Success with the Shawl Collar

The more you experiment and the more you design with your Sure-Fit Designs patterns, the more confident you will become.

Joy (from Joyful Expressions) has completed a Shawl Collar blouse.  She followed the directions on page 44-45 of the SFD Dress Kit Instruction book to add this shawl collar design to her SFD Shirt Kit and what a success it has been!  That's one of the many benefits of Sure-Fit Designs is that you can mix and match instructions from one kit and use them on another.

Let's take a look.

First...the pattern.  You'll notice the dart which she added to her shirt pattern for her full bust.

Now, the finished blouse - front...

And the back...

And a close-up of the collar...

Yes, it does have a little inverted 'V' or upside-down dip at CB.  How to avoid this is look at your vellum pattern - draw that segment out twice - and match the CB seam up, just like you would be sewing it.  You'll see this in the patterning/drawing stage.  You can easily reshape this curve before cutting your fabric, which is the only reason I'm pointing this out, so that all of you reading this can learn just one more designing tip.  But quite honestly, had Joy not pointed this 'V' out, you could have easily assumed this was an intended design feature.

Don't get down on yourself when experimenting with designing and drawing your patterns.  All of life is a fabulous learning process, so enjoy the journey!


And knowing Joy as I do from her blogs, she re-drew this pattern and sewed a second shawl collar blouse.  Notice the back of the collar no longer has the inverted 'V'.

Well done Joy!  I'm so glad you are enjoying fitting and sewing with your Sure-Fit Designs pattern kits.

(To read Joy's blog entry about her Shawl Collar experiences, click Joy.)

Fit & Sew Retreat - April '13 Highlights

Attendees came from far and wide - AZ, FL, NV, NY, GA, CA & IL.  It truly was wonderful to meet everyone and help them with their fit issues.

We dealt with sloping and asymmetrical shoulders, rounded and broad backs, forward-thrusted neck/head, flat backsides and short and tall.  This was quite a mix of body shapes and sizes!

The sewing studio - Our Sewing Room in Springfield OR - is a great venue for this retreat.  It comes fully equipped.  You simply need to show up!

Here are some 'action' shots you might enjoy seeing.

If you'd like to read a totally independent (and I might add - very thorough review) of Sandra's thoughts and experiences with the Fit & Sew Retreat, just jump on over to her blog - Click Here - Sandra - making it with help.

Here are a few comments from others who attended.
' Thank you again so much for such a wonderful week. I learned so much and had such a great time with you and the other ladies. I appreciate all of your help and endless efforts to ensure I left with slopers that fit me. You are a gracious and encouraging teacher.  I  also look forward to sharing with all my sewing buddies the many things I learned last week. Again, many thanks for your patience with me and my fitting issues.'
Kay W. - GA

'Glenda, you are an excellent teacher and extremely well spoken. Your classes are the best fitting classes I have ever taken and I can recommend them without reservation.  Your professionalism, expertise and courtesy create the perfect learning environment.'
Kathy - FL

'Glenda, your mix of general class instruction combined with personal one-on-one help was perfect for this venue.'
Linda - CA

'I was so happy with the class.  It was so great to meet the other ladies and work with them.  Learning with you was absolutely fabulous - you are such a patient lady (I know we can be trying with our ways of thinking sometimes). I also enjoyed watching you help other people as it was more learning about different body types which is a plus for me.'

Vicki - NV

These next few photos are 'work(s) in progress'.  If you've ever tired to photograph muslin that has been 'worked over', you'll know that the wrinkles are not fit issues.  Any number of things like stitch ripples, body stance, lighting and a myriad of other factors come in to play.  These are quick snapshots of real body life.  Everyone that attended was extremely happy with the resulting fit of both their pants and bodice.

These ladies were all very generous in allowing themselves to be photographed.  Thanks so much to all of you.

Fitting Commercial Patterns - Last But not Least!

This video is the last in this short mini-series on fitting commercial patterns using your Sure-Fit Designs bodice blueprint from the SFD Dress Kit.

My intention was that this video information has helped you to feel more comfortable working with your body blueprint in coordination with your commercial patterns.  Some patterns are going to be far more complicated than others.  I encourage you to initially start off with something simple.

FCP - Example #3:

Another way in which to incorporate some of the design features from a commercial pattern, is simply to use a specific pattern piece.  Perhaps you see a collar that you dearly love and have to have.  If you're unsure  of how to draw it yourself, simply use the element from the commercial pattern and apply it on to your SFD blueprint/sloper.  And depending on the shape and placement of the collar, you may need to re-draw the SFD neckline.  Once again, just copy it off of the commercial pattern...then apply their collar.  Of course, during construction, you'd follow along with their sewing construction steps.  You end up blending the best of both worlds.

Have fun!
Glenda

Fitting Commercial Patterns - Example 2

Here's another visual example of working with a commercial pattern that may be of interest to you.

FCP - Example #2

Also, if you already own Sew Sensational Shirts, you'll know this is a design that is easily drafted from 'scratch' using your SFD Shirt Kit.

Fitting Commercial Patterns - Example 1

The FCP (Fitting Commercial Patterns) video mini-series.

Example #1:

I encourage you to share these videos on your own sewing blog or Facebook page.  Your sewing friends may be interested.

Kindly,
Glenda