Thursday, January 24, 2013

Design your own Wardrobe at Stonemountain & Daughter


Design something unique at Stonemountain & Daughter!
When  you create and design your own clothes, there are no limits! You can  truly make something unique. You can change the material for a pattern  for a whole new look, change design elements, and alter fit. This opens  up hundreds of possibilities. It is truly limitless.
        
        
          
This vintage Vogue dress patterns has a fitted bodice, a really pretty right front drape which extends into a button trimmed tab. The fabric continues to drape into a loose-fitting skirt, giving a special occasion effect. This dress is a full celebration! Get ready for Valentine's day in style!
            
              
Want to learn more about sewing vintage styles?  
              
Check out our Sew Vintage class in March!
              
          
Recommended fabrics are crepe back satin, lightweight wool crepe and shantung. This dress would be lovely in a fabric with a lot of shine and drape, like a silk charmeuse.
        

        

Assorted Designer Silks In Our Fashion Room!
        
Stonemountain & Daughter specializes in designer fabric.
We keep cost down and get unique one of a kind pieces by
purchasing many fabrics from clothing manufactures. For unique finds, check out our half price fabrics upstairs, as well as fine designer fabrics in our cotton, silk, wool, linen, rayon, and polyester selections.

Want to learn how changing your fabrics can affect your design?
Class - All About Textiles
 In this class, students learn to match and select fabrics appropriate  for particular clothing. and identify the major types of textiles and  weaves or  what fabrics would be the best choice for your chosen garment  to make.

Design Tips

Our teacher Nicole Vasbinder has written a book!
Here are some tips and excerpts from her book
Sewing Solutions - Tips and Techniques for the Savvy Sewist
          
"What is good fit? It's actually pretty simple. The length grain of the fabric should hang straight to the floor and hems should be parallel to the floor. Fabric should lay smoothly over the body without bunching, twisting, or pulling."   
          
- Nicole Vasbinder      
  Sewing Solutions

The first step to adjusting a wide or narrow shoulder on a muslin is being able to find the shoulder point - Nicole leads you though the steps in her book. Here is how to find the shoulder point.
          

"The shoulder seam should end right at the shoulder point. To find the joint, raise your arm and feel the little indentation where your arm joins your shoulder."
              
- Nicole Vasbinder
Sewing Solutions
                
                  
Nicole walks you through other fitting techniques such as bust, waistline, changing the rise in pants, making a waist larger or smaller, and fixing square or sloping shoulders!

Sewing Solutions - Tips and Techniques for The Savvy Sewist
Ask her to sign it for you in her classes!
        
Once you have mastered the basics in our 101 Beginning and Beyond classes, you can truly get a unique fit and make your design dreams come true.

A good place to start is Nicole Vasbinder's class -  Intro to Design
 Learn what a makes good  design while learning basic sketching skills. We'll go over principles  of design, garment terminology, and how to do flat and figure sketches.
No previous drawing experience necessary!

Sometimes to make the fit really right for you you need to make adjustments in your patterns. A great design tool is a dress form. It lets you see your designs and work on it in three dimensions. Ideally you want a dress form that is your size. In our duct tape dress form class, you make a dress form that mimic's your body.
        
Class - Copy Ready To Wear
This is a great class because you can take a garment that you love and recreate it! In the process you will learn design elements that are a part of that look!
        
Class - Create a Block / Sloper
The basic block is a master pattern that is used to help alter and fit  existing patterns for a custom tailored look and feel. The basic block  can also be used to pattern draft new original designs based on your  personal fit.
        
Follow us on Pinterest!
A great new place to share customer projects, staff picks, and the latest trunk shows in the store!
        
Even kids can design clothes to suit them!
        
          
Kids, 'tweens thru 16, can join an  ongoing class an  exciting after-school activity for total beginners to intermediate stitchers.  Students work at their own pace and sew in a  lighthearted environment and in small classes with plenty of one-on-one  attention. Beginners make a tote bag or pj pants, experienced sewists  work on their choice of projects.
Class - 940 - After School Sewing Club - Youth Sewing 
          
Many thanks to those of you who are ready my blog and are receiving our email newsletters.  We are getting ready to celebrate our 32nd anniversary of being open in Berkeley! Not only would this be impossible without out incredible customers, but not nearly as much fun!

Friday, January 11, 2013

Celebrate the New Year with Sewing at Stonemountain & Daughter


Here is a cute skirt from Colette.
        A high waisted straight skirt provides a very flattering shape with paneled  styling: not too loose or too tight around the hips, with a very fitted  waist. This skirt buttons up the front, has side seam pockets, and includes a self  tie belt, which can be swapped out for your own narrow belts. This lined skirt is an intermediate pattern.
        
This pattern would be great in a wool suiting fabric. Our half price fabrics upstairs are a great place to look for a great steal on wools!
        

The light to medium weight wools from upstairs wools would be nice to use. And what a bargain at half off!
      
    
        
You can also choose from our amazing cotton prints for an updated look on this skirt!
        
      
    
      
Want to make your skirts and other garments better?  Here are two ways to help improve your technique!

1. An invisible zipper looks great in a skirt and isn't that hard once you know how. Learn three zipper techniques in our zipper class!
        
        
        2. Improve your seams! These details may seem tiny, but they add craftsmanship, creative interest, and flair. Do you know what Flat-felled, French, Welt, Bias Bound seam, Rouleau, Seminole patchwork, and Hong Kong seams are? Learn them all along with topstitching and edgestitching in our seam class with Barbara Beccio.
        
      
        
Follow us on Pinterest!
A great new place for us to share our customer projects, staff picks, and the latest trunk shows in the store!

Look for lots of new sewing tips there!
        
For  those with some sewing experience, jump in and learn to make this skirt  or a project of your choice in our 101 Beginning and Beyond classes or our shorter version - 102 Beginning and Beyond.

If you have no prior sewing experience, we will start you off with a  beginning level garment of your choice so that you can gain  confidence, techniques, and have fun doing it!  
        

Gorgeous red wools from upstairs.
          
Our Sew Labs are a great way to adjust the fit of a garment and get help with little details that you may not yet be comfortable with - get help from our instructors when you get stuck and learn to easily put in those buttonholes and linings!"