Day 3 at the Sewing Expo

On the last day of this Expo, I attended my last class "Industrial Shortcuts" with Mickey Hudson-Sandoval. I learned a lot about sewing efficiently and learning to control my sewing machine. Sewing with no basting, no trimming, and no pinning. Let the SM dog feed do all the work. It was a fascinating class.

Mickey did a demo using her SM and showed us how to sew and hold the fabric. She sewed curved edges (e.g. princess seams), curved pockets, applying zippers (centered & lapped), installing a waistband, and sewing a flat felled seam. No pins were used! I'm definitely going to try out these techniques before the weekend ends. Next year, I'll be sure to sign up for Mickey's classes.

I did find some light charcoal/purple colored silk dupioni to underline a black lace shell I plan on making in the future. As the fabric was being cut, some of the ladies were mesmerized at my choice of color. It's really beautiful!

Now, I need to finish some knitting today so I can spend a few hours tomorrow getting reacquainted with my sewing machine.

Attending this Sewing Expo and taking the classes was definitely what I needed to get back into sewing mode again.

Happy Sewing!

Day 1 and 2 at the Sewing Expo

After spending two days at the Sewing Expo, I have to say that there were many more vendors this year than last and there were more sewing classes being offered. This is a good thing. Some of the regular vendors have cut back on what they brought with them. Some vendors that I used to see every year were not present. There were many new vendors from other states that came to Virginia. A few of them travelled hundreds and even thousands of miles by car and trailer. There was a variety of vendors representing quilting, sewing, various sewing machine dealers (Viking, Pfaff, & Brother), etc. One thing I did notice was a lot of fabrics were displayed in bolts, rolls, and pieces and ranged from quilting cottons to fancy fabrics to high end wools.

I stopped in at Vogue Fabrics and found a beautiful black and gray knit fabric destined to be a twinset. That was the only fabric purchase I made, so far. I was on a mission in search of unusual buttons for future jackets and hand knit garments. I did spend time at a wonderful "dry goods" booth that had lots of buttons, trims, ribbons, beads, etc. Here's what I purchased over two days, most of them were on sale for 50% off.





Day 1 @Sewing Expo Class: Lose 10 pounds in a Day-Make Pants That Fit with Judy Kessinger

This 3 hour class was held in a meeting room at a hotel next door to the Dulles Expo center. The minute I arrived into the room, Judy was armed with a measuring tape and my goodie bag and proceeded to take my measurements. I had a feeling that this was going to be a fun class.


Here's what came in my bag:

Yard stick, Dritz tape measure, 6 inch clear ruler, 1 yard of elastic, Master Pants Pattern, and Pattern Ease tracing paper


Judy gave us instructions and steps to follow in tracing our own pattern from the master pants pattern (based on our measurements) each of us received. As you can imagine, everyone's measurements were different and so were our shapes. It was interesting to listen to other sewists and their pants sewing experiences. I felt so comfortable in this class.

Here's the results from the class, my first drafted pants pattern:

My personalized pants pattern, drawn my moi


My pants pattern is long for a very good reason. I will be tweaking them over the next few days


My Goodie Bag from class

I plan on re-taking my measurements and retracing and cutting out another pants pattern. This will reinforce what I learned in class. Plus, you don't get "real" measurements when you are wearing street clothes, if you know what I mean. I can't wait to get started.


Day 2 @Sewing Expo Class: Lining Alternatives by Barb Callahan

I enjoyed this hour long class. I learned about Hong Kong seams and single seam finishes and how beautiful the inside of a garment can look with these techniques. I learned about Silk Dupioni and pre-washing and the many beautiful colors available. I learned that the inside of a garment can be just as pretty as the finished garment is on the outside. I can't wait to sew a jacket and apply these techniques.

Guess what? My sewing mojo came back! I am motivated. I am energized. I can't wait to sew!

Going to the Sewing Expo

Tomorrow, I will be heading to the Original Sewing & Quilt Expo after work. I have signed up for a pants fitting class tomorrow evening and two other classes for Friday (Lining Alternatives) and Saturday (Industrial Shortcuts). It will be a great time for me to be surrounded by fellow sewists and to share and learn new sewing techniques. I'm hoping my sewing mojo will graciously reappear within the next few days.

I do plan on taking a knitting project with me and knit when I have a chance. As you know, knitting has become my main focus this year and it's very portable. I'm currently knitting a cute cardi called Alpine.

Alpine by Berroco Design

Here's what the back of my cardi looks like so far. This yarn is fabulous to knit with.

Alpaca With a Twist Highlander in Ochre color

I recently finished a sweater called My Lil Black Sweater:

Sirdar Denim Chunky in Vintage color

I'm still busy with my hobbies and have enjoyed reading about hand knit fashions. Just as I did in the sewing world, I dream about garments (sweaters & cardigans) and fibers.

Sewing Expo Classes - Fitting Accomplished: Pants

Friday late afternoon:

I was able to make it to my 2nd Expo class. It was "Fitting Accomplished: Pants" class with Cynthia Guffey. First off, I want to say that I would recommend any of Cynthia's classes. She has an interesting way of teaching...straight forward, direct, and makes sure you "get it". Personally, I found her class captivating. She definitely got my attention and the fitting techniques...well "I got it".

Cynthia demonstrated how to take the bottom half measurements (from the waist down). Basically, side seams, front and back, hip differences, and slopes. Also, waist to knee, finished length, crotch depth, and crotch length. She also mentioned using the flexible ruler to get the crotch curve, trace the ruler to paper, and then use your traced crotch curve to layover your pants pattern.

She also mentioned about using darts in pants. For round butts, use 2 darts. For flat butts, use 3 darts. Narrow and longer darts uses less fullness. Wider and shorter darts adds more fullness.

I learned a few things about the "wrinkles" in the front of pants. If I step forward and I see a "smile", my crotch depth is not deep enough or too shallow. If I see a "frown", my crotch depth is too deep. What I should be seeing is a "straight" break across.

I also learned a few things about the back of pants. If I see too much fullness, I need to adjust my hip curve. If I see a "pull up and down", I would have a flat butt. Wrinkles at the inner thigh, would need a tuck in the inner leg seam back. Cynthia actually demonstrated these techniques with a lady in class who made her own pants. We watched as Cynthia made the tweaks and tucks on the lady and low and behold...the lady's pants fit perfectly in the back.

She demonstrated how to make a waist yoke, for those of us who might have a narrow waist and wide hips.

Her final demonstration, was to make a pants facing that fits. This was very helpful after you make a adjustments to your pants pattern and add darts.

The class was only an hour long, but I learned a lot of wonderful techniques. Again, I highly recommend Cynthia Guffey's classes. An entertaining and enjoyable experience.



Saturday:

I was signed up for 3 classes on Saturday, two of them with Cynthia Guffey. Unfortunately, I hit rock bottom with my cold (2 weeks now) and could not attend. I coughed myself awake at 3am and woke up DH too. DH gave me OJ, vitamin C, zinc, and hot tea. He made me "first breakfast" and then off to sleep I went. I woke up hours later and just felt miserable. I had "second breakfast" then decided to stay indoors and well, keep quiet. You know I must be really sick if I can't attend my sewing classes. For some odd reason, I would every now and then look at the clock and say "Oh, I would be in this class by now". A real bummer.

I felt bad for DH, as I've been having these coughing attacks early in the morning for the last few days. He was one tired puppy yesterday. We were grateful to have a day of rest.



Sunday:

I've decided to remain quiet today and rest. I've got my sewing notes from class, my Nikon D40 field guide book, and chick flick DVDs nearby to keep me entertained.

Sewing Expo Classes - Win the Battle of the Butt

I had a great time in class yesterday, Win the Battle of the Butt with Lorraine Henry. She showed us the back pants pattern pieces from the major pattern companies including Burda. There are major differences as most of us already know. She showed us how to take the bottom half measurements (from the waist down) by ourselves and the tools to use to mark our waist and hip line. She demonstrated how to get our crotch curve using the flexible ruler and using rubber bands to mark the ruler for the front waist point, crotch point and back waist point. How to step out of the flexible ruler and trace our curve onto paper.

Lorraine demonstrated how to lay the new crotch curve pattern piece over the e.g. McCalls pattern piece to see how different our own personal crotch curve is. She also demonstrated how to make the appropriate pattern adjustments.

These are great starting points for me as I hope to create my own "crotch curve" pattern this weekend.

Overall, it was a great class with a lot of valuable information. For me, it was helpful that I attempted to make pants over the Summer and could use that experience in class.

As for shopping at the Expo, I did managed to get over to the Vogue Fabrics booth. I found some wonderful remnants...mostly knits. I also found some French floral denim. I also bought some fancy lace trims. I picked up some pre-wound bobbins (black thread) at the Janome booth as I need to do some embroidery for DH. I will post pictures of the fabrics later.

So, I left the Expo and got stuck in the middle of rush hour traffic. No problem. I headed over to G-Street Fabrics (on the way home) to chat with some ladies.

Unfortunately, there are no pictures. Kat...Sorry. No photography allowed. I am sooo keenly aware of when to and not to take pictures now. Especially after I got my hand slapped for taking a picture at EMP in Seattle.


I am looking forward to this afternoon's class, Fitting Accomplished: Pants with Cynthia Guffey.

Upcoming Sewing Expo & Other Sewing Things

I am looking forward to attending the Original Sewing & Quilt Expo this coming week and weekend. I have signed up for 5 classes...all on pants and fitting: Win The Battle of the Butt, Fitting Accomplished: Pants, Pants Construction: The Basics, Comfy Tailored Pants and Skirts, and Pants Construction: Zippers and Pockets. Whew! I have to set a "budget" for this Expo as I expect to visit Vogue Fabrics and other vendors for fabrics and sewing supplies.

I also hope to get over this cold and my stubbed toe. Yes, I was half awake this morning and running up the wood stairs and ouch! I didn't bleed to death, but my big toe is now quite sore. I'm hoping for warm weather next week so I can wear flip flops to the Expo instead of squeezing my hurt toe into real shoes. I know it's Autumn and not Summer, but I have to be comfy. You know with all the vendors there...there will be a lot of walking around for me. Mingling and networking. I am so looking forward to being around fellow sewists for a couple of hours.

I believe my sewing mojo is slowly coming back.

I have had this New Look 6735 pattern in my stash for awhile. It's been on my sewing agenda and of course, moved up and down my sewing priority list. I love all the garments included in this pattern. So, this might be the first pattern that I hope to make at least 3 garments from it.




Since my last sewing project was a Butterick sweater cardigan, I thought I would continue and search for another one. The cardigan (view A) in this New Look pattern is much more of a classic style. I also like the knit top (view B) with the 3/4 sleeves. So, now I need to decide whether to make a skirt or the pants for the complete 3 piece ensemble.

Now, all I need is to collect the fabrics and see what goes together. Wish me luck as it will take me some time to select the fabrics, trace all the pattern pieces, and make whatever adjustments that needs to be made.

I hope you're having a great weekend!