May 16, 2007

Peanut Dresses - knitting has commenced!

It's hard to believe that I actually wanted to be a fashion designer at one point in time. In no way had (have) I the creativity needed for this profession, but fashion interested me, and I was into it for a while there in my early teens. Judging from my very simple, rudimentary sketch for my Create Along project, it's clear to all why it's just as well I let that dream die. (If I had any sense at all, I would have turned to shoe designing, but that's another lost dream for another day.)

Peanut Dresses on paper

I've improvised, tweaked, and winged several projects before, but this is by far the biggest designing project I've undertaken- on purpose. Somehow, I need to not only come up with an idea (or ideas, as the case may be), find yarn I like, and then turn that into dresses for a certain pair of twin peanuts.

Peanuts, in dresses

What's that, you say? Good luck? Thank you, I will need it! Because although I at least had the foresight to chose a very simple shape and line for the dresses, there's a lot that goes into designing! (Duh) Translating the picture and idea in your head to paper and then to an actual piece, is far more involved and labor intensive than you might think. I've always respected designers for their talent and ability, and this process has only intensified my admiration.

It took a while for me to settle on a design, but I've got it now, and after swatching and profuse mathematical planning (and readjusting), I'm finally on my way! I played around a little and came up with this little design-whatever (highly technical design term) for the non-hemline. I think it adds some visual interest, as well as (hopefully) some stability, so we might avoid the whole rolling up thing. Here's a glimpse of the bottom of PD1.

No, it's not a watermelon dress. You'll see.

"Do you think Aunty knows what the heck she's doing? Hmm..."

7 comments:

Marnie said...

I had to go over the post 3 times because I kept getting distracted by cuteness. CUTENESS!

Hang in there and don't be shy about measuring baby clothes to get your measurements right. I have no doubt that the final piece will be great.

Liz K. said...

I so hope you are successful, because I have been dreaming about knitting little baby sundresses, and believe me when I tell you, there are not a lot of good patterns out there.

Anonymous said...

So far So good, I LIKE IT. It is always a good thing to start small, learn and grow. Life is filled with lost dreams. That is the past, It's the present that counts. You have to have the two CUTEST subjects to knit for and inspire you.

Ruinwen Dagorielle said...

Aww so adorable! I really like what you've done so far. The colors are so fresh and pretty. :)

Julia (MindofWinter) said...

Don't underestimate your talents, Missy! I can't draw for poo, and it doesn't really matter. With practice and patience, you improve. I love your design concepts, and the peanuts kill me. (I especially love the last caption, where they are discussing your designing skills!) The colors and texture are wonderful. You're going to end up with some adorable pieces.

Hattie said...

It looks really pretty so far! I can't really draw stuff all that great either but I could care less. I can envision it and I'm close to fearless in what I'll try. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Unknown said...

You have a good eye for color--your choices look bueatiful side by side. Cotton classic has so many colors to choose from--I love that.