The results of my little #fringefashionarypeek challenge were delightful, and I promised to share some of the highlights here. BUT FIRST I have a little bit of other shop-related news for you: The project bags are coming!! I know I’ve been saying that forever — sorry to tease you for so long! — but what I mean today is that they are literally here in the studio, at long last, and also in boxes making their way to the five stores who’ll be first to stock it: Tolt Yarn and Wool (WA), Fancy Tiger Crafts (CO), The Yarnery (MN), Fibre Space (VA) and Purl Soho (NY). It will be available in those locations and at Fringe Supply Co. as of next Wednesday the 19th at 12pm CDT. So if you’ve been eagerly waiting, set an alarm! Also, it’s now officially called the Field Bag from Fringe Supply Co.
With that said, here are 5 creative ways to use Fashionary, with tips from pros and amateurs alike—
1. Design sketchbook
Not surprisingly, the number one use of Fashionary, whether the sketchbook or the panels, is by designers for designing. It was pretty awesome to get to peek at the sketches of Michele Wang, Olga Buraya-Kefelian, Julia Farwell-Clay (above: top, middle and bottom) and so many others too numerous to post. But please go look!
2. Project planning
Many use Fashionary for helping them decide on and keep track of what they plan to knit and sew — some in the form of simple drawings and others with detailed notes and even swatches attached, such as @elizabethstreetstudio up top. @clairesounes has used hers to sketch out different options for a striped sweater. So in addition to her swatches of the different options, she’s exploring how they’ll look over the whole garment. That is THOROUGH.
3. Wardrobe planning
Whether you’re planning how to put garments together for the next season or your next vacation, this is a fantastic tool. One variation on the theme that I hadn’t thought of came from @bombasinedoll who uses hers to plot out how she’ll style garments for photo shoots.
4. Logbook
You already know I use the notebook to keep track of my queue, which gradually becomes a record of my finished makes. @annespicks is smart enough to also record pertinent measurements on hers! I started a chart once upon a time to help me keep track of relative measurements of different sweaters, and don’t know why I didn’t think of adding them to my Fashionary. (I do note gauge, after all.) I’ll be adding that info post haste. Another clever one is @thefibersprite, who sketches sweaters she’s spotted in the wild and wants to remember.
5. Freeing your inner artist
I know of at least two little girls who use Fashionary to give voice to their inner designer: the daughters of @nutmegster and @toltyarnandwool. But during the course of the challenge, it was also super fun to watch @anelementallife decide to give it a try, having thought she had insufficient drawing skills, and find that (as I’m always saying!) Fashionary makes it easy for anyone to draw well, allowing you to express what you thought you couldn’t. Sara quickly went from simply drawing a garment in her queue to plotting out her makes (with swatches) and envisioning garment pairings across seasons.
Bonus: Random artifact
I had made a mention to DG in the studio one day about Nutmeg’s daughter’s drawings and how it looked as if she were designing clothes for Wonder Woman. He replied that he was going to document the entire wardrobe of Golden Girls (he loves nothing quite like a Golden Girls reference) and I encouraged him! He wound up creating a cultural history of TV and movie fashion — from the the Dynasty outfits (and hairdos) above to the three Elizabeth Taylors and more. Scroll through his feed to see them all.
All of which goes to show: There’s just really no limit to how it can be used! Definitely go check out all of the great posts at #fringefashionarypeek. And although the contest is over, I hope you’ll keep using the tag. I love seeing your sketches!
Have a creative weekend and I’ll see you next week!
This summer, I took a felting class with Jean Gauger. In her class, we learned how to make a lightweight merino & silk shawl using nuno felting. I spent a long time looking through the design notebook/sketchbook that Jean brought with her. It was almost more beautiful than her finished garments. She uses her design book to sketch out her next project and to record measurements and materials lists. On some pages, she has a little bag with snippets of the different silks and wool she uses in her projects. She then makes a sample piece of felt that goes in the notebook as well, which she uses to check her shrinkage-sort of like checking gauge for a knitter. Jean also uses watercolor pencils to add color to her drawings-so they looked like little paintings! Truly, the notebook was so amazing to look at. You can get a glimpse of her beautiful felting sketchbook here on my blog. http://www.livingwithgotlands.com/2015/07/sharing-a-passion-for-felting/
Brilliant! I can really see myself using this as a wardrobe planning tool! Goodness knows, I shouldn’t be allowed to just dress myself without forethought….I mean, how many days in a row can a girl wear a tutu and rain boots??
What a great tool! So perfect to keep track of all the ideas that come to my head!