Elective

Elective Photoshoot, June 2012. Replica of Queen Victoria's wedding dress. Photographed with Olivia's Elective, of Prince Albert's wedding outfit. (Photographs also courtesy of Olivia!)

The Lower Depths

This is the costume I made for the character "Actor" in The Lower Depths. I made the coat and the trousers, and then broke them down a lot to achieve the final look. I was also an assistant on this show.

Half Scale Janet Arnold

For this project I made a half scale version from a Janet Arnold pattern. I chose a 1887-89 day dress, and this is the bodice. It is made from Terracotta silk, lined with stripped cotton, trimmed with velvet and lace. The front pouch is made of a patterned fabric with stripped lining. The whole thing is lightly boned, and the seams are all hand bound (see last image).

Cappuccino - Busker's Shirt

This shirt was for the character of a busker, who played guitar throughout the play. Because of this, I had to subtly break it down enough so that it looked worn, and also ensure that it was not ironed during the run of the play (hence the crumpled look!). This shirt allowed me to practice finishes such as flat fell seams (including curved) and finishing a garment to look shop brought. 

The Europeans - Starembourg's Mother

This costume was made for a production of Howard Barker's The Europeans. I constructed the bodice on the stand and the sleeves and skirt were flat drafted. After making the garment, I had to break it down, which included shredding the skirt up and making a stain on the left shoulder (see second picture).

Waistcoat project.

For this project I designed, constructed and embroidered an 18th century waistcoat. I decided that I wanted my decoration to be very traditionally inspired, so I adapted an example of embroidery that I had found and hand embroidered the waistcoat, and the buttons. It is made from silk and lined in cotton.

Dancewear

For this project I made a catsuit. The aim was to produce a garment that would be suitable for a dance performance, in fit, construction and design. I made the catsuit in black jersey, appliqued silver stretch fabric onto it and trimmed it with a silver neckline. I learned a lot about different sewing techniques for stretch fabrics in this project, and how the techniques vary so much from sewing regular fabric.