Fit & Sew Retreat...Another successful event!

May 31 - June 5 saw another successful Fit & Sew Retreat come and go. The 6 days absolutely flew by.  A lot of fitting and sewing occurs.  A lot of learning experiences transpire.

This time, ladies were mostly Oregonians from eastern and central Oregon, and one more from Wisconsin.  All were a delight to have in class.

You may enjoy seeing a photo journey of their 6 days.  Here are the highlights:

 

 

 

 

Come 4 o'clock on Friday afternoon, we were all pretty tired, but positive results were had by all.
Thanks once again for attending, ladies.  It was a pleasure to have each and every one of you.

Kindly,
Glenda...the Good Stitch!

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Double Back Darts

This topic of double darts at the pants waist edge is well worth repeating.  I just had to show you another example of how adding a second dart at the waist line of your pants pattern can really improve the fit.

If you go from a relatively small waist to quite full high hips, I highly recommend adding a second dart to the waist edge of your pants pattern.

This lady attended one of my recent Fit & Sew Retreats.  She has a pretty dominant swayed, dipped center back (at the waist edge), quite full low hip measurement and thin legs.

Here's the result:

She's always had difficulty getting any pants (or skirt for that matter) to fit.  That's why she attended the Retreat.

Keeping in mind these are test pants, where every wrinkle and nuance shows, you're seeing a near to perfect fit at the waist and in the hips and a beautiful hang on the leg.  From a side view you're seeing a perfectly straight side seam.  CF needed to be raised slightly, but that was refined in the tune-ups.

In the above close-up, you're seeing the position of the 2 waist-fitting darts.  They shape her hip shape well.

She did a great job of drafting her pattern and the results as so worth her effort.  Well done...and great fit!

To see how to add this second waist-fitting dart, please watch this short video tutorial.

For any of you ladies who might fall into this category, you'll want to give this a try.

Kindly,
Glenda...the Good Stitch!

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March Retreat Photo Highlights

Everyone achieved well-fitting pants and bodices.  Here's a few photo highlights

 

Students came from Australia, Florida, Pennsylvania...along with 2 local Oregonians.

 

Perfect neck, shoulder & upper chest width.  Darts needed slight repositioning.

 

 Set-in sleeve demo.

 Discussing design details.

 Drawing the pattern.

 Fitting the pants pattern.

 Adjusting the neckline for a forward thrust head.

 Moving the entire shoulder seam forward.

 Princess seams help shape the fabric for body contours.

Transferring fit changes on to the trial 'muslin'.

6 days of fitting experiences - 3 days for pants and 3 for the bodice.  They go quickly.

Glenda...the Good Stitch!

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A Day in the Life of...SFD

I thought you might be interested in a photo story and seeing the kinds of activities that go on behind the scenes in the SFD studio and office.
As most of you know, we spent the beginning of 2015 giving the SFD Kits a total face-lift and at the same time, the Introductory How-To DVD was updated requiring all new models and video demos.  The final 2-DVD set ended up being 3 hr. 45 min. long. 
Here's a look at how we kept extremely busy during the first part of 2015 in an effort to bring you the latest and best of Sure-Fit Designs.

 Lisa was our new measurement model for the Dress, Pants and Shirt segments of the How-To DVD.

 The set looks like this, with lighting and camera equipment everywhere.  Thank goodness Wes, my husband and videographer, knows what he's doing.

At the end of a very success shoot, we were all smiles and happy that it went so well.

Wes and I then went on to film the individual lessons.  This photo was taken during the Dress Kit pattern demo.

Here I'm showing you a new Pants Leg Styles visual where you can see all the distinctive leg styles for pants designing.

And while were doing all the video shooting, here's Kelly, my office assistant and right-hand 'man', wrapping orders that go everywhere in the world.

Without Kelly, the extra things I do, like writing blogs and creating Fashion Leaflets, would come to a grinding halt.  I'm sincerely grateful to have her assist us in many different office functions.

One more tidbit that you should be aware of, is that no DVD product leaves our office without first being checked from beginning to end.  We want only top-notch functioning products to arrive on your doorstep.

Whew! Now that the video segments are shot, I don my editor's hat and begin the editing process.

It's quite a process to go through, but fortunately we all enjoy each step along the way.  I love technology and all the capabilities we can achieve.  As I mentioned above, this new How-To DVD ended up being 3 hr and 45 minutes long.  It was a lot of editing and I'm glad it's done.  I hope you enjoy the end result.

And...occasionally I get to sew!  I'm having withdrawals right now.  Though this week I have 5 lovely ladies from far and distant states in the US, a couple of Oregonians, and one attendee from Australia who are at the SFD Fit & Sew Retreat.  I promise myself - after this I'll begin a new sewing project.

Kindly,
Glenda...the Good Stitch!

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All my patterns...

During my Fit & Sew Retreats, we always discuss how and where to store all your SFD patterns that you end up drawing.  Over a year ago, I did write a blog on this very topic, but since we have a number of new members, it's a good idea to share this information once again.

From one of my recent Retreat attendees, this suggestion was offered.  Barbara (from Utah) sent this idea and these photos.  First, get a couple packages of Velcro cord ties and Key Tag labels.

And you'll need on over-the-door fabric stabilizer organizer - which she thinks she purchased from Nancy's Notions.

Each pocket holds a different group, ie. personal body blueprint, bodice patterns, pants patterns, shirt patterns.  Just roll your patterns, use the colorful Velcro ties with a key tag (write on the tag what the pattern is) and into its home over the door it goes.  Since this organizer bag is designed for storing stabilizer, it's wide enough for the widest roll of SFD 24" wide tracing vellum.

This is a great idea if you don't have shelf space for your patterns.  And the tags make it easy to read what each pattern is.  The vellum doesn't get creased - your patterns are easy to grab and re-use.  Personally, I'd likely also roll the patterns on an empty paper towel tube - just to make sure there are no unnecessary folds or creases.

To see the other pattern storage ideas, Click Here.

Barbara...thanks so much for sharing!

If you have other techniques for pattern storage, please comment and or send a photo.

Kindly,
Glenda...the Good Stitch!

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Oct 2014 Fit & Sew Retreat Photo story

What a wonderful way to end the 2014 Fit & Sew Retreat schedule...with 5 lovely ladies!

The 6 days flew by and a lot of fitting and sewing happened in Our Sewing Room (the Studio where I teach these workshops).

Everyone had their personal space, meaning high cutting table, sewing machine and any tool or piece of equipment required.  I feel very fortunate to have this studio so close and so well-equipped.

As many of you know, we begin with pants fitting/testing and sewing from Sunday through Tuesday.  Then end the 6 days with bodice fitting/testing and sewing from Wednesday through Friday.  Each attendee had their own unique fitting issues, but each one of them went home with well-fitting patterns and projects (almost) totally completed.  They were an amazing group of ladies.

Here's some photo highlights of the Retreat.  To see all the photos, please click here - Oct 2014 Fit & Sew Retreat.

 

Perhaps you'd like to join me next year.  Watch for 2015 dates both on the website Sure-Fit Designs and in a forthcoming newsletter.  And if you'd like to see a few more photos from this past retreat, please click here - Oct 2014 Fit & Sew Retreat.

Happy fitting & sewing!
Glenda...the Good Stitch!

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Darts and Side Seams: - Perfecting the Dart

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'.   Even though I'm showing transferring the dart to the lower side seam location, the process of folding the dart in position and cutting along the seam allowance cutting edge, is still the same no matter the location of the dart.  You may end up with a really wide and long dart extension, but that can be trimmed out later.

You'll also find written directions for Perfecting the Dart on page 8 of the Dress Kit Instruction Book - 5th Edition.

Kindly,
Glenda...the Good Stitch!

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