April Fit & Sew Retreat: Photo Story

The Sure-Fit Designs April Fit & Sew Retreat has come and gone.  We had ladies from Canada, southern California, Washington, Utah and Iowa.  And what a lovely mix of ladies they were. 

During the first 3 days they worked on Pants fitting, drawing of the pants pattern, and sewing the test pants. If there was time, they moved on to drawing and sewing the Yoga pants project.  It's a good way to learn about working with knit fabrics in relation to the SFD master pattern and how to size down depending on the stretchiness of the knit.

All of the Sure-Fit Designs Fitting Retreats are held in 'Our Sewing Room' in Springfield OR (sister city to Eugene OR).  Our Sewing Room is a wonderful studio to teach and work in.  Lots of daylight, high ceilings, great lighting, cutting tables - enough for everyone to have their own - and has available sewing machines if you can't (or don't want to) bring your own.  Our Sewing Room was one of the sewing studios featured in Vogue Sewing magazine a couple of years ago.  There's only about 10 of these specialized sewing studios across the USA.  I'm so fortunate that I have this fabulous facility to teach in.

Sewing machines are supplied, but you can certainly bring your own.  And if you forget a supply item such as shears, rotary cutters, tape measures, rippers, tracing carbon and tracing wheels etc. are available for your use.

We had one lady with obvious asymmetry.  It was an easy refinement by using elastic at the waist to help identify and mark the low hip.

I know lots of you resist the thought of using a center leg seam to help contour the fabric to your body curves, but once done this and you see the difference in the fit, you'll become a convert.

As you look at these photos, please be realistic about some of the wrinkles you are seeing.  Poor lighting, wrinkly fabric, stitching techniques and lack of pressing are often the culprits.

Then we moved on to bodice fitting, drawing and sewing.  As you would suspect, there were a variety of body issues to address from very full busts, broad back, sway back, rounded back and large upper arm...

...to sloping shoulders and necklines that needed a little more breathing room.

And last, but certainly not least, a few of the almost completed yoga pants.


Everyone accomplished a lot based on their ability and on their particular fitting issues.  And though some projects weren't completed, for the time that was allowed, everyone did an excellent job.  Well done ladies!


If any of you are interested in attending a Fit & Sew Retreat this year, there is still 1 space available in the May 18 - 21 Pants Fitting Intensive (a 4-day workshop) and there are 2 spaces available in the October 19 - 24 Pants & Bodice Retreat (a 6-day workshop).  For more details on fees and other important information, please click - SFD Classes & Events or call me directly at 541-344-0422 (OR - PST)

Introducing Sally Silhouette

Going shopping?  Let Sally Silhouette tag along.

Sally is a well-proportioned silhouette illustration.  She's extremely useful when copying fashion designs and garment styles from ready-to-wear, pattern catalogues or magazines.

Just fold her up and tuck a few copies of her in your handbag.  You just never know when you'll see that next exciting design you'd like to copy, design and sew for yourself.

And this is the best part...you don't have to have artistic abilities with Sally as your sketch buddy.  Just sketch the style lines you're seeing in the garment directly on her body frame.  Make any special notes in the space provided.  

If you also happen to have a small, retractable tape measure in your handbag, make sure you measure design details, like strategic seam placements, hem lengths, color combinations or anything else that is unique to that garment.  Remember to check out the back of the garment and jot those details down too.

From this handy sketch, it's easy to replicate the design with your Sure-Fit Designs body blueprint.

Years ago, we used to carry a Sketch-A-Style notepad in the Sure-Fit Designs product line, but now with digital everything, we'd like to offer this to you as a complimentary gift...simply because we very much appreciate each and every one of you as our customer.

Just click through to the Sure-Fit Designs Learning Center Free Stuff.  It's the first item shown.  There are 2 links - one for FULL size Sally, which is great to use at home, and one for PURSE size Sally, which is perfect to tuck in your handbag.

Please take a few minutes to watch this short video introducing you to Sally Silhouette!

http://youtu.be/aRy1nbcnNr0

Enjoy!
Glenda
(PS - You're welcome to make as many copies of Sally for your own personal use.  But if you want to share 'Sally' on your own sewing sites or blogs, please acknowledge the source by giving a link to Sure-Fit Designs Learning Center Free Stuff)

5th Edition Designs Come Alive

You all know that in early January 2014 we released the 5th edition Dress Kit Instruction book.  Two of the new designs offered in this edition were the funnel neck (featured on a jacket) and the high/low hemmed Swing Top.

 I'm always appreciative to see the results of my efforts.  And these are the first (I hope of many) photos that you will send to show off your work.

This first photo shows Gudrun (from Germany) in her funnel neck pull-over variation.  You'll notice she faced the neck and CF opening with a contrasting fabric.  Not only that, she combined the instructions for the empire design line which is one of the designing instructions featured in the designing book Beyond Bodice Basics.

Next, she's whipped up the high/low hemmed swing top, which she sewed from a stretchy jersey.

The sleeve design she chose to finish this top is the Flounce Sleeve from style #1, which is also featured in Beyond Bodice Basics.
Gudrun says it's still winter weather in Germany, but when the temperature is higher she says she will 'pull on the swing', but prior to that she'll be sewing a matching pair of SFD pants with narrow legs.  Needless to say, she thoroughly enjoys fitting, designing and sewing with Sure-Fit Designs.

Thank you so much for sharing your sewing projects with all of us.  You've done an excellent job.

And of course, I invite more of you to send finished garment photos.  Everybody always likes to see what other have designed and accomplished.
Kindly,
Glenda

Knit Tip - Hems...Hmmmm

A beautifully prepared and finished hem enhances the look of any garment whether working with knits or woven fabric. In this blog, I'll focus on knit hemming techniques. But because a knit is by nature stretchy, sometimes achieving a nice, flat edge to hem can be challenging.

In a nutshell, here are some of your options:

• If the knit doesn't run, some can be left just as the cut edge.

• Some knits will do well with a serged/overlocked edge, turned up 1/4" and topstitched.

• A decorative (serged) rolled and stretched lettuce edge might be appropriate for some garments.

• Perhaps simply folded to the inside and bonded with a fusible web will work for some knits.

• Consider using a blind hem for more stable double knits.

• Some knits will require stabilizing first - particularly those where the cut edge tends to curl. Then once turned to the inside could be cover stitched - if you have a cover stitch machine option.

And though I don't (currently) have photos of all options, let's take a look...

This is a slinky-type jacquard knit. The drape is lovely, it has a beautiful hand and is a stable knit - meaning it does not run. Because the hem goes up and down and up and down, it would have made it challenging to sew even a narrow 1/4" turned hem.

The solution - leave the cut edge as is.

Here's a close-up of the cut edge. (I wish I'd bought more of this fabric in different colors - hind sight is always 20/20).













Next you'll see a much thinner knit where the edge is beginning to curl.

Some knits curl considerably more than this example.







And even though this next knit wasn't particularly 'curly', the fabric itself is quite thin and for a really nice hem, I stabilized it. I'll show you how

This is a 1 1/4" wide strip of iron-on fine, fusible interfacing which I fused to the inside of the hem edge.

If you don't have a pre-cut roll of fusible interfacing, you can cut your strips from yardage. This roll is pre-cut at 1 1/4" wide. I wanted a 1" wide hem, so I very carefully trimmed away 1/4".

Then press the 1" hem toward the wrong side.

I used the Cover Stitch option on my BabyLock Evolution. This is what the inside looks like.

I love this Cover Stitch option. As long as your hem is perfectly lined up, the result is 2 perfectly spaced rows of stitching...just like in ready-to-wear. And by having added the fusible interfacing at the edge of the hem, the fabric laid flat and stable throughout the stitching process.

The outcome was just what I intended it to be.




Kindly,

Glenda

P.S. The side of the hem hikes up slightly on the right side. This was intentional. I inserted shirring elastic on the right side seam only which results in a slight asymmetrical drape at the hem - all part of the plan!

Knit Tip - Where's the back of my pants??

Have you ever put your pants on backward and wondered why they felt so uncomfortable? I think we all have. When you sew them (knit pull-on pants), it's often difficult to distinguish front from back unless you stop to compare the crotch lengths.

This is a simple, decorative technique to help you quickly identify center back of your pants waistband.

Make sure waistband piece is cut the size that you need: 2 times the width of elastic plus seam allowances.
With short ends together, sew waistband in a circle creating the CB seam. Fold lengthwise with the seam to the inside and press a lengthwise crease indicating the top edge of the waistband.
Designate one side for the inside of the back of the pants. Stabilize the area to be stitched with tear-away stabilizer or iron on interfacing.

With waistband unfolded, stitch over the seam using a decorative stitch pattern in contrasting color.

Here's a short video talking about this simple knit tip.

Enjoy....
Glenda

**News Flash! - Bodice Fitting Course on DVD

I'm interrupting the short Knit Tip blog series for this important news flash!

The Bodice Fitting Course on DVD is finally done and available for you.  After many requests and with your enduring patience, we have finally produced this bodice fitting course to help you get an excellent bodice fit with your Sure-Fit Designs Dress Kit.

This short video gives you highlights of what's in the course and what you can expect. Please click on this link:

http://youtu.be/lQ50qAEp7Yk

This 2-DVD set, with 3.5 hours of instruction, is really the next best option to being here in Oregon with me in one of my Fit & Sew Retreats.  I know you'll benefit a lot by following along as I take you through the entire process of drawing off your SFD bodice with the Dress Kit.  For those of you reading this blog who don't yet have your SFD Dress Kit, you will need that along with the Designing Stylus and some tracing vellum.  If you follow the highlighted links, they take you to the respective pages on the Sure-Fit Designs website.

I'm offering a Pre-Order Special where you'll receive a 20% discount.  The new DVD course is regularly $59.95, but until March 31, 2014, if you enter Discount Code: BFC20 while in the Shopping Cart, you'll receive the discount.  The special price is $47.95 (+S&H).
Just click on this link to purchase yours - SFD Bodice Fitting Course on DVD

I'll share with you the insider tips that I talk about in my fitting classes.

You'll be shown 4 extra measurements that help you to drill down and truly personalize the first draft of your bodice.

There are 16 Lessons as well as 52 insider Pro-Tips to help you on your road to bodice fitting success.

And, there is even a lesson on designing with your blueprint.  You'll see the multitude of styles and fashions you'll be able to achieve no matter your body shape, lengths and circumferences.

I'm sure you'll enjoy this new Bodice Fitting Course on DVD.

Kindly,
Glenda

Knit Tip - Joining Waist Elastic

This is a very simply tip to eliminate unnecessary bulk when sewing pull on pants with elastic in the waistband. Just follow these easy steps.

1. Cut a piece of muslin or stable cotton/poly blend fabric the width of your elastic by 3 inches. ie: If using 2" (5cm) wide elastic, cut stabilizing fabric 2" X 3". (5 x 8 cm).

2. Measure and cut your elastic to go around your waist. But make sure that is is cut exactly the measurement you need and test it to ensure that it will pull up comfortably over your hips yet not be too loose at the waist.

3. Make sure the elastic is cut with evenly squared edges.

4. Butt the edges of the elastic together. With the stabilizing fabric underneath, pin the elastic to the fabric, keeping ends of elastic as close together as possible.

5. Zig zag or straight stitch fabric to elastic keeping the edges of the elastic butted together in the middle of the fabric rectangle. Sew in a square shape and then reinforce by sewing an "X" in the middle of the square.



6. Trim off excess muslin about 1/4" from stitching.
The results are sturdy, lay flat and reduce bulk.

Here is also a very short instructional video showing you this simple process.

Blogger isn't letting me give you the video directly on this page, so here's a link to the video - takes less than 5 minutes to watch. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPRpjkFJ8PQ

I'm sure some of you already use this technique, but for some of you, this may be new. It's great - give it a try!


Kindly,


Glenda

So Adorable & very Clever!

Isn't this little girl just adorable?  And she has a mom who's been very clever and creative in sewing this 'dress'.  Actually, mom, who's name is Samara, took a ready made man's shirt, her daughter's SFD Children's Kit pattern, cut the shirt all up, and sewed it back together.  I'm including her instructions so you'll get the total picture of what she did.

.

'To make the bodice, I took a man's shirt with all the buttons buttoned up.  I flattened and straightened it as much as possible.  Then I took my daughter's front bodice pattern (from the Children's Kit), laid it over top, and line the center front up with the middle of the buttons.  I matched the pattern's shoulder seam (not seam allowance) with the shoulder of the shirt.  Then, with a pencil, I traced around the armhole, side and bottom of the pattern.  I did that on right and left sides, then flipped the shirt over and did the same with the back bodice pattern.

Then I cut on the drawn lines...of course, the collar and shoulders of the shirt were still intact.

Next, I cut the sleeves from the original shirt and laid my daughter's sleeve pattern over top.  Because I wanted a few more gathers in the sleeve, I first slashed and spread it open to make it a bit fuller.  I matched my desired hem level with the pre-hemmed shirt sleeve - meaning I didn't need to do any hemming at all.

Next, I set the sleeve in and then sewed the entire side and sleeve length...similar to how one would do a raglan sleeve.  I do this with smaller clothing because it's a little easier to sew in the sleeve when the side seams are still open.

For the contrasting tie/belt, I stitched two large buttonholes an inch apart in 4 separate places on the bodice (8 buttonholes in total).

For the skirt, I left the shirt hem intact, measured how long I wanted the skirt, cut straight across the man's shirt and then gathered and sewed it to the bodice.

The collar, sleeve and skirt hems and CF buttons were already done.  I loved that!  The entire dress probably took about 1 hour from start to finish.  All the sewing I needed to do was to set in the sleeve, sew the sides and add the skirt.  And of course, with her SFD pattern laid over top, I knew it was all going to fit.

Oh...and the tie...I also made bloomers from the tie fabric just because I couldn't resist.'

Samara...cute, cute, cute...and so clever and creative!

Not too many ladies share their children's sewing projects with me. Thanks so much and also for giving permission to share your experience with all my readers.
Kindly,
Glenda

What can I do with that dart?

Last week I showed you how to transfer the side-fitting bust dart down into the high hip area to create a curved French dart.  This week, you'll see that the dart can easily become gathers.

In the 2013 October Fit & Sew Retreat, we had lots of variation in what each lady wanted design-wise for her tank top project.  Denise choose to relocate the dart up into the scooped neckline and to stitch the newly-opened dart space into gathers.  In the following photo, Denise is testing the distribution of the gathers before applying the neckline binding trim.

 ...and a close-up

This is what her pattern looked liked. Notice that she distributed the dart space fairly evenly over 3 different slash lines coming down from the lowered neck edge up to the apex mark.  Whatever size your dart shape/size is, it will be maintained during this transfer process.

The neck edge, armholes and hem line are now completed and the fit is (yes, of course) unique to her body shape.

This Tank Top design with the Center Front Neckline Gathers, can be found on this page of downloadable Fashion Leaflets (just scroll toward the bottom of the page).

Isn't that color perfect for her?  I know we're looking at sleeveless in our colder winter months, but you can see she'll be ready for warmer weather as the new year progresses.

Denise...thanks so much for sharing your accomplishments.

Our Not-so Neglected Men!

Most women sew for themselves...and we love it!  But one of my Fit & Sew Retreat students took upon herself the task of sewing jeans for her husband.  Kathleen initially sewed him a 'muslin' test.  Dan is a slender man with a bit of a flat butt, but Kathleen did a fabulous job of reducing fullness in the back for his unique shape.

Then she went on to design and sew his first 'home-made jeans'.  And all I can say is, 'Wow, Wow, Wow!'  Here are the photos of the front, back and side views.

Yes, the fit is great for Dan's build and posture, but wait till you see the expert stitchery up close!

They took some time to do, of course, but this kind of attention to detail requires time, care and love of her craft.  Not a thread or stitch out of place!  Kathleen deserves to be proud (and congratulated) and so does he.

This was all done with the Men's Instructional Package with the Leaflet inside on designing men's jeans.

And you should see the machine Kathleen sews on...yes, it's an (old) Singer.

Just goes to show ya' that you don't need a top-of-the-line machine with fancy stitches to do precision work.
What can I say, but Wow, Wow, Wow!!