STRUT

STRUT has announced their lineup for the May 16th show, and I am excited to be a part of it! I will be debuting the apparel side of my line, Heating & Cooling.  I plan to show eight looks, four mens and four women's. All proceeds go to benefit Basic Rights Oregon, so come check it out! www.strutpdx.com 

More info

As per Alison Cumming comment I wanted to clarify my issue. The difference in FI's tutorial and my own is mostly a two part placket vs a one part placket. Although in mine the underlap is 1/4" smaller than the overlap. I'm not sure what it is on hers. I imagine I would have the same problem however I could just be thinking about it wrong. Here's what is going on with mine.

Here is what it should look like in paper.


This is what it is doing.

Plackets

I know I promised to do other tutorials, and I still will, I'm going to post about how to do a shirt placket. Because I have to have some thing to look at to remind me how it all goes together, you all have to look at it with me. So here goes.

This placket is the set up used in the sleeves of dress shirts and the neck opening of pull overs. I stole this almost entirely from David Coffin's book-Shirtmaking. I have tried other methods of sewing a placket and other shapes such as the two part placket and pointed ends vs square ends. Coffin's method is the easiest minus two details, the final top stitching and folding the point, but we'll get to that


This is right out of Coffin's book.


Here's my pattern. I went a little crazy with the notches.


The pink is the placket and the red is our imaginary sleeve or shirt front or whatever.



The first part is all ironing. I think that making the top square and then folding the triangle makes the top too bulky and is difficult to make a perfect triangle. In the future I will cut the triangle with 1/4 seam allowances and use a triangle shaped piece of tag board to iron around.







Here they finally get pinned together.





You can't make out the stitch line very well here but you can see it better in the next one. As a note I will draw this box in with pencil to make it easier to stitch around.

Make sure to clip all the way to corners.


You should iron placket opening at this point.


Top stitch the underlap.






I top stitch the overlap up to the point where it joins the shirt and then take it out of the machine, line it all up again and put it back in to top stitch the triangle but I forgot to put in that picture.



Sewing this rectangle on is the worst part I can't seem to get it to line up just right on the underside. Does anybody have a good trick for it? If I have to hand baste it I know I'm doing something wrong.


See. Its still crooked. It makes me crazy.


Ta Da!

Show Time!

Well the time is now! Come see some awesome fashion. Come see my new project. Here's the info and if you click on the title it will take you directly to the mercury site and a place to buy tickets.

Sandra Buckland

After a year and a half in the garment industry in NYC, I have to admit to being a little jaded about design. I don't read fashion magazines much anymore because I'm just generally a bit bored with the clothes...so it's really exciting to come across something that I absolutely love and have never seen the likes of before. I don't know anything about Sandra Buckland, but her work is amazing... although I'm not sure if I would wear most of it out of the house.
Oh hell, yes i would.



And for the extra super ballsy among us, we have....human hair!!!
Gorgeous, until you think about it.

Branching Out

Things have slowed down a bit in the patternmaking world lately. At first I thought it was all post fashion week fatigue, but the lack of work has dragged on past the normal month or so. I think people are really assessing things, determining where to go next in this environment, and taking their time thinking about it. The result for me however, has been monstrously long "weekends" and 2 or 3 days of work a week. This week I didn't work at all. Now this could be fun -- for instance, my roommate Lillian and I are planning on spending the entire day working on our summer wardrobes (this involves lots of bleach, distressing, and black dye). But it also means I need some work on the side.
Which is a lead-up to say that Lillian and I have been working on a project that involves germ filtering tents for baby car seats. A fun technical problem, but not something either of us are going to be excited about putting on our resume. This led to a couple conversations with friends about what our worst or most ridiculous job related to our field has been. Lillian made patterns for a woman who was creating "designer scrubs." Another friend, an artist, made a backdrop for a Marlboro ad and felt like she was selling her soul the whole time. And my friend Julia, a videographer, worked for a year at a company who's main client was Popeye's Chicken. And she's vegan.
My most absurd career related job was a freelance gig I took a couple summers ago for a wealthy young man who wanted costumes for Burning Man. I agreed to sew him three v-neck t-shirts and two pairs of pants, all made of animal print spandex, much of with a metallic finish. He wanted them all VERY tight, to the point that when I was taking measurements he mentioned that I should take a little extra off the pants measurements because he doesn't wear underwear out at Burning Man.
I had successfully completed the t-shirts and started on the pants when my sewing machine stopped working. Completely stopped, full of loopy bobbin mess and weird thumping sounds, unable to proceed. Oddly (and fortunately), it worked fine on every other type of fabric. So I pawned the pants project off on a friend. She told me later that he had insisted on doing the fitting for the pants without his underwear on. Jesus. I haven't taken a freelance sewing job since.
I want to hear everyone else's stories of skill and talent used for odd and/or soul sucking jobs. Post yours!

Paging LT Cute!

You have been waiting for it!  It is a tie (yes a tie).  For a lady (yes you). And... dun dun dun... it's here ... The Lady Tie!    Tell me this isn't the cutest thing ever!  For more info, check out UltraPDX  and/or  www.ladytie.com

Smith and Bybee

A while back I had the opportunity to do a work trade with my friend Nate. Nataniel Shapiro does odd jobs for my company. He has a furniture design degree from RISD and does all kinds of beautiful sculpture and fabrication. For a while he was teaching me welding and metal working and I was teaching him how to make men's dress shirts. Through this collaboration Smith and Bybee was born. Smith and Bybee is name of our new menswear line. We will be showing our first collection at "The Forecast" a Mercury fashion event. The Mercury being our local weekly rag. The event will take place on April 26th at the Portland Center Stage/Gerding Theater/the Armory at 128 NW Eleventh Avenue, Portland, OR. I believe that it will be taking place in the smaller event space, lobby area as opposed to the actual stage itself. The press for the event is still to come and I'm sure it will involve more specifics like time, price, and all that good stuff. I'm not totally sure who all is going to be showing but it will involve some if not all of the usual portland suspects, Adam Arnold, Emily Katz, Seaplane, etc. They are also interested in featuring a small collection of "budding" designers, being people that haven't done many public events. Each "budding" designer would have one look and then those designers would be shown together as part of the show. If anybody is interested I can put you in touch with the mercury. I know that there will be a 25$ application fee but no participation fee.

Our collection is inspired by the textiles and details of classic American work wear. It will be six looks over all. I'm not sure how many looks other people are doing but we had rather short notice about this and settled on six as a do-able number. This will be my first real show and I'm so ridiculously excited about it. I hope everybody comes.

Wolf dressform? I think not.

Okay. I purchased this dress form off of Craigslist by someone who claimed it was Wolf brand. The price that I purchased it at was very reasonable, compared to a new Wolf. I called and asked if she would hold it for me and she did. I was so fricking excited that I was getting this thing, that I wasn't thinking very clearly. Anyhow, I didn't see "Wolf" printed on it anywhere in the pictures. But I thought, why would she lie, I'm sure Wolf makes some that do not have their name on it. I got to her house and it was in very good condition, so I bought it. Anyway, now I have it and YES it is very nice. I am still ecstatic. But I had to get to the bottom of this "Wolf" thing. The other thing I noticed once I got home, was that she has very broad shoulders, and an exceptionally long distance between her bust level and her neck point. I work on all kinds of forms at school and they vary greatly, so this doesn't concern me too much. However, it does say a size 8, which it is not. Again, this doesn't concern me. It's more like a ready-to-wear 8, or a size 10 form. More than anything, I just want to know more about it. 

So I called Wolf, and the woman was extremely patient and helpful. She looked

up at the history of the forms they made in 1995, and did not find a number that matched the one written on the bottom of the form. As you can see, she has some shaping in the bum area, and some definition in the front leg area as well. This led the woman at Wolf to believe that maybe it was a cocktail or strapless version. Either way, the measurements did not match theirs for an eight, it doesn't say Wolf anywhere (which the woman said some people will request if they're using it for display purposes), and the work order number doesn't match. 

Regardless, I do love the form and am ecstatic to have one, especially at this price. However, I do regret not asking the woman I purchased it

 from, where she got it. The measurements are so inconsistent and odd (an extremely wide shoulder width), that I almost think it was a custom form that the woman had made for herself. It is definitely very similar to her body type! I am wondering if anyone has had an experience with this type of form, or knows who made it? The name of the individual who made it is written on the bottom by hand, "Fior 7/28/95", along with the bust, hip, and about six other measurements, and an order number.

One other question, maybe a silly one.  I've always used the ones at school that have legs, so you can pull pants and skirts on from the bottom.  Several of my designs are pencil shaped at the bottom and won't fit over the bust.  This was a funny initial conundrum that I encountered immediately: How the hell do I get this thing on here?!  I tried sleeving the form off of the stand, but it just got higher and higher.  The ceiling in my studio isn't even high enough for me to sleeve it off all the way.  I could pull the skirt over the wheels, but we're talking about some expensive wool that I generally avoid putting on the floor. I find it hard to believe that you can't make a pencil skirt for this thing, so I look to you guys to divulge the industry secrets!

Half-Scale Dressforms

Well, I am looking at finally adding a dress form to my studio, and ran across some half-scale ones. I've heard of these, and find the concept pretty fascinating. First of all, they're fricking cute! Second of all, if you have one of these hanging out in your studio, you're looking pretty cool in my book. And third of all, can it really be possible to drape on one of these, simply double the size of the pattern, and presto... accurately fitting garment? I know they are used for many reasons, primarily for education and demonstrations, but a site I looked at suggested that it could be used to make a real, working pattern. As high quality as the dress form may be, I would imagine you would have to be an extremely meticulous stitcher and patternmaker in order for this to work. Any miniscule mistake you made in the pattern would then become twice the size! I'm curious if anyone has worked on one of these, and if they have any feedback. Cuz...I kinda like the idea! Imagine the amount muslin you would save!

What do you want?

In the midst of my fashion mayham I'm helping my friend Nate learn more about the construction of garments. All of his questions have got me thinking about the information that I have had trouble finding. If I could make all that info readily available it would make me happy but there is only so much time in a day. So I'm wondering what tutorials would be the most use to others.
I could do one on how to copy your favorite jeans,
How to copy and sew flat felled seams,
Shirt detailing back vents/facing/fancy cuffs,
Drafting and sewing button plackets on the center front or cuff,
Real flies (not Mock Flies) on pants,
Sewing and patterning seams that are an arc joined to a strait line,
At home seam taping for raincoat and dry bags,
Or anything else that you want that I know how to do. So leave a comment, vote, and I'll try to do two tutorials in May.

News Especially for Carly

After a break from fashion, it appears that your darling Jil Sander is going back to work, and she's going to be designing for Uniqlo! I don't remember for sure, but I think we visited Uniqlo when you were in NYC....It's a Japanese brand of basics - T-shirts and jeans and cashmere sweaters - all pretty damn cheap and fairly high quality despite the cheapness. Sooo...although there's no Uniqlo in Portland, and I don't think they do mail order, you are a tad bit closer to being able to own some Jil Sander designed duds.

New Stuff!

I'm sorry I haven't been posting lately. I'm gearing up for a fashion show at the end of april. Although I'm waiting to hash out a few more detail before I divulge all the info. I just wanted to draw your attention to a couple new links. The coolest website I have found in quite some time is the E-Workers site. Its all in japanese but it has detail shots of all kinds of old-school work wear. I highly recommend checking it out. Next up is Context clothing which not only is a good retailer for high end men's wear and denim but posts the actual size of the garments. And last but not least we have The Bra Maker Supply which is a good place to source all kinds of hard to source items.
Happy browsing!

Oh, Senior Collection again...

The entire collection will be done in about three weeks, but this is all I have pictures of so far. These are not the best pictures, but show my progress none the less. The jeans still need belt loops and a hem, the shirt needs a good pressing and a nice rolled hem. I have also completed the mini skirt which is exactly like the jeans. I have a good start on about 3 other garments, and should have pictures of those soon.

NY Fashion Week is over!!

And I have free time again!!
My boss, Tina, is actually incredibly organized, so the month long lead up to fashion week wasn't as hectic or busy as it is for most other people working in fashion, but it was still exhausting, and I am reveling completely in my free weekend, sitting here with my cup of coffee looking at my workspace, planning out my projects for the day. As a way to commit to completion, I'm going to list them here:
-Start in on that enormous pile of to-be-fixed clothes. They never take long and it's so satisfying -- you suddenly have an entire week's worth of new clothes!! but I still never do it. From scratch is so much more fun.
-Develop, mock up and test bicycle saddle bags. With a lovely industrial machine, and two leads on waxed cotton suppliers, I don't have an excuse anymore. Plus summer is just around the corner.
-Make a series of draped jersey shirts and dresses for the days at the end of the week when all I want to wear to work is pajamas.
-And, along the pajamas line, draft a pattern for harem pants. It should take about 10 minutes. And oh, the coziness!

Quilting with Gee's Bend

I finally bought the book The Quilts of Gee's Bend on ebay the other day, after a year or two of covetting it. If you haven't seen the quilts made by the women of Gee's Bend, Alabama, you're in for a treat. They have an incredible free form grace and the color schemes are sometimes surprising and irregular. The stories behind the quilts make them all even more stunning.


Just before finding the book online, a friend invited me to join a little quilting group she's starting with friends in Brooklyn. I'm really excited to start my own Gee's Bend inspired quilt -- I don't want to copy the quilts, I think that out of context they would seem a little dishonest and lose a lot of their appeal. I've been thinking though about precision versus a kind of conscious imprecision, and the idea of making something spontaneously irregular seems like such a refreshing contrast to patternmaking. It's similar to when, after working on tailored pieces for awhile, you get to play around with some poufy irregularily pleated asymmetrical gown.

"Standard" work on cutting

I recently found this book at Powells and found that it had all kinds of patterns in it that used ideas that I have been curious about. I have started thinking that most of the patterns that I draft are too flat. By this I mean that the shaping of seam lines is less varied than the shapes of the body part it is covering. I imagine that this is due to many iterations of pattern drafters truing all the subtleties out a garment. Whether or not this is true I have no idea but it makes sense in my head. At work I do many patterns on much smaller things than the average frock coat but I have learned to love the tiny 1/8" and 1/16" of an inch adjustments that take a pattern from fine to awesome. The most interesting thing I have discovered about these adjustments is that they often take the pattern away from the mathematically idealized version and involve asymmetric darts and extra "bend" allowance in areas that are hard to stuff properly. (I'm thinking more of back pack straps than frock coats.) This has led me to think that all of the areas in sewing where we make straight lines on curved parts of the body might be the wrong way to approach things. So while I was thinking about this I found a book called "Standard" Work On Cutting (Men's Garments) 1886. That's right this book was written in 1886. Now before you start thinking that you don't want to make a frock coat for the corpulent figure (pg 20) let me ask you a couple of questions I have been wondering.
Why is it that the shoulder seam for men's dress shirts doesn't sit at the apex of the shoulder (or there abouts) and is in fact cocked forward by a large amount, and what exactly should that amount be?
How come it is so hard for me to find pants that fit well in the rear? And why do we draw a strait line in the rear crotch curve when its one of the curviest parts? For more on this look at the fashion incubator site for insight on butts, camel toe, and jeans fitting.
How come the interior line of a relaxed hanging arm is so much smaller than the exterior line but our sleeves are patterned symmetric?
There are these and many more questions but I would like to show you this book.




Look at these crotch curves! It all makes sense!


Look at the angles of the shoulder seams?! Look at everything.


And finally because this book was written so long ago it's copyrights have expired and you can download it for free from Google books. Take that Powells! Wait, No! I didn't mean it. Come back Powells. I love you. I swear I'll never cheat again, I promise!

P.S Sorry for all the exclamation points. Sometimes I just get carried away.

New Links!

I wanted to provide a brief introduction to the new links I've posted on our side bar.

The crowning jewel is "Vintage Sewing" Somebody is taking the time to scan vintage sewing books and post them. Please give these people money, books, your first born, what ever you think might help create an extensive data base of sewing information. The world of sewing can only profit from a population of well educated people. They have information on patterning, sewing, washing, glove making, millinery, and much more. They have many books from The Women's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences.

Next up we have infomat which is a hub for fashion links including trends and careers. It is slightly unsatisfying in the amount of hard information that it provides but a good link hub.

Massive Change is the brain child of Bruce Mau and in dedicated to all the intricacies of how design can better our world and environment. Their reading list is one of the best compilations of awesome nonfiction I have encountered. Feel free to educate yourself, get involve, or just peruse. These people have inspire hope in me. I think there is a chance that we don't have to destroy ourselves.

I will end with the NW Links For Raw Materials. This is sight for the Oregon/Washington/Idaho area who either have or want industrial raw materials. This includes barrels of wool, pounds of garment leather scraps, fifty gallon drums of beany babies, and all sorts of things you never knew you wanted.

Have fun surfing, I hope that there is useful info in there for everyone.

Jacket for Carly

I saw this on the Sartorialist the other day and thought of you Carly. That volume in the back, the silhouette in general - I can so easily imagine you in this.

Menswear Inspiration

Last season I posted some pictures from Junya Watanabe's menswear show. Again this season I love a lot of the pieces, (although I have to say, the addition of some yellows and metallics were a little off the deep end) and, after looking through some of the Sartorialist's menswear photos for style.com, I've realized just how influenced by menswear I am right now. It suits the world mood (with the exception of Obama-jubulence) to wear androgynous wool plaids and work boots and worn-in canvas instead of my closet full of vintage dresses.

My favorite from JW's collection.

Distressed and destroyed only really works if it's genuine. None of that pre-washed whiskered crap. Luckily I have quite an easy time staining, tearing and generally ruining things on my own.

I love the tab detail on the waistband of his jacket.

Alright, so this guy's a little too far into steampunk territory, but I really like all the pieces serparately, and I've been wanting a hat like that one for ages...