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July 16, 2021
Bookkeeping
So lots of times I bring up subjects and then another subject comes up and I don't get to finish the story (which finishes sometimes weeks after the original email) - so here is a finish to a couple of stories.
Equipment
I talked about the value of working with a legitimate and good dealer and the advantages. Having expert sales staff (they are trained to not only know the equipment, but if you have a problem, they know which tech and how to go about fixing it), of course having good equipment (that is long-lasting and durable therefore making it worth the investment), and classes (on all sorts of subjects, quilting, crafts are usually standard, but dressmaking and cosplay show that this store is
really serious into the sewing arts).
At the time, I was having iron/pressing difficulties, and contacted my local dealer. She not only found who to call, but had a few choice words for them, because the guy not only fixed the iron, but fixed it in 2 weeks. I had to send it to their shop, which I was happy to do, but I have my really fine iron back in the studio working like a dream.
Here's the bottom line: My dealer went to bat for me, because she wants to court my business. She has more of a voice with the manufacturer than I do, and she used that to make sure that my iron was repaired and in a reasonable time. This response from the manufacturer makes me not only want to recommend this product (more info below), but recommend my dealer as well: Bernina of Oklahoma City, Facebook, Instagram, Website and Phone. I've known this for a long time in my own business. If I complete a garment, and the client comes back to me because something is not right, I immediately
FYI - It's a LauraStar I (that's a capital "i"), and it is a fabulous system. It has an air blower with the iron and what this does is makes sure that the fabric isn't tacky with the cover and it allows the fabric stay flat while pressing. I know that sounds contradictory. It's so wonderful that I have even started ironing my pillowcases and sheets (albeit they are folded many times, but come out great anyway). Yes, I know I need to get a
life!!!!
Halston
Alas, this has turned out to be more of a soap opera than about his fashion, which is why I tune into these things. Yes, his life was a series of ups and downs and he came out of them in amazing condition. But it's also as much about the fashion that he made and promoted. It was classic and it was truly investment clothing. Because it was classic and well-made, his clothing lasted forever. I made a beautiful Halston-esque ultrasuede raincoat that lasted
and lasted and lasted - for 3 decades. I finally had to say a fond farewell after parts of the fabric were literally wearing away.
Some films I do recommend
House of Z - by Zac Posen's early career
Signe Chanel - the best documentary on a designer's season - the 2007 Season at Maison Chanel under Karl Lagerfeld. Say what you will of him, he was a workhorse and a creative genius.
Funny Face - With Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire - great fun fiction movie about the fashion biz in the 1950's. This was the glory decade of couture fashion.
The Golden Age of Fashion - Speaking of the Golden Age of Fashion - the V & A in London had a major exhibit on the Golden Age (the 1950s) that were considered by many the most high-fashion, couture decade in fashion. The V & A has an extensive fashion collection and much of it is online, here.
There are many movie that simply have good style and fashion as an major part of the film that are fun to watch. To Catch a Theif, Charade, Breakfast at Tiffany, Rear Window, The Birds, Designing Woman (not the TV series - the movie stars Lauren Bacall and Gregory Peck), How to Marry A Millionaire, Sabrina
(although Givenchy did many of Hepburn's clothes), All About Even, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, A Place in the Sun (the first time fashion in a movie started a craze with the consumer...every girl wanted Liz Taylor's dress in this movie for her prom dress that spring), A New Kind of Love (Newman and Woodward comedy about fashion
business - hilarious, but fashion done by Yves St. Laurent), Roman Holiday (introducing a new star - Audrey Hepburn!), Arabesque (costumes by Yves St. Laurent).
My favorites are Barry Lyndon, Chariots of Fire, Marie Antoinette, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Marie Antoinette because these are the costumes done by my cousin!!!
Facebook SewingArtistry Page - April 22, 2021
I've had several more things printed since I've done the pants, and have been thoroughly pleased with them. I've also printed things at Spoonflower. At Spoonflower, the design repeats whereas it's much easier with my printer because I can create the design the exact space and place I want them, which made making the ponte pants print a lot easier.
I use Corel Draw and have for decades. Corel Draw has a pixel and vector program including in the purchase of Corel Draw. With the package also comes a wealth of clip art and other art work, as well as standard 200 or so fonts. Corel for small owners is a much better software than Adobe Illustrator and Adobe PhotoShop. These programs are both sold separated for about $500/year. You do not purchase these programs.
You rent them for only a year. If you do not renew the program doesn't work anymore. Corel has an annual subscription, however if you do not renew, then you use the old program for as long as you
want. Additionally both programs cost (for renewal only, not for a brand new program), about $300 for both per year. You can see why small companies and companies that are watching the bottom line are fond of Corel, which does the same thing that Adobe does only for less money.
Many of the technical illustrations, morphing to make a point about something being better, looking one way rather than another, and other fantastical graphic things you see here are all done on Corel. I love it, but then I also know how it works. Corel also works glove in hand with the Bernina Embroidery Software which I use.
Website
We never notice anything is right till it's wrong. This goes for so much of what we do. It's been boring lately to not have to report a site failure. Thank heavens it's about time with all the problems in 2019 and 2020 - must have been Covid of my website. At any rate, things seem to be stable, which I'm thrilled
about. That means that I'm finally able to upload more blogs (that don't disappear because of site failure), resources (that don't appear at all), a link to sign up for this email and a link to sign up for a Zoom with Claire. This is thrilling for me cause once again I can put up
more information over time that I had on my old original blog off 12 years. Obviously, things will be updated and it will take time to get all that up on the site. But the great news is that it's stable and that means that there will be more and more information as time goes by!
Library of Weekly Emails
The archive of these emails, however, has been through one company and as a result has been contained in one place. That means there is a wealth of information there. If you remember a past email saying something about this or that, there is an archive available to you. That link at the bottom of this email, and every email you get on Friday from
me, takes you to that archive which can be fun to peruse, but as well, if there is something that needs updating, you have questions about, clarification, please email me (you can simply respond to this email) and let me know.
I am always interested in what you have questions about, what bothers you about sewing, what confuses you, and all that stuff. That sounds rather fake doesn't it? Well, I don't mean it to sound that way, because I adore sewing. I have a passion for sewing, and I have a passion for solving problems with sewing - yes, I know I don't have a life, but this is my life and it's fun for me. It's
all a puzzle. There are most likely 10 to 15 ways to solve a problem in sewing, and I can't wait to share those with you!
I enjoy hearing about your confusions, problems and questions because this lets me know what's important for you. I'm not really interesting in writing and talking about stuff that isn't important to you. Basically I want you to spend your time reading items here where you think, that was time well spent, or that's most interesting, or even, well, I didn't think of
that and this will cause me to think about this or that in a different way!
So hopefully this brings us up to date...which I'm sure won't last long, so more Bookkeeping emails will come in the future!
The sleeve or more importantly the armscye seam - besides seam-ripping, I think, is what everyone perceives as the hardest seam alive. Well, mastering it does take some practice, but everything in sewing does, but once mastered, the sleeve is a beautiful thing. Yes, I know - I don't have a life when I think this is a beautiful thing, but there it is!!!
Watch me take this mess of a sleeve:
and turn it into this:
Don't purchase both of these resources - you only need one or the other.
What I've done here is that I know a lot of you already have the Entire Sleeve Resource. The one thing I've changed and updated and extended is the Armscye-Armhole Alteration Resource. So I'm offering both of them special this month.
If you don't have the Entire Sleeve Resource, it's at a tremendous discount. If you have the Sleeve Resource and want to update it, the Armscye-Armhole Alteration Resource is at discount as well.
Here's the Entire Sleeve Resource
Here's the newly updated Armscye-Armhole Alteration Resource
On the Blog
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A student asked a very interesting question, which I love to hear. This question is one that I've discussed here ...
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Good fashion can take me away for hours even before I realize what's happened. A simple search, or worse a ...
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