Functional 3D item: My finished corset style top and evaluation

Well.... it took me nearly twice as long as I planned, broke countless needles along the way, broke down the sewing machine and was a complete headache to create as I had to keep changing ideas as the original ideas were not being practical... but I got there eventually! The following images show the finished result of my 3D functional item for module two: my corset-style top- some being worn by myself and the close up pictures show it off me and flat. Please excuse my 'dodgy' jeans ;)



2/Functional 3D Item/1: Front view



2/Functional 3D Item/2: Back view



2/Functional 3D Item/3: Side view (right)



2/Functional 3D Item/4: Side view (left)

 

2/Functional 3D Item/5: Close up of back



2/Functional 3D Item/6: Close up of front

 

2/Functional 3D Item/7: Close up of right hand side

 

2/Functional 3D Item/8: Close up of left hand side

 

2/Functional 3D Item/9: Close up of lacing fastening

 Problems faced while making the top:

• As the pieced layers increased in numbers it became more difficult to stitch. The thicker it became the more needles were broken and/or my machine seized up and stopped working. This was particularly the case when sewing seams together. I tried to trim back the piecing seams as far as possible to keep thickness to a minimum but this did not make a significant enough difference and caused a few unintentional holes to appear that then needed fixing.
• Although the toile was a perfect fit for me, the techniques used on the final piece warped the fabrics and shapes a little plus each different type of fabric used had different stretch properties.... so the resulting corset style top was a little baggy under the arms than originally intended and slightly out of shape at the sides. I also found that the different types of fabrics were difficult to match together in the seams and as a result there were a couple of unintended tucks and puckers in the side seams.
• I tried to make the diagonal stripes on the back match up but in the end they were slightly out. I am not entirely sure how this happened but suspect I had accidentally got one piece upside down somewhere along the way!
• I found the printed lining I had planned was scratchy against the skin due to the paint on the fabric surface. I also thought it looked too busy with this extra pattern so in the end I changed my lining to a black satin which was smoother against the skin and allowed the other patterns to stand out more.

Changes made to the original design as a result of the above issues:

• As already mentioned, black satin was used as a lining instead of my own patterned fabric.
• I had wanted to put boning into the top to make it more corset like however because of the piecing techniques it was already very stiff and I felt boning would have made it uncomfortable to wear.
• I had wanted to inset frayed white fabric and black piping into all the seams. Unfortunately I was already struggling to sew the seams together at the thickness they had become and had to abandon my original idea because it was impossible to sew. I had to come up with alternatives so I decided to sew the side back to the side front as a standard hidden seam and the front and back seams to still have them exposed but to finish them by hand with a blanket stitch. This hand finish was the only way I could make the seams look good as fraying the edges was not working and a decorative machine stitch was breaking all my needles and nearly destroyed my bobbin casing on my sewing machine as a result. I tried some alternative hand stitches but blanket stitch in the end gave a more pleasing result and contrasted nicely with the fabrics.

How do I feel about the resulting conclusion?

Overall I am pleased with the finished result as a whole. It is not a million miles away from the 'Photoshopped' design I visualised before making it. I feel the front of the top is particularly successful. It is difficult to appreciate through the photos the textures on there and the 3D layering between the lighter top layers and the black fabric strips they contrast with. As previously mentioned it was frustrating that I was unable to realise all my ideas due to practical reasons, however I feel the solutions I came up with for the linings and the seams were effective in their own right. I can see many minor flaws that irritate me but others who have seen the piece in real life have not picked up on them so they cannot all be too obvious! The biggest flaw for me is the shape of the bottom of the top. The front did not come out as a straight asymmetric point like I planned. This was because of the difficulties I faced piecing the panels together. I covered up some of this flaw with the blanket stitching so although it did not turn out as planned it does not look too bad overall. The back was also originally going to be asymmetric but is a little too subtle. It was originally more dramatic than this but did not look so good on the toile so I toned it down. With hindsight it would have looked better kept as a more obvious asymmetric shape/point.

Is it fit for purpose?

I believe it meets the criteria, it is 3D and functional and I developed towards this idea using the theme and techniques required for this module. I am happy with the tonal effects I achieved on the front, especially knowing these were done to measurements that worked to the Fibonacci rule. 

This corset style top is wearable and fits me, although maybe doesn't fit quite as snugly as the toile did, especially under the arms/at the sides. The fastening (of the lacing I created) works particularly well and is strong and secure as well as looking the part!

If I was to make the item again what changes would I make to the way I designed and made it?

As with the benefit of hindsight I am now aware of the fact that the more layers of fabric the more difficult a seam becomes to stitch I might have engineered the design to have less layers at the seams. This would have meant a change in the way fabrics were pieced together so that there was less piecing at the edges. I would also consider more the fabrics used in the piece as their different properties and thicknesses caused issues along the way. I could have avoided a lot of issues if I had stuck to just using cotton fabrics for example.

The toile worked perfectly but the shape and style did not translate so well into the finished piece with all the techniques on there. If I had more time I could have experimented with piecing together samples created with the various piecing techniques to give me an idea of how these would affect the seams and shape. For example the decorated fabrics did not sit as flatly as the undecorated toile panels. This is definitely something I should have taken into consideration.

As previously mentioned I would make the shape of the bottom of the top more dramatic. In the end I played it too safe and could have exaggerated the asymmetric design much more.

Finally, I used decorative stitches to enhance aspects of the top such as the back edges and the front facing pieced seams. If I was to make the corset again I would perhaps make more of these as they do not stand out as much as I hoped- using a more contrasting thread would help.