Today's class was great once again!  The drive to and from Bradford no so much...  It was snowing on the way down and traffic on the way home, a fact of life when living in the snow belt area of Ontario.  No matter how bad the drive these students always lift one's spirits with their optimistic outlook, hard work and being generally good people!  Today we covered the cap sleeve, tried on cowl neck mock ups and then I did some demos on sewing techniques. 

I wish all the students a great Christmas and an even better New Year together with their respective families may they all be blessed with good health and happiness.  In the end that is what's important... 

We will have a full day class in January to complete the skirts section in one day!  They will do it after all they survived this semester that was full of new material and we marched on to complete the section with minimal time and much effort! 

All the students got approval for their design to use in the exam garment due at the beginning of the first class in March, date to be determined.  Fabric is to suit the garment with no stretch, it must be a woven fabric, points will be deducted for any stretch in the fabric or a mark of 0 will be given if the design is converted to suit a knit fabric.  The best way to learn how to fit the body is with absolutely no stretch in the fabric.  Don't say you weren't warned! 
Some have really challenged themselves which is great, I agreed to their designs because I felt they could execute the task without a problem.  I have much faith in this group!!!  Alas there is still homework!!! 

Homework is this:

• Hand sewing, slip stitching and catch stitching until the stitches on the outside are invisible.  Use the sample given to start with and follow the demo given in class then use plain fabric (with the exception of broadcloth) and contrasting thread to perfect the stitching. 
  
• Do mitred corners until they are perfect
  
• Do one sample of the empire cut with the point at the centre front
  
• Create a mock up of the cap sleeve top using personal measurements 

All these are due on January 16.   

Next class is January 16, 2020 at 9 am for the skirts drafting section starting with the basic skirt block on page 21, from the block we will be varying the hemline.  Next we will add pleats/wrap to the front only followed by the godet skirt.  The gored skirt will also be covered along with the circle skirt and volant. 
The only fabric required will be for the volant which will be the width of the forearm plus enough for a couple of pleat variations in miniature.  2 metres of fabric will suffice. 

Have a great Holiday Season Everyone!!  See you in 2020!!!

Last night we had a class with Amanda on the Raglan sleeve, did you know the raglan sleeve was invented for the Earl of Raglan in England in the middle ages?  The story goes that he lost his arm in a battle so the tailors of the time had to figure out a way of fitting him with something that hid his battle wounds.  The came up with a sleeve that was a part of the bodice, no shaping, no armhole (there was no arm) and it is very easy to assemble!  I am not a fan of Raglan sleeves even though I have numerous tops, a dress with shaping (book 2) and an overcoat I can wear on it's own or over a jacket.  Amanda said to me "it seems you actually like a raglan sleeve LOL!".  Perhaps waaayyyy down deep there must be a very little part of me that does, I will vehemently deny this with every breath I take!!  Perhaps I am in denial or delusional, jury's out, but I don't like to draft raglan sleeves regardless. 
Having said that, I will teach the raglan method because it's necessary to know how to draft and sew it, that means new clothes I have to make as examples and will wear if for no other reason than I hate to waste anything.... 
Amanda was actually very pleasantly surprised at the simplicity of the draft, when I was finished my demo all she could say was "that's it?"  I'm sorry I couldn't make it more difficult, like 55 easy steps to the raglan sleeve LOL!  It's a very fluid pattern, mostly visual to make sure the lines are the right curve etc.  this is what throws most people off, the lack of structure, in the end the pattern fits very well and is very comfortable.  I guess that's what matters...
Amanda did a great job on her draft but there is homework!  
 Trace pattern pieces complete with markings, grainlines etc.  cut a mock and sew it together in order of

1. Sleeves
2. Front and back to sleeves
3. Side seams are last

Do this same procedure using different measurements, the pattern only in this case. 
 Have a great day!

Hard to believe this was the second last class of this semester!  Where does the time go? 
Yesterday everyone was a bit giddy I think, the giggles and laughter in the class was contagious!  I merely asked a question on the cowl neck; what are the benefits of this style?  Well it turned out to be a loaded question!  Some of the answers were, um, different that I expected leading to much laughter and more interesting answers...  This class is so much fun, I love teaching! 
We covered the cowl neck style, how to transfer the fullness from the base dart to create the drape at the centre front in two different ways, some did it with less drape, some did it with more drape just to keep things interesting.  So far everyone has had different measurements to work with, they have passed the measurements charts around until they are going to get their own measurements back during the last class!  Took a bit of planning but it worked very well because once the numbers change, everything changes, the body issues are different making the drafting more challenging.  The added bonus is that the students learned more about the basic drafts that maybe they were doing incorrectly because they were so comfortable using the same measurements all the time.  In any case all the mock ups so far have fit very, very well every time!  Very proud of this class! 
Now for....
Homework

• Students will create a mock-up for their models and fit them during the last class. 
• Draft a cowl neck the other style of the one drafted in class using personal measurements. 
• Have a sketch ready for approval for the exam dress, it can be any style or combination of styles that were studied this semester, the key to keep in mind is to create something that will flattering to the body, fit perfectly and be well finished.
  • The garment can be for personal use or another person as long as I see the garment on the body for the fit mark. 
  • The fabric choice must be appropriate for the style.  It must be a woven fabric with NO STRETCH at all. 
  • The due date is the first class of the spring semester, no extensions will be granted. 

Next class will be a cap sleeve dress plus the demo on how to finish a point at the Empire cut centre front.  No need to bring machines, you can video the demo instead.