We are in the new studio. It is not finished, but the floor is down, the table is in, and the camera and lighting are working, so we can get going again.

My dress form, fabrics and sewing machine are still packed, so today was a drafting session at the table rather than a drape. I want to show you a design I am really keen to make for myself: a top where the entire body twists, front and back.

This kind of twist has been used by houses like Lanvin and Schiaparelli in far more dramatic form, usually over a corset. What I am after is a wearable version you can cut from a block you already have, in knit or in a woven.

Demonstration Steps:

• Started from an ordinary torso block. A knit or t-shirt block is easiest, but a woven block works too, and the darts can stay as they are.
• Explained why the block has to change first: twisting lifts the fabric and pulls it narrower, so the pattern must be lengthened before anything is rotated.
• Lengthened the waist and the hem by 3 cm each, front and back, for a modest twist. A more dramatic twist needs more length and a little extra width at the sides.
• Noted that the waist actually wants to come in slightly rather than out, so the twisted fabric contours the waist instead of bunching at it.
• Made the horizontal move: from the centre front, shifted the pattern about 10 cm toward the side, measuring from the true waist and hip lines rather than the lengthened ones. Repeated it on the back.
• Made the vertical move: shifted the centre front up by roughly 4 cm, adding paper at the neck and hem to catch the new outline.
• Explained why both moves are needed. A sideways shift alone just looks off centre. Twisting something in real life makes its lines diagonal, so the pattern has to move up as well as across.
• Redrew the neckline where the shifted halves no longer met, choosing a new line between the high and low edges, and blended the hem from the true hip line to the dropped one.
• Corrected and softened the side seams, shoulders and armholes so the front and back still work together, then traced clean copies with grain lines marked.
• Talked through construction. Use a longer machine stitch or a zigzag for the first sample rather than an overlocker, so you can unpick and adjust. I have not made this one before, so I want to test it in jersey before committing.

Questions & Answers:

• Q: Will the darts be used as they are?
• A: Yes. In a knit you will not have them anyway, and in a woven they still work, because everything we are changing happens below the bust line.
• Q: Would that be too thick where the fabric crosses?
• A: I do not think so, but give it a try. If it feels bulky, take a little out of the waist, maybe 2 cm overall, so it sits closer to the body.

This is genuinely new to me, so I am going to cut it in jersey myself and see how it behaves before we take it further.

Next week I should have the dress form out and the sewing machine unpacked, and then we can test this properly and look at the second design I sketched.

It is good to be back in my own space, even half set up. Thank you for staying with me through the move.