Raglan Shirt

In this project, we were tasked with designing clothing inspired by early prototypes of the Vignelli clothing collection. We looked at their collection to source inspiration and base our designs on one of their quotes.

I based my clothing line on the quote:

Pattern Block

Before we started designing we created a bodice based on our personal measurements. This pattern block is like a second skin that fitted to your body. With accurate measurements in place, I was able to create the measurements for my prototypes.

Ideation

Something I’m passionate about when it comes to clothing is being comfortable. Initially, I had wanted to design clothing that uses color as its main selling point but I then looked into other features like adjustability. Because I was looking to make the garment something that I would personally wear the designs focused on comfort with the material being something incredibly important. The color choices are all colors that I would wear as well as some pallets that are of higher contrast.

Prototyping

When making the prototypes the hardest thing to get right was the fit of the sleeve. In my first prototype, I had issues with the armscye and the fit of the sleeve being tight.

After adjusting the sleeve’s fit and lowering the armscye I was closer to what I was looking for, but there were still issues. The second prototype proved to be useful, I learned that adjusting the angle for the raglan sleeve on the front and back patterns is what determines where the armscye rests.

In the third prototype, I got a comfortable armscye and incorporated drawstrings into the wrists of the sleeve and the bottom of the torso. I wanted to include drawstrings in the sleeves to allow for the wearer to adjust the fit to be the most comfortable or accessible. This allows the wearer to make wearing the garment something a little more unique to their own aesthetic. The drawstring at the bottom of the torso was found to be unwanted and a little awkward visually, so it was scrapped.

Something that I wanted to add later was a pocket that had two separate compartments, one through the sides and one on the top. To make this pocket out of as little material as possible took a lot to understand. It initially started at 4 layers of fabric, moving it down to 3, then to 2. This took many attempts and patterns to get right.

I also had tested the drawstring and installing the grommets.

Final Prototype

The final prototype is made out of fleece, making it warm, soft, and incredibly comfortable. I chose white and yellow for the colors because it’s a very bright and strong pairing, as well as being some of my favorites. The yellow in the garment also highlights the more functional areas, being the pocket and drawstring sleeves.