Julian Roberts: Subtraction Pattern Cutting

This post is a bit late, however picture heavy so do enjoy!

Julian Roberts held a subtraction pattern cutting class at Winchester School of Art as part of Winchester Fashion Week. Being the enthusiast I am, I went along with a six meters of fabric and a sharp pair of shears.

The morning consisted of a talk and a live demo which was fascinating to watch. I was surprised how down to earth he was. I am not the greatest at explaining but here is my view of subtraction pattern cutting.



Live demonstration at the front of the lecture theatre. He used 3 metres of black and 3 metres of white cotton which to begin with looked like a duvet cover.



After a few holes and stitches came about this garment. What I admired most was he didn't know what he was making or what to expect the dress to look like.

  

My turn in the afternoon workshop. All I had to do was place the front and back block anywhere onto the sheets and cut the top layer. In the picture is the negative space that I have cut out of the top layer. Which then I joined up at the shoulders and side seams.

After 3 corresponding circles and stitching, I came to this result. Thank you Nicola for trying it on.
It was surprising how the garment looked depending on which sequence of holes I put it through. I'll upload videos later on to explain this properly as it may not make any sense at all.

  

Back view



subtraction dresses all hung in the middle of the studio

  

Bird's eye view of all the garments we all made under 2 hours. I didn't think too deep into my creation so it took around 45-50 minutes to complete it.



Another image of my garment



With the genius himself. Julian Roberts and I.