GREAT TRAIN JOURNEYS OF OUR TIME

All great train journeys end up as epics. There aren’t many notable Great Train Journey’s which only lasted 5 minutes. Most wind their way through countries, across terrains, through valleys, mountains, plains, across rivers and have a definite start and end point, even if prone to numerous stops along the way. The journey is usually very enjoyable.

So we come to the story of this great train journey. This marvelous epic of idea, germination, collaboration, and destination. For at times, the amount of thought and thinking and planning and general idea procurement involved in this was trully epic, even if the final result shows none of that to the naked eye. Most of it was daydreaming ideas, perfect for long afternoons in front of a computer, or walks up to the park, or lying awake at night.

The travelogue reads as thus:
August - material procured.
September - dye procured.
October-November - a lot of thinking, not a lot of time to actually do, so lots more thinking takes place.
Early December - Fabric dyed. Patterns drafted and cut. Max does a drawing for his grandmother of a train with many, many wheels all connected with intricate axles. The collaboration seed is planted - how wonderful to bring my sons art to life through sewing!
Late December - pieces started to be sewn together.
January - final sewing, screenprint mastered and screened onto fabric.

And the final pieces. A gentle nudge was the catalyst for an experiment in boys clothes. I know many of you ask for it repeatedly, and I've been wanting to do it for a long time, but, well, boys clothes seem so fiddly, so detailed, so conscious. I've fought against that in my head a bit, because I don't necessarily believe they have to be, but I just couldn't find the right thing to start the process rolling to not be all that. The gathered tie pants have been so wonderful to make, and look so great on the girls, that I thought this could be the best jump into boys things. Add some wonderful dyed dark linen into the mix, and the worn, faded, slouchy style of boys clothes I was aiming for starts to form. The dye work is technically crap. Really. It's uneven, and patchy, and a bit splodgy too. But it has a wonderful lived in feel, tussled, sun bleached - perfect for linen. Perfect for casual gathered pants. Childish even. Very Boy. I actually like it's uneveness, and if I had perhaps intentionally set out to achieve it, it would have looked contrived. As soon as it had been dyed, I wanted to make a variation on the tunic tops I have been making Pia as well. I've had an idea in my head for about a year waiting for the right fabric to bring it to life. So pants, and a tunic top. Lots of gathers. Little details. Simple. Unconscious.

Max had been doing some drawings for my mother for christmas cards early in December, and kept on drawing (this rarely happens.....we took the moment completely) and added a very large intricate train to the days portfolio. The train had a lot of wheels on it, with axles connecting all the wheels to make them turn and go fast. There was a running commentary to go with this, as you can imagine. Max looked at his artwork and saw an all mighty engine! with whooshing noises! and smoke billowing out of the funnel! and axles turning really fast!! and engines being useful wherever you looked. I looked at it and saw **Screenprint!!!** written all over it. It's taken a month to bring all the pieces together, sit down and make them come to life. The final piece was the screenprints, and I am so happy with these. The print is simple, and energised, childish yet with a real elegance to it. Max would say I have ruined his drawing - he is a purist and would hate the idea of only part of the drawing being used - it is nothing if not the whole. I saw details and connections, the start of conversations with people I've never  met and their children wearing these trousers. I saw train drawings for boys, and I see abstract flowers on girl's clothes, all the same print. I see small buttons and large buttons made from each wheel and added as detailing.

I saw a train journey.

[These are just test samples. I would love to do more]

Comments

[Ali]

Thank you for sharing the process. From the sidelines, it can seem as if these things spring into reality fully formed. It is good to be reminded that all good thigs take time to come to fruition.

[kirsten]

lovely. using the abstracted drawing for the printing (got me thinking now...). the colour of the linen. the multiple uses and adaptation. lovely.

[kirsten]

oh. and now i get your new banner photo. :)

[stinkerbell]

I only have two words... choo choo!

[Angelia]

It is so great working with children and making things for boys. I have only two boys and it was always interesting to make clothing for and with them.
They are teenagers now and next week my son is doing a screen pritning workshop with me.

[Sarah]

Thanks for sharing the process too and what a beautiful outcome - I really admire your ability to combine understated elegance with quality in your work.

[sally]

Beautiful work! I've been wanting to make, or rather buy, some sweet knickers for the boys and these are perfect.

[Mama Urchin]

I know what you mean about boys clothes. I find them so much harder to make. I really want ot try screenprinting this year.

[cari]

Awesome! I can't wait to see more.

[Melissa]

These pieces are absolutely stunning - such simple yet stylish clothes - it's so hard to find boys clothes that aren't covered in Thomas or Bob the Builder. Ben lives in the same clothes everyday (I buy lots of the same) - white cotton or oatmeal wool-blend long sleeve spencers with plain dark pants, and people always think he's a girl because he is dressed so plainly and simply. But what's wrong with plain and simple? I love these clothes, Alison, they are wonderful - clever you!

[Bel]

Ah so this is what happens to a creative lady when she's happy, huh? I'm loving what you've been making lately. Bravo!

[Line]

What a lovely process!
My man told me he still remembers a train he drew as little - how everything suddenly seemed to fall into place - lines and circles becoming axels, wheels, starting to move ...
Beautiful work, beautiful blog.
Hello from a new, passionate reader!

[michele]

beautiful. his sensibility seems very close to yours, before reading this the print reminded me of your drawings and photos. nice.

[Monika]

Very cool! It is so true about boys clothes. I held a subscription to Ottobre for a year in the hope to find some new ideas for boys stuff, but all they showed was the same stuff over and over again. Fiddly and just too time consuming, considering that I can get used top brand boys clothes for a few dollars each. X-mas 2006, when Huxley was 2 1/2, I had him do a scibble that I goccoed onto painting canvas and then used the patches in patchwork bags. This past summer I used some lime-green linen (choosen by Huxley) and used a patch for a pocket on the pants. I love to have a piece of time, a stage of their lives incorporated into clothing that in itself is so ephemeral, especially considering the rough exposure many boys clothes get.

[Birgitte]

What a great idea!

[Shannah]

I can see it in the print too, the train and the flowers. Industrial and organic all at once- a perfect fit!

[UNIFORM Studio]

really lovely. and I love the story:)

[amisha]

what an epic story indeed... and aren't those projects such a release when they come into reality? i really love the idea of using the drawing in these different ways, the path of idea to material and shape and form.
xox