Margaret Adam Sewing School

5 day workshop at McGregor Winter School....INTENSIVE SEWING and PATTERN MAKING.

I found this article in a 1965 Women's Weekly. My mother had obviously owned a copy! My dress was purple and pink and my sister's dress was green and yellow.

Using fabric scraps continued. Putting the zips in: turning them to the right side: 2 pencil cases.

This magazine was published in the month and year I was born. I'm pleased to have had a foot in two quite different worlds.

One of the aims I have in my workroom this year is to produce zero waste of fabrics that we use for projects, samples and clothes. The REAL BEGINNERS and school groups are now using small pieces of fabric, not big enough for much else, to cut 5cm wide strips of various fabrics.....and then stitching them together to make something! Will show you what they come up with when they have finished.

Barbie Gets Real! After decades of pushing an unreliable ideal of plastic perfection, MATTEL have realeased new versions of Barbie in three new body types: curvy, tall and petite.

A common problem with wrap dresses...they can show a little more than intended.

Some clothes are worth the work needed to have it fit again.

Today in REAL BEGINNERS....Project #1.
Three sisters...7, 9 and 11 years old.

Each year...or two...I make this dress. I cut the citrus dress at the beginning of summer and only finished it last week! I no longer worry about how long a garment takes to make....because....I know I will like it and I will wear it. Same pattern: my style: great fit.

I would like to thank my mother.
I have been with a few of my siblings and extended family over the weekend. We have been packing up our mother's house as she prepares to downsize from the family home to a flash new unit.
My main task was to assist her in downsizing the sewing room. Mother is 87 years and for 60 years has been a designer, patternmaker and dressmaker. In the last few years she has semi-retired and works on clothing alterations only....although she still makes all her own clothes.
Mother is the best clothing fitter I know and also the most clever patternmaker I have worked with. I am so fortunate to have learned these skills so early in life. Patterns during the 1950s and 1960s were so much more about fitting the individual curves of our bodies.
Thank you mother....love from Marg

Here we are at my younger sister's 50th birthday....I hoped you guessed that it was a fancy dress party!

ON MASS.....in the MASTER CLASS...
We make patterns. We make clothes that fit our style and body. We make more of the same.

On MASS...
REAL BEGINNERS...Project #2...it's about learning sewing skills. It is also enjoyable watching students play with colour.

Three REAL BEGINNERS today....
Project #2....The Apron.

On MASS...last week in MORE SKILLS.

On MASS.... (acronym for Margaret Adam Sewing School)
Last week in the REAL BEGINNERS...
Clipping to the 'last stitch': matching seams and avoiding twisted seams: principle of sewing... pin seams and balance notches first: working with layers of fabric: principle of sewing...pin on a flat surface and at the sewing machine work from pin to pin. #1 PRINCIPLE OF SEWING...YOUR HANDS AND EYES ARE THE BEST SEWING TOOLS YOU HAVE!

On Friday...Leigh finished her white top. We decided at the last minute to finish the hem with a false hem.
First check that the hem edges are even....trim if needed. Then check that centre fronts are the same length.
We cut the false hem about 7cm wide for a 5cm finish to match the width of the centre front facing....and cut the false hem longer than we needed. Overlock one of the short ends and overlock one of the long edges (we forgot to overlock the longer edge and had to do little unpicking).
Stitch the short end of the false hem to one of the centre front edges. Fold the front facing so that RS are together and stitch the false hem to the shirt, finishing before reaching the other end. Remove from machine and prepare the other centre front facing end. Blend the stitching from where you stopped and complete this seam. Understitch this seam, press and topstitch through the upper overlocked edge of the false hem. Because the hem of the shirt is slightly curved and the false hem straight, you may need to press and stitch a few small tucks into the hem on the wrong side to allow the hem to sit flat on the right side.

Listening to radio national today....international women's day began in 1909 in New York to support women's rights during a garment union strike. In 1914 the date March 8 was set as an annual event. In 1977 the United Nations gave the day international status. My message to all of you...my sisters....confidence is the most attractive thing to wear.

My best wardrobe tip:
The most attractive thing to wear is confidence!

Surely not any two of us have the same body.
Patterns that fit your very own individual body are called basic pattern blocks.

Each new garment is made working with your own individual pattern block.

Sew it fits!

Happy New Beginnings to you all. Just a note to advise you that the Summer Workshops are being extended until January 22nd.
Places are filling fast, so please contact me to discuss any questions you may have.

Margaret Adam Sewing School will be conducting a variety of workshops during January 2017 including General Sewing, Patternmaking, Making Friends with your Overlocker and Wardrobe Therapy. See the flyer for details.

It’s a great time of the year to look inside your wardrobe. What did you wear a lot this summer? Sale time is a perfect time to buy more of the same. What you going to wear as the weather cools? Look for a great scarf to set the colours for the new season ahead.

When working with a pair of anything...pants legs, sleeves, facings, pockets...work with them together as a mirrored pair. By the way....did you pick the cutting mistake in the photo?

When cutting, I position the pattern onto the fabric with paper weights and then make around the pattern (I use 2B lead pencils on light fabrics, and soap on darker colours). I then remove the pattern and cut. Chalk wheels and friction pens are good for marking pivot points and darts.

I use two kinds of pins. A long quilting pin keeps the layers of fabric secure. The fine glass head pins are perfect for stretch and silky fabrics. It’s always worth paying for the best quality.

A great pair of scissors has a good point and feels comfortable in your hand. Test before you buy. I use thread snips at the machine.

When sewing...pressing is not necessarily the same as ironing. Lift and press the iron onto the fabric rather than pushing the iron over the fabric.

Geraldine could sew before she came to my sewing school...but needed a good pattern to fit her body and style...and notes on how to: attach an all-in one facing for a sleeveless dress, insert an invisible zip and attach a facing to an invisible zip, create kick pleat options.