Members shall, at all times, consider the health, safety and welfare of the public in their conduct of business.

*Whether the area where you interact with customers (not necessarily your work space) is a room in your home or a brick and mortar shop, it should always be clean, well-lit, and comfortable.  The area should not smell like your lunch. It is a good idea to have hand sanitizer and tissues available for public use.  

*Be aware of any carpet that may be frayed or worn.  If it cannot be replaced, tape it down to prevent someone from tripping. 

*Be aware of possible allergies.  The space should be as dust free as possible and be careful when using air fresheners.   

*When the customer is changing clothes, their privacy is paramount.  Always ask before you enter the dressing room to help them with a zipper or other closure. 

*You, as the business owner, are liable if the customer were to fall, trip, or slip.  In legal terms, your customers are invitees on your property, whether you operate in your home or rent a space. You are responsible for their well-being while they are in your studio. You should carry liability insurance to cover those potential mishaps.

*Customer garments are your responsibility also. They legally become your property when they are dropped off. This is called bailment.  Those items must be secured, protected and kept clean while in your care.  Any item, when returned to the customer, must be in as good if not better condition than when it was placed in your custody.

As part of our annual sewing workshop, we invited national fit expert/educator Sarah Veblen to teach her 2-day pants fitting class.  Due to the small class size, we could observe each person’s fitting and ask a lot of questions!  Our group includes some challenging body shapes and sizes, and everyone came out of class with a lot of new knowledge, a new master pants pattern, and a great fitting pair of pants! The rest of the 3-day workshop weekend, which was our 11th annual event, had its focus on Sewing, Sharing and Fun.  The only rule was no client sewing. This concept came from the reality that we often have little to no time to sew for ourselves, and even less opportunity to have a professional fitting done on our own bodies. The workshop was originally called a retreat, but over time we changed it to “workshop” as so much knowledge was gained over the weekend together -  a lot more learning occurred  than expected. Those in attendance were WI members Katherine Merkel, Sue Tenney, Joan Kuhry, Linda McCoy, and Chris Kazmerzak, as well as other ASDP members Tina Colombo and Robin Kunzer.

Sarah Veblen fits Sue Tenney

Sarah Veblen fits Linda McCoy

Sarah Veblen fits Chris Kazmerzak

Photos by Katherine Merkel

Ten New England Chapter members gathered on a cold and snowy January 8 at Maxwell Silverman's Restaurant in Worcester, Massachusetts to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the chapter's founding.  Among the attendees were three of the chapter's founding members: Janee Connor, Mirjana Freilich, and Astrid Gallet, all three also past presidents. vFrom the summer of 1991, beginning as Massachusetts PACC, our group was an early chapter of the fledgling Professional Association of Custom Clothiers, also founded in 1991. We later expanded our geographic reach and became the New England chapter of PACC and continue today as the New England chapter of ASDP.

Opening the event, current President Sue Bennett proposed a toast to past and present members, to our friendship, and to the next 25 years. Following a luncheon buffet, we continued a tradition of going around the group with each saying what we are currently doing. Everyone agreed that the encouragement we receive from each other has been valuable beyond words and that our association transcends professional and business connections, to deep and lasting friendship. We have been with each other during illnesses and loss, personal achievements, business ups and downs, and much more.

The celebration also included a recent tradition, a fabric exchange. The pieces that each person brought were passed around the table, examined and then spoken for. Despite audible murmurs about "downsizing", "too much of a stash", "no need for more fabric", and the like, everyone seemed to leave happy with a "new" piece for a new year.

At the end of the party, members received a silver colored gift bag which held a pair of ballpoint pens personalized with the chapter name and website (we're always marketing!), an article on the early chapter history written in 2002 by Janee Connor, a package of basting needles, a handmade silk organza press cloth, some chocolates and a rose. Amid laughter and hugs, we headed out in our different directions once again on the snowy roads of New England - until the next gathering!

This event was organized by the current chapter officers: Sue Bennett, Joyce DeLoca, Cathie Ryan, and Maureen Egan.

The ASDP New England Chapter web address is: www.newenglandsewingpros.org

In late November I began conversations with Karen Pence to create gowns for her and her daughters and daughter-in-law for the presidential inauguration. Even now that I am retired, it was obvious to me that I could not handle this job on my own.  I immediately thought of the members in my chapter and all the talents they have. With them at my side I was confident we would succeed.

I estimated we would need 6 people who could dedicate at least one whole day a week to working on the gowns and maybe more.  I called Sarah Knochel first because she now owns my business, Something Wonderful.  One of the first things I told her is that I wanted ASDP to be mentioned whenever possible and that I wanted the Something Wonderful label to be in all the gowns. She was told, as were all the other recruits, that this was a top-secret project to protect the Pence family’s privacy.

Sarah shares, “I started out in this business in a workroom, but have spent the last 12 years at home by myself.  I didn't realize how much I missed the camaraderie of being together with other sewers on a daily basis.  There wasn't a single day that I didn't learn something new, from techniques, to design, to business practices.  The cumulative years of experience in the room for that project was staggering and I think we pooled everyone's skills beautifully.  For people used to working on their own, it was amazing and humbling to see everyone come together to help with open hearts and zero ego.”

All the other dressmakers were called and asked if they could work on  special project that would require at least one full day per week from late November to mid January.  They were told it was a secret and they would find out what I needed them to do when they came to the first work day.  I just went down the list of chapter members.  Some were too busy, some were too far away to make the commute regularly, and others had obligations that did not allow them to participate. When I had 4 more people who could take part, I stopped calling.  This was the beginning to a great adventure for us all.

Cathy Runion comments “Receiving a call from my friend, Joyce, left me feeling humbled that she would call me to help her with a sewing project. She was unable to tell me what I would be sewing until I showed up for my first Wednesday sewing date. After arriving the first day, I was sworn to secrecy.  I arrived every Wednesday at Sarah Knochel’s home to be one of Cinderella’s mice in her basement creating the most beautiful eight gowns for the Pence family. Through this, I feel a stronger bond with five of my sewing friends from ASDP.”  

Whitney Luckenbill comments “The field of dressmaking tends to be a somewhat solitary business.  Most of us work alone with the only interruptions being client appointments.  I, for the most part, have worked my sewing business alone and have never had the opportunity to work in a work room setting.   This, however, all changed when I had the enormous privilege of working alongside 5 other talented members of our ASDP chapter.  This was my first time working in a work room setting and, despite the stressful conditions, I had an amazing time." 

"Many times, during that 8 weeks, I would comment how much I was learning from these other 5 women. We respected each other and everyone’s individual skills and specialties.  The four of us who helped gladly accepted Joyce and Sarah’s direction because we understood that they were ultimately responsible for the success of the project.”

Ellen Blacketer adds “I think we considered ourselves “worker bees” and were happy to have Sarah and Joyce make the tough, final decisions on different challenges that would pop up.  But, they were very open to any and all ideas from everyone else when we were working through some of the difficult situations.  The bottom line was that we respected each other and that worked very well to establish a very cooperative work environment”.

Ellen continues, “It also worked well because Joyce and Sarah were great at orchestrating the work schedules, fitting schedules, timing of deadlines, etc.  They were always on top of what had to be done next to keep things moving forward efficiently.  This is where teamwork is so important.  We were all ready to do whatever needed to be done, at any certain time, to keep all 8 dresses on schedule.  This was not an easy task because of the Pence family’s erratic schedules.  We needed to be flexible and jump from one project to another as directed even if we didn’t get something completed that we had started.  It seemed strange from our normal work practices but we knew someone else would step in and finish it at a later time.  We truly felt like a team working toward a common goal.  I think we all were well aware of what an honor this was.  We were determined to do our very best and help Joyce and Sarah in any way.”

Donna Christian adds her thoughts, “It was an honor to be asked to help.   Ellen and I were happy to help a friend when asked, and were even more so when we got there and found out it was something so important. Each time we arrived they had different parts of the gowns that needed work done, the beads sewn on, hemming a  dress by hand, or ruching for bodice pieces.   Each aspect of the work was very organized and planned.  We all get along so well that there was never a concern of stepping on each other’s toes, just a good time with friends.   The last day Sarah had a nice lunch for all of us to enjoy together, which was very thoughtful of her and Joyce.   The whole experience was one that none of us will ever forget.”

Whitney comments, “While the project itself was a once in a lifetime opportunity, it was the time spent in the workroom that I will cherish forever.”    

Sarah comments, “It also came at a pivotal point in my business helping me make decisions about expanding and hiring my first employees.  This was like a mini course on running a workroom with a total dream team of talent.  It was a joy to be together and the experience of creating with my friends will be what I remember about this in years to come.   

Donna adds, “It was a thrill of a life time to get to meet Karen Pence, and to know her a bit.”   

Best of all, we grew in our friendship and I was thankful every day that I knew these talented women and that they were members of this great organization.  It was very easy to work together since we have known each other through our membership in ASDP.

The Colorado Chapter of the ASDP continues to meet monthly with a business meeting followed by a sewing presentation or activity.  In October we pieced together quilt blocks for the Quilts of Valor and the Flights for Veterans programs.  The Quilts of Valor program donates completed quilts to injured service men and women, and Flights for Veterans gives lap quilts (for wheelchair use) to World War II veterans when they travel to see sites important to their service.  Our quilt making was led by former ASDP member Sandy Harmon.  We had three groups working the tasks of sewing, ironing, and trimming.  This year’s quilt was quite dramatic, with solid blocks of navy blue and blocks that were half navy blue and half stripes of red and white.

We almost finished the quilt top during our four-hour session with just a few rows remaining to be sewn together.   After the November business meeting we were scheduled to hear a formal presentation about doing business plans.  Unfortunately the SBA (Small Business Association) representative had to cancel at the last minute.  The group then decided to have the more experienced members share their expertise. They encouraged the newer members to do a business plan because the process of doing a plan helps clarify thoughts about the development of the business.   At our annual potluck Holiday brunch in December the usual business meeting included a discussion of activities planned for 2017.  One of the new activities being considered is a series of Couture Building Blocks sessions to be taught by Clara Dittle.  (She taught the Couture Skirt classes in 2016.)  These classes will focus on learning techniques and making.  We expect these classes will be held on three Saturdays in the spring and three in the fall.   In January our featured presentation was on the Chanel Jacket.  Melanie Knoblauch started with info on available patterns, books, and websites for us to examine.   The presentation included samples of completed jackets and jackets in progress.  Among the ideas that differ from the average jacket included horizontal quilting in addition to or instead of vertical quilting in the body of the jacket and using hooks and eyes for a hidden front closure.

There are three things to consider when determining the best sewing service project for your chapter:

1. What are the benefits (other than winning Chapter of the Year) for the chapter?
2. What volunteer options should you consider for your group that would best fit their goals as a chapter?
3. What are the logistics to do this service project? How does doing a service project benefit your chapter? 
   1. Draw more members to your chapter by getting your name out to more people – publicity. 
   2. Make good use of your resources, whether it be from your stash or your chapter’s treasury account. 
   3. Makes us each feel better by giving back to our society and those that you will be helping options to consider? 

The options to consider are endless with the web at your fingertips, but to help you narrow down your options, here are a few things to consider.

1. Do you want to stay within your community or go out into other areas of the state/ region/world? 
2. Do you want to do a group sewing project where you sew items for a group in need, or consider teaching your trade by visiting schools, 4-H groups, or other sewing groups? 
3. Logistics? 
   1. Local, National, or International? 
   2. What does your community need the most? 
   3. What supplies do you already have that you want to use up? 
   4. Money available to purchase items that are needed to make the project? 
   5. Does anyone in your group have a passion for anything in particular? 

These are all things to ponder when deciding which service project best fits your group. If your group decides to do a hands on sew, then all you need to do is type "sewing service projects" into Google and you will get over 3 million hits of organizations to help and patterns for your project.

Here is a list of a few of them:

• St. Vincent Seton Specialty Hospital Quilts Little Sisters of the Poor – Items for them to sell to raise money for their home. 
• Hospice Gowns Sewing for any school in need. 
• The March of Dimes “Lovey” program – flannel hearts for the NICU Collect and donate unwanted fabric to the Children’s Museum, prison, etc. 
• Project Linus Blankets Humane Society – pet beds, blankets, and bandanas
•  Military neck coolers 
• Mary Madeline Project – burial baby gowns made from bridal gowns 
• Travel pillow cases 
• Walker or Wheelchair Mobility Caddies 
• Con Kerr Cancer pillow cases 
• Capes for Kids – for children to boost their self esteem 
• The Children’s Museum Hanger Sewing Project – make padded hangers

Check out sewing.org for more project options for your group. Good luck in determining which one best fits your group!

I believe that the face of ASDP is changing. I wish we had birth dates on our profiles so that I could show concrete data but the best I can do is anecdotal. When I first joined ASDP, then PACC, I was among the youngest members. That is no longer the case. And yet, many of us still wonder what will happen when we retire. After all, as we often hear, “the younger ones are not joining.”

There is a term known as “anchoring heuristic.” It refers to the human tendency to accept and rely on the first piece of information received before making a decision. That first piece of information is the anchor and sets the tone for everything that follows. Think of first impressions and how hard they are to overcome. Or as another example, an investor who took a painful loss in a bear market will not readily invest when the market turns around.

“Heuristic” is using experience to learn and grow. While not a bad thing and in fact smart, can anchoring heuristics keep us from seeing, evaluating and utilizing current realities? If the answer is yes, and I believe it is, then what is the antidote? The first question was primarily rhetorical. The second is not. I await your response.

Have you ever wondered why there was a boxed wedding gown in your attic? Why did you keep yours?  Was it just for sentimental reasons, or could it be there was a specific reason?

The Project:  Over the last three years, three sisters from a Midwest family have become engaged and the last one to marry her sweetheart will do so this fall.  It has been an exciting and busy time for all the family, especially the girls' mother, Tracie, who has made the journey frequently from Cape Girardeau to St Louis, Missouri, venue of the weddings; she has planned all the weddings and taken care of the myriad of details.  And it may have been while she has been driving that Tracie’s mind moved ahead to the possibility of grandchildren! 

So it was that last year, Tracie asked me to take on the task of creating three christening gowns (one for each of her daughters) from two wedding dresses.

Hers: 30 years old

Her Mother’s: 60 years old

The design of each christening gown was left to my creativity.  Both of the wedding dresses needed cleaning (including some areas of poorly cleaned red wine stains) and some areas of lace that were torn and needed restoring.

Deconstruction and Cleaning: First, the gowns had to be deconstructed so that the individual components could be cleaned separately.  Each grouping of lace, both Chantilly and Guipure, and the silk satin, plain and embroidered, as well as the tulle were left in the cleaning solution overnight.  Sometimes this step raises my blood pressure!  Next the cleaning solution was carefully rinsed out and the garment or lace pieces were laid to dry over a drying rack. I'm never quite sure how the old/vintage pieces will react in the cleaning solution.  (The oldest gown I have cleaned and restored had a date of 1839 on it and fortunately held up well).  Once dry the pieces were pressed and then I assessed what was usable and how they could be combined in a pleasing way.

Pattern:  I like the variety of styles in the now out-of-date Children's Corner pattern ' Hand Sewing 1'.  For this project I chose three different styles.

1.  A-line dress with an opening down the center back. 
2.  Yoked dress with a full skirt, a lace panel center front, and a lace frill at hem. 
3. Yoked dress with a full skirt using scalloped, embroidered satin at the hem.

Construction:  In order to get a pleasing placement of the pattern on the lace and satin pieces, I cut the pattern out of transparent velum.  Once cut, the construction was a relatively simple process.  Part way through, before I hand-sewed the Guipure lace to the satin, Tracie came and gave her opinion. She also chose the specific dress for each daughter.  All the various components of the wedding dresses were used in the gowns:

• Motifs of Guipure lace were hand sewn onto the satin
• Borders of Guipure or Chantilly lace were added at the bottom of two gowns
• Part of a border was used for the ‘bib’ one gown
• Original piping was used around one neckline Chantilly lace was used on one collar

And the resulting garments were very pleasing for me and also for Tracie and her daughters

Where is your business located?  In Greendale, Wisconsin, which is a suburb of Milwaukee.  I draw clients from the entire metro-area and beyond.

Do you work out of a home studio or do you have a brick and mortar location? My studio is in the lower level of my home, which is mostly above ground with lots of natural light.  I have about 800 square feet, with three separate rooms – a client room, a creative/cutting room, and my sewing work room.

What kind of work do you specialize in? My business has evolved over 13 years and now I only do bridal, prom, and formal alterations, which is what I love doing.  I tend to do a lot of bridal gown restyles and pregnancy re-sizing for brides and maids.  In the bridal off-season months (Nov-Feb), I also do work on ballroom dance costumes including custom design, restyling, and alterations.

Do you work alone or do you share the space with others? I work alone. What's the first thing that clients notice about your space? That it is an organized and professional business operation, or as many state “wow, this is a real business!”   I’m single and support myself solely from my business.  Clients also notice the number of bridal gowns hanging in the work pending area, and my sample ballroom dance costumes on display. 

How did you develop your layout? I have had several configurations over the years, and am always trying to make the most efficient use of my space, which is split into small rooms with lots of doorways.  I’ve had to use grid paper and cut outs of my furniture to figure it out.  My biggest challenge was to get the ironing board accessible from the right side, and minimize the movement of bridal gowns from machine to worktable to iron! I’ve also consulted books on sewing space design, as well as any other examples I can find for ideas.

What makes your sewing space unique? Aside from my quirky décor items from Latin America, I think my space is unique because I have set up a dedicated, high speed sewing station/work table for wedding gowns – which is clean of other thread colors, lint, etc.  Then I have another high speed station for everything else – bridesmaids’ dresses, ballroom dance costumes, etc.  My serger, coverstitch, and zigzag/embroidery machine are also in this area.  I made this change a year ago, and feel it has really increased my productivity and efficiency. The other thing I have done is have a ‘creative room,’ which is where I have my reference library, woven and dance costume stashes, rhinestones, cutting tables, and mannequins.  The idea is to keep this room clean and inviting to facilitate starting a new creation - from draping concepts to pattern work, layout/cutting, rhinestoning dance costumes, and steaming bridal gowns.

Anything else you'd like to add? Because I am tall, all of my work tables are 32-35”tall.  I use balance balls for my work chairs as they strengthen core muscles and make it hard to slouch at the machines.  I also switched to a standing desk for my computer/desk this year to reduce sitting time and improve my work posture.

In mid-August, the local county historical society hosted an open house off-site of its main campus, during which they announced an opportunity to ‘adopt-a-tree’ for decoration and display during the up-coming holiday season at the society’s main historical home, The Tallman House, a beautiful 2-story built in the mid-1850’s.  The theme had to be family friendly and appropriate for the setting.  With almost two dozen trees available for adoption, I immediately signed up for a tree, selecting the master bedroom for the location. A proposed design, a ball gown from June 1860 Godey’s Lady’s Book, was approved and the hunt was on for the necessary supplies. With tree installation scheduled for the first week of November, the majority of the tree needed to have the ‘dress rehearsal’ completed before leaving for conference in Vancouver.

Dress inspiration

The tree gown is built with a dress form as the base, so the society let me pick the form I wanted from their storeroom. Even though the chosen, undressed form has a silhouette from a later era, it was selected because it was the sturdiest, heaviest form.  The S-shape meant draping a muslin for the bodice.  The 2016 Threads ‘Quilted Garment’ Challenge came in handy: pliable evergreen garland was quilted to the muslin base.  The back closes with a two-inch wide Velcro over/under lap. The unusual busk is a scavenged section from a discarded silverware basket from my dishwasher.

The skirt frame needed enough heft to support the weight of tree branches and was built from 4-foot wide chicken wire. Hint #1: make sure your tetanus is up to date, as you may get a lot of deep scratches while working with this wire. Hint #2: get a friend to help you with this step! While you will be able to snip the wire into panels, it will be nearly impossible to ‘sew’ a shaped chicken wire seam by yourself.  The skirt was shaped by folding the wire back about 1 foot below the waist, and the then the seams of the four sections ‘stitched’ by using zip-ties at CF, and each SS. The CB ’seam’ was left open.

A pleated burlap ‘petticoat’ covers the frame; it is also left free at the CB.  The burlap hides the wire, helps fill in some of the shaping for the skirt, and provides easy anchoring spots for the some of the smaller branches.

The skirt used 2-1/2 artificial 6-foot trees.  (Real trees could not be used as they are a fire hazard) This was the hardest item to track down!    After several weeks of looking, I gave up on scoring trees from consignment or estate sales and bought trees from Big Lots.  If you want to try this for next year, hit the after-holiday sales! Just remember, the branches should probably look like they all came from the same tree.  Hint #3: if you do not have one, GET A BOLT CUTTER if your trees have the branches permanently attached to the trunk.  My trees needed to have the pre-strung lights removed before removing the individual branches.  After cutting the branches off, use pliers to bend a hook into the tip. Begin at the ‘hem’ of the tree, and hook the branches through the burlap, catching the wire, spreading and shaping the branches as need. Continue told up from the bottom, filling in with the smaller branches as you near the waist.  The single tips can be used to fill in as needed. Add lights if desired.  Note: historical settings will probably require LED lights, but best to check with the site for any restrictions they may have.

The trim on the dress was built from tulle.  Seven dozen silk yellow roses replaced the bows on the original, because they were the favorite flower of the original owner of the Tallman House.  The sash was from my stash.