Attempts at designing clothes I would wear

[Queen Elizatits]

It's pretty daunting posting in this forum, SZ has such a range of incredibly talented people. I really like DIY posts and I thought maybe other people mind like to see some exercises from an amateur.

Background I have no training in sewing/fashion minus a week of home ec in high school when I was supposed to make a pin cushion but I couldn't figure out how to wind the bobbin. Also I am blind in one eye and can only see shapes/colors, other eye is a bit better but I think it probably influences how I work on things vs other folks.

I started sewing a few years ago when I wanted some durable desert appropriate running leggings. From there I made some things for friends on another message board (I know some of them post here too so if you read this hi guys!). I really enjoyed sewing but I discovered I had an incredibly hard time reading patterns so I started drawing out how I wanted things to look by making patterns first and then going from there. One other thing I may mention is that I absolutely adore Rick Owens, I hope nothing I post comes across that I am trying to imitate him but I will certainly not lie and say he hasn't been a huge inspiration to me, his clothes make me happy.

And here are some recent attempts

I really want to learn draping, I haven't yet figured out how to pin fabric to a form and then recreate those drapes but one day I will. Here is my progress on making a draped front skirt.

I use whatever materials I have lying around and this skirt certainly demonstrates what a huge difference changing fabrics make. This was labelled as medium weight ITY. Aside from the butt looking like it is eating the fabric I do like this one


Heavier weight knit with an altered pattern, I don't like this it looks like an apron


Same as pattern 1 minus the butt in a heavier weight knit.


Lightweight jersey with no back seam


Slightly changed the front draping



Folds and drapes in everyday fashion is my favorite thing and I keep coming back to it, I made this first shirt over a year ago and I hated it. Having found it again I actually like it quite a bit now minus the sleeves, the draping itself is nice.


I don't like draped clothing items where the person wearing it has to create the drape by twisting the seams around themselves, that seems like too finicky. My goal from here on out was to create the folds without relying on a twist.


This shirt is a very lightweight mesh, it's too layers to try and stop it from stretching out the folds


Same pattern, heavier fabric


I didn't like this fabric at all for this, way too stretchy and thick. Shirt is interesting but not what I wanted


More pictures next post

[Queen Elizatits]

Next hoodies, I really enjoy making hoodies

I think this was the first self drafted thing I ever made, this hoodie is as old as I have been sewing. I don't get to wear it too much now that I live in Texas but one day


Same idea but with flatter side seams


Same idea but the other way, mostly curved seams


Work coat inspired


This is a slimmer fit and is too big for the mannequin, ideally the sleeves would stack evenly and it would nip in more on the sides.

I'd like to remake this in a fleece. I used something labelled 'scuba' that looks a bit like neoprene.


Finally the project that inspired this post. I have a really specific idea of what I want these shorts to look like but so far I haven't been able to translate it into a pattern. Here are most of the drafts of these shorts

Some of the patterns are missing because I ran out of paper so I started cutting up old patterns and taping them together to make new ones. At one point I realized that I was spending hours and hours on pretty minor points to make something that is pretty specific to what I want and that most people won't like. That was a bit discouraging and I shelved it for a bit.

What I want are a sarouel type short, I know there are a million options for drop crotch shorts out there, it's the crotch that I have the issue with. I hate the look of shorts with too much fabric in the crotch. I know it's possible to make sarouels without it looking like you pooped in them and that's my goal. I also hate shorts that have diagonal lines pointing to the center seam. Fabric makes a huge difference in these I've discovered, what looks alright in jersey looks absolutely terrible if you use a stiffer fabric like terry cloth.

A pattern with no center seam, I don't mind these, they are okay for wearing around the house


I like the back of these, the front center has too much fabric


This pattern is completely independent of all the other ones, I kind of like these, there are dart pockets which was a fun thing to learn


So far this is the closest to what I wanted but I think a lot of that is the fabric, this is a lightweight jersey so that eliminates a lot of the too much fabric feel. The downside is they are flimsy

[Queen Elizatits]

These shorts were all early drafts and I don't like them, just including for honesty of process

Heavyweight suiting material


Too much material in the front and back center


Legs are too wide


Waistband


I actually don't mind these too much but they are more like Bermuda shorts


This is when I decided to stop using elastic in the waistband

[matglenn]

I really like the second skirt from your original post, nothing wrong with aprons :^)

[zen dog]

I admire your efforts Queen Elizatits. It is good to do projects by just figuring things out yourself. You may reinvent the wheel but you've come to it through your inquisitiveness.Then get some structured education to advance much quicker than on your own. I recommend the film "V" the life of Valentino. It is a wonderful on its own and there is a scene where he just drapes fabric over a model and starts cutting to design a dress.

[drusts]

Wow! Some of these are really nice. I've always wondered how can someone drape & make it look good. All I can do is taper some old jeans to fit me, but I have always wanted to learn more. I guess I'll have to pull out my tools and try making something.

Love the hoodies and the super long shirts. Neoprene one looks so good!

[EstherK]

I love the set of dress!