I firmly believe in re-purposing items and garments are no exception.  Today I re-purposed a garment from a mother-of-the-bride dress to a bathing suit cover up for my upcoming trip!  Yup you read it right I had an overlay from this very special occasion that I could not part with it was too pretty and hand beaded with real crystals, a drape on one side and a sleeve on the other side so I removed the sleeve and finished the armhole with some of the scalloped edging and added a few beads.  Over a red or navy bathing suit it will look great!

Take a look at the picture below and tell me what you think.  The crystals are clear and don't show up in the picture....

Well it seems Andrew is my new male "consigliere" in the way of men's garments.  He is the only male I know who actually understands or even cares about what I'm talking about LOL! 
We had a great discussion on men's back pants pockets how they look and how they could/should look with no lumps or bumps or a visible tab for the button.  I came up with a plan and made a special design for the back pockets that I will share with everyone at a later date.  Suffice it to say I got Andrew's vote of confidence for my design! 
After we solved the world's pocket problem we got to work on the task at hand being the sleeve draft.  Andrew completed his homework with ease so we re-drew the armhole to match the armhole circumference and proceeded to take the necessary measurements for the sleeves.  He learned the relationship the armhole has to the sleeve and all about adding ease to the sleeve cap, I have a very good visual aid for this task, a goof up of a few years back that turned out the have a lovely design feature showing exactly how much extra fabric is added when adding ease to the sleeve and how necessary it is to have the added ease for the fit and feel of the sleeve. 
Homework is to draft sleeves on page 52 with pleats and both sleeves with gathers on page 50 and 51, also draft a new set-in sleeve using different measurements meaning a new front and back bodice will have to be drafted.  The other part of the homework is to sew a mock up of the coat dress and cut the sleeves ready for installation next class.  The front facing will have to be completed with necessary markings plus the 3mm increase at the collar to allow for the turn of the cloth. 
Next week is March break so no class I will be sipping a pina colada by the pool or at the beach :)
Have a good two weeks!

Great class with Isabella yesterday!  This young woman sure knows her stuff in two short hours she finished a knit top with a bias binding at the armholes and neckline that she made in class I might add!  Isabella had no trouble at all installing the binding and it looked great!  we also started on the set in sleeve draft, I thought I had asked her to draft a front and back but it turns out I said it in my head and not out loud LOL!  Not to worry it only took Isabella less than 10 minutes to complete the draft so from there we got the numbers to work with for the sleeve draft. 
We did the sleeve draft in the form a storyboard for Isabella to use at home and now there is homework!

Homework is to finish the armholes and neckline on the second knit top along with the hem making the hem 2 cm with one or two stitching lines.   Create sleeve drafts on page 50 – 51 – 52 and another set in sleeve using different measurements which means drafting a front and back as well to make the armhole adjustments for the sleeve draft and using the numbers from the armhole for the sleeve. 
Next week will be March break for us so no classes I will be in the Bahamas :)
Have a good two weeks, I know I will!