Fashion Incubator » Contest and Projects http://www.fashion-incubator.com How to start a clothing line or run the one you have, better. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:36:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 A homeless coat pattern http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/a-homeless-coat-pattern/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/a-homeless-coat-pattern/#comments Tue, 13 Dec 2011 23:24:29 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=10537 carols_hcoat_image[This post has been amended, the problem is resolved. The pdf download is now available.] This post should have gone up well over a week ago but it's been one thing after another -which I'll tell you about later and hopefully someone can help solve a recurring problem (amended, since resolved). Carol Kimball and Carol Phillips (they refer to themselves as the Carols so I will too) designed a simple coat pattern that can be used to make coats for the homeless. The hooded coat folds up at the bottom when sleeping to keep the feet warm and it has sizable inside pockets that can be used to place insulation or belongings. For now, you can get the instructions on how to make the pattern and how to sew it on their site. You are encouraged to freely distribute their pattern and instructions provided it is not sold and credit attributed. I'm sure they'd also like to know if you make any so do write them. With the intent of making this easier to distribute, I created the pattern in StyleCAD. If you have access to the software, you can download the file. There is an AutoCad version (dxf) or even, a pdf download of this pattern (40 pgs, >120kb) if you don't want to make your own. We were trying to convert the CAD file into pdf so it could be tiled for print out for people who had neither option. As it turns out, that is easier said than done. Jasonda volunteered to do the considerable work of it but it will be awhile. There are instructions on the web but they involve tracing one's pattern on letter size paper and scanning in the pages. That seems like entirely too much work especially since we already have it in digital format. I also found a site that offers a tiling service for oversize artwork but I haven't been able to get the uploader to work. So, if you have better information on how to convert a digital CAD file into a tile format for printing on desktop printers, that would be lovely. I have CS5 but it hasn't been much help thus far.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/a-homeless-coat-pattern/feed/ 24 Review: Patternmaking by Dennic Chunman Lo http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/review-patternmaking-by-dennic-chunman-lo/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/review-patternmaking-by-dennic-chunman-lo/#comments Fri, 02 Dec 2011 23:12:17 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=10463 patternmaking_dennic_coverToday's review is another recently published book called Patternmaking by Dennic Chunman Lo ($26). Be sure to read through to the end because I'm giving away a free copy of this book to one lucky visitor! Also, the publisher is promoting a significant holiday discount on all titles in their catalog for UK buyers. US buyers already get the discount courtesy of Amazon. This introductory text is an excellent tool for designers, and oddly enough, particularly for those who don't intend to make their own patterns. I think there is a big hole in the market for a book that fills that gap. The reason being, many designers want a better understanding of the relationship of shapes and how these are incorporated into the body of a garment. See this example that shows the outline of pattern pieces on the body so one can understand construction relationships.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/review-patternmaking-by-dennic-chunman-lo/feed/ 75 Pop Quiz: notching challenge pt.2 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/pop-quiz-notching-challenge-pt-2/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/pop-quiz-notching-challenge-pt-2/#comments Sat, 19 Nov 2011 00:01:43 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=10364 the challenge. No matter, what we got was useful enough. Our first submission was from Sharon Denaro, a production patternmaker with over 20 years of experience, she's new here so say hi (Hi Sharon). Second was Lisa Blank, enthusiast extraordinaire and last was me. Being that I'm in charge, I'm going to call a winner. And that would be Lisa. ha ha. 50 years of experience loses out! Now I'll show you why -based on the earlier entries on notching and from my book, you know that the fewer the number of notches, the better. If you use too many, it confuses stitchers and annoys cutters. Annoyed cutters will "forget" to notch a pattern with too many notches so your stuff may not be sewn as you had anticipated. Here's the notch count:
  • Sharon: 10
  • Lisa: 8
  • KF: 13 (embarrassing, eh?)
Notches aren't the whole story of course. Let's discuss the finer points by introducing the entries:]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/pop-quiz-notching-challenge-pt-2/feed/ 18 Pop Quiz: notching challenge http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/pop-quiz-notching-challenge/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/pop-quiz-notching-challenge/#comments Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:54:39 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=10348 In keeping with the recent theme of notching maps (part 2), do you recall the bag series I'd published maybe two years ago? You can go to these search results and scroll down for lots of pictures. Today I want to use the back side of the bag as a notching challenge (image at right). Figuring out where to place the notches on these pattern pieces is more difficult than you might think. In fact, those who have taken a class with me will recognize this challenge right away. I have provided a sample pattern of the style, cheating would be to look at this one (cheating is encouraged). If you are confident and want to give yourself a bigger work out, use this one. Either way, you'll need larger pieces to work with so that file is here. You can print these pieces, lay them out and figure out where and how they fit together. Keep in mind that these pieces match exactly so if seams aren't lining up, you have the wrong piece. Which is the point of all this. You need to design a notching system that will make joining these pieces error proof.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/pop-quiz-notching-challenge/feed/ 7 Paying your dues: Men of the Cloth http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/paying-your-dues-men-of-the-cloth/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/paying-your-dues-men-of-the-cloth/#comments Thu, 01 Sep 2011 23:35:37 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=9974 italian_tailor_film Vicki Vasilopoulos is the producer of Men of the Cloth; a documentary of the fascinating work histories of three Italian master tailors.
... starting in the mid-20th century, in the wake of the growth of ready-to-wear clothing and the industrialization of the tailoring trade, many of these Old World artisans had to abandon their beloved craft. Italian tailors were forced to leave their towns and even their country, and to forfeit their dreams in order to work in factories. They were casualties of the industrial advances and global economic changes which continue to the present day. MEN OF THE CLOTH is a film about how these master tailors are navigating their challenging role in the 21st century.
]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/paying-your-dues-men-of-the-cloth/feed/ 20 Casting calls for All on the Line and more http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/casting-calls-for-all-on-the-line-and-more/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/casting-calls-for-all-on-the-line-and-more/#comments Mon, 06 Jun 2011 21:52:19 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=9537 All on the Line writes to announce casting for the second season. I haven't seen the show but some people like it. I went to the site and saw two F-I alums. Yay us! Mr. Grabner says:
Joe Zee is looking for New York based fashion designers to work with on the second season of the Sundance Channel’s “All On The Line”. Joe will work one on on with each designers and help them prepare for a buyer meeting that he has arranged. If you are in the New York area and would like to work with Joe Zee please contact allonthelinecasting@gmail.com
If you are a forum member, Mr. Grabner requests that you contact him using the contact information and email address listed here rather than the one posted above. ]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/casting-calls-for-all-on-the-line-and-more/feed/ 5 The Elements Survival Coat http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/the-elements-survival-coat/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/the-elements-survival-coat/#comments Thu, 03 Feb 2011 23:57:01 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=8572 Photo courtesy: Brittany Thomasson survival_coat2It's been bitterly cold here, 11 degrees below zero (Fahrenheit). Rolling blackouts of gas and electric service led the NM state governor to declare a state of emergency. Many of the pueblos are in dire straits. It has never been this cold here in recorded history. Which reminds me of a project I meant to tell you about; it's called The Empowerment Plan and it was started by Veronika Scott. I first heard of Veronika on Morning Edition. A junior studying at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, she's designed a self heating waterproof coat for homeless people that converts to a sleeping bag at night. Although she's garnered the support of apparel producers like Carhartt (they donated materials and machines to start) she's poor herself and could use a hand if you're inclined to help out.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/the-elements-survival-coat/feed/ 12 Trenchcoat Design Contest http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/trenchcoat-design-contest/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/trenchcoat-design-contest/#comments Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:58:14 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=7266 cotonniersHere's a perfect project for you if you have some time -July is either feast or famine around here- a trench coat design contest from Comptoir des Cotonniers, the French retail chain. From the site:
...Comptoir invites all women to reinvent the Comptoir des Cotonniers trench coat. A customization challenge, in which imagination is key to this competition focused on creativity and originality takes centre stage, giving women the chance to freely express their personality! Create your dream trench coat, bring your ideas to life, give free rein to your desires, and send us your craziest, most playful, off-beat, daring and ingenious drawings! A jury made up of fashion journalists and designers will choose their favourite trench coat. The lucky winner will be offered a gift voucher worth 1000€ (or 1250 $, 850 £, 4600 AED, 1400 CHF) to spend in their Comptoir des Cotonniers store.
The caveat for many of us is that Comptoir doesn't sell online. Most of their stores are in Paris but there are three in NY. If interested, see the rules (pdf) and download the application (ditto). Applications must be received -by snail mail- before September 6th 2010.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/trenchcoat-design-contest/feed/ 8 Valerie Mayen on Project Runway! http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/valerie-mayen-on-project-runway/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/valerie-mayen-on-project-runway/#comments Wed, 14 Jul 2010 16:48:17 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=7248 Valerie Mayen (Yellow Cake Shop), has been selected as a contestant for the upcoming season of Project Runway. Fashion-Incubator member Valerie Mayen is a contestant on Project Runway! Above is a photo of Cindy Dishmey, KM and Valerie Mayen (left to right). This photo was taken at the farmer's market November 2009 in Las Cruces NM when they'd come to take my production pattern making class. And if you're wondering, yes, Valerie was a pleasure to teach and a gifted student. I believe she also took classes with my colleague Heather Menzies, another reputable pattern maker in the industry. The list of this season's contestants is posted here... Ohmiword! Looking over the list, I see that we have two more this season! Another frequent contributor to our site is Kristin Haskins Simms (most notably in this thread). The last PR contestant has participated on Fashion-Incubator regularly but used a pseudonym. As such, it's not appropriate that I disclose their identity. Well how cool is that? F-I has three contestants this season! After five years, I guess we're doing something right in the way of nurturing emerging design talent. Congratulations Valerie, Kristen and Anon, we'll be watching your progress closely. Make us proud and break a leg!]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/valerie-mayen-on-project-runway/feed/ 16 LEDing fashion http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/leding-fashion/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/leding-fashion/#comments Thu, 22 Apr 2010 21:04:29 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=6573 ledingfashion Ha ha ha. Isn't that funny? LEDing Fashion? You know, fashion with LEDs, ha ha ha..? Okay, it wasn't funny. So what's new? For me, writing titles is harder than writing entries. Today is one of those days when ADHD gets the best of me, thanks in part to Marie-Christine who sends word of the built-in turn signal bike jacket. I can tell you right now that as great as this product is (largely still in the DIY/concept stage), it's not going to go anywhere without a cool-factor name to market it. As one could surmise, this conceptual rendition was invented by an engineering wonk (Leah Buechley) who stubbornly persists in naming things descriptively by function and utility (not that we know anyone else who does this). It's a good thing she's got a solid gig at MIT because she wouldn't last five minutes on Madison Avenue. If so inclined, you can make one of these yourself, courtesy of a tutorial posted to Instructables. It would be helpful to have the kit which Ms Buechley sells on her site. She also provides a series of basic electronics tutorials that are useful to build things. Her site includes an extensive list of DIY projects related to sewing+electronics/math. I think the math bags are a great way to combine math with art and craft. She uses a graphing calculator and a laser cutter to make those. I had no idea there was such a thing as a desktop laser cutter. Hers is not much bigger than a desktop laser printer.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/leding-fashion/feed/ 16