Exploring our connection to the past through hand sewing
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Hand constructing an 1860’s dress
This final project is also a journey into my own personal relationship with sewing and garment production. As costumiers, we focus on making costumes for performers. By making this garment/ costume to my measurements, it gives me an insight into the experience of the performers who we will produce costumes for, whilst giving me a possible glimpse into the past and the lives of those who made garments in historyy
Although my final dress may appear simple in style and design, I intended to create a garment that could represent an average woman's. The dress is practical and comfortable, constructed from wool and cotton, and worn casually or formally. Although it may not be 100% historically accurate, it has allowed me to explore how hand sewing can connect us to the past.
Link to my research sketchbook
This whole project was made using methods which i believe to be historically accurate, other than the use of a hand cranked sewing machine which was used on long seams the garment was completely hand sewn. I class the use of a hand cranked machines as hand sewing due to the physicality, unlike electric machines i am required to turn the handle that moves the needle my movements and rhythm are linked to the outcome and quality of the stitches even when being made via a machine.
I could have used an electric machine and then only used hand stitching for my finishings or claimed to have hand stitched when i had actually used a machine,As this would have no effect on the construction or finish of my project. this whole project is based on how hand sewing connects us to our past, it relighes on my integrity as a creative and researcher to follow my own rules for this project and to remain honest about my methods. However the premise of the project stems from my desire to create a garment that focuses on the process and not the final object.
Sewing is something that I was taught by my grandmother who was taught by her mother and so on, often sewing is seen as something purely feminin. But the past is a much different place whilst my grandmother taught me to sew my dad was taught to be able to mend sails and fishing nets ,like many of our relatives before sewing is a essential skill even if it has moved from being an essential part of our livelihoods to a past time.
A simple back stitch or whip stitch transcends the passage of time and acts as the thread woven throughout history.