Variation on a ThemeJuly 21, 2023 First off, sorry about
the link at the top of last week's email. This template is something that my email client created for me. I'm absolutely thrilled with it, cause almost to a one of you, like it! So it's perfect. If that happens again, and my bet is that it won't because I have an option, there is a manual link at the bottom of this email where you can click and read it in your browser. But I always want to hear if there's a glitch here cause it's usually fixable.
One of my responses last week, was a request that piqued my curiosity to think about this. I always love new puzzles and new ways of thinking about things. The request was if I would write something about the artistic benefits of producing a series of garments based on a common theme.
In creating, sometimes we end up with a lot of options and a huge amount of variations and ideas. One way to keep that tapered down is to have a theme. This can be a
look like retro, heirloom, frou-frou, tailored. Making something for an event, like a casual look for Fridays at work. Even making something for a specific need, you have enrolled in a yoga class and you want to wear something really fun for your classes. I did this for biking on the river in the central part of my city.
So this was a lot of fun. Keeping to a "theme" meant that I could do a variety of outfits, but at the
same time they were essentially the same pattern, yet they all look different. One was a stripe of bicycles, mostly 1900-ish, with two different patterns, another was like Arizona sunsets, and another was a Matisse "Le Jazz" selection because the local museum was having a fabulous Matisse
exhibit, including the "La Jazz" series.
So a theme is something that can not only pare down the variations to a manageable amount, but can also spark a lot of imagination. Some various "themes" that might work are: - An event or activity
- A formality - casual or very formal
- A style like tailored, frou-frou, heirloom, Bohemian, historical, this is probably the largest group
- Color - staying within a palette can be very challenging but also very
imaginative.
- Pattern - again, may seem very restrictive, but using a classic shell then varying it with blocks, print mixes, even simple detail variations like different neck types (turtleneck, mock turtle, V, scoop, etc.), can make for a fun exercise in creativity. Then maybe you want to vary the sleeves - bell, 3/4, see-thru, lace. Sleeves like necklines can be a little more limiting, in that we all have advantageous necklines and sleeves, and coming off of
that good line, can cause problems.
- Climate - of course this is one we are all familiar with. How many times have you used your summer pattern, and then bought a nice thick winter weight fabric and made the same garment. I do that all the time.
The main benefit here is a little like looking at colors
for your wardrobe. There are a gazillion colors. How in the world are you to choose one for your garment?
This is a common problem entering the fabric store and being bombarded by gorgeous colors, and prints, and stunning geometrics, and then you see the sheen of a gorgeous silk, and the texture of the softest wool, and well, you're a goner, much less picking one out.
What's a sewists to do? Help here is found in developing your own palette and don't think you don't have one. From someone who
had fun making her own tailored pant suits in about 8 different wool gabardines, I can tell you that the green was my favorite, hardly wore the blue and the yellow was stunning, but hard to wear in the winter! We all have our best colors for the shades of our complexion and the colors of our hair and eyes. Suddenly, the choice becomes a lot more manageable. Staying on the cool side or the warm side of the color palette is often enough to help you weed out those colors you shouldn't be seen dead in, while you can choose something enormously attractive from the colors that flatter your skin color. Much like working toward your most flattering style, your most comfortable fit, and your perfect size, narrowing down your project to a theme, can not only
make your choices manageable, but can also make your time a lot more feasible. Our time is our most valuable resource. Anything that can save our time, is well worth the effort. Hopefully people are learning they don't need a lot of clothes. We simply need what works for us, and not a bunch of things that might look good or might work at someplace we might like to go.
I don't need a huge variety of clothing, even though I may go to the occasional charity ball, and need that elegant lunch outfit. The secret of my core pattern is that I can still use it to vary from formal to casual, from cocktail to yard work - not of course the same outfit, but the same pattern. So the benefits for me of keeping to a core pattern begin to reap real rewards in not having to invent the
wheel every time I want to make an outfit. I still have my suits, my woven blouses, my dresses, my formal outfits and my casual outfits. But most importantly, I have a wardrobe that is reflective of my many moods - one minute I can be a Bohemian artist, another minute, I can be meeting with a donor for one of my favorite charities, and not have to worry about whether I'm appropriately dressed or going to be comfortable and even better going to look my best.
Someone who is really good at creating a theme around an outfit, and as it turns out, it's a very artistic way of creating, is Marcy Tilton. She used to have a section called "Cool Combos" and they were combos made from various different prints - like in the photo above. But she would only use one yard of each. This makes you think very differently of how you were going to cut that front whole piece that
usually took 1 1/4 yard to do. How were you going to get that extra length with only 1 yard of fabric? The answer to this was always a creative and fun solution for me. Probably the most beneficial aspect of creating can be to create limits in your design. This will cause you to think differently, and hone your editing skills that can bring about creations that were formerly completely out of your wheelhouse. Practicing this on a regular basis not only makes you better at the technical part of seeing, but the creativity that blossoms from this sort of restriction, seems almost
mysterious...restricting you makes you more creative?...yes it does! So much so, that I regularly purposely buy two or three prints that will blend, in smaller yardage, so that it will make me thinking differently about how to solve problems. Of course there is another benefit, we have hardly talked about...it's that skill of problem-solving. And here we go again. It's the problem solving that makes you so smart and keeps your little grey cells active - sort of like exercising your muscles keeps your body in good shape. Problem-solving keeps your brain in good shape.
Really, there's hardly
anything more fun than working within limited theme, color, formality, style and yardage, to take you away to a creative island that is full of surprises and wonderful outcomes. It's a treat you can give to yourself, that may seem incongruous, but believe me, it becomes a lot of fun.
The SewingArtistry Resource Library is designed to contain information to not only make your sewing
better, but to aid in you fitting and flattering your shape, size and style. Check it out.
The Ponte Jacket Class has been rescheduled. We had so
many who wanted to take it but couldn't get here for one reason or another so it didn't work out. We've rescheduled it for September, when we are more interest in jackets, and particularly something that will make us look professional and responsible -- because there are times when we need that look. You can click here to get more
information for the class on September 20, 21, and 22. If you need any information about places to stay or other accommodations, simply respond to this email and I will get back to you. I love my city and love showing it off! |
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