Untamed - New Design Part 2

Untamed: Designing Clothes. The highs and the lows.

So, I have been a busy bee in my sewing room working on my new design, and I am so excited to show you. It has not been easy because, as I said in my last blog, it is not just about making clothes I think are cool, they also have to look good on all body frames, and I have to be able to construct the design easily, so costs stay good for you guys.

I knew I wanted something similar to my other designs, something for the everyday busy lady to throw on over a pair of tights that she feels good in. But this time, I wanted something a bit flowier, a design that is still comfortable and versatile for everyday wear, but it makes you feel like a princess and will put a smile on your face when you put it on. I think I am on the right track because the first two people who have tried it have both twirled around in it. Mission accomplished, I guess, haha.

I wanted to use a similar fabric to what I use for my other designs. It is so soft, of excellent quality, and I know it washes and lasts well. It is also a super forgiving fabric that fits many different body frames and made from my beautiful new Bamboo fabric—more about that in my next blog. 

My biggest problem is that I have a million ideas and want to make everything. I had this issue when I was in fashion school and always got points deducted because my final design would not look like my initial sketch. I just get excited, want to do it all and forget to think about how I will construct it. 

It was the same with this design; my initial plan was very different from my final creation. I learned so much as I was going along about what works with the fabric, what suits different body frames and how long specific construction methods take to achieve a particular look. But I won’t show you my initial sketch, so you will never know how different it was, haha.

I have had so much fun playing around in my sewing room, and it has been great figuring out sewing puzzles again. I love seeing my ideas come to life and seeing what I can create. It has not been all smiles though, there has been a lot of swearing, frustration and hours of unpicking, but I am excited with the direction it is heading in. 

Sadly there is no glue in sewing, and not everything is physically possible. I will never remember this one, haha and I still spend hours trying to make something possible. 

Sometimes you figure it out, and it feels so good. One of the most painful and rewarding sewing days of my life, haha, was when I was first designing my thumbhole pattern. I worked on it for hours and could not figure out how to construct it; I was going to give up but decided to give it one more try, and boom, I created a cool thumbhole. It was so worth the wait, the grey hairs, and the frustration and is now used in all my collections because it is quick and looks great. 

But other times, you have to accept defeat and try and ignore the hours of unpicking you have just done for NOTHING, and you have to start from scratch again!!!

I have been using a mixture of draping (hanging the material on a dress form and seeing what looks good) and pattern drafting (Drawing out the design) to come up with the final look. It has been great learning new techniques and getting the creative mind ticking again.

Throughout the designing phase, I get different ladies to try on my design to see how the design looks on different frames and get feedback from them on what they like and dislike. One of the hardest things in fashion design is creating a design that will suit a wide range of ladies, not just skinny, no chest ladies like myself, haha. 

I know that we women need more confidence; we need to learn to see the good and the beautiful in the mirror and not just focus on the negative, and I hope my designs help a little with that.

Stay tuned, ladies, and I hope you are all working hard at your dreams.

Want to see all the new Ego back panel options? New Fabrics

Part one of the New Design Blog by me a few weeks ago Read Now