Today I had the pleasure of teaching Jill some alteration techniques on a beaded dress.  It had been one year since I had seen Jill, with her now thriving business lessons had to take a back seat to actual work!  One must earn one's daily bread....
Alterations lesson, a beaded dress needed to have the neckline lowered.  This is a bit tricky to do with the beads along the neckline that need to be removed to sew and then replaced to finish the garment.   I have to laugh when I start cutting the excess off on a garment and there are others around, the first thing I hear is a gasp!  To me it's just another cut but to someone else it's a big deal, Jill was no exception!  After the initial shock she said that was the part she feared the most, cutting into the dress... 
In the end she felt really good about the alteration, the neckline needed to be lowered as it was sitting too high for the wearer.  After we took apart the bodice, cut the neckline, sewed it back together again complete with edgestitching we both agreed the neckline looked great!  We also added swimsuit elastic to it so there would be no gaping, the fabric lining is a knit so it would stretch. 
It was a lot of fun catching up with Jill and teaching her some new techniques, hope to do it again some time soon! 

I applaud Krissy for her work and effort at making pants.  They are the hardest garment to fit on the body bar none especially on a curvy body.  We will work at them until the fit is perfect, no worries if it takes a bit of time it's better learning! 

In 3 hours Krissy learned how to draft a pants back using her own measurements, then cut out the mock up and sewed it together.  We clarified a few things on the sewing machine making it easier and faster to sew things together.  Sometimes the smallest changes can make all the difference in efficiency, I hope the discoveries we made on Friday will work for Krissy.

Krissy please practice sewing focusing only on the guides; straight lines, convex and concave curves.  Draft a pants back using generic measurements to use along with the storyboard.  Draft another pair of pants using new personal measurements and then sew a mock up.  Take a picture of the front, back and side then send it to me by email.  Once the mock up fits continue with the class homework. 

Hello all well I have caved and started posting some cooking videos, since the success of the Instagram pix I posted I felt that people want to know how to cook from "scratch"!  Believe me I can cook from scratch, been doing it all my life so why not share this knowledge with others? 

I started off with dried chick peas because they are so versatile, they can be eaten in a salad, with pasta or on their own in a sauce plus they are the base for hummus.  I like to use dried legumes because there are no preservatives, additives and no cans to throw away.  If we can all reduce our carbon footprint it will go a long way in helping this beautiful planet of ours be more sustainable, I for one, use very few cans of anything.  This is the first time in a long time that we have run out of our own processed tomatoes, I can guarantee this fall will not go by without making our 10 to 15 bushels of tomatoes into puree` for sauce!  That will also be a video to show how one day out of the year can make such a difference and the sauce can taste so good!  It is such a good feeling to open a mason jar and make dinner rather than a can or call for take out...  With 30 years food experience behind me I feel I have something to offer in the kitchen as well as the sewing room. 

Seems like I'm old or something, I started out in fashion, ended up in cooking and then went back to fashion just to keep things interesting LOL! 

If you are interested in seeing the videos here are a few links please feel free to leave comments:
Chick peas from dried to cooked
Simple tomato sauce
Pasta with chick peas

Today is the Technical Skills Ontario Competition and I have the privilege of being one of the judges for the fashion section, yea!!  This is the fourth, maybe fifth year that I have been participating and I am always amazed to see what the student come up with not only in the fashion but the other categories as well.  I purposely go earlier to see the work in progress in other categories, not allowed to see the fashion in progress...  I wish the Minister of education would be there to see the students working and talk to the teachers as well as the judges to get feedback on the education system and how to improve it right from the sources mostly affected by it.  I for one would be more than happy to share my opinion and thoughts on the subject!  I can see my children's eyes rolling at this very moment and hear the groans of "oh mom" LOL! 
Anyway I'm excited to be spending an evening with like minded individuals talking about our passion in garment construction.

Now from the "planning way ahead" category; I had the grandchildren here for the weekend and apparently my grandson likes the way I babysit..
Granson, "Nonna did you babysit us when mom and dad were away when we were little?"
Me, "yes I did"
Grandson, "That's good so when I have kids will you babysit them when I go away for work too?"
Me, "Ummmm"
Grandson, "You see I'm going to be driving for the TTC Express and we go away a lot so I want you to babysit my kids, my sister is going to be a ballerina and will be away too"
Me, "Sure I can help you out"
Grandson, "Great!"
My grandson is 6!  Guess I'm going to have to live a good long time... LOL!!!

It's hard to believe it's already May!  I'm still trying to reconcile the fact it's past the end of January!  Of course the weather is not helping the situation, still wearing winter coats :(

Well the bright spot is this class, they are such a ray of sunshine and good humour!  Today we studied pants fitting there were some pictures, notes.. lots of notes and finally fitting the mock ups.  The students fit their pants one at a time going over in detail the adjustments that needed to be made, by far the most important class in the session giving a glimpse into the human anatomy and how to fit the negative space inside the crotch.  It really bends the brain to wrap it around how to make the adjustments but they are troopers and keep marching on, even the one who was sick last week came to class and was wowed by the mock ups and how well they fit even though they were only a "rough draft" of the pants! 

Evident flaws are for the most part preventable especially when pants are custom made.  The most common problem is the length.  Second most common is the gaping at the centre back.  Next comes the crotch length, too short, too long and this is only the men, women have even more issues because of child bearing there is a tummy, hips, glutes, thighs and the list goes on…. The most confusing part to making adjustments is the negative space inside the crotch, because it is a negative space the obvious adjustment done in the usual manner may create more problems than it solves, for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction, meaning that a tailor has to think outside the conventional, proverbial box to find the correct course of action and then take.   

There is usually a lot of praying and keeping fingers crossed but once a tailor gains experience they will recognize the body issues when taking the measurements, this will enable them to make the necessary adjustments when drafting the pattern eliminating a whole lot of problems later in the process. For example I already know that women don’t need as much space at the front but more at the back so I start with that in mind when drafting, changing the crotch curve to reflect this leading to a better fitting appointment and a happier customer. 

Homework is to draft a new pattern taking into account the findings from the mock up as done in class today to see the difference between the initial draft and the new adjusted draft, show all the markings; the notches at the knees, hips, front, back, tailor tack or mark with tracing wheel all horizontal lines but most important the pressing line. 

Create a pyjama pants using the new pattern as a mock up with an elastic waistband.  There is no casing for this method, the elastic is serged on to the fabric and turned once; allowance will depend on the width of the elastic.  The pant leg can be as wide or as tight as you like, however the length will be full length.  This is to be sewn at home, try it on to see if the fit is to your liking, if it is then draft a new basic pattern using personal measurements to add a front fly zipper and pockets next class.  Please bring everything to the next class for fitting and to check the patterns over.  We will touch base in two weeks to see the progress to better plan the next class send pix of the pyjama pants trials please. 

Also to draft a knit top with Dolman or Raglan sleeves, your choice, this is to be a draft only for practice, I will be asking to see this next class. 

May 30th is the next class, be good until then! 

Guess what!  NO HOMEWORK THIS WEEK!!
The class did such a great job in finishing their work that there is no homework for them to do, the only homework I had planned was to finish any unfinished work. 
Yesterday they worked very hard with the pants back.  I asked if they liked the storyboards for the pants and it was a unanimous/resounding YES so we did the back in 3 steps.  They loved the fact that while doing the front draft if they got stuck all they had to do was turn to that step to see where to go from there! 
One student was very happy indeed because she drafted a pattern for her daughter to sew for Easter and it fit like a glove the first try!  It is such a great feeling when one sees ones work come to life and her daughter was ecstatic at the fact she didn't have to make any changes to the pattern, just sew and go! 
Next class is in one week due to the fact I have to be at the Skills Ontario competition the following week as one of the judges for the fashion competition, this is always a lot of fun to see what the students come up with given the criteria they have to follow....
We will be analyzing the pants mock ups and talk fitting, a lot of fitting.  There will be issues no matter who wears the pants and who makes the pants because the body is not completely symmetrical I don't care what anybody says!  Please bring back your mock ups, no sewing machines, once the fittings are complete then we will go on with more drafting. 
Have a great week!

I want to wish everyone a very happy and peaceful Holiday whatever it happens to be called.  I believe that no matter what name is given to a Supreme Being or religious order the message that comes from them to us is the same:

Be Understanding  
Be Respectful
Be Kind
Be Compassionate
Be Empathetic
Be Inclusive
Be Humble
and most of all Be Loving

Lets all remember this please the world will be a much more pleasant place to live. 

First of all I'm sorry for the delay in posting this homework, I haven't stopped since Thursday's class with the long weekend and all....
Anyway Amanda did  a lot of work on pants between drafting some new drafts and making a mock up, we even facetimed for the fitting, get this they were downtown and went into a public washroom to try on the pants!!!  It was actually quite funny having to wait for the hand dryers to turn off LOL!!!  Life is always interesting!  Well the pants were a bit tight on the model, pants measurements should be taken a bit loose or round up the half hip measurement to a higher number if the measurements fall between the markings.  This is quite normal for the very first mock up to be either tight or loose, on occasion the pants fit perfectly, in that case pour yourself a drink and celebrate!  

I suggested Amanda let the pants out 1 cm at the outseam and 1 cm at the inseam which she did and the pants fit better, this time the waist was a bit large which again is an easy fix, the waist should not have been touched in this case...  The other thing I noticed in the pictures were the "smile" lines at the front crotch, it was very fortuitous that the fabric had some colourful stripes making it easier to explain the adjustment!  I told Amanda to let out the centre front 1 cm on each side at the waist, even though it was too large this is the procedure to fix those not so funny "smile" lines, by letting out the waist you are allowing the fabric to rise up and move towards the side seam, shifting the fabric to remove the lines.  It really works!  Any excess can be removed at the side seam or a small 9cm dart at the pressing line will also address the problem.  We don't usually add darts to the pants front unless they are necessary and this may be one of the times it's necessary.  

Amanda's drafts are so neat and precise it's very easy to understand and see what she has done from the pictures she sends me.  Our classes are on Skype and the work is checked by using pictures and commenting, it seems to be working very well for us.  But then again Amanda is a model student :)

Homework is to draft and sew a pair of pants for a larger size, create a mock up, fit the body and explain to me how the issues would be adjusted.  It would help to have the model wearing the pants… The other part of the homework is to make the adjustments we talked about in class on the completed mock ups by letting out the centre front, I would like you to remove the excess fabric at the side seam on one side and on the  other side add a dart to account for the excess to see which side looks better on the model.  Great learning! 

Hello all how is everyone doing?  I am looking forward to springtime!  Hopefully it will get here soon....

Spring is the time I start thinking of weekend retreats, this is a great way to learn a lot in a short period of time, more like boot camp than retreat LOL!!  It is so much fun to work with like minded individuals and learn all about pattern making especially fitting the body. this is crucial to understand what to look for so that one knows how to make the adjustments.  All this is derived from the mock up, the adjustments are then transferred to the master pattern and pattern pieces for a perfect fitting finished garment. 

The class is given the choice of starting with the pants, skirts or bodice.  They will start off by learning the basic block then progressing to a simple style mock up and build from there to completed garments they can wear and not only that they also learn how to think critically and get creative with the designs.  Dates have not been set yet so if you are interested in learning this wonderful art of pattern drafting and/or learn to sew get some friends together and have some fun fitting each other then this is the event for you!  There can be 3 to 4 people per class the cost is $980 + taxes per person for 4 weekends from 9 am to 4 pm.  We will have classes once or twice a month so it will give time to put the theory into practice!  Hoping to start the classes by late June or early July, this will be up to the registrants to decide. 

There is a drafting kit that needs to be purchased, it includes the instruction book, 4 squares and a measuring tape.  This will be the best investment ever, the drafting method is greatly simplified, all the mathematical calculations are already done on the pre-marked tools, making patterns has never been so easy or versatile!!!  Imagine having the ability and freedom to make and wear any design you envision in the fabric of your choice and best of all IT FITS!  Students will learn how to draft for woven fabrics or if they choose they can have the whole session on knits, both drafting and sewing. 

If you think this is something that interests you please contact me anytime. 
Have a great day! 

Today we had a 3 hour class felt more like a 3 minute class!  We started off with a Q and A session on sleeves to finish off the last class and give them more insight as to how the sleeves work in order to prepare the class for more homework to include sleeves.  Remember if you don't use it, you lose it.  This is not going to happen on my watch!  In fact I have been saving some sleeve samples on a Pinterest board called "Class examples" check it out you might find a challenge you would like to try!

We then started on the new chapter, pants.  Pants are the same basic block for women as they are for men, they are pretty easy to sew, to draft they are a little more complicated than a basic bodice but not much.  There are a few more steps to the base and it's the half-hip that is used and not the half-bust so that is a bit confusing for the first draft.  To help with easing the confusion I use the storyboard format using generic measurements to teach, works like a charm!  The students love to hate them but can't live without them... figure that one out! 
In any case by the end of the class everyone had completed the storyboard and almost everyone had completed a pants front using personal measurements.  Keep up the good work! The hardest part is the fitting, the negative space inside the crotch really does a number on ones brain trying to figure out the adjustments because they are the opposite of how they should be!  Really bends the mind can't wait to see the comments from this group LOL!!!

Homework is to draft a pants front using other measurements plus draft a sheath front with a set in sleeve using same measurements; drafts only.  Next class we will be drafting the pants back then cut a mock up and sew it to fit the body in class so please bring your sewing machines as well as some fabric for the mock up along with the drafting tools. 

I had a chuckle in class when assigning the homework, one student was about to ask if they were to draft a second draft using personal measurements but was cut off by another saying "shhh don't give her any ideas!!!"  I pretended I didn't hear any of this conversation even though I love it when students assign their own homework, but after the last class I felt they needed a bit of a break with Easter coming and all... See I'm not so bad  ;)