PROJECT SIGNATURE
French 50s and peonies
The journey so far has been exciting and rewarding. Currently I am wrapping up the very first muslin garments for improvements and adjustments before a wearable muslin will be made of all the garments. In this step all the sewing protocols will be written and stitching techniques and material qualitites will be tested and fine-tuned, before the final garments will be cut and assembled. Read on to see more of the process; go to the bottom of the page and move upwards to track the progress of the project.
Current step: Muslin 2
PROJECT Signature philosophy
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This couture project started in 2015, and is inspired by French 50s and peonies, my favourite flowers. There are 13 garments in this collection, a reference to the myth described in the book Perfume by Patrick Süskind. When a tomb was dicovered and they opened up the sarcophagus the most divine scent anyone had ever experienced rose up. 12 elements could be described, alas the 13th could never be determined. My research process is to identify the 12 essential elements of the idea for the collection or the person I design for, the 13th element has to be something special - an essential memory, a unique characteristic or relational aspect. The first muslin set for the collection was completed in April 2019 and now the second muslin set is begun.
Silk, wool and linen are the materials I will be using, since they are lovely to work with and ultimately wear. Their origins are references to my childhood in Azerbaycan and fascination with weaving techniques and construction. The silhouettes in the collection are feminine and soft, their tactile characteristics melding with the material and the garment’s movements when worn allude to my own character - standing on my own two feet, joie de vivre built on solid foundations. There is more to me than you see and every element is carefully handcrafted.
I aim to learn as many couture techniques as possible through this project, and each garment has it’s own specific challenge.
Garment No.11
Side Panel Skirt
Lightweight Egyptian Blue-like coloured wool textile, woven with differently yarn-dyed threads has a glassy transluscent characteristic. It reminds me of swimming, the light blueness of the sky just before sunset, another old Egyptian secret - the actual recipy for making Egyptian Blue pigments has been lost and only the elements present have been found. It is also a manifestation of the odour of fresh flowers after a day of spring raining. The bias cut side panels are like flourishing petals or fluid waves, the movement following the body off beat when walking since they begin approximately a 1/2 inch under the hipline. It’s like it’s dancing with me.
Materials from Saab Tekstil, Rainbow Tekstil, Rainbow Fashion, William Gee, MacCulloch&Wallis, Stoff og Stil.
MUSLIN 1
Garment 11
 This fabric resembles the blue colour on a sarcophagus I saw at the museum, it has a glassy, transluscent presentation, woven with blue and green threads, and has a lovely drape when cut right |  Inspired by the neckpieces of some old Egyptian garments |
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 Wouldn´t you like to have wings? I think this skirt will make me feel like I have them! |  The threads in this fabric are beautiful! Have to be careful with the grainlines to do the textile right |
 Corset structure planning; choice of suitable materials and sewing protocol |  It has to be a perfect match to function as intended when worn |
 Viscose crepe with watercolour flowers and creme silk satin |  Modified pattern after muslin 1 test, where the side inserts were too narrow and sat too far down on the side |
 Shaped to accomodate the high waist style and structured hip shaping |  The top of corset pieces widen to fit the lower parts of the ribcage |
 Canvas cut with no seam allowance, hence the loosely woven cotton fabric cut on bias to allow for flexible movement |  Cotton fabric attached to canvas, seams sewn in the cotton fabric and a flexible magic bias tape secures the edges of the corset pieces |
 Finishing the edges of the corset with catchstitches. The grosgrain ribbon at the waist is narrower at the top to curve gently around the body |  Thread-tracing all pieces before cutting with extra wide seam allowances, they are trimmed later. The shape of the pattern piece includes the width added by the side panel insert of the main fabric |
 Gathered by hand and cut to fit under magic tape |  The center and side seam placement must match for the straight grain and bias cut parts of the lining skirt to match the outer skirt width |
 This side is visible if the overskirt is lifted up |  Made to move smoothly with the body |
 This inner part will be covered in silk lining to protect the seamwork and padstitching |  Invisible zipper fitted to main fabric, and the end attached to both lining+corset and main fabric |
 Putting together the outer and inner fabric with corset, joined by the zipper |  As on all seams, these are small backstitches |
 Patternmatching to reduce "noise" when viewing the garment |  The lining is slightly larger than the area it covers to avoid strain when worn |
 This will feel so silky smooth against the skin |  I love the selvedge edges of fabrics, so I use them whenever I can |
 Softly textured hem fringe adds interest to the skirt |  Hook and eye with a piece of silk covering the hooks |
 Delicate details to the crepe viscose with watery florals |  Softly sculptured and fit for dancing. The side inserts of fabrics sit 1/2 inch below the hip point, which makes them flounce out offbeat with the hip movements of the wearer |
PATTERNMAKING
 IMG_7225 3 |  IMG_1749 2 |  IMG_6555 3 |
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 IMG_3497 2 |  IMG_6970 3 |  IMG_1958 |
 IMG_4673 3 |  IMG_1865 3 |  IMG_8209 |
 ADB6AC53-6CC1-4EA5-947C-E5534822057B 2 |
DESIGN
Sketching and fabric swatches
With such a vast amount of data to process, I first decided on the silhouettes i wanted. They served as the frame for the designs. Then I practiced drawing designs I had seen in the inspirational pictures and then eventually developed my own designs. Parallel to this I purchased the fabrics that went with the colour palette, and used the information I got from them to choose the most suitable garments to match the patternmaking choices. The final designs are thus informed by the visual research process and the textile material qualities.
The main fabrics chosen are wool, silk and linen.
RESEARCH
A three year long research period
I began this project in 2015, by defining my style and preferences, greatly helped by Anushcka Rees´ methods described on her website (she has later published a book that I highly recommend). Fine-tuning my wardrobe needs and colour palette, the structure of the garment composition became clearer to me. Pinterest was a great help, and probably saved lot of trees. I then decided which key items were missing, and shortened the list to 13 essential garment that would enrich my personal style.
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Why 13 garments?
Because of the most inspirational book I own; Perfume, by Patrick Süskind. Here, the mysteries of the greatest perfumes ever made is said to be a thirtheenth note accompanying the twelve essences, comprising the base, heart and top notes. I was not a stranger to the intriguing world of fragrance prior to reading this book. However, my interest escalated after, and I have based my ATELIER Meraki design strategy on the composition of a truly unique perfume as described by the perfumer Guiseppe Baldini in the book.
