The photos below demonstrate the process. The sketch is for a collection inspired by futuristic architecture and the idea of a woman of the future. The look includes a cropped vest, a tank top, and a skirt. Once the illustration is complete and the design idea solidified, I create a technical drawing called a flat. The purpose of this flat is to inform the sewer about how the garment is constructed and where the seams and darts go.
I made a pattern based on my flats and sewed a sample. And this is where the fun starts – ideas turn out to be not that interesting or where I find a fabric treatment on paper may not actually be constructed in real life. There is a lot of back-and-forth – the pattern is corrected, flats are updated, sample is sewn again …
But, in the end, there is just fun and joy of being able to create something that did not exist, of being able to turn an idea into a garment.