Atelier Académics with Stacy Stewart Smith — Couture CAD: Digital Alençon Lace
Atelier Académics with Stacy Stewart Smith — Couture CAD: Digital Alençon Lace
Description
Couture CAD: Digital Alençon Lace
Atelier Académics — A Recorded Seminar by Stacy Stewart Smith
In this recorded seminar, Stacy Stewart Smith demonstrates how to construct a digital couture Alençon lace pattern using Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop — simulating the intricate, layered structure of this historic corded couture lace from its foundational hexagonal net and floral motifs in Illustrator through to depth, transparency, color, and texture in Photoshop. Techniques are drawn from professional couture atelier practice and adapted for digital fashion design and presentation.
This recording covers:
- A brief history and structure of French Alençon lace — its mesh ground, floral motifs, and corded outlines (Cordonnet)
- Tracing and constructing floral motifs accurately in Illustrator
- Building a seamless hexagonal netting pattern in Illustrator
- Setting up guides and repeat boxes for flawless seamless pattern repeats
- Troubleshooting common alignment and overlap issues in pattern construction
- Scaling patterns and adjusting stroke weights for garment-scale clarity
- Importing vector patterns into Photoshop as Smart Objects
- Applying painting techniques, layer styles, and gradient maps for depth and realism
- Finalizing, aligning, and saving a production-ready digital lace pattern
Recommended familiarity: Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop. Basic flats are not covered in this recording.
Duration: 1 hour 23 minutes.
Upon purchase you will receive a downloadable PDF containing your Webex recording link and access instructions. Access is granted for 30 days from the date of purchase.
Select seminars augment the techniques introduced in CAD for Fashion Design and Merchandising (Bloomsbury Publishing, Stacy Stewart Smith).
This seminar is recorded and presented in English only.
This is an independent recorded seminar by Stacy Stewart Smith and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by any academic institution. No academic credit is awarded.
Care
Stacy Stewart Smith offers made-to-order garments, fine art, and digital publications — each requiring different care. Please refer to the product description for care and handling instructions specific to your purchase. For garments: dry clean or spot clean unless otherwise noted; do not machine wash. For fine art: keep away from direct sunlight and humidity; handle with clean, dry hands or cotton gloves. For digital products and publications: no physical care required; download and archive your files upon receipt.
Design
Every Stacy Stewart Smith piece begins as a drawing and ends as a decision — a deliberate choice of textile, construction method, and proportion made by a single designer with five decades of practice. The same eye that composes a painting composes a coat: line, weight, negative space, and the relationship between form and the body that inhabits it. Garments are produced in New York City, one at a time, to the measurements and preferences of the individual client. No two pieces are identical. No production run exists. This is not manufacturing — it is making.
The atelier sources textiles for their hand, weight, and longevity. Sustainability here is not a campaign. It is the natural consequence of making only what is wanted, from materials chosen to last, by a craftsman who will not put his name on anything less.