Heather Cottage Knits

Croquis

Sunday - Day Dreams of Summer

Daily UpdatesSarah Jane PitchfordComment

Sunday’s are, in my opinion, best reserved for pottering about. I seem to have picked up and put down half a dozen tasks today but have made at least a little progress with each. I spent a fair part of the day looking out of the window at a seriously grey day and hoping that thinking hard enough about summer might somehow bring it about. I worked a little more on my summer designs and, although the colours are purely for decoration and will not represent the fabrics that I will eventually use, I felt drawn to bright, summer colours. 

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I’m currently working on several new knitting and crochet patterns which I am loving.  Yet again I am being drawn back to this super chunky cable jumper as it both serves to ward off the cold and brings a sunny flash of colour. I hope to have the first draft ready for some friendly pattern testers within a week or two. 

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I have added a few things to my to do list and have a batch of post it note ideas to mull over. I have two new projects in the works which should be finalised in the next week so I feel all set for Monday morning! 

I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekends, SJ  

Saturday - Designing & Drawing Clothes

Daily UpdatesSarah Jane PitchfordComment
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For me Saturday is a half way house between the working week and the weekend; I start late, have a proper breakfast while I check the headlines, check social media then I set about having a leisurely tidy up and start to think about some new projects.

Without the structure that I impose Monday - Friday I tend to get on to the little sparks which haven’t quite germinated into proper ideas yet. One of my goals for January is to finally settle on my Spring / Summer designs. I have some sketches and vague notions of frills, linen, and some colour palates but nothing is set in stone. Saturdays are perfect for settling down at my desk with pens, pencils, and paints ready to get those fancy notions down in ink and paper.

Essentially, Saturday is a day of ideas and I am content just to make mental progress without having to end up with a finished product at the end of the day.

Drawing patterns has been a new experience for me. The amazing designs that inspire me so much seem so effortless with sweeping lines and drafted female forms. When it comes to making my own my first attempts were shockingly bad and I was more than glad that they were just for my eyes. I have since done some research online and have found so many amazing resources to help budding designers like me.

Step 1 - Get a template form, known as a croquis, and use this for every design, this will keep your designs consistent and will ensure that you’re covering all aspects of your design in each set of drawings.

You will need to find a croquis that suits you and the designs that you are making. There are two styles that I have found, one uses regular person proportions and the other is a more ‘catwalk’ style which elongates the form, this is supposedly better for showing off your designs. You can find templates and inspirations here: (NB: I don’t have any affiliations with these sites I just found them useful)

How to draw your own croquis

Get some ready made templates

Once you have your template you can be modern and make your designs digitally, or, like me, use regular pencils, paints, and pens for your designs. I have my forms on paper which I then trace when I make a new design.

Once I have a drawing that I like I go back to the drawing board and consider how to make this design possible. What fabrics will work to create that particular drape, how will the pieces be joined, how practical will the finished piece be to wear? My final designs come in three stages; the pretty croquis, the blue print style diagram with exploded detailed sections, and, finally, the pattern pieces sketches with basic joining instructions.

Over the next few weeks I hope to have my new designs penned and I will be happy to show these to you. As ever I would be interested in hearing from you about your experiences of drafting, designing, and of making your own clothes. Thanks for reading, SJ.