We had a great time sewing up a storm yesterday with the mock princess cut mock ups!  In only 3 hours the class sewed together the mock up with princess seams from the armhole, no easy feat around the bustline, and fit the body.  Some even made adjustments to the mock ups after the fitting! 
For the most part the mock ups fit very well, there was one student who got a lesson on the importance of sewing at the actual stitching line rather than deciding to leave 1 cm seam allowance instead of 2 that was allocated, LOL, can you guess the outcome of the mock up in this case?  Tell me you answer in the comments...
Another student figured out she had to take the high hip measurement as well and re-draw the hipline to reflect her findings, not at all unusual as the body changes with time, even a short time, also even though the measurements all match in the master pattern that may not necessarily mean the mock up will fit perfectly either.  Remember the pattern is made on paper and the mock up is made from fabric they each have their own characteristics and may fit differently than expected.  This in no way is indicative of anything that is being done incorrectly as is always the first assumption of students, it is merely indicative of the way the fabric behaves when stitched together so my advice to students is look at the garment objectively and see where and what the issues are.  The last thing I want to hear from my students or anyone for that matter is "my body is weird/misshapen/add any other superlative".  Your body is your body, learn to love it it's the only one you have, so dress it with comfort and put your personality into the garment's design to feel like a million bucks!
 
Homework is to

• finish the mock up and explain if the gores are fine as they are or if you would do anything differently. 
  
• Prepare the armhole on this draft for the sleeve and draft a sleeve to fit this armhole whether or not it is to be used, drafts only are to be completed for next class to get students thinking in the direction of sleeves for the next section.
  
• Create a draft with two base darts as shown on page 68/69 only with the base darts we will be filling out the rest in class if you need a reminder go to the previous page to see the way it starts out. 
  
• The class has decided to try finishing the mock up on their own with neckline and armhole facings.  I gave a brief description of how the neckline facings are to be traced from the master pattern, the armhole facings are to be done in the same manner; by tracing over the armhole making a 4 cm facing. 

In the event there are people who are having problems with the finishing if there is time after class we can briefly go over the facing installation.  Remember the facings must go in AFTER the zipper is installed. 

Have a great 2 weeks!

I have said many times to my students when they receive an assignment to set a soft deadline for completion that is at least one week in advance of the due date and another hard deadline for completion that is at least 3 days prior to the due date.  For the most part students have listened especially after I said to them that they are to consider the due date a wedding date and I am the bride who needs her gown for the wedding!  I think this really hit home with all of them, no more extensions on assignments after that. 

An assignment is just that an assignment and if it is not done on time it's not the end of the world but in the real world out there with ACTUAL deadlines one must adhere to them without fail, I consider this part of the training program to prep students for working in the field. 

So I must practice what I preach. 
This past while I have had the privilege of making some jackets for a very nice gentleman pictured in my previous post, the jacket he is wearing in the picture was one he wanted made just because with no real occasion to wear it to so I could take my time and work at it in between other things.  He picked up the jacket in the middle/end of August and ordered another for a specific occasion this coming weekend in gold and black (I will post pix after he picks up the jacket) with a funky lining.  I set myself a hard deadline of September 18, even though the occasion is on the weekend, why would I do that to myself, take away almost a week of time? To be sure that I am finished and it is perfect that's why!  In fact in my head I set a soft deadline of September 17 to be extra sure.  Well I'm happy to report the jacket was finished by the soft deadline, well ahead of the actual due date, so I can relax and wait for him to pick it up :)

I'm feeling kind of proud of the fact that I had a quick turnaround time for a men's jacket among many other things going on and still managed to get it done on time and on budget!

Soooo here are some projects I worked on this summer; this jacket was pleasure to work on, gave me back my mo-jo it was a real challenge match the print, made my brain work to create the trim on the lapels.  I had to come up with a tool to make the trim to put on the jacket!  The rivets would not go through the lapel to put directly on the jacket, so plan B it was!  I'm just glad the client (above) is very easy going and agreeable to whatever will work to complete the task. 
The shoes were the inspiration for the jacket, the colours as well as the trim were important to him, the fit and finish were important to me, as you can see the jacket fit very well. 
I forgot to take pictures (I can see Denise rolling her eyes LOL!!) of the inside with the the red piping joining the violet lining to the black facing.  The red piping is to honour the red soles on the shoes and the rivets are to match the tops of the shoes.  Whew!!!  It was a job, so rewarding in the end. 
Now I'm working on a second jacket in black and gold... keep you posted! 
Check out instagram @legrandchicitalia for more pix

 Here are a few things I did for me!  We had a wedding this summer so I thought I should make something new.  The one on the left was supposed to be for the ceremony but then was worn once already, plus the morning of the wedding the zipper slider just fell apart when I went to zip it up!!!  Thank goodness I had made the dress below right so I had something to wear!  On the left is the evening dress I made plus I altered the dress my daughter is wearing among other dresses I altered this summer. 
Along with having the grandkids up for a week at a time a couple of times I have stayed out of trouble LOL!  We also took a quick trip to Halifax, picture on the left, there are only a few weeks in the summer as it is, it's no wonder it flew by!

Can someone please take their foot off the gas pedal???  I'm not sure summer was here this year, it's all been a blur, felt like the last class in Bradford was a couple of weeks ago instead 2 months have gone by!!! 
It was great to be back in class, the ladies did not skip a beat, they got back into the bodice without a problem even did a pop quiz at the beginning of class!  To be fair because it has been such a long time since the last bodice class I sent the document by email the day before so they can prepare.  I must be getting soft in my old age LOL!!!
We started off with a flared, gored dress that looks good on every body type.  Yesterday was the drafting only, next week we will be sewing it together in a 3 hour class no less! 

Yes there is homework even after the first class :)

• Finish any unfinished work on the pattern
  
• trace the pattern pieces
• cut out a mock up complete with all the necessary markings
  
• leave the pattern pieces on the fabric bring to the next class as is to sew together and fit the body. 
  
• We will be going over how to modify the neckline on the master pattern and then on the pattern pieces.  The class will be sewing the dress as well as finishing the neckline with a facing for practice.  Please choose inexpensive fabric for this exercise. 
  

Have a great couple of weeks!