t have to recreate the wheel every time you make a pattern”

Our Definitions:

(A block is….)

The starting point or basis of most new patterns
The basic body shape with the minimum amount of body ease added in
The foundation that you build your garment from
Unique to each company or person

Different Types of Blocks

Basic blocks (skirt, bodice, dress, trousers etc)
Tailoring blocks
Stretch blocks
Design detail blocks (collars, raglans, etc)
Basic garment blocks (shirts, corsets etc)

Learning to draft your own blocks:

Kathryn’s Skirt Block Skillshare class
Caroline’s Block Drafting Skillshare class
Kathryn’s in person block drafting classes (sadly postponed until Covid-19 departs but keep an eye on here for classes once we’re all in the clear!)
Winifred Alrdich’s Metric Pattern Cutting
Helen Joseph-Armstrong’s Pattern Making for Fashion Design

Buying blocks:

Buy Kathryn’s Basic Skirt block
Buy Kathryn’s Basic bodice block
Buy Shoben blocks
Kathryn’s free download of half scale blocks

If you’ve got more block related questions then we would love to hear them or you can check out Kathryn Blog post here.

Is there a topic you’d like us to cover? We’d love to hear from you! Contact Kathryn and Caroline directly with any comments / feedback on fashionhalfcut@gmail.com. Alternatively you can reach out on instagram @fashionhalfcut.

Subscribe to our blog for the latest episodes and bonus blog posts!

Episode 11:

Draping on the Stand

Listen on Spotify

Listen on Itunes

Listen on Stitcher

In this episode we dive deep in the beautiful and creative world of draping! This is both of our favourite ways to work and we’ve packed this episode full of do’s, don’t’s and handy tips and tricks!

Top 5 do’s:

Mark your grain on your fabric before you start to draping with it
Mark accurately and carefully using different colours to match details if complex
Photograph your drape from lots of angles before you take it apart(if you do after marking it up then you can easily place the different colours/details!)
Use a fabric that’s exactly the same as your final fabric or very very similar
Remember that drapes don’t float on air so think about what inner construction you’ll need and drape over a basic block and mark your seams/support if you need to.

Top 5 don’ts:

Don’t switch between different fabric types, same fabric won’t work for different designs
Don’t rush!
Don’t assume that it will go together with other flat pieces, always double check your notches!
Don’t be afraid to cut into your fabric!!! Sometimes not cutting away will hinder you massively. Especially around waist, armholes etc
Don’t force it! Draping is creative, if the juices aren’t flowing do something else and come back to it. Sometimes it won’t create what you want, let the fabric do the talking.

Some last handy tips:

We already said about colour coding your drape…do it to your pattern too!
If you’re struggling to get the look you want try changing the grain of your fabric
Pin correctly!
If you’re draping on a base, make the base/lining first and use this as your guide. Work inside out!

We also have a few recommendations for you:

@the_modeliste_studio beautiful draping tutorials and inspiration
@elaorsini lovely drape inspiration and tutorials
@johny_Nguyen beautiful clothing brand, bespoke pieces drapes and tailoring

Favourite draping brands: Mcqueen, Westwood, old school Galliano for Dior couture, Rolf and Russo, Com de Garcon…the list is endless!

Draping history: Madeleine Vionnet and Madame Grès

Subscribe to our blog for the latest episodes and bonus blog posts!

Episode 10:

Interview with Elisalex de Castro Peake, co-founder of By Hand London

Listen on Spotify

Listen on Itunes

Listen on Stitcher

In this episode we are joined by the lovely Elisalex de Castro Peake, many of you will know her as the co-founder of By Hand London, an independent pattern company that makes the most beautiful patterns for people who sew their own clothes.

She originally trained as shoemaker at London College of Fashion and has had a colourful and interesting journey to get to where she is today.

You can now find her running every aspect of the business, from social media to design and pattern development. As well as this, Elisalex is also a fantastic teacher and has a reputation for being a bodice fitting extraordinaire! Last but not least, she is an avid crafter and big supporter of sustainable fashion.

Join us as we discuss the fashion industry, the sewing community, the ups and downs of starting and running a business, fashion revolution, sustainable fashion, sharing your knowledge as a teacher and juggling personal and work life while still giving yourself some slack.

“If I was talking to myself, in a non-judgemental way… I would say to be kind to yourself”

A couple of notes from the show:

Fashion definitely runs in the family for Elisalex, her mum is the founder of Fashion Revolution, an organisation that campaigns for ethical and sustainable practice in the fashion industry.
If you’re keen to try a bodice fitting master class then head over to the New Craft House where Elisalex regularly teaches. At the time of release of the episode all classes are on hold due to Coronavirus but they will be back up and running as soon as it’s safe so keep an eye out for future dates!
This episode coincides with fashion revolution week, head to the fashion revolution website to find out more.
“Who made my fabric” is By Hand London’s response to fashion revolution week, check out their list of sustainable fabric merchants on their Instagram account!
You can find Elisalex on her personal Instagram account, the By Hand London website and The By Hand London Instagram.

A couple of notes from our Caroline & Kathryn:

You can listen to all the Vogue Global Conversations online. Take a look, they’re really inspiring! The conversations are:
“The Future of Creativity” with British Vogue’s Edward Enninful, Marc Jacobs and Kenneth Ize.
“The Future of Sustainability“ with Vogue España’s Eugenia de la Torriente, Stella McCartney and Gabriela Hearst.
“The Future of the Fashion Show” with Vogue Runway’s Nicole Phelps, Olivier Rousteing, Natacha Ramsay-Levi and Cedric Charbit.
“The Future of E-Commerce” withVogue China’s Angelica Cheung, Virgil Abloh, Stephanie Phair and Remo Ruffini.
“The Future of Brick-and-Mortar” with Vogue Italia and L’Uomo Vogue’s Emanuele Farneti, Vittorio Radice, Pete Nordstrom, Burch Pierre-Yves Roussel.

Kathryn’s Live Pattern Cutting class

Subscribe to our blog for the latest episodes and bonus blog posts!

Episode 9:

Our Top 7 Essential Tools for Pattern Cutting & Making

In this episode we talk you through our top 7 Pattern Cutting tools and pieces of equipment. These are our absolute essentials that we just couldn’t function without!
Like most pattern cutters we know, we’re both massive fans of clever stationary. If you want to hear us raving about rulers and which notchers send us nutty then this is the episode for you!

7 Top Pattern Cutting Tools:

Blocks & Slopers:
We love our large collection of block and slopers and would be TOTALLY lost without them! Caroline has even been know to fly around the world with hers in her hand luggage…precious cargo!
Rulers:
From Set Squares to Pattern Masters to random ones we’ve picked up along the way…we use our rulers every day!
Notchers:
This is how communicate with the seamstresses who are making our lovely garments so these little paper punching guys are of huge importance to us!
Pattern Drills:
Another way of communicating and accurately marking our patterns, so these are of course on the list! We even have a favourite type – which we both found separately via Japan and prevents us getting painful pattern cutters wrists! (yes, we’ve totally made this condition up but it’s real for us!)
Tracing wheel:
Perhaps the simplest tool, but the most effective and irreplaceable! We use it for tracing the underlays of darts, pleats and inner pattern details. We even use it to copy garments that we can’t unpick to trace the pattern from.
Scissors:
This might seem obvious but cutting is a major part of making patterns so we have different sets of scissors for different jobs. Paper is one weight and fabric is another! Scissors can take all shapes and forms for us pattern cutters, including rotary blades and we’ve even come across pattern cutters using scalpels! It definitely feels like we’ve doing surgery sometimes!
Tapes:
We’re talking Measuring tapes, sticky tapes, tailoring tapes….all the tapes you can imagine!
Bonus: Mechanical pencil with a rubber!
Lastly, WE LOVE PENCILS! but not the kind you have to sharpen yourself.
Mechanical pencils stay sharper for longer which means our patterns are more accurate and we even have a favourite type of lead which is strong and doesn’t snap as easily! We’re talking 0.5 HB lead…serious pencils for serious pattern cutting!

To get hold of any of the tools that we’ve spoken about, please follow the links below:

Blocks & Slopers
You can find Caroline’s class HERE
You can find Kathryn’s class HERE
You can buy blocks and slopers HERE

Rulers
You can buy Kathryn’s favourite ruler HERE

Notchers
You can buy pattern notchers HERE

Pattern Drills
You can buy our favourite type of pattern drill HERE

Tracing wheel
You can buy tracing wheels HERE

Tapes
You can buy fashion tape HERE
You can buy scotch tape HERE
You can buy tapes measures HERE

Mechanical pencil with a rubber
You can buy Caroline’s favourite pencil HERE

Subscribe to our blog for the latest episodes and bonus blog posts!

Episode 8:

London Fashion Week

Join us behind the scenes and take a front row seat at the iconic London Fashion Week. We discuss past fashion week experiences, and Caroline brings you her diary of live recordings from the studio, the catwalk and the show rooms. Step inside our shoes and experience what fashion week is like for a real life pattern cutter

London Fashion Week quick facts:

It happens in London twice a year, once in February (A/W) and once in September(S/S)
one of the “Big Four” fashion weeks, and of course the other 3 would be…. New York, Milan and Paris
London Fashion Week first took place in October 1983
It’s estimated that it generates over £100 million worth of orders
It happens in 2 parts… there are the big catwalk shows which take place either at the British Fashion Council’s own show space or at special locations around central London
In Summer 2012, London introduced London Collections: Men, in addition to the collection shows in S/S and A/W
The public can only watch the shows via live streaming

To find out more about London fashion week, the brands that show there and what they’re all about, click here

Live Diary….

A quick snap comparing the very first stage of this dress and the final beauty that walked the catwalk

KATIE McGUIGAN PRESENTATION

Caroline went to see the stunning Katie McGuigan AW20 presentation. You can check out more of her work here.

A few of the other brands that Caroline spoke to were in the Newgen section of the showrooms are:

Richard Quin
Fashion HQ
Underage
Swap Rebellion
Letsfab app

The Catwalk Show

Subscribe to our blog for the latest episodes and bonus blog posts!

Episode 7:

The Coronavirus Effect & Working From Home

As the Coronavirus pandemic plunges the world into chaos, we bring you a bonus episode with an update on life as freelancers and small business owners in this very scary time. We share our thoughts and tips for working from home and how we’re managing to continue work as pattern cutters. While this episode focuses on the work and business side of things, our first thought is always for your health and we hope that you’re all safe and well at home.

In the last couple of weeks we’ve seen one country after another putting strict measures in place for the public and closing their borders.
Our first concern is always and should always be our health but as freelancers and small business owners it’s a pretty terrifying economic situation too.
At the time of recording Italy, France and Spain are all in total lockdown. The UK hasn’t hit that point yet but our Coronavirus cases continue to rise. Restaurants, bars and shops are starting to close.

Every industry has been hit hard and quickly by this shock, and in fashion we’re seeing supply chains and production grinding to halt , stores closing , buyers cancelling orders, shipments stuck in the far east and Europe, the list goes on….
It’s a very serious situation and as a result we’re already seeing freelancers being laid off and businesses beginning to strain under the financial pressure.
So we just wanted to take a moment to say that our hearts are going out to everyone affected in anyway. We’re thinking of you, and we’re all in this together.

On a lighter note here are our top tips for working from home effectively!

Get good podcast/audio books/playlists etc so you’re not sat in silence
Make a routine and stick to it! Try to keep normality in your life
Use apps that limit how much time you can spend on sites like Facebook & Youtube
Be patient and bare in mind that any frustrations or troubles that you’re having are the same as your co-workers so just be nice to everyone!
Keep a spare set of pattern cutting equipment & convert an area into a temporary workspace.
Communicate as much as possible
Having some spare savings

Find yourself at a loose end? Try these:

Turn your hobby into a business, sewing, painting, crafting etc…there are huge crafting communities out there and everyone is stuck in doors so this is your time to get involved
Do some online based work, Virtual Assistant work is always needed
Make an online class…skillshare, udemy, teachable all great to share you skills
Or take an online course and learn a new trade towards a career change you always wanted
Do some sewing: For yourself or if any friends or family need garments making for an occasion this is your time!

And just to bring a smile to your face, here’s Naomi Campbell taking things to the extreme. All hail queen Naomi, we love you!

View this post on Instagram

Safety first. All bought on @amazon 6 weeks ago

A post shared by Naomi Campbell (@naomi) on Mar 10, 2020 at 5:32pm PDT

Naomi Campbell is taking no chances while traveling!

Subscribe to our blog for the latest episodes and bonus blog posts!

Episode 6:

Interview with Emmeline Child, Sustainability Expert

Emmeline Child, fashion sustainability programme leader and lecturer at the University of Northampton, joins Kathryn and Caroline to talk about all things sustainable in fashion.
Emmeline gained an impressive amount of knowledge and experience in this field while launching her own brand and business and became a real pioneer in her field. She is now a Researcher, Senior lecturer and University Programme leader. Teaching in the areas of sustainability, fashion and design in the UK, India and Sri Lanka.

During this episode we cover a range or topics. Starting with Emmelines journey and how she became interested in sustainable fashion. Then moving onto her research and work as a lecturer and finally, we pick her brains about some key areas in sustainable fashion including:

Natural fibres & Organic fabrics
Tech fabrics and new developments in that world
Fast Fashion
Green Washing
The future of fashion as she sees it

Can find more information about Emmeline below:
Linkedin
http://www.tedresearch.net/people/staff/emmeline-child/

And you can contact her on emmeline.child@northampton.ac.uk

Subscribe to our blog for the latest episodes and bonus blog posts!

Episode 5:

Our Journey and Getting into Fashion

In this episode we share some insights into both of our fashion journeys with you all. From where we studied, to work experience and then the leap of faith into our job role.

Pre-university:

Kathryn:
Biology, Chemistry & Maths A-levels
(change of direction!) Art & Design foundation at college

Caroline:
BTEC garment making and garment construction for 2 years for 4 days a week. On the 5th day I took a separate course in pattern cutting.

University & internships:

Caroline:
BA (hons) (1st) Fashion Design at University of Northampton (Collection of the year)
Internships with Jeans care, Clothes show in Birmingham, Issey Miyake, Hussian Chalayan

Kathryn:
BA (hons) Fashion Design at Bath Spa University
Small internships at Katherine Hooker, Roland Mouret, Working in mums wedding dress shop and helping with alterations

After University & First jobs:

Kathryn:
Lucky enough to get a job straight out of uni at Karen Millen in a graduate role.
First pattern cutting job was at Peter Pilotto as Junior pattern Cutter

Caroline:
Interned after uni but continued to send out CV for paid roles.
First pattern cutting job: Jasmine AlFayed

Freelance life & Starting our own Businesses

Caroline:
https://www.purepatterncutting.com/

Kathryn:
https://project-patterns.co.uk/

Subscribe to our blog for the latest episodes and bonus blog posts!

Episode 4:

Fashion Sustainability

In this episode we explore the world of sustainable fashion and celebrate those amazing brands trying to change the world!

We didn’t want this episode to be a doom and gloom “look at all these scary facts and panic” episode. There’s a lot of that out there already and I think that we’re in danger of becoming desensitised to it all.

So instead we’re going to touch upon some issues and yes, there will be some scary facts but we’re going to try and focus on the really exciting answers to these problems, and the amazing people out there who are trying to shift fashion in a more sustainable direction and how they’re doing it.

We hope that by the end of this episode you go away feeling inspired and encouraged to change fashion as we know it.

That’s quite a big ask actually….even if this only makes you feel slightly hopeful then we’ll still be happy!

3 pillars of sustainability: