Mondrian Menswear
Posted on Wednesday the 22nd March 2017 by Duncan Carter
This month marks my first attempt at carrying out major
alterations to a pattern, to create my own design for a special garment. Bring
on the leather piping!
We’ve all seen the classic Mondrian inspired YSL dresses from
the 60s… a speed-sewn version was even featured on last year’s Sewing Bee. I
wondered if I might be able to one day create a menswear counterpart,
introducing the iconic colours and block style to something for my own
wardrobe. I got myself a selection of different coloured Jersey Fabrics, metres (and
metres!) of black Leather Piping and took my lead from this McCall’s Sewing Pattern.
Mondrian Menswear
First, I did a few colour sketches to work out the arrangement
of the panels and once that was decided I got started creating the pattern
pieces.
The original single pieced front was going to become three
pieces of varying sizes. This posed a challenge because the new front design
was not symmetrical. After some careful note-taking and double checking of the
maths, I used some pattern paper to make up my new pieces. I even added my own
notches to help line everything up after cutting!
The idea was to use leather piping on every seam to replicate
the black lines from the Mondrian dresses. This was a two part process - first
stitching each piping piece to a single layer of jersey, then overlocking the
layers together to sandwich the piping within each seam. It wasn’t as
time-consuming as I had expected - I had a sort of production line going from
sewing machine to overlocker.
You may notice on the sketches that this was initially going to
be a hoodie and feature a patch pocket but I decided against the pocket quite
early on. It broke up the effect of the strong vertical lines down the front
and introduced too much yellow!
The hood made it a little too sporty for my liking and almost a
bit junior. So in the end I opted for a simpler shape to keep the focus on the
seamlines.
With the complicated bits done, I pinned the side seams together
for a fitting. It was a little tight, so I added a small panel of black jersey
up both sides to add a little more room.
The hint of yellow on the cuff nicely finishes off the Mondrian
colour scheme. Overall, I think this is a really versatile top… quite sporty
and casual if paired with jeans and converse but totally dinner appropriate
when dressed up!
I normally do my photos somewhere private but I was feeling
brave this month so we ventured out onto the plaza at Canada Water which is
always filled with skate boarders and shoppers. I love all the grey stone and
thought it would be a great contrast to the bold colours and strong lines of
the garment. Add in the hustle and bustle of the plaza and we got some cool
photos!
This was my first time doing any real kind of pattern drafting, and the side panels were free cut. It’s not that scary after all! I hope this inspires more sewists to get creative and break away from the rules of the pattern.
Next month I’m turning my attention to the bottom half… for a change!
Until then, happy sewing!
Duncan
xx
Sewing Angela said:
I just love your makes Duncan. You are sew talented.I do my photos at home, alone in private.need to gather courage to venture outdoors! · 4th Apr 2017 10:25am