I have been a busy beaver today!  My latest project is complete, cut this morning finished tonight!
I had to make some window coverings to insulate some north facing windows with a very heavy, very thick boiled wool with coating on one side.  The windows are 6 feet high by 4 feet wide so not small. 
The fabric was challenging to work with, kind of like bending plywood to sew on velcro!!!  Yup you read it right, sew velcro on to the edge of this fabric which itself would not have been too bad except that I had only mm top work with there was just enough height to cover the window with a little lip to fasten the covering on the to frame with the velcro. 
The other challenge I had was the amount of fabric, there was supposed to be enough for 6 windows so I measured and to my surprise I was 20 cm short (the client had the fabric already, the vendor figured out how much they needed) on one end there was a diagonal cut that made the fabric much less than previously thought.  In the end some creative thinking, figuring and measuring I managed to make up the shortfall and cover all 6 windows!  The client was very happy when she heard this.  Below are some pictures of the fabric and how thick it is.

Andrew has been away for a couple of weeks, first with a bug and then with a new job!  Congrats Andrew!  Yesterday we discussed the princess and drafted the sheath and mock princess front with the back with the fish eye dart. 
He inspected my jacket inside and out and checked out the fit, I am pleased to say that I got a passing grade LOL!  The students should grade the teacher from time to time don't you think?  Andrew's words were that the jacket looks very crisp and shapes the body well, the finish is very good too! 
So for this week your homework will be to make a mock up for mom in the sheath and if there is time to do a mock princess.  Double check bust height and adjust if necessary.  Draft another mock princess front in different measurements along with a sheath back as well.  Please take some pictures of your mom wearing the mock ups so I can see them, conversely we can even Skype once they are done so I can see if there are any further adjustments to be made. 
Have a great week! 

Fola is making progress, for one who knows very little about sewing she is coming along quite well.  We discussed all about the warp and weft yarns in fabric as well as the bias; the weakest part of the fabric weave.  We also discussed at length the fabric width and its relationship to how much fabric one will need for the project they are working on.  Fola has begun the pattern drafting with the skirts section.  I think she is going to do very well with the draft as well as the sewing! 
So for this week your homework is to draft 2 more skirts using different measurements  plus personal measurements.
 

The jacket only needs buttons and buttonholes on the front and buttons on the sleeve vent.  I am so pleased with the outcome, fits like a glove and feels great! 
I took some pictures to share with you of all the hand work on the inside of the jacket that gives and maintains the shape for years to come.  The pockets look great!  The sleeve vents came together very nicely along with the sleeve.  I showed Antonia today and she commented on the hang of the sleeve how it is perfect!  Made me happy!!!   Check out the pad-stitching in the large picture!!  Pretty cool!

Below are some pix to show the work.  This is what Andrew has to look forward to when he becomes a tailor,  a very gratifying job indeed to fit someone so perfectly they feel like they are wearing nothing! 

Isabella did a great job on the top, her first top ever that she drafted and sewed, it fit very well we were both pleased with the simple top shaped only with a dressmaker dart.  There was a little gaping at the armhole so that needed adjusting, I explained to Isabella the cause of the problem known as "gaposis" that was an indicator the base dart was not large enough or the shoulder measurement is smaller than the basic block and needs to be addressed. 
During yesterday's class we drafted the sheath front and back complete with the fish eye darts and made adjustments to accommodate the smaller shoulders we then sewed a mock up, by "we" I mean Isabella LOL!  She sewed the mock without using ONE pin!!!  So proud of this lovely young woman who is wise beyond her young years!
Isabella your homework is to draft 2 more tops using same measurements as last week complete with the fish eye darts and do mock ups to fit the body.  Please check the shoulder measurements once again to be sure they are accurate.  Have a great couple of weeks!  FYI you left your measurements here.....

I'm happy to say the pad stitching is done!  It actually took a lot less time than I remembered! I am very happy with the outcome, the lapels are curling beautifully.  For this project I even stitched the front stay by hand!  Makes everything sit much more smoothly than by machine stitching it.  So by the time I finished all the hand basting and all the pad stitching I was pretty done in, my back is starting to hurt so it's quitting time for today. 
Take a look at a couple of pictures I took of the lapels to see how well they curl.  I used a slightly different method of pad stitching which makes the work much easier and more precise with a lot less stress and work.  Notice also the brown around the front stay, it's some lining that is machine stitched to smooth out the edges making everything sit better on the body.  The jacket fits like a glove and it will be a joy to wear! 
Like I said in the previous post one starts out with a bespoke garment at their own risk! 
Tomorrow it's on to complete the canvas installation and then on to pockets, at this point the pockets will be a breeze! 

So yesterday afternoon I cut out the hounds-tooth jacket!  Yea finally!  I have been wanting to make one of these for a very long time so now I am going to do it!  What I did to stabilize the loose weave is to fuse some fusi-knit to the fabric before cutting it out.  This will keep the fabric from stretching when I wear it, after cutting I TAILOR TACKED THE WHOLE THING!  I will now go ahead with the tailoring, meaning attaching the canvas with pad-stitching, yes all by hand!  It makes such a difference when wearing, the jacket just sits on the body and the lapels don't move. 

I always have a disclaimer before we start the blazers class telling students they are taking the class at their own risk; once they wear a "properly hand tailored jacket they will never go back to off the rack again, proceed with caution!".  Yup I am hooked! 

Even going into stores I am such a critic.... yesterday morning I went into a ladies wear store and was looking at a style of dress, the saleslady came to ask if I needed help, not sure she will do that again!  My answer was that I had some feedback regarding the dress with some asymmetrical rouching; there was a seam under the bustline at the front which should not have been there, it showed me the designer didn't know how to fit the body properly.  The poor woman said perhaps it as a design feature to make it look like an Empire cut, I explained to her if that was the case there would be a seam at the back as well, but there was none, I went on to say this was a case of an incompetent pattern maker.  She didn't know what to say.....  I bid her good day and left shaking my head, this is a more high end store. 

Hello again in the event anyone has any questions regarding the Skype program the new page I just added can probably shed some light on the program.  Click here for link
I am very happy to have the opportunity of teaching so many wonderful people using this great technology!  If you are interested please contact me at your earliest convenience the time books up very quickly.
Cheers,

A big welcome to Fola a beginner student who started yesterday!  It's great to have this lovely lady join the program!  Fola is a beautiful woman from Nigeria living in Barrie who has a desire to learn tailoring as well as pattern drafting and I'm happy she chose me to teach her!!

The homework for this week is to learn the terminology of sewing and understand the meanings by actually getting fabric and checking the grain, warp and weft yarns and marking them right on the fabric.  You will need to explain to me what notches means and their uses.  Basically I will be quizzing you on the contents of the page.  I would like to see/hear the definitions in your own words please. 
The other part of the homework is to perfect the buttonholes done by the sewing machine and really get to know your sewing machine. 
Next class we will be starting with the basic skirt draft so please bring some paper for drafting, pencils and lots of erasers! 
Have a great day

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Isabella to Le Grand Chic Italia!  Isabella is a returning student looking to learn the bodice section of book 1, she has already completed the skirts and pants section, took a break and decided she wanted to continue.  It's with great pleasure that I will be teaching this fine young woman the art of tailoring. 
Just so we start off on the right foot Isabella gets homework on the first day, actually she gets extra homework because she will be coming every two weeks instead of weekly! 
So your homework for this class is to draft a bodice front and back using two different sets of measurements plus you are to make a mock up of the bodice front and back using personal measurements.  I want to see the master pattern drafts for the different measurements as well as the measurement charts for each one.  For the mock up please put seam allowance only at the side and shoulder seams, there is to be no S A at the neckline, armhole or hemline.  You can use broadcloth or something inexpensive for this mock up.  I will need to see the fit at the beginning of next class. 
Have a good couple of weeks!