In a previous blog, I showed you a number of 'basic' dresses that were sewn for Lorraine. Remember these?
On a recent trip to Portland, while window shopping, this dress looked so much like Lorraine's, I wondered if they were 'twin sisters'.
The color is almost identical, it is sewn from a lacey fabric, and it's just a basic dress. Here's a close-up of the dart structure.
And on the other mannequin, there was a white lace dress.
The price tag for the aqua marine lace dress - $168.00....just checking...you know! Needless to say the 'fit' with Sure-Fit Designsis far superior and the 'fee' far less.
If you happened to miss the blog showing all of Lorraine's dress - click here.
I thought you might like to see the lovely group of ladies that attended the
June 4-9 Fit & Sew Retreat. This time we had international representation:
South Africa, Illinois, Indiana, South Carolina & the United Kingdom.
What a diverse and wonderful group of women.
We had sway backs, rounded backs, full fronts, tummy's, large upper arms, heavy thighs - all unique, individual fit issues. Nobody was quite 'straight out of the box', but with the flexibility of Sure-Fit Designs all ladies ended up with bodice and pants body blueprints that represented their unique shapes. As I get more of the photos edited, you'll see additional blogs highlighting some of the issues and what we did achieve the best fit. But outside of all the fit issues, we all had a lot of fun too.
We all took a little time to relax and share stories during 'Crunchies & Beverages'.
So many ladies want to get started fitting and sewing with Sure-Fit Designs, but are worried that they are a beginner or even intermediate seamstress and perhaps think they may not have the necessary sewing skills.
Well, worry no more! Sure-Fit Designs has recently produced our latest DVD series for beginner seamstresses.
Make it Sew!
This new DVD series consists of 4 DVDs, containing detailed 28 lessons and 6 1/2 hours of sewing how-to instruction.
Beginners...Get started with the right foundation - learn appropriate sewing techniques. Intermediates...brush up and refine your existing sewing skills.
Teach yourself the sewing basics with Glenda the Good Stitch in the Make It Sew DVD series.
Even though this mini-series will eventually be made available to you in installments on YouTube over the next 7 months, you don't have to wait. You can get your complete Make It Sew DVD series now to complement your sewing library.
Lesson Highlights:
Grainline identification
Layout/cutting/marking
Sewing darts & pleats
Sewing seams plus seam finishing techniques
Invisible zipper application
Lapped zipper application
Centered zipper application
3 Waistband applications
Setting in a woven sleeve
Setting in a knit sleeve
Pocket identification and Patch Pocket application
Mitering corners
Sewing facings
Sewing the rolled collar
Sewing buttons
Sewing buttonholes
To see a complete list of each lesson, please click on over to Make It Sew.
And for a limited time, this new DVD series is being introduced with a 25% savings. Regularly priced at $39.80, until June 19 you can purchase your complete set for $29.95. To receive this discount, please use Discount Code MIS25 while in the Shopping Cart. Click here to claim your savings.
To watch highlights and a short overview of what is included in this Make It Sew DVD series, watch this video below.
If you're a seamstress who is returning to sewing after a few years absence, this is a super series to help you get back on track and build your confidence. Teach yourself the sewing basics with Glenda the Good Stitch in the Make It Sew DVD series.
I may have talked about this topic before - perfecting the dart extension point and the effect on the side seam. But even if I have, it's well worth talking about again. And now there are photos to help explain the situation and what happens.
Depending on two factors, 1) the width of the dart (A, B, C etc), and 2) the angle of the dart - it's position on the side seam in relation to your apex position, both can affect the amount of dart extension that is required for it to properly sew in straight with the side seam cut edge.
If the dart extension isn't long enough, it means that when the dart is folded in the correct finished location, the seam allowance edges won't meet when stitching the side seams.
Here's what it looks like if it's not 'perfected'. The above photo shows the 'inside' of the bodice pattern. The photo below shows the 'right' side of the pattern.
Even though I demo and teach how to 'perfect' the dart during the Fit & Sew Retreats, I've seen ladies skip this step (easy to forget when
there's so much happening in this workshop) and then pull on the edge of the
dart until it does meet the side seam when sewing front to back bodice. Then, when the bodice is on your
body, it will create a pull (drag) line from that lower dart leg toward
the side and center of the bodice. (Sorry I don't have a photo of the drag line...I accidentally deleted it when clearing the images from the camera).
But the next photo shows you how the drag line has disappeared when the seam is opened up and the dart extension point is released.
If this happens to you, it's easy to confuse this drag line as a 'fit' issue and not the 'pattern' issue that it is. When the dart is 'perfected' properly, the drag line goes away.
The Adjust-A-Bust template is a great tool for getting the correct width of dart, but it's impossible on this template to provide all the possible scenarios for the dart's extension point. It's always best to perfect the dart when drawing your bodice blueprint.
Here's a short video tutorial on 'Perfecting the Dart'.
You'll also find written directions for Perfecting the Dart on page 8 of the Dress Kit Instruction Book - 5th Edition.
On a recent trip to Portland, while window shopping, this dress looked so much like Lorraine's, I wondered if they were 'twin sisters'.
The color is almost identical, it is sewn from a lacey fabric, and it's just a basic dress. Here's a close-up of the dart structure.
The price tag for the aqua marine lace dress - $168.00....just checking...you know! Needless to say the 'fit' with Sure-Fit Designs is far superior and the 'fee' far less.
