International Journal of Textile and Fashion Technology (IJTFT) ISSN(P): 2250-2378; ISSN(E): 2319-4510 Vol. 4, Issue 5, Oct 2014, 11-20 © TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.
SALWAR KAMEEZ DESIGNING FOR COLLEGE GOING GIRLS
S. LAKSHMI MANOKARI1 & E. KIRTHIGA2 1Head, Department of Costume Design and Fashion, Kongu Arts and Science College, Erode, Tamil Nadu, India 2Postgraduate Student, Department of Costume Design and Fashion, Kongu Arts and Science College, Erode, Tamil Nadu, India
ABSTRACT
Kameez and Salwar are becoming popular dress all around India being of comfort and look. They are available in readymade as well as custom-made. Most of the people prefer custom-made Salwar Kameez than readymade since it reflects the unique sense of style, choice of fabrics and colors. Hence, the main aim of this study is to design a basic pattern, layout, cutting and stitching details for the Salwar Kameez using pattern making software. A survey was carried out before developing the pattern. It was found through a survey that 80% of respondents are willing to make their own Salwar Kameez because of the reasons like cost saving, perfect fit, and desired designs and lack of quick delivery of the garment by the dressmakers. The developed instruction was used to construct the Salwar kameez for different chest sizes and the fit of the garment was evaluated through wear study. A Fit evaluation scale was prepared. It was found that there was 100% satisfaction in salwar and Kameez fit. The present research work will be beneficial to customize their personal Salwar Kameez.
KEYWORDS: Salwar Kameez, Neckline Designs, Styles of Salwar Kameez, Pattern Making and Fitting
INTRODUCTION
The salwar kameez has emerged as the most popular Indian garment today. Besides comfort, it offers better leg movement than a sari, it is easy to wash and wear and covers the whole body (Mehra 2002). Salwars are pyjama-like trousers drawn tightly in at the waist and the ankles. Over the salwars, women wear a long and loose tunic known as a kameez (Chander 2003).
Salwar kameez are available in Readymade as well as custom-made. The main difference between a readymade and the custom-made salwar kameez is in the finishing touches. Colourful piping, fancy trims, decorative necklines, sparkly tassels or additional borders are enhanced in custom-made. Majority of Indian ladies get salwar kameez outfits custom-made. Though there are ready made salwar kameez available, they may not meet all the expectations of correct fit, specific neckline designs and specific embellishments. So, Indian ladies shop for the fabrics and colors of their choice, and get their dress custom-made.
As majority of ladies prefer to customize their own salwar kameez they must have pattern making knowledge. Pattern making is the art of constructing a pattern to make a perfect fitting garment. It is started as far back as fifteen century which is one of the first steps taken to manufacture well-tailored clothing. It requires a lot of technical skills, knowledge and practice. Patternmaking in today’s computerized age is done by computers for the fast pace fashion industry. It is based on using measurements relating to the contour of the body (Khurana 2012). Body measurements are a www.tjprc.org [email protected] 12 S. Lakshmi Manokari & E. Kirthiga prerequisite to pattern construction. The size and fit of a garment depends upon their accuracy. Body measurements are required not only for stitching the garment at home or getting it stitched, but also for buying readymade garments (Beazley and Bond 2004).In the present study, the investigators analyzed the respondent’s opinion regarding the salwar kameez preferences, fitting problems and preferences in various styles of salwar kameez. In addition, we also analyzed the willingness to design their own salwar kameez. Based on the need of the college going girls, the investigators developed the basic pattern for salwar and kameez with various neckline designs.
METHODS The Sample The respondents were undergraduate and postgraduate students of various arts and Science College in Erode and have personal purchasing experience in salwar kameez and they wear this garment as college wear.
Pilot Study
After constructing the questionnaire, a pilot study was done with 10 senior academicians with expertise in the subject matter and 20 participants were involved before commencing the actual survey. Minor revisions of the questionnaire were done after the pilot study.
Collection of Primary Data
The primary data was collected through a questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed to 200 college girls using Non-probability convenience sampling during November - December 2013. The questionnaire consists of demographic profile, preference for readymade/ custom-made, satisfaction of fit and fitting problems, willingness to design their own salwar kameez and choices of salwar kameez styles. To have clear understanding and easy recognition of different styles of Salwar and kameez by the respondents Figure 1 and 2 were included in the questionnaire. The collected data were consolidated and analyzed systematically using SPSS 16 software
Figure 1: Different Styles of Salwar: (A) Plain Salwar (B) Patiala (C) Churidhar (D) Dhoti (E) Harem (F) Parallel
Impact Factor (JCC): 2.9594 Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0 Salwar Kameez Designing for College Going Girls 13
Figure 2: Different Styles of Kameez: (A) Plain Kameez (B) Anarkali (C) Asymmetric (D) Angarakha (E) Princess Line (F) Achkan Collection of Secondary Data
The secondary data were obtained from books and web sources.
Developing Basic Pattern for Salwar and Kameez
After collecting the opinions from primary data and the literature review from secondary data, the investigator developed the basic pattern, layout, cutting and stitching details for salwar and kameez using pattern making Tuka CAD software.
Plain Kameez Measurements Required Chest, Waist, Hip, Full length, Front Waist length, Shoulder, Front neck, Back neck, Sleeve length, Upper arm and Lower arm
Instructions for Drafting
0-1= Back neck depth, 0-2= Front neck depth, Shape front and back neckline, 3-3a= ½” for shoulder slope, 4 -4a = ¼” to ½”,Shape front (3a-4a) and back (3a-4) armscye and shape side seam as shown in the figure 5-6 = 4” to 5” from waistline for slit opening. (Figure 3)
Seam Allowances for Kameez
Neckline- 1/4", Shoulder- 1/2”, Armscye- ¼”, Side seam- ¾”, Bottom hem- 1”
Plain Sleeve
Join 0-1 and divide 0-1 into 6 equal parts and mark as a, b, c, d & e, a-f = 0.4”, b-g = 0.65”, d-h = 0.4”, e-i = 0.25”, Shape 0, f, g, d, i, 1 for back armscye, Shape 0, f, c, h, i, 1 for front armscye (figure 4)
Seam Allowances for Sleeve
Top - ¼”, Side seam - ¾”, Bottom turnings -1 ½”
Cutting Instructions
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Front- 1, Back-1, Sleeve-2, facing piece- 2
Layout
The layout of kameez is shown in Figure 5
Stitching Details
• Finish the neckline with facing
• Stitch both the shoulders together with right sides facing each others.
• Finish the sleeve hem
• Then stitch the sleeves to the armscye, take care to stitch front part of sleeve to front side and back accordingly
• Then stitch front and back side seam together leaving slit opening on both sides, (start stitching from the end of sleeves).
• Fold and stitch the slit open from bottom to slit mark.
• Place the needle on fabric and lift the pressure foot, turn the fabric stitch on seam allowances. Then turn and fold the other side of the slit open and stitch it.
• Trim the edges of side seam with pinking scissors or give overlock stitch.
• Finish the slit and fold the bottom by double row of stitches for neat finish
Figure 3: Quick View of Kameez
Impact Factor (JCC): 2.9594 Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0 Salwar Kameez Designing for College Going Girls 15
Figure 4: Quick View of Sleeve
Figure 5: Layout of Kameez
Plain Salwar Measurements Required Waist band length, Hip circumference, Salwar length, Bottom round
Instructions for Drafting
The instructions for drafting salwar is presented in Figure 6
Seam Allowances for Salwar
Waist band-Top – 2”, Side seam-3/4”Bottom- ½”
Salwar-Top- ½”, Side seam-3/4”, bottom-1”
Layout of Salwar
The layout of salwar is presented in Figure-7
Stitching Details
• Fold and finish the bottom hem of each leg.
• Join the Centre front and center back of crotch line and the waist band.
• Then finish the waist hem by double fold the fabric for casing at the top of the waist band.
• Adjust the width of the leg piece with waist band piece by making pleats in the leg piece.
• Start stitching pleats near the crotch seam by leaving 1 ½” to 2” away from the crotch seam.
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• Similarly make pleats for the other side.
• Then join the leg pieces to the waist band.
• Join the inside leg seams starting from the bottom of the leg.
• Prepare a tying string of ½” to 3/4” width from the balance material.
• Length of string must be atleast 6” longer than waist band width.
• Finally insert the cloth tape to the waist hem and press the garment.
• Developing Neckline Designs for Kameez
• The investigator developed various neckline designs for kameez using the designing software -CorelDraw (Figure 8).
Figure 6: Quick View of Salwar
Figure 7: Layout of Salwar
Impact Factor (JCC): 2.9594 Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0 Salwar Kameez Designing for College Going Girls 17
Figure 8: Neckline Designs
Evaluation of Constructed Salwar and Kameez
The developed pattern instruction was used to construct the salwar kameez for different chest sizes (30”, 31”, 32”, 33”, 34”, 35”, 36”, 38” and 40”). Then the constructed salwar kameez were evaluated by wear study to analyze the fit. Based on the fit evaluation scale developed by Yu, W, et al (2004) for assessment of garment fit, a fit evaluation scale for salwar kameez was developed by the investigator (refer Appendix-I). In this scale for each item nine responses were responsible, ranging from ‘much too tight’ to ‘much too loose’. The middle portion for each fit criteria indicates a ‘good fit’.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Demographics of the Respondents The age of the participants ranged from 18-25 years and the majority (30%) belongs to the age group of 19 years and 34.5% were doing their bachelor’s degree.
College Girl’s Preference for Readymade / Custom-Made Salwar Kameez
Salwar kameez is available in readymade as well as Custom-made. 76.5% of the college girls preferred custom-made. The reasons for their choice is they are satisfied with all the features like Neat finish, Good fit, desired design and Durable stitch aspects (Figure 8).
Figure 9: Reasons for Preferring Custom-Made Salwar Kameez
Satisfaction with Garment Fit/ Outlook of Respondents on Perfect Fit in Custom-Made www.tjprc.org [email protected] 18 S. Lakshmi Manokari & E. Kirthiga
Fit is the most critical component that ensures consumer satisfaction. It is interesting to note that 47.5% of respondents do not get perfect fit in custom-made salwar kameez and it was found that the majority of fitting problem of kameez arises in Armscye (26%), shoulder (25.3%), waist (20%) and in salwar fitting problem arises as Salwar too Loose (40%), hip (20%), Ankle (14%).
Attitude of Respondents towards Dressmaker
It was found that 71% of respondents are not willing to stitch up salwar kameez to a single dressmaker. The reason for changing the dressmaker is due to the fact of imperfect fit (74.6%), delay in delivery (13.4%) and high cost (12%). Majority of 39% of respondents spend Rs.80–100 for making a plain salwar kameez. 40% of respondents spend Rs.200-250 for stitching a salwar kameez with lining and majority of 35.5% of respondents spend Rs.300-350 for stitching a designer’s salwar kameez. The respondents reveal that 34.5% of tailors deliver the garment within the specified time. 57% of respondents stitch their salwar kameez as and when there is a need.
Preference in Styles of Salwar Kameez
Figure 9 reveals the preference in different styles of kameez and it shows that the majority of respondents likes to wear Plain kameez (40%), followed by Anarkali style (35%), Princess line style (10%), Angarakha style (7%), Asymmetric style (4%) and Achkan style (4%)
Figure 10: Preference in Style of Kameez
From the figure10, it is clear that the respondents prefer Salwar in the following sequence, churidhar (39%), Patiala (27%), Plain salwar (24%), Dhoti salwar (7%), Parallel (2%) and Harem salwar (1%)
Figure 11: Preference in Style of Salwar
Salwar Kameez Sewing and its Methods
It was observed that only 38% of the girls customize the dress on their own and follow pattern making method (52.6%), where as 47.4% follow tailor method. The pattern making technologies were learnt from books,
Impact Factor (JCC): 2.9594 Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0 Salwar Kameez Designing for College Going Girls 19 from tailors and from friends in the percentage of 44.7%, 32.9% and 22.4% respectively. 82.4% of respondents do not get perfect fit using pattern instructions available in books and they reveal that the book referred contains Pattern making instructions (100%) and Neckline designs (79.4%) and state that the book referred has limited layout details, cutting instructions and stitching details.
Fit Analysis of the Constructed Salwar Kameez
Fit analysis of the constructed salwar kameez was evaluated using the fit evaluation scale. From the report analyzed through the wear study it was clear that the developed instructions has “good fit” (100%) in kameez front, back, shoulder slope, shoulder width, sleeve, salwar, freedom of movement, crotch of salwar.
CONCLUSIONS
Through the study it was found that majority of respondents prefer custom-made salwar because they are satisfied with all the features like neat finish, good fit, desired design and durable stitch aspects. At the same time perfect fitting is not achieved in custom-made dresses. So they are not willing to stitch up salwar kameez to a single dressmaker. Even the custom-made salwar kameez has fitting problem in the areas of armscye (26%), shoulder (25.3%), waist (20%), Salwar too Loose (40%), hip (20%), Ankle (14%). The most preferred style is plain kameez and Anarkali kameez and majority prefer churidhar and patiala styles in salwar. The patterns for salwar kameez are learnt from books. The information from books doesn’t give perfect fit and lacks information such as layout, cutting and stitching details. Wear study of the salwar kameez proves that the fit is achieved through the developed pattern.
REFERENCES
1. Beazley, A., & Bond, T. (2004). Computer Aided Pattern Design and Product Development. USA: Blackwell publishing Ltd
2. Chander, P. (2003). India- Past & Present. New Delhi: A.P.H Publishing Corporation.
3. Khurana, K. (2012). Draping and Pattern Making for Fashion Design. New Delhi: Sonali publications.
4. Mehra, S. K. (2002). Business Etiquette- A guide for the Indian professional. India: HarperCollins Publishers.
5. Yu, W., et al. (2004). Clothing appearance and fit: science and technology. England: wood head publishing limited
APPENDICES
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Figure 12
Figure 13
Impact Factor (JCC): 2.9594 Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0