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  ;)

You go girl!  Amanda has done an incredible amount of homework for last night's class!  It took me TWO hours just to go over it and make some minor corrections! 

She had 2 strapless dresses, one of which was an Empire cut; a coat dress with a sleeve, pants, vest, asymmetrical top and an Empire with a square neckline and armhole!  Overall there were only a few adjustments on the bodice patterns, the pants were a bit more challenging as they normally are, but in a short one and a half hours we got through all these patterns plus a pants draft from "scratch", excellent work! 

The draft is the easy part of pants construction, believe it or not, it's the fit that is the real work as we have seen over and over again in my classes.  Ladies especially have issues with the fit, men are much easier to fit because of the lack of curves, that negative space inside the pants seems to work well for men, not so much for women....  But take heart once the correct crotch curve is discovered, usually by trial and error, the pants will be much easier to make and better to wear.  It is very important to learn how to read pants mock ups and then transfer the adjustments to the actual garment and they can be a bit tricky because you are dealing with a negative space, meaning that the adjustments are usually counter-intuitive.  This may make the pattern look odd but what really matters is how the pants fit the body never mind the lines on the paper they are only a means to an end. 

Even the best students still get plenty of homework in my world LOL!

Homework is to draft ladies simple pants front and back then create a mock for a fit model, we will be fitting here during the next class.   Also draft page 17 the pants with the front pleats, on tissue slash and spread for the front pleat, front fly, pocket pieces.  I want to go over these before going forward with the other itemized pages please.