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1. Loosely begin a simple knot in one of the threads (make a loop and put the end through the loop):
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3. Continue following the loop...
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4. Finish doubling the knot. Notice that the 2 cut ends are opposite each other - not aligned. This is critical!
"Yes, Virginia, there is sewing after the wedding dress."
1. Loosely begin a simple knot in one of the threads (make a loop and put the end through the loop):
Thank you so much to Amelia, Summerset, Beth Conky, Elaina, Becky, eword10, Claire S and MeredithP for talking back to my confession last Friday! I asked about experiences with online sewing classes.
Five people had taken at least one online sewing class (all through Pattern Review, I think) and three people had not taken any.
Classes that were specifically recommended included:
- Shannon Gifford’s class on Making a Pants Muslin
- Kenneth King’s class on Strap Seam Construction
- Anything by Sarah Veblem
The major pros cited were:
- Convenience (if good classes aren’t available locally)
- Excellent written instructional materials
- The opportunity to practice something immediately (not always true in those one hour classes at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo, for example)
The major cons mentioned were:
- Chats can be difficult to follow
- It would probably be more fun in person
- If you were making a mistake, a live instructor would probably catch it more quickly
- Chats were too close together to allow busy people time to finish the homework
Most people recommended the online classes at PR – the ones who hesitated generally called out a mismatch between the teaching approach and their learning styles. More specifically, a couple of folks mentioned being visual learners who prefer watching over listening. In fact, eword10 suggested that PR add videos to their online classes – that sounds like a good idea to me. :)
I’m looking forward to my class on Couture Hand Stitches! It starts in the second half of June. I’ll be sure to tell you how it goes!
Thanks again to everyone for taking the time to share your thoughts and experiences! :)
Photo credit: Stas Kulesh
A double border paisley jersey:
So, I don't know what and I don't know when, but don't worry, I'll get to these! They are in my queue... :)
PS - and Pink always has Priority!
Here is the breakdown among the commenters who also answered Cindy's question:
And regarding cost:
1-6 and A - I:
F - I (repeat) & J - U
R - U (repeat), V - Z and 7 - 12:
As I mentioned, I've already cut out the pieces. I should have pictures of both skirts for you (along with a pattern review) next weekend! Yup, you'll be seeing these babies soon! They're in the queue! :)
One of my sewing students, Ana, constantly has ideas that involve deviating from the pattern instructions. Sometimes I can immediately see why they are bad ideas, and sometimes I am not sure if they would lead us into trouble or not.
The problem is that I am far from fluent in Spanish and so I generally have to stick to trying to communicate simple ideas. And she is the type of person who will be satisfied with a good explanation, but never with a "because I said so" excuse.
As a result, I came up with a one-size-fits-all bit of advice. I recommended that the FIRST time she sew any pattern, she stick faithfully to the instructions. My argument was that the people who designed the pattern probably put a lot of thought into it and know what they are doing and they may have good reasons for their approach. However, after she has sewn a pattern once, she should be familiar enough with it to be able to figure out if and where and how she can make modifications.
Makes sense, right? It was certainly good enough for Ana...
Apparently I need to run it by myself again! ;)
Yup, I took a peek at the hip skirt pattern and immediately started thinking that I could do better than the pattern designer. The waist band (really at the hip) is 3 inches wide and the pattern calls for 3/8th inch wide elastic to be inserted in the band.
The large discrepancy between the sizes of the waist band and the elastic just didn't seem right to me. Plus, I decided, I like zippers better anyways - I'll just put in a zipper instead. And so I did. ;)
Take a look at these two waist band pattern pieces from different patterns. See if you can figure out which one lies nicely along a woman's hip and can be closed up with a zipper, and which one needs some elastic along the top to help it conform to a woman's shape...
It was a wonderful afternoon! I hope you had a great weekend too!
©2009 After the dress... | by TNB