FIRSTSITE INSPIRED JUMPSUIT_

 FINISHED JUMPSUIT_

This was a really challenging garment to create. I struggled right from the beginning, when it came to designing the jumpsuit. Perhaps it was the way I first went about it, trying to create a jumpsuit from the off. The designs just weren't imaginative enough, mostly looking like a slightly altered jumpsuit block. Boring. It then came to my attention that creating designs similar to the way I was drawing first site and developing/refining the drawings, might be a better starting point. I began to cut out and layer up, and draw sketchy outlines and marks to envision a garment shape. This really was helpful, and from this I was able to refine the shapes by tracing them to make the garment more wearable.

I was skeptical about the idea of working and collaborating with someone to create the jumpsuit. I was more of an independent worker, and the thought of someone having to rely on me (and vice versa) didn't appeal to me. The idea of compromising on my design that I already liked was hard, however when I found out I had been paired with amber, things started to look up. Her design really worked with mine, and after some changes (collar, trouser length, the placement of the waist) the finished design was complete. It was almost as if it was meant to be- there was almost a diagonal line going across the front, balancing it.




It was a positive experience working in a pair. I feel it really helped me to learn to work in a team, which is valuable for later experience in the industry, where I will constantly have to compromise.

The process of creating the pattern ran rather smoothly. I became a lot more confident when altering the block to fit my design, and it was really helpful working alongside Amber to create the pattern as a whole, even though we were doing our own separate halves. We had a few dilemmas, such as how wide to make the legs, and the quilted panels had us stumped for a while. These were soon overcome with a little bit of help. The only thing I struggled with was comprehending what to change on the pattern to get the desired effect, and how that would look in a 3D form.



Putting the jumpsuit together was tough at times. The first task was to complete the quilted strips, and although this wasn't difficult, it was very time consuming. This put us behind the rest of the group, and the time schedule. This did start to panic me, however we both stayed for extra support sessions to catch up. Once the quilting and binding was completed, the rest of the jumpsuit was relatively simple, and the support module and semester 1 really helped me when it came to inserting zips and pockets, which were both used in the jumpsuit. Where I added the quilted panels into the seam, it became really thick to stitch through, so I also had to leave the edge un-overlocked.
Joining the two halves together went rather well, it was a back seam. I then added the zip at the front, which was a chunky zip. Because it was an open ended zip, I couldn't sew across the bottom. This created a pucker at the bottom, which wasn't attractive. I put a small hand stitch in the bottom to try and fix this- it made the situation better but didn't completely solve it. It wasn't visible from the outside, just the inside could have been a bit neater.

I were to do this again, with the experience I have gained, I would definitely take more time to make it to the standard I want. I am pleased with the overall appearance, however I feel I played it safe with the coloured panels. They were just big sections, which did work well with the detailed quilting, but perhaps alternating panels, such as on the trousers, would have created a more interesting approach. 
This garment and the design process was a huge confidence builder- my techniques and skills really improved. Also my ability to deal with things going wrong had to be put to the test- I would usually get flustered and annoyed quickly, however I tried to remain calm and just get on with, tackling any problems head on. When putting the jumpsuit together, visually things didn't work as planned, such as it was unnecessary to have a sleeve as the quilted panels covered it up. The jumpsuit without the sleeve worked rather well, showing a small amount of shoulder. The cuffs also seemed rather  pointless, and in fact it was hard to do any sort of cuff on Amber’s side due to the quilting being so thick. 
Creating this was a positive end to the first year, and I was very proud at how complex the garment looked! I cant wait to put my skills to the test next year and produce some more exciting things.