Last summer, I took some really fun Pre-College classes at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Why am I writing about it a year later? I don't know what to tell you. I really don't.
I took 3 classes: Fashion Construction, Fashion Drawing and Fashion Design. Each class was 3 hours long and met twice a week, plus homework. So between that and my internship, I barely slept last summer. But that's all fine and cool, cause I had so much fun at these classes! I would spend 10 hours a day, twice a week, at the campus taking classes, and I loved every second of it.
In Fashion Construction class, there were technically two projects. The first was this messenger bag:
We went shopping for fabric, but I (of course) bought fabric for a different project instead that I still have not started (of course). The main fabric on this bag was an old shower curtain (we think) that my mom found at a garage sale or something. I used it as a coverlet on the end of my bed, but got tired of it and decided it could have a third life as a messenger bag.
All the top-stitching was done in purple thread.
The class provided the pattern, and let me tell you, this bag is HUGE. And very floppy. I used it when I took another art class this past spring, which is why you might see some charcoal marks on it. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to use it.
The lining fabric is leftover from hemming some curtains.
And there's these really cute buttons I found at Fabric Outlet! There were about 4 or 5 in different colors, and I used 2 of them on this bag. There was this larger pocket on the inside front and a smaller pocket on the outside back.
The buttonholes were handbound because the industrial machines in the classroom didn't sew buttonholes.
I also used some kilt pins to shorten the straps after carrying it around and realizing that my lack of height made the length very awkward.
Here's the bag flat.
And here's the side. There's some more pockets on the side, but the bag is so floppy that things often fall out of them.
I have loved using the bag for some of those quick-grab-all-the-stuff-you-can-find moments before running out the door. It's lightweight and fits just about everything.
The second project was a knit top. It didn't fit me very well, so I did not end up keeping it. However, another girl in the class and I finished our projects before everyone else, so the teacher let us go to the thrift store and get some clothes to alter.
I got a short-sleeved chambray shirt, and green pinstriped shirt, and a lacy top.
I adored the chambray shirt, and it already fit me pretty well. It was just a little plain for my taste. I cut the trim off the lacy top and stitched it to the collar and breast pocket.
Collar stitched by industrial machine, pocket stitched by hand.
I trimmed the hem off the chambray sleeves, cut some rectangles out of the lacy top and sewed them onto the ends of the sleeves.
I also took the pocket off the green striped shirt and hand-sewed that to the sleeve.
Then I sliced the back in 3 places and inserted some triangles to give the back more of a swing shape. This doesn't look nearly as good on the dress form as it does on a person in motion, so sorry about that.
The middle triangle is the green stripes and the two sides are the lace.
(I'm pulling it a little to the side there so you can see what the triangle looks like.)
(and there's the lace triangle)
This shirt is one of my absolute favorites to wear. It's comfy, easy to wash, and so very me! And it's made from second-hand materials, which is always up my alley.
There are a two more posts coming with projects from my other classes. Stay tuned!
-Taft WK
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