Upcycled garment
Maia Holder-Monk
Wellington High School
Year 11 Fashion and Textiles Technology
Teacher: Kylie Merrick
What do you get if you take tweed trousers, a suit skirt, a glittery top and your mum's 1970s jumper? In Maia Holder-Monk's case, it was an eye-catching dress and capelet, developed during a class unit on upcycling (making something new from second-hand or discarded items). Being accelerated to the Year 11 Fashion and Textiles course involved Year 10 student Maia in picking up a year's worth of knowledge and skills but she rose to the challenge and, as her upcycled garment demonstrates, completed a very successful year.
The brief for this two-term project required, in addition to recycling materials, that Maia's design reflect the inspiration of an influential designer. She researched eco fashion and famous designers and decided to reference the style of New Zealand fashion house Zambezi, and in particular their use of disparate fabrics and textures. Maia's client, her 12-year-old sister, wanted a dress to wear when she started high school, something that was versatile so that she could wear it in different combinations and it would still look 'fresh'. Maia says her sister's fashion style is quite different to her own which made the project more challenging, so a formal consultation with her client as to favourite fashion inspirations, colours and key wardrobe pieces helped her focus on suitable design ideas and fabric options. Another influence when considering ideas was that she had to work within a budget of $40.
Maia sketched six design concepts and suggested the type of fabric she thought would work best for each. After discussing these with her client, she decided to develop a T-shirt dress with origami-style diamond shapes on the front. Maia then sketched five development ideas, one of which also included a capelet from her first concepts. When they discussed these ideas, her client emphasised that she wanted the garment to be very versatile so Maia decided that instead of a T-shirt dress she would develop a pinafore dress, with a capelet as an attachable feature to give a more formal look.
During the holidays Maia went op-shopping and found all her material at a charity shop – a pair of grey tweed trousers, a charcoal women's suit skirt and a top covered with a glittery pattern. She found a top pattern in the classroom collection and adapted it so that it would meet the design needs of the dress and would fit her client. Maia tried a calico toile of the pieces on her sister then modified it to make the armhole looser, for comfort, and the dress shorter to suit her client's preference. She drafted her own pattern for the capelet and decided that having a bias grainline would enhance its shape and flow.
Maia took care in cutting the garments so that she could reuse zippers and buttons and, by unpicking all the hems, ensure she had as much fabric as possible. It wasn't until she was cutting the second trouser leg that she realised she had a problem – the front section of the trousers was shorter so her pattern didn't fit onto the fabric, despite her trying out many different arrangements. Maia's solution was to use some fabric scraps, given that only a small section of the garment would be affected by the grain going in a different direction, something she thought could give an asymmetric effect which would reflect the Zambezi style she liked – and, she comments, this did turn out to be very effective.
Before sewing the pieces, Maia trialled techniques to see which worked best with the fabric, sewing sample seams and researching how to make the 'origami' diamonds to decorate the dress. She experimented by folding paper to find the best origami 'look' then trialled three methods for stuffing the diamonds, opting to use a fibre-fill material (salvaged by her teacher before the company dumped it). After sewing sample diamonds in calico, Maia decided as a result of the trial to make them bigger, add interfacing to give a more paper-like look and keep the shape, and to sew each diamond to a piece of calico.
While sorting out the dress materials, Maia was mulling over what to use for the capelet because her sister wanted a loose-knit material but there wasn't anything suitable in the op-shop. The fabric issue was solved when she found at old jersey at home, knitted by her mother in the 1970s and not worn any more.
After starting construction, Maia realised that the front yoke was too short (because she had included the seam and overlocking fold when she laid out the fabric). She tried cutting down the centre and adding a panel but this didn't work very well so instead cut a new piece from the skirt lining. The design had included a pocket in one panel of the dress, to be made from the overlapping pieces of fabric, but this didn't fit width-wise so Maia decided to leave it out. When she made the first diamond, Maia found the technique she'd chosen didn't give the required effect so trialled other methods which would allow the glitter side of the fabric to show up. Having sorted this out Maia consulted her client as to which formation she preferred and how many diamonds she wanted.
Sewing the capelet was more problematic due to the risk of the wool unravelling, so Maia first tested cutting and overlocking the fabric to ensure she could work with it. She also made samples of the seam and hem options she might use. Maia mocked-up the capelet in a knit fabric to check that her pattern would work and tried it on her client. Finding that it slipped off her shoulders, Maia worked out three solutions to this problem and decided to put a dart in the back to pull the shoulders in. She says that as there wasn't much fabric she had to be very careful in laying out the pattern and in cutting it – her system involved cutting one piece of fabric quickly then running to the overlocker to sew it, then doing the next piece. While she was looking for sewing materials at home Maia found the wool used in the jersey and says that when she was cutting it up she was reminded of the 'make-do and mend' values of the 1940s wartime era – this inspired her to research the recycling of textiles in this era, to extend her perspective of the project.
When fitting the capelet, Maia discussed some of the ideas she'd had for fastening it. Her client was curious about the idea of a button attachment and Maia decided to include it to make the garment more connected as a whole, using recycled buttons of course!
Maia says her sister was pleased with the dress, with the capelet a particular highlight because, although she didn't really "get it" at the start, she thought it was awesome when made up. And the garment proved its worth as an economical product, coming in under budget at a cost of $26.
Having successfully completed the Year 11 programme – she created a muff with an inside pocket for her phone or iPod in Term 1-2 – Maia could have continued on the next year but decided to wait and do Year 12 Technology with her peers. She continues to work with textiles through the craft club run by her teacher every Monday lunchtime.
Teacher comment
Maia's project showed great innovation and a high level of finish, both inside and out. The materials she used were all contrasting in their characteristics which meant Maia really had to think about the techniques and construction processes that would get the best end result. You would never know that the materials were all recycled as the end-garments looked as though brand new. Some of the skills and knowledge were new to her, but Maia didn't let not knowing something stop her and took on the challenge to learn them. She understood the process of research and testing and trialling different techniques prior to undertaking the main construction. Applying critical analysis thinking and viewing her work with a different pair of eyes helped her make wise decisions and think laterally. Maia's sister was really pleased with the outfit and didn't want to take it off after being photographed. She was a very happy client.
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