Evaluation

Through this SDP it has been quite a different way to work. At the beginning of the project it was quite difficult to split your time between the costume store project and the Breathe project. They were each hugely different projects. The costume store focused more on the beauty of each garment. You focused on how well each garment was constructed and handle. The aim was to create a pristine final piece. Then you had to switch to Breathe which was a completely different way of working all together. With this project you had to focus on problem solving, being creative to make the more experimental designs that we were working with. The emphasis was on the creative aspect of the work not the way in which the garment was constructed.

When we fist came onto the Breathe project I found this at first one of the hardest things to switch into. When I came to create my first cloak I found it very difficult to see the torn up rugged look of the cloaks after working to carefully on aspects of the waistcoat in the costume store.

Looking back over this project I realised I really enjoyed making the waistcoat for the costume store. It was really interesting to work independently from our tutor and discussing as a group how we thought the garment was constructed first. This I feel has developed me as a maker much more than I realised. Being able to loot at garment and work out how it is constructed my self rather than being handed the information was a development stage I needed in my learning process. I feel my confidence has been restored slightly when working on the waistcoat.

When working on the shirt through this project I felt a lot less confident, although it was a lot easier to construct than the waistcoat was, I was still very much in the mind set left over from a previous project ‘Battle for the winds’ I didn’t feel confident in my making skills at all. With only a week to construct the shirt I felt more pushed. Although through the shirt construction it has taught me as a maker it is very important to leave last project when you have completed them and to face the new project with a fresh mind.

Working in the Breathe project I have enjoyed being able to experiment further in textiles. Working with the headdress was something I felt I gained a lot from. Creating the horns enabled me to work with materials I had never worked with before and create something that was costume based but not a piece of clothing. I was got a chance to rediscover the delicate nature of painting. When I first came to paint the horns and especially the rock sash I was rather heavy handed. The paints needed to be built up and graduated and worked into. As a maker I hadn’t had much chance to develop my skills in this way.

Working with expandable foam for the rock sash was very much a development process. The foam itself is perfect for the sash as it is very light once dried yet holds its shape beautifully. Creating the shape of the sash was quite simple. The foam was easily moved to create the right shape and created all the rocky bumps by itself. It was a very time efficient process which was ideal for the project.  However once it had dried to became a rather solid form. If the sash was to be attached to the top of the cloak it would create no movement for the performer. Finding ways to solve constructing problems like this when it is not a normal construction problem has been very interesting and valuable to me as a maker.

 I feel I have learnt so much from this part of my SDP. I have had a chance to try all different ways of creating costumes very effectively and in there way beautifully without the need to be as protective of the work as I had to be in the costume store.

 Overall I have thoroughly enjoyed both projects. It has been very challenging working to your own time scale, being much more independent. For my future working in my final year this has been a valuable learning curve. Being able to know your own limits and how much you can do at one point has been a vital aspect of this project for me.

Breathe: Headdress Reflection:


The head dress was a really fun project to work on. It gave me a chance to work with new materials, new machinery and processes I had never worked with before. This has been a good experience to have as it has broadened my knowledge in the field of costume and given me a chance to be a lot more creative.


With this costume it was very much under pressure to get it done within the day we had set a side to do it in. Being so aware of the time constraint was good pressure to work under as it really focused me on what was needed to be produced in the work shop.
However because it was something very different to produce and create it was fun to get into and very different from everything that I had create in the costume store.


Due to the nature of the breathe project certain considerations needed to be taken into account; the performers would have to be in the costumes for a long time so the head dresses needed to be made as comfortable as possible but yet secure. Elastic was needed under the chin because the horns were to heavy on the hat so made it quite unstable.
I am really pleased with the final head dress. It fits in with the over all costume and finishes the final costume.

Breathe:
Head dress:


The head dress was the last part of the Breathe project I completed. Bethan Francais constructed the example head dress that we followed to create our head dresses. Me and Naomi Bonner worked together to create the headdress so the process didn't take as long to make, this was very important due to tight construction restrictions.
To start we needed to cut out various circle shapes out of blue foam in the work shop. This the base shape we working with to create the horns.
Once the circular shape were cut out the shapes were cut into on a slight angle to make the curve in the horn. Each shape needed to as similar as possible to make the pair of horns as similar as possible.
After the right shapes were cut out a super glue gun was used stick each layer together to create the base horn shape.

First Stage:

Once the horns were at this stage we needed to file down the base shape to create a smoother shape of horns. It didn't need to be perfectly shaped as the beaten weathered look needed to be incorporated into all areas of the costume. Sand and PVA was then painted on top to create the same texture as the sash as it is all for the same finished garment.

Second stage:

This is what the sanded down horn looked like, from this point I needed to layer up the the paint much in the same way as the sash was painted. The colours were slightly different, but the final finish was really effective. Once the base colours were dried the final finish was to brush over very lightly with a gold paint to high light the raised rough sand, it really highlighted the idea of a weather beaten head dress.

Third Stage:

Wire was then placed through the horn so that the wire could be poked through a hat and attached. Once the horns were attached and fully secured plasterzote was used to cover the wire on the inside of the hat and around the rim of the hat to make it a lot more comfortable for the performer to wear. 

Once the horns were in the right place and the hat was made comforatble strips of various fabric were hand tacked onto the hat to decorate the baseball cap. The fabrics used are all the same or in the similar style to the ones that were used in the cloaks to tie everything together.

Final Costume piece:

Breathe: 
Rock Sash:


Another section of this project that needed to be created as part of the first costume was a 3D sash that would be attached to the front of the cloak and then attached to the hip of the base costume.

To create this I needed to be experiment with expandable foam. This is a substance that sticks itself to the fabric and then expands a lot.
As I sprayed the expandable foam onto the calico base fabric I shaped it into a slight curve so it would   curve around the body.
Once it had fully expanded and dried the foam was sanded down to create the weathered worn down look of sea rock.

This is what the base of the sash just covered in sand to give it some extra texture:

Once the sash had dried it needed to be worked into with paints to create the look of rocks. Several different layers of paints were used to build up the right look. The sand made the paint drag across surface which gives its a really good weathered look.
Lighter paints were used to highlight the higher areas.

Below is a final image of the sash:

Once Upon a Tease:


So now the final corset designs have been chosen, our supervisor Naomi Bonner sourced all the fabrics that had been chosen by the company.
A basic pattern was chosen for the 3 light pink corsets, this was then adapted for the individual measurements we had for our dancer.
The full body corsets needed to be draped on the stand separately as they connect all the way under the body so the patterns were made slightly differently.
Having not made a corset since the beginning of uni it was quite interesting to see how much I remember. Due to time constraints we adapted the making of the corset to be easier for us to construct and also change after the fittings.


A week was spent getting the very basics of the corsets put together for a fitting on Friday 11th and  Sunday 13th.

Fitting photos:

 . A lot of gaping at bust

- Seam A: 1.75 off either side from design line

- graduate down to bust line

-Seam B: 1.5 off only one side- side without boning chanel

 . Too much gaping around the hip

- Seam C: take in 3.5 cm either side of hem line and graduate up to waistline 

. Here the boning panels were not attached correctly to the back of the corset- when actually constructing the boning channels in the corset they will sit into pink so the gap will be much further apart.

The model was quite a lot smaller than the corset in places, the shape and fit of a corset is the most important thing to consider when making a corset. These corsets especially as they are being made for a burlesque production need to make the model feel as sexy as possible.

Breathe:
Adaptation Cloak:


The second cloak I needed to produce was to be made from a fur coat that had been provided to the Breathe club already. I had to adapt this coat so that it would fit in with all the other cloaks that were being produced as part of the 'Hunters' collection.

As I had already made the first cloak the second cloak was a much quick process to reproduce. The shape of the original cloak was exactly what was wanted from the design that I was given so the first thing I concentrated on was the surface decoration. The same decoration was used on this cloak as the others so that all the cloaks would link together as a collection yet still retain the individuality of each of the makers.

From the design I had to change the decoration slightly. In the design the netting was only in one section, however when it came to adapting the coat there wasn't enough fur to cut the fur and put in the netting in the middle. After discussions with Kate we decided to add to parts of netting decoration, so there was less fur on the cloak than was originally designed. From an aesthetic point of view this was the only way to make the design work.

On the same way as I did on the first cloak, I used a embroidery foot on a domestic machine to create  circles on the fur to attach the decoration. This was a lot more difficult on this cloak than on the first because the fur was so much thicker so got caught up constantly on the foot.

Another problem with this cloak was the fact the fur was so different and shinny and new it took a while to blend in the two different textures of the netting with the fur. To over come this idea of just a block of netting then a block of fur, I carried on the circles  to decorate into the fur. This with the barnacles added onto the surface made the cloak flow a lot better.

After all the cloaks have been produced as a group we will come together to break down all the final costumes even more to really give the feel of weathered sea hunters.

Second Cloak finished:

Breathe: Adaption Cloak; Reflection:


Again with this section of Breathe it has been really interesting to be able to experiment an be more creative than in some previous projects that we have done.
Adapting the cloak was much more of a problem solving project as I did find it quite hard to get past the initial blocky look of the decoration on the fur as it looked to much like the original coat not like a hunter.
After putting the garment on the stand, I could see were the problem lay with the garment. The front edges of the cloak were far to neat and straight. From here I draped netting along the  front edge of the cloak to break up the front line. This made a huge difference to the final look of the garment.

Also because of the nature of the piece that the cloak would be in arm holes were created in the sides of the garment to make it much easier for the performer to wear and dance in.
A new popper is needed to secure the cloak at the front as the one originally in the garment was far to fiddly and insecure. This will have to be done at a later stage as the poppers could not be sourced at this time. The garments need to be easy for the children to dress them selves in as they will be doing it on their own.

18th Century Waistcoat Reflection:


Looking back on what I did within this mini project I feel I learnt a lot. The construction process of this piece of work was hugely beneficial to me. I really wanted to create a piece I felt pleased with. I tried hard to create a crisp finished piece and tried to be as accurate as possible. I feel my construction skills have hugely benefited from working this way. Although there are areas that as still in need of further development I am pleased with my final outcome.


Time restraints are always going to be an issue with the industry I am going into but through this project I feel I am beginning to develop my speed as well as my accuracy.

Reflecting back on this piece of work, there are still areas I need to work on. The crispness of the finished edges of the waistcoat could be sharper, however the nature of the material I was working with did make this slightly harder as it was really soft and didn't create that sharp edge.
The decoration that was chosen for my waistcoat may not have been the most suitable. The button although very beautiful and matched the braiding decoration, were very heavy metal buttons. The moleskin fabric that I used to create the waistcoat is not very strong to support the weight of the buttons so the buttons may slightly pull the fabric.

I really enjoyed making the waistcoat and I am pleased with the final product

18th Century Waistcoat continued:


Through the last couple of weeks the waistcoat has taken great shape. In this making process I have been very precious with all my stitching lines. I wanted to create a final piece I would be proud of.
However this has meant taking longer on sections are re doing pieces, the extra time taken has been very worth while though.

In the construction of the waistcoat the first thing we had to do, after cutting out the fabric, was creating the pockets on the waistcoat front. This was a daunting thing to do as the first process as it meant snipping into your fabric to create the pocket mouth. If you do this stage wrong then the look of the garment will be ruined.
You had to be extremely careful with your measurements through this stage and also make sure everything matched on the other side of the waistcoat. It was an extremely fiddly process to get correct and on one half of my pocket the uprights of the pocket mouth were very slanted instead of upright.
I could either leave the pocket mouth like that and hope that with prick stitching that it would look better or I would have to cut out the front again.
Even though I lost time I cut out a whole new front of my waistcoat and re did the pocket. This was a great learning curve for me as it taught me the delicacy of costume making and a chance to re do my mistakes rather than just leaving them.

Once the pockets were assemble the waistcoat could be put together in its two half, the lining waistcoat and the front of the waistcoat, these processes were reasonable easy and came together well.

The next very time consuming aspect of the waistcoat was the decoration. Our tutor wanted the front of the waistcoats decorated as they would have been in the 18th century.
 However  in the 18th century waistcoats would have been heavy embroidered by hand which would just not have been possible for us.

Below are some examples of the embroidery of the time:

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://en.madeira.de/uploads/tx_twgallery/Waistcoat.jpg&imgrefurl=http://en.madeira.de/impressions/impressions-2/&h=755&w=492&sz=97&tbnid=pYmY6dYjANDqkM:&tbnh=95&tbnw=62&zoom=1&docid=vQKS7kg4PTJb5M&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Th-5T9etDJPs8QPl4fGQCg&

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.vintagetextile.com/images/Early/2196.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.vintagetextile.com/new_page_562.htm&h=495&w=600&sz=115&tbnid=GLSMi4YIFH4HSM:&tbnh=97&tbnw=1

The decoration we hand stitched to our waistcoats was much less detailed than this. However within the short time scale we had to complete our garment a lot of care and time was needed to apply the braiding we were given. to make sure the braiding was straight and that the stitching we did to attach the braiding to the front of the waistcoat was as invisible as possible.

We took extra time on the braiding to make sure it was perfect, however this did cause us to take longer with the final construction of our waistcoat so we did not complete it on time.
The extra time we took with the braid made a hug difference to the final finished garment however so was worth the extra care.

Once the braiding was complete the waistcoat was easy to assemble the hems were stitched together, then we slip stitched the arm holes, the facing an the lining together, machine stiched the collar on an the slip stitched the lining to the collar.

The final touches were the buttons and button holes.

Below are the final image:

Once Upon A Tease:


Since I last blog about Once Upon a Tease, rather a lot has had to change and be re thought due various reasons.
The final designs had been chosen, 8 corsets were to be made by the team working on Once Upon a Tease. Fabrics of various price and colour were sourced to present to the company to decide which were best suited to the designs. However due to the nature of the corset making the estimate for the budget of the 8 corsets and bustle was a little to big.
This was an obstacle that had to be discussed with the company to see how was best to proceed.
Due to time, work load and budget the company decided to create 3 over bust corsets and 2 full bodied corsets and 5 bustles.


It was very very handy, when dealing with the issue of the budget, to have one person supervising the project. Without having such a person the project would not have started. The company would not have been impressed with our lack of planning before meeting with them to discuss money and other details.
Naomi took up the roll of supervisor and because she organised the budget so well, the company and the makers could then make much clearer decisions on fabrics etc.

Below are the 2 designs now being created:


x's 2

x's 3

  . Because 2 corsets were dropped from production, 2 people lost corsets to make; as a compromise Naomi took up the job of supervisor and Stephanie has taken up construction of a number of bustles

Time Plan:
. Patterns fully drafted this week
.Cut out in top material by the end of the week

Breathe:
Cloak Continued:


After the base costume was create into the right shape we took the cloak to a Breathe Together Club to paint the inside of the cloak so then when the Breathers are dancing in the parade the white wouldn't flash across and take away from the Hunters look.


Once this had been done and dried we moved on to decorating the top of the cloak. Grace Mortlock designed the idea of the decoration with layered up fabrics with the different textured. We attached these to the base cloth using a free embroidery foot to create circles. This was to link in the barnacles that would be attached later.


This is what was created from the top decoration:

Things that still need to finished:

. The rock sash- experiment with expandable foam

. Clasp finishes/ poppers?

. Attach finishing decoration- barnacles/ seaweed

Breathe:


On Thursday I had the opportunity to work on the designs that I had been given to construct. I have been given  two cloaks to construct from the Hunters group.

During the day I work as a group with the other makers in the Hunters group to work out a way to drape the base layer of the cloaks as all of our designs were very similar just with different lengths and openings and decoration.

It was a very good experience to experiment on my own and have the opportunity to work problem solving without a correct way of constructing the garment.

Below is the base shape for the cloak:

Progressing from this point:

. Wednesday Breathe session- volunteers to work into the undergarment of the cloak with base colours

. Continue to experiment with different fabrics to create the decoration on the top fabric

Breathe:

On the Wednesday night session me and another Breathe maker had to help in the supervising of a working session.
The work we overlooked was a weaving workshop, this was to re create sections of weave that would be used to create skirts a different dance section of Breathe.

This workshop was interesting to work on as we needed to develop the working process so that it was as simple and effect as possible to create a lot of woven pieces in one session. However it also needed to remain quite simple so the volunteers would remain engaged with the workshop and enjoy it.

Together we managed to find the simplest solution for the workshop. As supervisors we created a right angle with two strips of fabric- the waist length was cut so that it would create half of the waist measurements of each of the actors wearing the skirts
- this was done in pairs so that it made up a full skirt size

. The volunteers then had to choose strips of fabrics to pin horizontally and vertically on the right angled strips
. Strips were then machine stitched in place and once secured woven by hand

Below is an image of one of the final pieces:

18th Century Waistcoat:


For the next 3 weeks I will be working on reconstructing a 18th Century waistcoat for the costume store. In this project Dexter, our construction tutor, wants us to be able to assess and develop for ourselves how we look at the costumes we are making.
In our session on Monday we broke up into waistcoat groups and breeches groups and discussed the stages of construction for ourselves. We needed to discuss a rough time plan for when certain stages needed to be completed for.
It is important for us as makers to be able to break down our time wisely. We need to be able to understand how long certain areas will take to construct so we can work within a deadline.

The waistcoat I will be making is part of a set, a pair of breeches are being made to match. Therefore as a team me and Danielle had to cut out our pattern pieces together to ensure we were being as economical as possible. The budget allowed just for each persons pattern pieces to be cut out.

Below are images of the waistcoat I shall be producing over the next 3 weeks:

Once Upon A Tease


Along side my university work I am also working on a project called Once Upon a Tease. A group of us, the current 2nd years are all working together to budget, plan and complete the project along side our own uni work. This is a project for a burlesque company and is giving me a chance to work with corsets again. This is a fun opportunity to gain some extra work experience in costume making. It is also a huge test of my organisational skills. I have to make sure I balance out my time for; Once Upon a Tease, The Costume Store, Breathe and my POP essay, to make sure all are completed for their deadlines.


Today we had a meeting to finalise the designs we would each be working with and how we should go about drafting our corsets. By the end of this week we need to have the corsets drafted so we can be cutting out and making by next week.

Today Naomi went to a meeting with Sam who runs Once Upon A Tease:
She needed to discuss issues such as:
.Budget
.Fabric choices
.Design features
.Fitting times
. Decoration choices

Below are the designs that as a team we will be constructing:
Designed by Yolanda Collins

Breathe:

Before we broke up for Easter, I had a tutorial with my tutor Adele and the supervisor of Breathe, Grace. This was to discuss the basic ideas of what I wanted to get out of the Breathe project. I was very interested in the textural side of construction, to be able to experiment with this and being able to do some very basic workshops with some of the people from outside of uni who will be in the Breathe procession.

Over Easter the original designs had changed, some some of the workshops I was going to produced where no longer possible. Today I had a meeting with the Breathe team to discuss what I would be able to do. 

I have always been interested in headdress making, so luckily through this project I will be able to really experiment with different textures and shapes to recreate the 'Hunters' headdress. 

Because of time constrictions on my part with extra projects and the costume store work. I will have to use the 'Breathe Club' to do a work shop of how I created parts of the headdress or the whole headdress I can then help to instruct any volunteers who can help on how to recreate the headdress. Volunteers from Breathe can be apart of the making of their costumes and I will be able to gain valuable teaching and assisting time.

  

Below are all of the designs for the 'Hunters'

Designs collaborated by Kate McStraw, based on designs by Kirsty Hanlon and Level 5 designers'

I will only be making certain parts of some of the designs below:

.3 headdress's

.Cloak- top row, 2nd in 

.Cloak - top row4, 4th 

By the end of this week I hope to have:

.Decided on the range of materials I hope to use in the cloaks and the headdress'

.Looked at how to constructed the headdress- create the right shape

Learning Agreement:

NAME:                                   KIM PICKERING

COURSE:                             BA (Hons) Costume with Performance Design        

UNIT TITLE:                                    Self Directed Project                    

REF. NO./LEVEL:               CSS518

WEIGHTING:                        2.0      

DURATION:                         9 Weeks       

HOURS OF STUDY:          300 Hours    

Unit Leader:                         Adele Keeley/Graham Cottenden

Your Blog address: http://kimpickering1.blogspot.co.uk/

DESCRIPTION:

The project I am working on is the costume store and it is to work on the finer details of costume construction. I chose this project as it as an area of my work that I want to develop and make stronger. Since starting year two I have lost a lot of confidence within my making skills and I need to regain my confidence and skill.

This project we will make a shirt, and breeches or waistcoat. Through this project I hope to greatly improve my sewing skills. I want to be able to create more detailed work well and within a time frame that is set.

   We are also helping with the Breathe project which is helping children and adults with disabilities to create Breather costumes for their parade. We will be doing workshops with them creating certain pieces of garments with them. I will also create a whole costume piece plus a body of work which is based on costume interpretation. This work is more individual and problem solving that working in a set way.

I really enjoy working with people so I would like to develop my skills in communication within a learning environment and help in directing them in the workshops we create.

  For the assessment I will be producing a number of garments from a range of eras. All of which will range in difficulty. The garments will range from a shirt, breeches or a waistcoat. To produce each garment there will be a different time scale.

The Breathers project will produce a full costume including decorative pieces; they will vastly differ compared to what will be produced in the costume store. These will be more textiles based and less focused on the finer details as they are bold and more extreme costumes.

What I hope to achieve in the costume store is a huge development in my sewing ability and more precision and accuracy in my making skills.

Through the Breathe project I hope to expand my knowledge of experimental textiles and how to create more extreme textiles into working costumes.

Aims:

A1       To provide opportunities for self-initiated, autonomous learning

            and develop the ability to plan time and work independently

A2       To provide opportunity to study the contextual development of costume and performance design

A3       To further develop the creative, intellectual and practical applications of research and contextualisation within a self initiated environment

A4       To propose, develop and evaluate professional aspirations through professional development planning

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this unit you will be able to:

LO1     Identify and define the context for the development of your own work towards professional aspirations

LO2     Demonstrate an understanding of the development of Costume with performance design

`

LO3     Have developed the creative, intellectual and practical applications of research and contextualisation

LO4    Consolidate and demonstrate professional aspirations and planning                     

Assessment Requirements:

Supervisor / Makers

HAND IN:

A body of construction work to include 2 garments for the costume store (patterns will be provided). and one whole costume and a body of costume interpretation work for Breathe together with personal reflection of the development of your project in your blog.  100%

     …..under pinned by personal development planning (in your blog journal) and a final written evaluation (750 words) evidenced in your Blog             100%

Each assessment requirement must be passed at a minimum grade of 40% to successfully complete the unit

Assessment Criteria (specific criteria related to the learning outcomes and linked to the statement of generic assessment criteria matrix):           

           

1.      Evidence of knowledge of contextual and theoretical issues – The level to which you have considered the context of your project and evidenced that to your body of work (LO1, LO2)

2.      Evidence of understanding through synthesis and development – The application and extend to which research has informed decision-making and project development together with the appropriate management of time (LO2, LO3, LO4)

3.      Evidence of evaluation and reflection – The extent to which you have reflected on the progress of your project and used it to inform personal development planning (LO4)

4.      Evidence of realisation through the communication of ideas - The presentation of your work and the level to which specialist knowledge has been applied, communicated and evidenced (LO3, LO4)

18th Century Male Peasant Shirt: 


The first thing we are creating within the costume store project is an 18th Century shirt. We are given an example shirt to work from and work out as a group how to construct the garment. Our construction tutor wanted us to work more independently so we had to work out the steps and methods of construction first and then discuss with him if we were going about this the right way, also the most efficient and practical way.

For this garment I was given a week to construct the shirt as I had a work placement for the other week given for this project. Through this I needed to make sure I used my time extremely wisely as I had to get the project completed within the week.



Below are images of the finished garment without the button holes completed as these are going to be done separately

18th Century Peasant Shirt- Reflection:

Looking back at the work I have created within the week, there are quite a few things I need to look back on.

Due to the nature of the work we are doing it is very easy to forget the delicate nature of the work we are doing and just go into the mind set of getting the work done in the deadline.

I feel with this particular project I have done just that. The accuracy of my work was slightly lost due to the short time scale we had to work within. It was a hugely different time scale to work in to what we are used to.

Another thing I needed to look at was taking more care when using a white shirting fabric. The fabric picked up marks so easily and this made the finished product look less crisp and fresh.  

Costume Store- From the Beginning 


The SDP project is split into two projects. The first and main part of the project is the Costume Store. In this part of SDP we'll have to look at a number of garments ranging from shirts, waistcoats, breeches and blouses, each of these from a range of eras.
This project is design to develop us as individual costume markers, we need to be able to problem solve and see the construction development for ourselves.

The project will be split up into a 3 different sections:
. First 2 weeks- Edwardian Shirt
.After Easter- 3 weeks- 18th Century Breeches/ Waistcoat
. 2/3 weeks - Blouse - Early Victorian
                                 - Late Victorian
                                 - 3rd option possible



The very first week of the costume store I was on a placement week, this meant that when I came back to the costume store I had a week to create an Edwardian shirt.
Due to the loss of a week I had been allocated a more basic shirt to make it possible to create in a week. To create a feel of a more industrial working environment, we had the patterns provided for us and needed to work within a team to cut out our pattern pieces and do it in a way as to waste as little material as possible.

Work Experience- Les Miserables 


For this week I have been doing work experience with the costume department of Les Miserables. This was a huge opportunity for me to work within the industry and follow people who work within the costume store, doing all different roles.
On Tuesday I spent the afternoon in the costume workroom making alterations and then watch the show from the sound box. The show was fully booked on a Tuesday night so I wasn't able to sit in with the audience. I found it incredible that in my week at the show. It was full nearly every single night. For such a long running show it was still as popular and amazing as ever.

Through this work experience I got to follow the head of the costume department and the team that works with her. On a evening show the costume team needed to be in for 1.30, this is to give the team enough time to sort the washing from the previous shows and to also make sure any damages, breakages or general issues discovered from the previous shows.
During this time I got the chance to also help with this. The main things to come up into the costume store were such things as: broken hooks, eyes, brackets. General wear and tear of the costumes in the knees which needed patches. In the male costumes this is was particularly common because they are incredible hard worn.
Also during my time at Les Miserables the department was preparing for the cast change in the show. Some of the actors and actresses would be changing, so during the costume workroom time breaking down the new costumes that were being brought in for the new cast members, these needed to be altered from fittings and broken down if necessary.

The second part of my work placement was following the dressers doing  set up and then dressing through the show. Having never seen the backstage workings of a West End show. For a costume student this was really amazing and fun to soak up the atmosphere, while working in a professional atmosphere.

The overall experience was incredible. I got the chance to really see how the costume department worked in a professional environment. I have only ever experienced more amateur work so it was good to  be able to take what I have seen from Les Miserables and hopefully take that knowledge back into my own work,