More curves and more chocolate, that is!
Michelle’s commented (two posts back) that the double curve in front and back might not be as good as a simpler design. So I played in Photoshop a bit more this morning, trying a single curve in back and front:
Here I like the front better than in the previous version:
In the new version the lines of the front are cleaner, and the eye doesn’t get thrown off track by the second curve.
However, I don’t like the back of the new version, because (a) it really seems too simple, too boring and symmetric, and (b) the curve still reverses at the 3/4 mark, aka the butt. It turns out to be surprisingly difficult to avoid a reversal point at the 3/4 mark, with a single curve, and still have it look good; so I went back to the double curve, this time smoothing out the lines a bit. In the original there is a little oddity in the curve that draws attention; in this version, it’s been smoothed out.
Here I like the drama of the top curve (this is a runway garment, after all), but the undulations are a trifle more smoothed-out and the reversal of the bottom curve hits a bit below center butt, so while it’s still there, it’s not quite as dead-on obvious as in the previous version.
I think I’ve also decided to make the curves of the side panels more-or-less parallel (they will look better that way), and make the side panel a bit narrower at the top, to make it less visible. I’m also going to make the under-collar a separate piece, which will give me some design leeway in color placement. This entails quite a bit of work in Illustrator, which I will probably do in the early mornings this coming week. The actual muslin will have to wait until later, perhaps after chocolate season. But that’s OK – Sharon and I had to cancel for this weekend, so I have plenty of time to adjust patterns and sew another muslin (or two!) before seeing her again. This next muslin I may make out of flannel, which matches my fabric more closely than muslin (I think, anyway).
…and, finally, in case you’re wondering, this is what 99 lbs of chocolate looks like:
Doesn’t look like much yet, does it? But it will, it will.
