tasks at work

As my team has been running out of things for me to do lately, I thought I would share some pictures of what I have been doing.  In the past week or so a lot of showroom samples have been coming in.  However, if something is wrong with the sample, there is not enough time to send it back for a new sample before review.  So, tech gets the lucky task of fixing all the details that are wrong.
This week I had to cut the hem off of a dress and sew it on (hand sew it!) to another dress at the waistline.  The dress was supposed to have a crocheted waistband, but it came in in an eyelet fabric like the rest of the bodice.

This is the hem I cut from the other dress.

This was then hand sewn to the bodice of the dress...

This was an all day task; took 3 hours.

When the people I work for don't need anything I also work with Anand, who does all the MMK jackets.  A lot of times he'll have me make exact copies of patterns for him so that one can be sent to the original factory and one can be sent to a new factory to see which comes out better.  Rather than trace the patterns he just does them on the copier and tapes them together.  I also have to copy the under sleeve pattern twice because he pastes it to the other side of the sleeve in order to make an entire flat sleeve pattern.

This week Danielle and I also had to take the trim off the pockets of 4 jackets for Anand.  We had to then hand sew another color trim on the pockets for showroom samples.

Only one more week to go!

knits vs wovens

The internship is getting a bit repetitive at this point, so I thought I would share what I have learned about the differences between knits and wovens.  I work with the wovens- tops, dresses, and pants (which includes denim).  Knits is a completely different area with it's own set of rules.
When measuring woven garments, the garments can be stretched a little to meet the necessary measurement.  They fabric gives a bit and it needs to be as flat as possible when measuring.  Knits are obviously stretchy, so when laying out a knit piece you have to be very careful.  In order to flatten out the knit garment, one should just pat it down flat rather than pulling or stretching it.  The measurements need to be accurate before any stretch is factored in.
The actual measurements are different for both too.  For example, all woven pieces will ask for circumferences: bust, waist, high hip, low hip, sweep (which is the bottom opening of tops or dresses), muscle (measured an inch from the armhole in the sleeve), forearm (measured six inches up from the sleeve opening), knee, ect.  On knit garments, the number is only half the circumference, so exactly the number you get when you measure flat.  It's kind of nice not to need to double the number for knits- saves me the math,  I was confused, however, the first time that I measured knits because I didn't know the numbers were halved.  Knits will also measure things by ribs, or the variations in type of knit.  For instance, a woven top will ask for the bottom hem measurement, but a knit may ask for the ribbed trim measurement because it is knit as a whole piece completely finished.

I thought I would also explain what the major measurements are on woven tops since I work with those the most:
Across Shoulder- measured from shoulder seam to shoulder seam
Across Front- 5" down from high point shoulder (HPS) (often 6" on plus sizes)
Across Back- 5" down from HPS (also 6" on plus sizes)
Neck Width- from HPS to center back to other HPS- a 3-point measurement
Front Neck Drop- from HPS to top of front neckline
Back Neck Drop- from HPS to top of back neckline
Shoulder Slope- measurement from line parallel of HPS down to shoulder seam
Bust circumference- measured from 1" below the armhole
Waist Placement- 15 1/2" down from HPS
Waist Circumference- around the 15 1/2" measurement
High Hip Placement- typically 19 1/2" down from HPS (on dresses)
High Hip Circumference- measured at 19 1/2"
Low Hip Placement- 23 1/2" down from HPS (on dresses)
Low Hip Circ.- measured at 23 1/2"
Body Length- measured from center back neck to hem

Pants have a whole different set of measurements, but I don't measure them often so I can't remember the numbers off the top of my head.
Hopefully more pictures to come soon!

a different kind of model

So I have realized in talking to people about what I do and see at work that people don't realize that fit models are not the tiny twigs you see on the runway.  At least not at Michael Kors anyway.  This week I figured I would fill you in on some information about fit models since it was a slow work week, what with July 4th and all.
Michael Kors uses fit models who fit in size 8 and a medium, whether that is pants, skirts, tops, dressed, jackets, anything.  Everything we make gets fit and most of the time a garment will go through mulitple fittings before it is approved for production.  We use a few main fit models at MK.  The models for Missy, which is normal sizing, are all size 8's.  However, we have variations of size 8's.  For example, Bess is on the smaller size of the 8 and Jillian is on the fuller side of an 8.  Because not everyone is the same size 8, the styles are adjusted to fall somewhere in between in order to accommodate as many customers as possible.
We also have a plus size model who fits every style that comes in plus.  Susan is a size 2X or 18W, depending on what garment is being fit.  She is very aware of the measurements she needs because the style has to still look congruent with the Missy version.  Susan is always asking our tech designers, "What did Missy do?" so she can help us decide how much needs to be added or removed in her fit to stay consistent.  Susan has to be very aware of all these numbers because the designers who actually create the looks do not come to plus size fittings.  Designers only come to the Missy fittings.  At the Missy fittings, the designers have a say in how the fit was intended to look and can change anything they want in fittings.  Our tech designers take in to consideration the designers' requests and they work together to find a way to make things work out the best way possible.  Then in the plus fittings our designers have to go over these changes with Susan. 
We have a petite fit model, but she rarely comes in for fittings.  I have actually never met her.  Ninety percent of the time, we don't fit petite.  The petite sizes are figured out with our set of grading rules.  We have mulitple sets of grading rules.  As everything is fit to a size 8, we must then use grading rules to grade the sizes up and down for the remaining sizes needed.  These types of measurements are usually only 1/4" or 1/2" increments.  To grade up to Plus, however, the increments are significantly larger.  For example, typically to grade from a Missy size up to Plus, the body length measurement of a top would increase by about 1 1/2 inches or more.  One and a half inches is not a lot in terms of incehs, but when working in fashion, it can mean a big difference!
Our fit models are also measured every season, so roughly four times a year.  We need to measure them and keep track of their major measurements so we know that our clothes are still accurate sizes.  While our models do not need to be the skinniest, most perfect models in the world, we still need them to stay a consistent size.    So if you happen to fit good measurements of average sizes, try your hand at fit modelling!