Before starting prototype No4 I realized that I really needed some form of horse at home. Making a garment that’s intended to be worn on a horse is tricky when you haven’t got one at your studio to sit on to try things out. Where there is a will, there’s a way. I had a large wooden saddle stand made especially for the job. I set up the ‘Tailor’s Hobby Horse’ in my living room with my saddle.
Minor tweaks were
made to the design for prototype No3 but in all other respects, prototype No2 was
built upon. This time making use of a heavy material to replicate the weight of
the waxed cotton and exploring the lining it to get an accurate idea of the
finished look and feel…
No1 was relatively easy, as I had already made this when I was at Bath Collage; the only difference being that it was in miniature. So the first step was to make it to fit me.
I was still battling
with certain elements of my design and decided to contact Joy (who was my
teacher at Bath collage) and see if she would be able to give me some one to
one coaching to help accelerate my project and complete the first prototype.
For me to be able
to transform my idea I needed to learn a whole new set of skills, so I enrolled
and became a student at Bath collage.
During my time
there I was taught the magic of pattern making. Learning to make my own designs
into working patterns.
As you can imagine, for someone like me who loves fabric, this was the fun and exciting part. However the fabric hunting process took a very long time. I searched high and low for different waterproof materials.
Time to build a
space!
I had been playing
with ideas for months and it was getting closer to my first big course on
pattern cutting and what I needed most was a workshop….
As with the idea for the skirt the name came from inspiration when out riding with a friend. I had been playing around with ideas for a name and knew I wanted it to include the word Habit, as I wanted to maintain a strong connection with tradition. But I was really stuck on what else was needed.
