Scrap project

 This project came about as a way to use the tiniest scraps of fabric left over from my graduate collection. I knew that I could easily use the larger pieces, but wanted to do something more creative for the rest.

For the dress, I started off by sewing scraps together at random to see what kind of shape was forming, adding to it until I had the silhouette I wanted. I then went in and added straps and suppression using leftover cord and crocheted the gaps in fabric to create a large net hem.

The jumper was made from everything that was left after this. I laid all of the pieces of fabric out on my floor and arranged them into a rough rectangle, then pinned taped and tacked the sheet together until I could carry it to my sewing machine to secure everything. There was a circular gap in the middle due to the shape of one of my pattern pieces, which stood out to me as a neck hole. I tried on the piece using this neckhole and it looked like a jumper! I added side seams and crocheted sleeves, a high neck and a ribbed hem to finish the garment.

For the shoot, I wanted to base the concept around the ideas of heritage and family, so chose to use my Mum and me as models and my Step-Dad (who happens to be a trained photographer) behind the lens. We shot in the garden of their smallholding in Langholm, the town where my Mum’s family has its historic roots and where she now lives.