Fish Print T-Shirt

The man in the above picture is my cousin who lives in Denmark.  He loves anything to do with fish.  Because of this interest, I decided to make him a marlin inspired t-shirt!  This is my second venture into a printed t-shirt.

The last time I made a printed t-shirt, I made a stencil to get the pattern on the shirt.  Later, threadbanger came out with a video about a DIY spiked pants project where they printed anchors onto the pants.  To print the anchors, threadbanger made a stamp out of a potato.  Genius!  This method is perfect for printing a simple motif.

Here's threadbanger's video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiGsCBqHEsc


The first thing I needed to do was figure out my pattern.  I knew I wanted something dynamic and aquatic.  So I came up with a fish that would look really cool diagonally.  (Note: diagonal lines make things look more active.) This fish was the motif for my design.

The next step was transferring that motif into a stamp.  After finalizing the motif, I drew grid lines on the motif so that I would know how to place it.  Then I cut out the motif (with grid lines) and stuck in on the potato and made a stamp (Figure 1).  The I added notches that line up with the grid lines so that I would know how to place the stamp.

Figure 1: The motif on the potato.  The notches are the triangle cut out pieces on the edge.

Next I did a little trial on an old shirt (Figure 2).  My heart dropped because I forgot the most FUNDAMENTAL RULE of making a stamp: the image flips (makes the mirror image)!  I totally forgot to flip the image before cutting it out.   This mistake was okay because the nose pointing up looked a lot more dynamic.

Figure 2: My test.

The next step was to prepare the actual t-shirt (Figure 3).  I drew a grid on the shirt was washable marker so that I had a guide for placing my stamp.  Then I placed dots in the places where the stamp would be placed.  The pattern is a BRICK REPEAT (looks like a brick wall).

Figure 3: Preparing they shirt.  I emphasized the lines and dots in this picture on PowerPoint because the original marks were not showing up really well.

I lined up the grid lines with the notches in the potato to get the perfect placement (figure 4).  Because of this system, the whole stamping process went so fast.

Figure 4: Matching up the grid lines and the notches in the potato.

Figure 5 just shows progress and the mirror element of stamping.

Figure 5: Progress.  Notice how a stamp makes its mirror image on the surface of the project.

I think the shirt turned out great!  It looks really active and sharp. 

Rain Jacket

 I'm going to Oxford, UK to study abroad.  Because of the everyone says it only rains in the UK (stereotype), I thought i would be appropriate to make a rain jacket.

This project nearly killed me.  I thought it would be simple because this jacket was essentially just the rub-off sloper I made with a couple easy added elements: pockets and a hood.  Nope; the hood took me days to figure out, even though I did it before, and the plastic material was almost impossible to work with.  This jacket took me an extra week to make.  That's a little embarrassing.  I might not even take the jacket because it's so fragile (sewing the plastic basically just made it like perforated paper).  I'm not happy.

ELEMENTS:
Hood:
The hood was just frustrating.  It took me many appempts and days to get to something I really wanted.  I wanted a hood that covered the neck and still conformed to the head.  I did a bit of research, and the ARCTERYX company made jackets with the hood I desired (figure 2).  My first attempt (trial 1 in figure 1) was just off.  I was not too disapointed because it was my first trial and mistakes were bound to happen.  My second attempt (trial 2) was even more off.  This is when I started to get pissed.  I thought all of the mistakes from the first trial were corrected, but I made the situation worse.  Then I realized that I was going about the hood the wrong way.  I was just going off of the neckline.  However, I didn't realize that I needed to make a BUILT UP neckline.  So in my third attempt I built up the neckline a bit... and it still didn't work.  I was really upset because I still didn't have a good enough hood.  But, what kept me going was that I was going in the right direction.  I needed to build up the neckline more from the center front. In my fourth trial I was still a little off, but the hood was in the shape that I wanted (or close enough anyway).  All I had to do was make a few fitting adjustments (seen with the pins).  But alas, I had a hood that I was satisfied.

Figure 1: The four trials I needed to figure out the hood.  I was not happy throughout this process.

 Looking at the comparison between my hood and Arcteryx's hood (figure 2), I think I needed to add a bit more to the back (make it more scooped) and build up the neck more, but I'm satisfied for the time being.

Figure 2: Comparison of Arcteryx's hood and my hood.

Plastic:
Well, I wanted my jacket to be water-proof.  I was too cheap to buy water-proof fabric, so I just bought vinyl and put it over regular fabric.  This was a big mistake because sewing the vinyl made it unstable.  If I sit the wrong way, or stretch in an odd way, I'm afraid that I might pull the plastic out.

Figure 3: Putting vinyl over fabric

Pockets: 

I really like welt pockets, and I've never made them before, so I thought this was the right time to make them.   Note, I had to put paper over the plastic so that I could top stitch (otherwise the garment would get stuck on the foot).  Also, I had to take everything in place, NOT PIN.  Pinning would make permanent holes.

Figure 4: i had to put paper over the plastic so that I could top stitch.

I thought the pocket it would be a good place to add a little surprise with a pop of color (figure 5). I thought it turned out great!

Figure 5: The pop of color under the pocket flap.  My favorite part about this jacket.

Seam finishes:

I thought I would simplify my life by not adding a lining (the fabric under the plastic is an "underlining").  To finish the seams, I thought I would bind all of the edges.

Figure 6: The edges were bound before I attached them together.  This series made the process go a lot faster.

Vent:

I wanted to add a vent because they are classy.  However, I couldn't think of a way to make a neat vent with out lining . So I decided to line only the vent!  After making the vent, I stitched the lining to the underlining.  This way the vent remained classy and clean.

Figure 7: the vent lining pinned to the underlining.

Zipper shield:

I added a zipper shield so that the zipper would not get caught on my clothes.

Figure 8: Zipper shield under right hand.

RANDOM PICTURES:

Figure 9: The vent, pocket, an hood in action

Kurta

Weddings are the best occasions for beautiful extravagant clothes.  My family was invited to a wedding this summer, and I decided to make my own extravagant clothing.  Because this wedding was and Indian wedding, I decided to make a kurta, an Indian garment.  Following the pattern I took from the kurta my cousin gave me (more HERE), I made this kurta!  I pretty pleased with the result.

Figure 1:  Casually standing around with hands in pocket

I added pockets to this garment for functional reasons.  The pockets are a type of side pocket that is tacked down on both sides of the garment.  I took this idea from the original garment because the pocket lies flat (does not become bulky on one side), yet the pocket contains a lot of space.


NEW DESIGN ELEMENTS: Sequins and Opening
Following my discussion from last time, I needed to add new elements to make this garment my own.  Without these elements, the garment would be a direct copy (not okay).

SEQUINS:
I wanted something flashy, and I really wanted to work with sequins and beads.  I did a lot of research (surfing the web) to find out how to add sequins and beads.  I ran into this following video which shows the Chanel's process for making a couture garment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lttB10ne37I
In the video, the machinists added the beads/sequins with a hook like tool. I found other videos of people adding sequins to saris using the same method.  I later learned that the tool the people were using is called a TAMBOUR HOOK.  Basically the hook works like a crochet hook.  The artist makes single chains through the garment while adding the beads/sequins in those chains.

I looked around to see what to purchase, and I came across the Clover company which sells a similar hook ("Kantan Couture" Bead Embroidery Tool) and a specialized hoop made for this type of embroidery work.  The clover hook is really helpful for beginners because there is a specialized latch that helps guide the process.  Also, the Clover hook is larger than tambour hook, which also helps guide the process for beginners.  There are youtube videos out there explaining how to use the product.  [I should really look into getting sponsored....]

Figure 2 shows the pattern I was playing around with.  After figuring the placement of the sequins, I mapped out the pattern and traced it onto the fabric.

Figure 2: Arrangement of sequins and beads.  This helped me figure out the pattern I wanted to add.

Here's a video of me adding the sequins to this garment (I did not want the sequins to overlap over each other, so I left an empty stitch in between each sequin):

OPENING:
My favorite part about the garment is the opening. Usually kurtas have a placket going down the center front (kind of like a polo shirt).  However, I wanted my pattern to be very bold.  So, I engineered the opening to be on the shoulder seam (Figure 3).

Figure 3: The opening is in the shoulder seam.  The left picture shows the garment closed.  The right picture shows the garment open. 

To engineer this opening, I had to extend the shoulder seams by the size of the button (both front piece and back piece).  Then I overlapped the pieces before adding the sleeves (Figure 4).  The front and back piece line up over the original seam.

Figure 4:  This view shows overlap.

DISCUSSION:

I thought I would show the inside of the garment because there are important discussion points.

1) Because of the different type of opening, I needed to add a facing to keep the opening finished.

2) The inside of the front piece (Figure 5) is white because I did the embroidery over two pieces of fabric, white on the bottom and yellow on top.  I did this to add more stability to the garment.  Originally I added sequins to just the yellow fabric.  After adding the first diamond of sequins, I noticed that the fabric was way too wavy.  This would not have allowed the middle diamond of beads to stay flat on my chest (bumpy chests: not cool).  So I took everything out and restarted with the two layers.  The overall piece was less wavy, but it was still not perfectly flat.  I think the issue was two fold.  First, I was pulling on the string too much. Second, the hoop is too small for the hole design.  This is a problem because every time I re-adjusted the hoop, I would stretch the fabric in a different way.  To fix the second issue I might need to make my own large hoop.

3) The beads in the center were stable with one layer of fabric (I did a test before this piece).  The second layer just added more stability.

4) This only thing I would do differently is line this inside-front so that the stitching would be covered up.

Figure 5: The inside-front of my kurta.

And here are some fun pictures for you to enjoy:

Rub-Off

I have tried pattern drafting in the past.  Every time I tried, I failed because I did not understand the concept of ease or measurement.  While I am currently better at the latter, I am still failing at pattern drafting.  Maybe this is because I did not take a pattern drafting course?  Maybe this is because I am not smart enough to figure it out with the resources out there?  Maybe the resources out there fail at giving a rational for each step?

I do not know why I am failing so much.  All I know is that I HAVE HAD IT, OFFICIALLY! (Detox, Season 5 RuPaul's Drag Race).  I really want to get back to sewing, so I decided to use Rub-Offs.

In his book Fashion Inside Out, Daniel Vosovic talks about how a rub-off is a fashion industry trick.  Basically a rub-off is a pattern copied off of an exiting garment.  Designers do this to speed up the design process.  For example if a designer wants to make a pair of well-fit pants, the designer can just go buy a pair of well-fitting pants and copy the pattern.  

Hold-up: RED FLAG.  That's plagiarism!

Well, designers add their own elements to the pattern.  It's faster because you do not need to draft a base from scratch.  Also, you can not really sue for a copied pattern (sort of... there are a lot of complications).  This aspect is a complicating and frustrating for the fashion industry.  Two companies which went through the court to deal with this problem are Walmart (Walmart v Samara) and Louis Vuitton (red sole).

My rational for "copying" is that I am not making a rub-off to sell; I am making a rub-off to learn about patterns (where ease is added and why) and to speed the process up (I will add my own elements to the pattern).  Is this rational justified?  I'm not sure, but I'm reassured by the fact that at least I'm not selling my garments.  So at least no one can claim that I'm taking someone's money.

Another way I like to think of the rub-off process is by comparing it to what engineers do.  Many engineers take existing technology, dismantle it, and put it back together to learn more about the product.  This helps the engineers come up with better products.  Is it fair?  I'm not too sure.  Comment below about what you think!


THE BEFORE:
My cousin gave me this kurta  (figure 1) as a gift.  Kurtas ("panjabi" in Bengali) are not fitted garments; they are constructed to be over-sized.   This construction technique might exist to add more embroidery.  However, I think kurtas are made over-sized to accommodate for "larger people".  Unfortunately for me, someone with a smaller frame, this means most kurtas make me feel like a walking teepee.  The kurta my cousin gave was the first kurta that actually fit me well.  The extra ease was not bulky.  The sleeves were in the correct place (unlike most kurtas which are extended out). And, most importantly, the back fit like a dream! There there were no extra pleats in the back yet I could move freely without worrying about busting the garment.  This kurta was the best base I could find: it was simple and fit in the right places (sleeves and back).  It was my ticket to a perfect sloper.

 Figure 1: The kurta my cousin gave me.

MAKING THE PATTERN:

Making a rub-off is all about exposing seams.  Two important tricks when exposing seams are marking the center front and center back lines and making sure the garment is flat.  The neckline and arm hole (armscye) is a bit harder to trace.  Some people directly and trace.  Others put paper between a styrofoam block and the garment and then punch holes with a needle along the seam.  I chose a different method: I made slits to the seam and folded in.  I thought this was more accurate than tracing and less time consuming than the styrofoam block.  Any method works because the traced pattern will not be perfect.

Figure 2: Keeping the garment and pattern flat with a pyramid paper weight.

Tracing a the sleeve is also a bit complicated.   First I folded the sleeve in half to expose the seam next to the armpit and made that fold permanent with some pins.  Then I took some paper and made a straight line.  I lined up that line and the top of the sleeeve.  I traced the front (using the slit method described for the arm hole).  Then i flipped the sleeve over, keeping the same fold, lined the straight line with the top, and then traced the bottom.

Figure 3: Working on the sleeve.

I hope this makes sense.  Maybe a video would be better at explaining what I did...


THE TEST:
As I mentioned before, the traced pattern will not be perfect.  The reason for this imperfection is because both sides of a garment are not equal because of mini sewing errors.  Because of this, it is important to test your pattern.  I did this with some scrap fabric, and I am pretty pleased with the pattern.  The sleeves are in the right place and the back fits beautifully (as you can see when I stretch them all the way).

Figure 4: Trial of traced pattern

WHAT I LEARNED:
The most important thing I learned from this process is that the pattern is the same under the arm hole.

Figure 5: The front pattern piece on top of the back pattern piece.  Under the arm hole, everything is the same.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN:
I'm took this pattern and made some of my own garments.  I changed up the design, and clothes that actually fit me.  Those garments will be featured in future posts.

Cowl Hoodie T-Shirt: ThreadBanger Edition

 

This project is one of my favorites.  I am so thankful for ThreadBanger for creating this project.  (ThreadBanger is a YouTube channel dedicated to sharing DIY projects.)

Many DIY clothing projects out there on the internet are mostly for women or children.  So, one reason why I love this project is because it is an amazing project for men.  (Note: this project can totally work for women, too.)  Another reason why I love this project is because it encourages RECYCLING.  I used two old shirts that I have not worn for over a year and made a new shirt that I can not wait to wear out!

All of the steps for this project are in the ThreadBanger video.  Please watch it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3j-dtVa9sV0

(Picture taken from ThreadBanger's youtube video)

Figure 1 shows shirt 1.  The only flaw with this shirt was that the neck hole was a little tight.

Figure 1

Figure 2 shows shirt 2.  This shirt was one of my favorites.  However, it was a little large, and it acquired some annoying little holes near the bottom. 

Figure 2

Figure 3 shows the finished product!  I love the cowl look.  It was a risk for me to make the cowl from a shirt with a contrasting color from the base shirt.  In fact, my parents thought that the cowl was a separate piece.

Figure 3: Cowl form

Figure 4 shows the finished product with the cowl up in a hood.  I laugh every time I see this picture because my long hair makes me look like an old lady.

Figure 4

CHANGES FROM VIDEO: I did some steps a little differently.

Change 1: Figure 5 shows the first difference.  I wanted a little more length in the hood, and I wanted to avoid the holes.  So I cut the cowl portion a little differently.

Figure 5: Cowl was cut differently

Change 2: I sewed and finished the seams a little differently.  First I sewed everything with a straight stitch.  I did this so that everything would line up nicely. Second, to finish the seams, I put the seam allowance to once side and did a zig-zag stitch over all layers of fabric.  I made sure to line up one edge of the zigzag with the seam (seen best on the blue edge in Figure 6).  Then I cut off the excess.  I finished the project this way to emulate a coverstitch.  The bottom hem of a generic t-shirt is done with a coverstich.  If you check the back side of the bottom hem of a t-shirt, you'll notice how the coverstitch covers the raw edge.  This stitch prevents the edge from fraying and getting in your way.  It is a very smooth finish.  So I tried to emulate the coverstitch so that I could have smooth edges that didn't bother my neck. The threadbanger video shows sewing all seams with a zigzag stitch.  This was a simple way to emulate serger. Either way works; my process is a bit time consuming.

Figure 6: Seams finished a little differently

Change 3: Before adding the shoe lace, I actually made button holes with the sewing machine.  I had to do this BEFORE sewing down the hem.  I did this for a cleaner finish.

Time for more fun pictures!

Leopard Print Shirt

Patterns are everywhere!  The railings on your staircase, corn fields, and even bar codes are examples of how patterns are present everywhere in our lives (note: corn fields for the mid-westerners).  I find the repetition of patterns really intriguing because I like discovering how different shapes fit into themselves.  Recently I've been into leopard print.  Leopard print is an allover pattern of spots.  It is not very high end, but it can be a fun surprise if worn in the right occasion.

Of course this means I figured out a way to make a really obnoxious, super tacky garment that might not be worn in appropriate places (like my graduation):

This blog post explains how to make this printed shirt WITHOUT screen-printing:

For more information on patterns, including definitions, please go to the following website:

http://www.artlandia.com/wonderland/glossary/

Overall process (for those who do not want to read): Come up with a MOTIF (template, the unit of repeat), and use BLOCK REPEAT (like a grid)

STEP 1: Come up with a MOTIF

Leopard print looks like a random bunch of spots.  There was no way I was going to make all the individual spots free hand.  It would have taken a lot of time, and I would have made many spacing errors.  So I made a motif.  First, I had to figure out how to make and space the spots.  The blue post-its in Figure 1 show some of my rough sketches.  I knew I had a lot of space to cover but not a lot of time (especially because I was not screen printing). After practicing a few times, I was ready to make a motif.  I decided to make this on a regular sheet of paper (8.5''x11'').  I chose this size because it would be easy to make a stencil.  My motif is the orange sheet in figure 1.  It was really important to make the repeat look continuous, uninterrupted between the repeated motif.  So I made copies of the motif and put them side-by-side to make sure it blended together smoothly.  Then I adjusted the spots to cover any large gaps. (I originally made tetris-like pieces, as you can see in Figure 1, but you can just put the copies together and adjust accordingly).

Figure 1

STEP 2: Make Stencil

The easiest way to do this is to take your motif and laminate it and then cut out the spots with a blade (figure 2).  I already had laminated sheets that I was going to throw away.  So I just taped the print to the laminated sheet and then cut out the spots (RECYCLE).  I put a cardboard underneath so that I wouldn't scratch the table.  The cardboard was from a cereal box (RECYCLE).

Figure 2

INTERCEPTION STEP: Do a trial run.
The following steps needed to be completed on a trial first.  This allowed me to figure out the properties of the fabric paint and how my stencil would fit.  For this I used an old shirt that fit a little weirdly (aka: will become a work-out shirt).  Yes, this shirt has the logo of my alma mater (figure 3).  U-Rah-Rah.

Figure 3

STEP 3: Set up
Put cardboard INSIDE of the shirt.  This is to prevent the paint from bleeding through to the other side. I used old cereal boxes for this (figure 4).

Figure 4

STEP 4: Attach stencil and sponge paint
For this project I used Jacquard fabric paint.  I attached the stencil with tape and hair clips (clothespins would work too).  I made sure the the stencil was FLAT so that the paint would not seep underneath.  Then I dabbed the brush over the holes.  I did not make sweeping strokes because that would have caused paint to go further than the holes (figures 5 and 6).

Figure 5

Figure 6

STEP 5: Remove Stencil, Wash Stencil, and Repeat
After covering all the spots (figure 6), let the stencil sit for a few minutes.  Then remove the stencil.  Wash the  BOTTOM of the stencil.  A little bit of the paint spreads on the bottom.  It's important to wash the bottom of the stencil so that you can prevent paint from getting in unwanted areas when readjusting the stencil. Next, place the stencil over in the "next grid" and repeat the sponging (Figure 8).  On the trial I only used the stencil twice.  On the actual shirt, I used the stencil EIGHT times--4 on the front and 4 on the back.

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

STEP 6: Let the paint dry

STEP 7: Heat set
You have to heat set the fabric paint.  It's just a property of the paint to make it permanent.  To do this I recommend putting a sheet of fabric over the print so that you don't ruin the iron (Figure 10).  Thanks to Matt for letting me borrow his iron!

Figure 10

STEP 8: Wash
Even after you heat set the paint, some of it will come off.  So you need to wash the garment.  If you wash it properly, the ink will not ooze into the rest of the garment when you slash water on it (Figure 11).

Figure 11

 BACK TO PROJECT STEP
Now that you have tested the trial, do steps 3-8 on the shirt you would like to have a print on.  I wanted an OBNOXIOUS shirt, so I obtained a neon yellow shirt for this project.  This is a great opportunity to RE-USE one of your old shirts!

Hint:

Even after covering the most of the shirt, there were still little areas that were uncovered.  For these areas, I used the stencil to traced the spots with a fabric pen (figure 12).  Then I painted in these spots with a brush. I did this to save me time from constantly washing the stencil.

Figure 12

HIDDEN STEP: Have Fun

Tacky shirts work for so many purposes.  I used it for a dormal:

I let my friend use it for a work-related-dance-party:

I even took shameful selfies, and shamefully photoshopped them: