So here it is the town crier uniform pattern, finally!  There are at least 35 pieces to these garments!  I am creating the jacket, waistcoat and shirt.  It's really funny making a shirt with rouching at the neckline and gathered set-in sleeves for a man!  Back in the 18th century the men dressed pretty girly like! 
The jacket is going to be in red lightweight wool, the waistcoat is in an Oxford blue both with gold lame` trim, yup you read right gold lame` trim!  The funny thing is I can totally see this outfit in a powder blue silk brocade or silk jacquard!  Here are some pix so you can see my hard work even before I think of the fabric!   There is also one of a finished outfit that I am using as an example of the look, the fit is going be different, more tailored to the body.  The sleeves are going to have mock cuffs and not real ones as the gentleman has to ring a bell and unfurl a scroll so the cuffs get caught on buttons and get in the way.  I was asked to find a solution for this and I have wait until you see the outcome! 
Well back to work now!

I cannot believe the skirts these ladies have been making!  They fit like a glove and look absolutely wonderful on the body!  The best part is there are very few adjustments to be made on the drafts.  Miss Miriam who swore she never wears skirts has admitted she has not taken the bias skirt off since making it!  I guess it's time to make another and change style a bit LOL!!  Miss Janet has been creating skirts like no one else, they hang perfectly straight at the seams, they fit like a glove especially after her personal adjustments are incorporated into the draft, and they are not many the main thing is to learn to recognize the issues and how to address them. 
Next class we are going to start on the bodice front and back, you will be doing a storyboard version of the draft so please cut at least 6 pieces of paper each that are at least 60 cm long, it can be narrow paper, the whole point is to have a step by step guide to refer to when working on your own so there will be no question as to how you got from point A to point B.  I gave you a brief demo on the basic block just so you can see where you are going and it won't be quite so foreign to you when we start next week, your brain will have had a chance to process the information and you will be better prepared to understand it.
Homework this week is to play around...... with volants that is!  Do the spiral volants using different measurements, practice some more with the circle and semi-circle volants by making them longer on one side than the other.  This is a great exercise in learning the properties of different fabrics just to compare how the bias stretches around the top/waistline and how it hangs, below are a few questions to ask yourself when making a circle/semi-circle skirt

• How much of a stretch is there on certain fabrics?
• Are all fabrics the same?
  
• Does the weight of the fabric make a difference in how far the bias drops when hanging?
• How does the skirt hug the body when worn? 
• What is the difference between the bias and straight grain when the skirt hangs?
• How can the hem be made to hang parallel to the floor? 
• How can one make the drape start lower than the top?  I showed this on Skype and it’s really a simple solution that is very effective! 
  
• I would like for you to jot down the answers to these questions and have them on hand for the next class
  

have a great week!

Andrew is a fine student, today I could not trip him up no matter which question I asked he answered correctly!  He is going to make his very first pair of dress pants starting now!  They are going to have pockets at the front, a front fly zipper and a back welt pocket. 
I'm sure he will do a fantastic job on these pants after all your best business card in the world of fashion are the clothes you wear. 
Homework for this week, keep up the good work Andrew!

• Finish tracing pattern pieces for dress pants
• Sew together mock up using storyboards as a guide for pocket and zipper installation, fabric should be a suiting material for a proper read
• Finish the Euro hem on jeans, bring them in for inspection
• Bring in mock up for fitting
• Bring extra fabric for welt pocket storyboard in two colours

Next class we will fit the pants, check the pockets and zipper for accuracy, make any necessary corrections to the paper pattern based on findings.  A list will be provided for materials required for the dress pants

So sad Nita is laid up with a back problem and will not be joining me for a class this week.
Wishing you a speedy recovery Nita it's always a pleasure working with you! 

As promised I would post pictures of this creation after the wedding, well the event took place on Saturday so here are the pix I took for the final fitting when the mother picked up the dress.
As you can see it fits like a glove!  There are no pull or drag lines anywhere, the client said it felt like she was wearing nothing.  That is the sign of a great fit! I am very proud of this creation especially how it shapes the lady making her feel more confident about herself.  Congrats to her on the wedding!

I can't believe the skirts you ladies have created!  They fit like a glove on both of you!  Kudos on a job well done!  We are almost finished the skirts section and I think next week we will be ready to start the bodice front :)
Homework is to teach the other the method you drafted in class, draft a circle skirt, semi-circle skirt and circle Volant.  Trace the pattern pieces on both skirts drafted in class complete with reference points and personal adjustments as discussed in class. 
Next session we will be doing the other volants to finish the skirts section, we will be going over how to take measurements and record them to get ready for the bodice.  We will start on the basic block for the front bodice. 
Yes ladies you will be entering the most fascinating phase of pattern drafting!  The bodice is the very foundation of all garments besides pants.  All patterns start with the basic block, the shaping is added later. 
I think you are going to be just as pleased with the tops like you are with the skirts.
Have a great weekend!

Sorry forgot to add to your homework assignment;  when drafting all the fronts and backs please mark the scales that correspond to the marks/lines, the measurement you are using for the front/back neck to waist as well as the half waist and half hip measurements.  This repetition will ingrain them in your brain so there will be less chance for error. 
Don't forget to recite our drafting two-step as you proceed.
1, 2, 3, slide, 4, 5, 6, draw the line for the shoulder incline

ciao

Great job on the volants!  You understand the concept perfectly, after making a few and attaching them to something you will be an expert at them!
We started on the bodice front and back, so far we have done only the basic block using generic measurements I sent.  What I need to see is how you correlate the tools, scales and measurements so to that end you are to draft a front and back using the generic measurements as well another front and back using personal measurements plus one more front and back using different measurements. Please contact me when you are finished this assignment so I can be updated.  I might add to this in order to expedite the work during the next lesson. 
Cheers,
. 

Well ladies your progress is AMAZING!  The godet skirts fit you very, very well as well as the other mock ups you have done.  As we discussed yesterday if you want to take some live classes the best time to do that is when it's time to fit the bodice on the body and make any adjustments to the master pattern.

For now your homework is to make a mock up or real skirt of either the A-line gored or mermaid gored style and draft the countersunk skirt  on page 32 complete with master front, back and pattern pieces that are labelled and marked.
Also draft a one piece EIGHT gore skirt.  Here is a hint: for a 6 gore skirt you divide the 1/2 waist/hip by 6; for an 8 gore skirt you divide the 1/2 waist/hip by ____ ?  Remember you have to fold the paper and cut the piece out while folded that way you will have an exact copy. 

See you next week same time, same place!

A perfect score for Andrew, 20/20 on the test!  Very proud of this young man a self proclaimed anti-note-taker who, oddly enough, never stops writing in my class!!!  This is in addition to all the story boards I make him do for his lessons, go figure......  just goes to show that when you find something you love, you will never work a day in your life!

Andrew's progress is excellent, he takes initiative to do things on his own, asks questions all the time which is really good otherwise how would I know what he doesn't understand?  This is the best way to really grasp the materials and be clear on something before moving forward, I'm sure all teachers welcome questions it shows the student is engaged in the work. 

Speaking of work...... for homework you are to do TWO more zipper front installations, one for the step 6 that we included in step 5 due to time.  Another for practice.  Please serge the edges of the storyboard so they will be neat and if you feel you are still not 100% clear on the zipper installation do a third front.  I want there to be no foggy points when it comes time to install the zipper on a real pair of pants. 
Next class we will be drafting a dress pants with pockets and front zipper that will be finished ready to wear and graded.  This should take 3 to 5 classes it will entail the draft, mock up, changes to the pattern (if necessary) and the complete construction of the pants. From there we will go on to jeans and all the stitching, yoke etc associated with custom jeans. 

Have a great couple of weeks