September 2012
August 2012
what if tattoos just randomly appeared on our skin at key points in our lives and we had to figure out what they meant for ourselves
“
I had my father get sick when I was 22. And I was poor, alright. And my father had an ulcer, and it exploded and you know all these toxins get in your blood. And basically, my father died, whatever, 50 days after his ulcer. So I had a father get sick while I was poor.
My mother got sick when I was rich. And my mother, you know… I don’t really want to get into it, but my mother was sicker than my father. And my mother’s alive. My mother’s fine, OK? I remember going to the hospital to see my mother and wondering, ‘Was I in the right place?’ Like, this was a hotel. Like it had a concierge, man.
People don’t… if the average person really knew the discrepancy in the health care system, there’d be riots in the streets, OK? They would burn this motherfucker down!”
” —Chris Rock [video]
Bringing this back, because some people don’t seem to understand that there is a discrepancy in the quality of care among poor, middle-class, and wealthy people, NO MATTER HOW DEBILITATING THEIR RESPECTIVE DISEASES MAY BE.
(via cgdageek)
Fundamentals of Pattern Making: Pattern Notches
Alexander Wang, Resort 2013.
When a piece of fabric is first cut out, it has none of the markings that are seen on the pattern. For a machinist to sew these two pieces of fabric together effectively they need to know:
- How much value has been allowed as seam allowance?
- How do the two seams match to each other?
The way that a pattern maker indicates this information to the machinist is through the use of pattern notches.
Pattern notches are small marks made on the pattern to ensure that one pattern piece will match up to the pattern next to it. They can be used to show what the value of the seam allowance is, and can also be used as markers along a seam to make sure that the two pieces of fabric will come together correctly when sewn.
On a cardboard pattern, they will look like small indents around the outside edge of the seam allowance. You can buy special pattern notching tools that will clip this small indent into the edge of your cardboard pattern.
The notches that are made on the cardboard pattern are transferred onto the cut fabric by the cutter. This is done by making very small nicks in the fabric, only about 2-3mm. This is enough of an indication so that when the machinist is sewing together the garment, they can easily tell where the fabric needs to line up, and how much seam allowance value has been allowed by the pattern maker.
The images below from the Alexander Wang collection for Resort 2013 have been used to illustrate how pattern notches would be used to ensure that one panel will correctly line-up with an adjacent panel. Correct use of pattern notches are essential to ensure that the tension along a seam remains even and that fabric is not stretched as it is sewn.
Alexander Wang, Resort 2013.
If you consistently find that you reach the end of sewing a seam with extra fabric on one of the pieces of fabric, this could be caused by one of these problems:
- Your pattern was incorrect
- You did not line up your notches correctly
- You did not have enough notches to guide you
The example below shows how notches can be used to show the seam allowance value of 1cm. When cutting the small indents into the pattern it is important to:
- Cut only small notches in cardboard, to prevent tearing.
- Notch the side of a corner that will be sewn first.
- Notch only one side of a corner, to prevent tearing.
The example below shows how the notches are transferred onto fabric once it has been cutout:
The example below shows how the notches should line-up when sewing a straight seam:
The use of notches becomes even more important on curved seams. It is important to concentrate on the stitching line of the seam, and square out from the stitching line to make your mark on the seam allowance edge:
The example below shows how the notches need to match up in order to sew the curved seam correctly:
Look book images from Vogue.co.uk» Technical images by The Cutting Class»
