Fashion Design For Beginners

I Draw Fashion

So there are two things I've always wanted to do. One is to learn how to draw. I am not interested in going professional with drawing, I just want something that looks like what I was aiming to draw and just want to do it for the fun of it. The second thing is I want to design clothing. I've been interested in clothing design since I was young with my Barbies. I would take time to perfectly match up their clothing and create full outfits. I loved paper dolls due the many fashions that came with them. I just loved fashion. As I got older my love of fashion grew stronger. In my senior year of high school I took a sewing class and would go to school early and stay late working on my projects. I just loved it so much. Man I miss those machines. They were vintage machines inside of tables and they sewed like a charm. Now I have a modern one I am not a fan of. We have some vintage machines here, but they need to be looked at I think. So for now I deal with my cheapo machine. I would like to get a second machine because it's compact and does the job of a large machine. This is the machine.

Janome 3/4 Size Hello Kitty Sewing Machine

The Janome ¾ Size Hello Kitty Sewing Machine. So why do I want this machine? First of all, let me tell you why I don't want this machine. I don't want this machine because it's Hello Kitty. LOL! I've just heard a read a lot of good reviews on it. Now the reasons I want this machine, for one it's smaller than your average machine. Sometimes I don't want to lug my full machine out, that sucker is heavy. So this would be perfect for that. Some people even just leave this machine on the corner of their desk or on a shelf for easy access. Another reason why I like the machine is it does the same basic work as a larger machine. I've read it can do some heavy-duty work, even better than some larger machines. Somewhere I read that it sewed through 4 layers of denim, but I'd have to see it to believe it. LOL! And another reason why I like this machine is it's portable. It can travel better than larger machines. Granted I'm not planning on taking any trips any time soon, but it's nice to have the option to take my machine with me. Also it would allow me to sew in different parts of the house. Stuck in the kitchen cooking? Take your Hello Kitty sewing machine with you to sew during cooking time. ;-) Here's my future sewing machine in action. LOL! 

Ok, so I got way off track here. So I would like to learn how to draw this year and learn how to draw fashion designs for the clothes I want to create. I think have a visual on paper will help me better than having it float around in my head. I've been watching Youtube videos about fashion design, but they honestly make it look to easy. LOL! I know it won't be that easy when I start, and I hate that. I hate not instantly knowing how to do something. But the people in these videos have been drawing for years so it's no wonder they are good at what they do. But its also upsetting because they are kids and I'm far from being a kid and I am starting from scratch. My mom and sister are good a drawing, but it seems that gene skipped me. LOL! Granted I picked up other skills they wish the knew how to do, but still I am bummed I didn't get the drawing skill programmed into my brain like they did. So here are two of the videos I found that give great tips on how to start drawing fashions.

So basically you just need as basic body design, but you can use a template to start out with. I have a template actually from an old toy I had as young teen. It was a fashion design kit that I actually still have most of the stuff from. I am using the main part of it as a light box. The template has three body types, and I have one other template my sister gave me from a kit she got years ago. But if you don't have something like that sitting around you can easily get a template online. Just search Google for fashion design templates. You'll get many options to pick from. And as long as you are just using them for your own purpose and not to upload anywhere, you can use just about any template you find to practice on. There are also great websites that have templates as well, just look under the croquis section of the sites for their templates.

Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain

I want to make some goals for myself when it comes to drawing. I think learning the basics of drawing is the first thing I should focus on. I was working from a textbook my sister gave me when she was done with classes called “The New Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain”. However, this book is old now and it's in it's 4^th new edition. I think this book will be enough to get me started, along with some drawing games I am using, to help me get the basics. And no amount of reading will help me learn how to do it. It will be more on me to practice and learn from my mistakes. I'm still too early on in the book to give my full thoughts on it. When I get closer to finishing I will let you know how I liked it and perhaps you can find a cheap version somewhere if you want to try it. So for now I will focus back on working through it and hopefully move on to fashion design. I don't plan on going professional with fashion design either, but I think it can only help me with sewing clothing rather than hinder me. :-) What do you all think? And to those who sew clothes for their dolls, do you plan it out ahead of time or do you just go for it and see what comes out at the end? Let me know in the comments. :-)

Michelle