Apparently, now that the studio space is clean, I seem to have found my motivation. Unfortunately for me, this is when I tend to get the big, shiny, ambitious ideas…like this one. I’ve wanted to make my very own heraldic dress for a while but I’ve never actually sat down to sketch it out or anything.
To be fair it’s been a while since I’ve actually sketched anything out for myself. Since most of my garb is 11th century Norman and I’ve mastered my pattern, I don’t need to sketch much. I picture it in my head and just go. This particular dress is challenging because I have to play with where the colors are going to go and what would be more visually interesting. So for the first time in a while I actually had to draw things out. Since I can’t do anything half way I went through the whole process of layers, etc.
What do you mean “layers”?
Dress Building
When I was taught costume design I was taught to think in layers and design that way. Essentially this means using a lot of tracing paper but with good reasons. Anytime you add a layer on a body you are changing – however minutely – the overall shape. A corset will reduce the waist but emphasize the bust and hips while a tunic will obscure the shape and add a little overall bulk.
For this reason, we were taught to design in layers using tracing paper. I’ve done this with this dress so I’ll walk through the process from start to finish.
Layer 1: Croquis
A croquis is simply a quick drawing of a live model. I was taught the ball and stick method. Balls are the joints (larger balls for bigger joints) and sticks are the bones and muscles that tie things together. Kind of like the image A on the left below.
Image A on the left above is actually a bit more filled out than my first draft croquis. Mine looks more like a glorified stick figure. The idea is the same though. The lines going though the shoulder and hips are guidelines that help keep the body lines consistent.
When all of that is done, you “connect the dots” so to speak so you wind up with something like image B on the right. I hate drawing croquis with a passion because I’m a perfectionist. My solution? If I draw one I like I keep that safe and sound and reuse it. A LOT.
This is my croquis on the left. I did this one sometime in college and I’ve kept it all this time. When the paper gets too damaged, I transfer it to a new piece. Yes, I hate drawing croquis that much.
Adjusting for Body Type
Clearly this croquis is far skinnier than I am. This means that I have to adjust for body type. Which I did in my sketch book but forgot to get a picture of it. Oops…
Layer 2: Base Layer
My base layer for this is going to be a basic t-tunic under dress. Most likely in white or off white. But in reality any of my under dresses would work. I did draw this one to drape as a heavier material though, so that the overdress will drape in such a way that the appliques would be more visible.
In the image to the right, I’ve layered the base layer or under dress over the initial croquis so that you can see the difference. You can see where I added “weight” to the base croquis to better exemplify my own shape from where the under dress sits. Particularly, you can see where the dress is “floats” on the right and left hip areas some distance above what would be the skin on the croquis. That’s where I added the padding. I also added some in the chest area and shoulders, though those are less noticable.
Drawing your under layers are important because it will affect how the layer on top of it sits. This is especially true with any shape wear or long skirts and dresses. Also keep in mind that I’ve cleaned these sketches up quite a bit. I tend to prefer simple lines
Layer 3: The Over Dress
The next layer is the over dress. To make things easier for myself I tent to tape my layers on top of each other so that I have a complete picture when drawing out the clothing. This isn’t anything fancy but rather a base to put the appliques on. I made my usual Norman overdress with slightly belled sleeves and trim on the hem, arms, and neck facing which I tend to do in a contrasting color.
It’s all drawn in pencil so it can be hard to see on the computer but the image below is what I wound up with. This is hard to work with though so to make it easier on myself I actually do one last layer.
Layer 4: The Clean Copy
This step is not usually necessary but because I want to transfer a clean copy into my sketchbook I do it. I take one more piece of tracing paper and make a clean copy of all the layers together.
Final Copy
The last step to this process is to copy this last layer into my sketch book. I also photocopied this last layer to do color drafts. This way I can do multiple drafts and play with color combinations without having to redraw the whole darn thing.
I try to keep copies of my renderings in my sketchbook, especially since I don’t draw as much as I used to. Good practice and all of that.
Playing With Color
Now comes the fun part. I get to pull out my pencils, watercolors, or pastels and play with colors. I’m a very visual person and so I usually need to work out more complicated items on paper. This dress is going to be particularly fun since I’m using my heraldry.
I’ve been thinking about this for a while and have narrowed it down to two different options. One would definitely require more work than the other, having a lot more applique, but I can’t decide between the two in my head.
Option 1
This option is my crazy option. It’s crazy for a couple of reasons. Number one reason? No sane person would ever put me in pale colors, especially that much white. You can’t take me anywhere and that white will be filthy in two seconds flat. Unfortunately I didn’t think about that when designing my heraldry.
Reason it’s crazy number two: see those little crosses on the blue hem and sleeves? They’re all applique. I’ve done something like it before for someone else but never for myself.
I’m not totally in love with design. I’m also having a hard time getting over wearing that much yellow. Yellow always makes me look sallow. Also all that applique…I don’t think I hate myself quite that much. Also I would like to have this done within the next 3 years.
Option 2
Option 2 is a little more standard by heraldic dress standards. Yes, there’s a fair share of applique but it’s large and making half the dress blue is far better for my complexion. At least I hope so.
After drawing it out I think this dress also has a little more visual impact. This is likely the design that I’ll go with though I may move the ravens down to get them out of the way of my belt. Maybe I should just elongate them instead. I’ll have to draw it out on a true to size pattern piece to decide which I want to do. If I put the ravens lower and off center I think that would look rather odd. That’s a decision for another day.
Next Steps
The next steps in my process are to draft out the pieces. Fortunately I know the basic building blocks for this dress. The only difference for this one is that instead two single pieces for the front and back torso pieces I’ll be joining together two pieces for each front and back piece meaning I’ll need to add a little extra on each edge for the additional seam allowance.
I’m hoping to do the patterning in the next couple of days and list out my cutting pieces. I’m also going to have to draw the ravens out large. Considering I’m not very good at drawing anything not fabric, wish me luck!