Monday, June 30, 2014

36: WHY I WRITE


Down and dirty was how I saw the fashion industry when I entered the field. But my experiences in the factories and designing departments drastically changed my mind.

Patterns, developed to produce a
company’s most expensive clothing,
are also often used to cut less expensive
clothing.
 
Contemporary Fashion Education student
Nzingha Ma'at fits her husband’s shirt. She
took the pattern off a shirt he owned that
fits him well. Nzingha uses Lance as her model
as he wears a size medium shirt. She has her own
 business designing high-end clothing, including
men’s shirts. Read down to the end of this post to
see her finished shirt and to learn how to contact
Nzingha to order the shirt.
 
 
I discovered that high-end industrial fashion technology combines the best of international high-end couture and American assembly line production.

In time I came to realize that this technology, most of which is not available to lay people, gives better, more professional results than home sewing methods, AND can be easily used in the home.

I became convinced that this information needs to be made available to the general public. I decided to write it down so lay people could understand and use the same procedures as high-end designing departments. I planned to write a book, put it on the market, and then paint pictures. But one thing led to another. The project took on a life of its own. The chapters that outlined the book turned out to be books. Then I was asked to teach in college. After five years teaching in the degree program I began teaching continuing professional education courses which enabled me to write courses that presented fashion technology as I thought it should be taught. My students asked for more courses. The amount of material needed to present industrial procedures turned out to be more extensive than I had thought it would be. Industry encouraged me. Twenty-eight years after being asked to teach in college I'm still at it, now with my own school. Two books are completed, a third is being copy-edited, the writing for four others is nearing completion. I'm not making any money, but the business is paying for itself. I don't seem to give up easily. Fortunately I have fabulous students who encourage me, and a supportive family. All of this plus encouragement from industry keeps me going. I thoroughly enjoy what I am doing. I'm meeting wonderful people, both here in Philadelphia and on the net. As has been said, its not the destination, it's the journey. 

Far better clothing than most people can afford to buy can be made at home if one knows how the industry sews. In the industry I worked with high-end, expensive clothing styles, other than in pictures, rarely seen by most people. These clothing styles are designed and sold exclusively to individual stores. The clothing is then cut and sewn to order for their wealthy patrons. Because fit is so important to sales, the patterns, developed to produce a company’s most expensive clothing, are also often used to cut less expensive clothing, the choice of fabrics and construction procedures being industry’s principal methods of reducing costs.


A treadle sewing machine can make clothing
worth thousands of dollars.
 


Industrial sewing procedures are both quick and proficient, and are often quite different than those presented in home sewing books. A treadle sewing machine can make clothing worth thousands of dollars. I was surprised to find that in the industry procedures I believed really important were largely ignored. On the other hand, procedures I thought to be of no value were extremely important. I also discovered that the higher end the garment, usually the less equipment needed to make it.




 

All sewing in industry is done on gauge. A gauge can be made by taping masking tape to the sewing machine’s bed, then marking the gauges on the tape, using a transparent ruler and permanent ink pen. In the industry all drafting and sewing is done to precise measurements. This attention to precise measurements makes it possible to produce clothing that adheres to standardized fit, guaranteeing, at least most of the time, that customers will consistently find clothing, in their designated size from their preferred manufacturer that fits. When I tried these procedures at home it became clear that these procedures can be used IN THE HOME to produce quality clothing for oneself and one’s family that fits and looks good.

Why isn’t this information available to the general public?


The factories train their personnel. New operators begin with setting hems, gradually upgrading their skills. This method, used by factories to train their personnel, greatly reduces the amount of training and time needed for operators to become proficient. Line assembly enables many people, each with specialized skills, to quickly produce professional clothing. But most factory personnel are not cross-trained, cannot make an entire garment as sewn in industry, and do not have the design room skills needed to draft patterns to a precise fit. Nor do they have the education or contacts to produce and market books that present how the industry sews.

Patternmakers and designers, many of whom do have the education and contacts, do not do the sewing. Many do not know how the factory sews. Their jobs pay well. Even if they do know the sewing, both they and factory personnel may not have the time or money to write books that may never sell.

It is my firm belief that information on how the industry sews should be available to laypeople. That is why I am writing my books, testing them with my students to make sure the material can be understood and used.






Lance models Nzingha Ma'at’s finished shirt. Nzingha teaches the industrial fashion methods she is learning to her students at ThirdEye Sewing Workshop, located in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. For more information about Nzingha's classes, call (215) 275-4117.

The African shirt design Lance is wearing can be ordered in three sizes. Contact Nzingha Ma'at for more information. Phone 215-275-4117 or  e-mail nzinghamaat@comcast.net






Watch this blog for more information about Contemporary Fashion Student entrepreneurs. Contemporary Fashion Students include entrepreneurs, fashion industry personnel, students who wish to enter the fashion industry, and people who wish to sew more professionally for themselves and their families.

The fall 2014 schedule for Contemporary Fashion Education classes is posted at http://www.contemporaryfashioneducation.com/schedule.html  Only two spots are left in each class.
For more information about my books visit http://www.laurelhoffmann.com/


 More later,

Laurel

www.Laurelhoffmann.com- published books

www.ContemporaryFashionEducation.com- school
Facebook: Contemporary Fashion Education, Inc.
http://contemporaryfashioneducation.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/LaurelHoffmann1


 P: 215 884 7065

 ©Laurel Hoffmann, 2014, all rights reserved.

 

Sunday, June 1, 2014

35: HOME SEWING PATTERN’S SLEEVE CAP/ARMHOLE PROBLEM

Testing a substitute
sleeve pattern

Think it’s YOU when a home sewing pattern doesn’t give you the results you hoped for? Guess again. The unhappy results may not be your fault!
 
A recent home sewing blouse pattern currently on the market has a sleeve cap whose sewing line is 3/4 inch shorter than the armhole’s sewing line.  This year I chose to use this blouse pattern in my school’s Grading &Sewing a Blouse and Jacket.

If you are using this pattern its sleeve cap’s sewing line needs to be increased at least 1 1/2 inches to provide the minimum amount of 3/8 inch of ease in the front and 3/8 inch of ease in the back sleeve cap; preferably an inch of ease through the cap. This allows enough ease for the cap to lie well over the top of arm, while not being so much ease that the ease causes a problem with sewing the cap into the armhole.




There are two options:



First option - If you have a blouse sleeve pattern that you have used in the past, substitute that sleeve for the sleeve in this pattern. Make sure that sleeve’s armhole sewing line is the same length as the new blouse pattern’s armhole length. This proved to be the best solution for the class, as shown in the pictures above and on the left and right. The sleeve pattern is from Simplicity 9210, unfortunately now out of stock.

I tested the pattern in a size 8, using the PGM professional Dress Form the company donated to my school as a part of their program to support fashion education and students.

The PGM Dress Form is an American Standard Size 8. Since the major home sewing patterns are all drafted to the American Standard grade rule sizing system, mixing patterns from any of the big four companies can be easily done.


Second option - If a satisfactory substitute blouse sleeve pattern is not available, lower the sleeve cap 1 1/2 inches at the sleeve cap’s underarm, as shown in the diagram below.


  

Mark the sewing line on the sleeve cap and the armhole. Measure the two sewing lines. The easiest way to do this is to walk the sleeve cap's sewing line around the armhole's sewing line to check that there is enough ease in the cap, as shown in the diagrams below.

NEVER trust the notches in sleeve cap/armhole patterns. ALL sleeve cap/armhole notches need to be checked before a pattern is cut and sewn in the fashion fabric.


To make the procedure easier to understand, the sleeve in these diagrams has no seam allowances. Seam allowances have been marked on the front and back bodice. In the above diagram 1/8 inch ease is put into the sleeve cap between the underarm and the first notches. This is also done between the front underarm and its first notch. This step is VERY important. One-eighth ease is ALWAYS needed in the cap at the curve under the arm.


 
After sliding the sleeve cap back 1/8 inch the underlying notches are traced onto the sleeve cap. The cap is then walked to the midway notch between the two bottom notches and the shoulder seam. The midway notch is traced. Finally the sleeve cap is walked to the shoulder, The underlying shoulder seam is marked on the sleeve cap.
 
Then the process is repeated with the front cap and front armhole.
 
 

In this diagram one sees the results. After the cap has been walked, the ease is now adjusted in the cap. The dark notches are the corrected notches. When sewing the cap into the armhole, lay the cap down to the feed. Because the feed-dog takes the fabric a little faster under the machine, it will help ease the cap into the armhole.

 
 
Note: Registration is open for Contemporary Fashion Education fall courses. If you plan to take a course, please sign up now as only three spots are left.
Books used in the program are also available for sale. All procedures in the program and its books are as done in high-end industry.

Laurel

www.Laurelhoffmann.com- published books

www.ContemporaryFashionEducation.com- school
Facebook: Contemporary Fashion Education, Inc.
http://contemporaryfashioneducation.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/LaurelHoffmann1


 P: 215 884 7065

 ©Laurel Hoffmann, 2014, all rights reserved.