Bradford class homework November 22, 2018

Hello all great class on Thursday!  These ladies are working so very hard and are improving by leaps and bounds even the beginners are keeping up!  Since the beginning of class they have created 3 mock ups; the first one took 5 hours to complete, the second took three hours to complete, the third took just over 2 hours to complete. How's that for progress?!  Plus it was noted the fit improved with each mock up, the whole objective of the program to create perfect fitting garments. 

Yesterday the class worked on the mock princess top doing a lot of the work at home and learning the value of hand basting, makes the sewing a breeze.  Yes they had to tailor tack the princess seam/dart too!  Last class we re-configured the classroom and it's making a difference in the productivity of the class.  Everyone is more relaxed, laughing, joking but most important they are really working efficiently and I can be a more effective teacher as well.  Funny how a small change can make such a big difference. 

The class was given a choice of class either the sleeves or knits for the last 3 classes so they chose to work with knits,  Good choice because T-shirts or knit tops can be made very quickly and are simple to draft with no shaping required, the stretch of the fabric provides the shaping. 

Homework is to draft a dress as shown in class in the style of the students’ choice, sheath, princess or mock princess cut.  The neckline can be a scoop, V-neck, boat-neck or jewel neckline (round), the skirt can be a pencil skirt, A-line or tapered skirt.  Students are to create a mock up of their choice of design as was discussed in class, the neckline will be drawn in class on the mock up to see which style will suit the wearer best.  Now that the class has seen how easy it is to sew when seams are basted I believe they will use the basting stitch more often. 

Whether the garment is a summer dress or a jumper is up to the student, either way it will be finished with facings at the neckline and armholes with a centre back zipper.  Next class will be only drafting, there will be two drafts; the top with two base darts plus a pattern for suitable for knits, no machines necessary. 

Please bring in your fabric for the dress/jumper for advice/approval as well if you have an opportunity to purchase some knit fabric please bring it in as well so the stretch of the fabric can be accounted for before drafting the pattern. 
There are only 3 classes left, the last 2 classes will be for finishing both the dress as well as a knit top.  The last class on December 13 will be one hour longer, there is one hour outstanding to complete the requisite hours for the semester.  This will allow the class to really complete the projects without having to rush through the work. 
A reminder the December 6 class will be in the morning from 9 to 12.  November 29 class is at the regular time 1 to 4 see you then!