August 10, 2005
Sewers fashion
tailored clothes
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
With patterns swirling, tips trading and ideas flying fast and furious, a dozen members of the Fine Fabric and Design Fashionistas discussed all thing sewing Saturday morning.
Meeting since January in a room at the Fine Fabric and Design store on 8th Street, the avid but amateur seamstresses relish sharing their hopes, dreams and fabrics. One Saturday morning a month they gather for show and tell, bringing projects done or works in progress, ideas germinating or fully sketched out.
For a few hours, they share a pastime that has fascinated them for years.
"If I were a drunk, this would be my bar," said Rebecca Davis of Traverse City. "We wanted something that wasn't necessarily a class, where we were on a deadline or had to pay money for something - we wanted a group for committed sewing people to get together and discuss all the things that are important to us."
Each month has a general topic, such as shells or pants. The group also discusses other ideas such as embellishments, fabrics and specialized techniques like Japanese quilting.
The group also chooses a project for everyone to make by the next meeting. This month, members decided to work on a three-piece ensemble with a goal of completing it by the December meeting. Each person would make a jacket, pants and a top that coordinate as an outfit, choosing different fabric, style and finishing touches.
The goal for next month is to complete a storyboard that includes a sketch of each item in the ensemble and possible fabric choices.
"Everyone can use the same pattern, a fairly simple jacket we'd all like to wear, and see what everyone comes up with," suggested Davis.
With a nod to the fashion sewers Achilles' heel - unfinished projects piling up - Elaine Penney of Traverse added:
"Let's make something that you can wear together immediately, otherwise tops are worn out by the time I get to the bottom."
Another benefit of meeting regularly with other experienced sewers is help with fitting. Part of Saturday's meeting focused on pants, this month's topic. Members brought pants they had sewed and helped each other with the final touches on this difficult-to-fit item.
"Pants are extremely easy to make but extremely hard to fit," said Char Kirchner of Williamsburg, who has been sewing since high school. "Same thing with a shell. What happens is that you use that basic pattern over and over, once it is custom fit for you."
Kirchner has made herself so many clothes over the years that she has filled three closets and considers her laundry as a fourth closet. A CPA with a high-stress career, sewing is her therapy.
"On April 15th, I uncover my machine, get my stack out and start sewing," she said. "For me, it's the only way I can have the clothes that I want. I have an emotional bond with everything I make, I can't get rid of it."
Sewers of all levels of experience are welcome to attend the Fine Fabric and Design Fashionistas meetings, though at this point regular attendees have been creating their clothes for years. Generous with time and expertise, they hope to ignite passion for making clothes in more people.
"We'd love to see other people come who didn't know anything," Davis said. "It's beginning to be a little bit of a lost art - quilts and crafts are easier because you don't have to fit yourself. Fitting an out-of-the-box pattern is the bane of any new sewer."
For more information on the Fine Fabric and Design Fashionistas, contact Deb at the store at 933-1521.