These ladies were on FIRE yesterday!  What a lot of work they did with the sleeves! 
This is the very first time they drafted a set-in sleeve, within the first hour and half they had their very first draft done ready to cut!  We first started  out with generic measurements, students were asked (told) to draft a bodice with generic measurements and one with personal measurements.  The first order of business was to enlarge the armhole slightly to accommodate the sleeve plus, more importantly, extrapolate the numbers needed for the sleeve draft.  Well this was done in record time!  Once this was completed I did a demo of the sleeve draft and they followed suit, now all the was left was to make the necessary changes to the pattern pieces that were cut out ahead of time to expedite the work.  Then came the installation....
This is usually challenging to teach because the sleeve is 4 cm larger than the armhole and needs to be eased in, meaning there cannot be any puckers once the stitching is finished.  Sounds hard but in reality if the sleeve is pinned at the reference points and then hand basted into the armhole it's not hard at all.  In fact I asked each student how they felt about the procedure once the sleeves were installed and their answer was unanimous "much easier than I expected".  
In the afternoon the class had to do the whole thing all over again using the personal pattern and guess what they are so efficient I had an extra 45 minutes to show them how to create a bell sleeve and make a larger upper arm adjustment!!!  Giving the class a little extra homework :)

Homework:
Draft another pattern with bodice of your choice and simple set-in sleeve using different measurements.  Finish the mock up started in class if it had not been finished and bring it back with you next class. 

Try some of the variety sleeves:

• on page 50, the red gathered sleeve cap AND green sleeve gathered on top and bottom and sleeve
• on page 51 short with gathers on top and bottom. 
• Page 52 the bell sleeve
  
• Page 53 the larger upper arm adjustment

These are to be the sleeves only using the pattern above as a master, sewn together with the ease stitching and the seam, either on paper or inexpensive fabric to be used for reference purposes.  In some cases there is more than one step to complete the task please bring everything to the next class. 

*NOTE:  there is a measurement chart at the front of the book on page 5 if you would like to use measurements taken from there for the homework, please write them down right on the patterns

Next class is April 11, 2019 - 1:00 to 4:00 pm we will be starting pants once the sleeves portion has been checked.  You will only be needing the drafting supplies, plenty of paper for a storyboard.  This bears repeating, even though we are working on pants we cannot forget about the bodice, there will be homework assigned to include tops with various sleeves.  You either use or you lose it.... sorry folks but the secret to success is repetition no pun intended LOL!

Hello all I have been a busy beaver this past while!  I have a brand new video up and running on youtube, "How to hem sleeves, the final cut".  The title happened quite by accident, it was the final cut of the video but can be the final cut of the jacket too LOL!  Love it when things like this happen :)  Hope you like it!
click here  to see video.

Last night I watched The Passionate Eye on CBC with particular interest, it was about the fashion industry and the voracious appetite for disposable clothing worldwide.  The truth is shocking!  I had read about the dyes and other chemicals that were emitted into the water supply by garment factories but had no idea the extent with which these companies are polluting the planet!  It's disgusting how the people living in the area who depend on one particular river/stream/canal for their drinking/bathing/washing water are affected.  They have rashes, are becoming sick with diseases that are totally preventable, there are dead animals floating in the rivers because the water they drink is so toxic making the water supply even more toxic!  The water sample shown in the program is BLACK and stinks, no wonder with dead animals floating around in it!  A lab found mercury, arsenic, lead among other things in the water and yet the manufacturers keep producing in the name of greed; where can the cheapest labour be found?  Where can the officials be easily bribed to look the other way? 

This culture will not change unless WE, the consumers fight back with our wallets and really think about where our garments come from before making the purchase.  I, for one WILL NOT  purchase a pair of stone-washed jeans.  They are the largest polluters of fresh water in the garment industry.  It's nice to have a soft pair of denim that has that worn in feeling isn't it?  Well it's that feeling and all the "worn" looks with the holes that are the most washed in fresh water supplies around the world!  Do you want to contribute to this?  I don't. 

Clothing should not be "disposable", worn once or twice and then tossed just because it's cheap and one can afford it.  It should be an investment in quality that will last for years, not just buy clothes for sake of buying it or to "keep up with the Joneses"!  We should all aim for quality vs quantity, buy only products that are manufactured responsibly and ask for proof of where they are made materials used etc.  Companies should be mandated to disclose this information, they won't do it voluntarily so it should be a global law in my opinion.  

I am trying to do my small part by training tailors who can produce quality garments that stand the test of time using discretion when choosing materials to make sure their environmental footprint is minimal or at least sustainable.  I usually comment on work issues rather than get political but this is an issue that cannot be ignored, where are the lobbyists/protesters/environmentalists?  Why are they not taking issue with the fact that our drinking water, a necessity of life for everyone, is dwindling?  Global warming has been recognized as a threat to us why is the loss of water not? 

Please purchase responsibly. 

Hello all I hope you are enjoying winter so far!  I just wish it would go away....
Anyway it has been a bit tough but it too shall pass.  The highlight has been the students and clients I have had the pleasure of working with :)
Thursday was the second class of the semester with the Bradford students and they delivered!  By the end of the class I was so elated I felt like I was walking on air!  These ladies drafted a Raglan sleeve pattern in the morning, with the exception of one who unfortunately had to attend a funeral so she drafted her pattern at lunch time; cut out their fabric shortly before lunch and then completed the top with time to spare by the end of the day!  One little speedy Gonzales was finished by 3 at which point she ended up helping others. Some of the students even learned how to use a cover stitch machine to finish the top!  Click here to see the picture

But alas there will be homework
Next class will be focused on the set-in sleeve drafting and installation choose your fabrics accordingly for a loose top use something that drapes well for a more fitted top choose something with body the will hold the structure;

• Create two patterns
  • Pattern one using generic measurements sent to you by email – complete the block only to the hip and trace the pattern pieces and cut them out
    • Please bring inexpensive fabric to practice installing the set-in sleeve into the armhole
  • Pattern two using personal measurements with all the individual adjustments already incorporated into the master pattern,
    • trace the pattern pieces and cut them out
    • Also if you want to finish a top for yourself please bring a woven fabric for this application
    • Your choices are a loose top as shown on page 49 without front opening and only a dressmaker dart or a sheath dress/top with the addition of the fish eye darts on the front and back, back zipper and long or short sleeves.  This is because you already know how to work with these styles making the sleeve installation easier 
      

See you in one month!