Craft and Hobby, are not necessarily the first words one thinks of when you mention fashion design. However at this year’s CHA convention in Anaheim, CA, I found many interesting craft techniques that can be used in fashion design. Creating garments is a “craft” in and of itself and is considered to be a hobby, for many creative people.
The fashion design process is all about experimenting and asking yourself questions to provoke your mind to think in ways it normally wouldn’t. For example: If I have a foam paper plate, I might put my finger nail into it and see that it makes a distinct mark. Now I might use other objects to see what types of impressions I can create. Then from there I could create a design in the plate, from those impressions or even added objects on the surface of the plate. I might choose to then paint over the plate and use it as a print, or stamp for some basic fabric. This is just a brief example of one way to manipulate fabric using craft like techniques, to create your own original design.
I also found an interesting product to use on velvet fabric and possibly others as well, which is where the experimenting comes in.
You use this product on the wrong side of the textile, and create a design on the fabric. Once you have your design completed, you then let the textile dry and then proceed to wash it. During the washing process, the fabric releases its velvet in the area where you created the design. This technique could be used for many different applications in creating new textile patterns, prints, designs, and original work. All it takes is a designer…. aka…You…to take it to the next level!