The NJ Chapter has been enjoying a busy, productive year. Our new retreat was a huge success! Joined by some former members, other colleagues, and friends, we spent a wonderful weekend pursuing personal sewing goals, exchanging ideas, and sharing expertise. Our fitting and alterations skills were once again called into play at our local Cinderella's Closet charity prom boutique, an annual event that helps area teens in need. Other meetings featured tools, techniques, and tips from home decor boot camp, and a fun and informative sharing of our members' very favorite sewing notions and tools. We've also had the pleasure of sharing events with members of other ASDP chapters!
NEW JERSEY CHAPTER CHALLENGE, 2015
What are the results when several people sew a garment from the same fabric? That is what our chapter decided to find out when we won 7 yards of fabric, along with some other items, at the 2014 ASDP National Conference in Philadelphia. Since we won the fabric as a chapter, it was decided to divide up the fabric among the conference attendees willing to participate in a sewing and design challenge. Each participant was to sew a garment in the fabric incorporating a technique learned during the conference. The submissions were judged on how well this technique was incorporated into the garment, as well as fit, creativity, coordination of other fabrics and execution. The fabric was a lace mesh with lycra; the colors were dark and light brown on an ecru back ground. Each participant got 1-1/3 yards. In the end, two garments made it to the November meeting for evaluation and judging. Lois Anderson constructed a top with the lace fabric overlaying a blue sparkly knit. Wendy Cettina sewed a skirt using the lace as an underskirt/petticoat with a brown herringbone with a gold pinstripe as the main skirt. In the end (drum roll please…) Lois won, with Wendy a close second. It was a fun challenge and interesting to see the results using the same fabrics. Specifics on each garment follow.
When Lois looked at the fabric she immediately knew she wanted to make a top with the lace overlaid on another fabric. She had purchased the croquis set from Carol Kimball (didn’t take the fashion illustration class) and used those to sketch some ideas. While shopping for fabric, she was enthralled with the change in color depending on what base color when beneath it; she chose light blue because she like the lavender shades it created. Lois fussy cut the sleeves to get matching sleeves with a centered medallion and the darker color on the back and across the front. Two patterns were combined for the top, Simplicity and Pamela Leggett’s t-shirt pattern. She used two techniques from the conference, narrow hems from Robin Bolton’s class on industrial shortcuts and, from a beading class, beading along the edges and a little fob in front. Since the lace is so springy, she thought the beads would give it some weight.
The lace fabric was not something Wendy would have typically chosen so, she knew she would be making something that used the lace as an accent and not the main fabric. She decided to make a skirt using the lace as an underlay peeking out below. Placing the lace near other fabrics in her studio, she liked it with the brown wool blend. The brown toned down the colors of the lace. After beginning then abandoning the idea of making a gored skirt and matching all those pinstripes, she decided make a dirndl skirt and used Style Arc’s Margo skirt pattern. After it was finished it needed something a little extra so she added a fabric flower at the waist.
It was a fun project and all the attendees at the meeting enjoyed seeing how different each person’s vision was!
