How to design

[Daydreamer-girl]

I hope I may get some tips on how to design clothes myself, which is something I never have done before.

 

F.ex, I saw a beautiful tunic/dress in cotton (cloth) with small lace-borders in it. I thought maybe it was possible to make something similar in crochet.

 

But,as I said earlier, I have never designed anything myself (even though I have many ideas), so any help on how to to this would be appreciated

[sherryzzz]

Lily Chin's Couture Crochet Workbook is an invaluable resource.

http://www.amazon.com/Couture-Crochet-Workshop-Mastering-Fashion/dp/1596680083/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-1992871-4539869?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179518289&sr=1-1

[Daydreamer-girl]

Thanks..

Yes,I guess designing yourself includes a lot of frogging, especially for me since I don´t have that much practise.

I guess I better practise crochet ore, using patterns, before I try to design myself.

But I have so MANY ideas!

[darski]

if you can check out some European sites, you will see that they tend to say "use this stitch" to make this shape - schematic enclosed. That may be a good place for you to begin your designing. can you draw the shape you want to achieve and can you make the stitch you want to use make that shape?

 

Berocco, uses schematics and stitch closeups for many of their designs. it might be a place for you to browse for a while. You can see how it all comes together that way.

 

http://www.berroco.com/index.html

[Daydreamer-girl]

if you can check out some European sites, you will see that they tend to say "use this stitch" to make this shape - schematic enclosed. That may be a good place for you to begin your designing. can you draw the shape you want to achieve and can you make the stitch you want to use make that shape?

 

Berocco, uses schematics and stitch closeups for many of their designs. it might be a place for you to browse for a while. You can see how it all comes together that way.

 

http://www.berroco.com/index.html

 

Great! Thank you so much, I´ll check out the link

What other european sites are you referring to? I would love to see:

"use this stitch to make this shape- scematic enclosed"

[darski]

I'm sorry but many of the European sites I might visit personally cannot be posted here for copyright reasons.

 

I got them by following links but for the life of me I can't remember how

[funkyreporter]

I highly recommend Lily Chin's book Couture Crochet as was suggested earlier. She really takes you through the concepts of design and fit with some amazing suggestions and 'tricks' and this truly is an invaluable source for designing your own items or getting a better fit from patterns you're using - check it out!

[Daydreamer-girl]

can you draw the shape you want to achieve and can you make the stitch you want to use make that shape?

 

I don´t know how different stitches will turn out when I put them together in a certain way (pattern), if that´s what you mean.

[darski]

I don´t know how different stitches will turn out when I put them together in a certain way (pattern), if that´s what you mean.

 

Then start simply and use only one stitch. Find a schematic from Berocco and see if you can make that shape work to a size that would fit you in one stitch that you want to use.

 

You are looking at the long picture here if you want to be able to design wearables for many shapes and types. You need to develop your basic skills and increase your understanding of garment construction while you play with design ideas you have.

 

Funky Reporter has a good suggestion. Learn from the efforts of others such as Lilly Chin if you want to grow and improve.

[sherryzzz]

I've recently started designing wearables (after writing up patterns for felted purses and a scarf based on the MAM method), and what has helped me was to make garments from other patterns to learn construction techniques, and to do lots of swatches testing out stitches and combinations. I like the Drops patterns at http://www.garnstudio.com, or Jessica Tromp's site http://www.*************.nl, and Japanese or European patterns for inspiration because they have stitch charts and sizing diagrams. I like the way patterns are written in Katherine Lee's book Fabulous & Flirty Crochet www.sweaterbabe.com.

[Daydreamer-girl]

Thanks for all the tips!

[charitas32]

You could use the freeform template technique of getting an item of clotheing that fits you well and keep putting the crochet against it to see if it fits. I am half way through a top doing this, it has very weird arms though! i found it helpful to start with a waist band of motifs so i had a definate shape. there are some really inspiring dresses on the interweave crochet site

[Daydreamer-girl]

I need all the tips and advice I can get

 

I made a small dress not long ago where I made my own version of the skirt and sleeves. I used very simple stitches in a common way, but it got different from the original pattern.

 

I think the next step for me will be to learn how to make the shape of the clothing the way I want them to be. Right now, this is a big mystery.