Feb 28, 2007

Progress

After I've found my design inspiration, this sort of small sketch is often the next step.

Because I can't actually draw (seriously - I have a complete mental block in this area), it takes me quite a while to get a shape I find acceptable. My husband is quite a talented artist, however, so I often describe to him what I'm trying to do and he will bring it to life on the page. (Thank goodness for generous and accomodating spouses!)

So here I've laid out what I expect will be the shapes and path of the colors. My initial thought is intarsia, but Marnie's suggestion of short rows intrigues me as well. My primary goal is to concentrate the color changes in the midsection, starting with the lightest color for the upper body and ending with the deepest color at hip level.

5 comments:

Julia (MindofWinter) said...

I can't draw very well either, so I often spend hours and much erasing to get my sketches just right. I still find it really useful to do though, and I've even started to use watercolors as my friend Kat Coyle suggested. (Kat, like Marnie, can actually draw. Ah, the bane of being surrounded by talented friends!)

I find the idea of doing this with short rows really intriguing. I think one of Vogue's old back issues (and I mean very old) - may have some info on doing this. I can leaf through and see if I can find anything over the weekend if you'd like.

I love the concept you came up with. It's exactly what I imagined. Now show us some color! (Nudge, nudge...)

xox, J

Marnie said...

Cher,
I love pieces that use short rows in creative ways.

You know, one thing that might help you with your sketches is to find the silhouette that you like in a fashion magazine and trace it. Then just adjust the lines for your variation. Can't find what you want there? Check out the various sewing pattern companies (McCalls, Vogue, Butterick, Etc) and see if they have a similar piece. The great part about this latter option is that they also provide schematics of their pieces which will both show you the construction (loosely) and the fit.

I'm with Julia, I want to see some color, but I don't mind if it's in swatch; either in swatch or sketch form. (A little additional nudging) ;)

Cher said...

What, my mental swatch isn't enough for you? ;-D

I actually have a sort of template that I created for myself in powerpoint, if you can believe that. I'll see if I can save it in a useable form...

Joanna said...

Wow, I love this idea! As far as intarsia vs. short rows, it could probably work either way. The lines between sections would be cleaner with short rows (and personally I find them a lot more fun to work than intarsia), but incorporating the waist shaping might be tricky. I look forward to seeing your swatches!

Anonymous said...

I cast my vote for short rows and for me they are a lot of fun to do.