I'm Going Back to School......

.........Homeschooling that is!!!!  I've been having an itching to learn draping for a few years now.  I purchased a few books on the subject over the years to aid me when I decided to embark on that journey. Well I feel like the time has come and I'm ready to get started.
 

 (my fave draping book)

I was interested in getting more formal instruction and sought out a local college where I could take a class or two. SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design is a prestigious art school right in town. I've visited the campus before and was able to get into the sewing/draping room a few years back (I gave a SCAD Fashion design student sewing lessons for a while). I'm quite impressed with the school and as most of you know 2 of the Project Runway contestants were SCAD alum. Well I thought I'd contact the school to find out the cost and after hearing their $3400 per class cost (with 2 prerequ's required).  I figured I'd explore some other options since I didn't want to devote $10K to my learning just yet.

So while I look into some other options (GSU, a private tutor, online class, etc) I think I'll take a stab at it on my own. I'd like to see how much ground I can cover on my own. Besides, I'm mostly self-taught with my sewing anyhow. So with that notion I'm jumping into it. Besides.......

Tonight I was watching a couple of Project Runway episodes online while reading my draping book (photo above). I was pretty happy to run across this advice.....

Such good advice! Just jump into it. You can still go back and build the fundamentals. I love this book! It's one of the best one's I own on the subject. Here's the table of contents. I'm hoping to work through each chapter and practice making each style of garment. Maybe one chapter a month? There are really clear and concise draping steps for each. Here are a couple of the pages......

I really believe understanding and studying the drape of fabric will help me tremendously with my sewing. The Fashion Insitute of Technology summarized the benefits quite well!!! As they suggest I believe draping will help me....

1. Recognize, evaluate, and execute diverse draping styles; 
2. Create original designs and patterns; 
3. Improve fitting techniques; and 
4. Interpret and execute specific silhouettes, styles and market trends.

   I love to analyze the design lines and how they translate into different fabrics. But I often don't have the sharpest eye at doing so. I'm very visual so being hands on and actually creating the designs will help me recognize the design lines of garments I see and how they're created. I would love to be able to look at most garments and figure out in my head what the pattern would look like (that's fancy dart work and all). I hope to use this info in my own design work. I've done some sketch work and look forward to one day bringing them to life:)

So I'll start with chapter 4---draping the front and back bodice and trueing the patterns. My custom dressform will be helpful with this. I'll keep you posted!!!