Fits Sew Well
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Solve your fitting issues and learn from one of the top Palmer/Pletsch instructors in Canada. Sign up for one of her workshops today!
A Calgary, Alberta based sewing studio specializing in fitting workshops and selling high quality notions, fabrics and one on one colour and silhouette analysis. Janice Aston, founder of Fits Sew Well, is based out of her home studio in Calgary, Alberta. Sharing her extensive wealth of sewing knowledge, Janice teaches fitting workshops, sells high quality notions and fabrics to compliment what she teaches and offers one on one colour and silhouette analysis.
10/10/2022
Albert Schweitzer once said, “At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lightened the flame within us”.🌅
As a young girl, my mom ignited my passion for sewing💗. Later, Pati Palmer rekindled that spark giving me the courage to teach. 👩🏫
Thank you both, as I would not be here today without your encouragement.
For my Canadian friends, enjoy your Thanksgiving with family and friends. Be grateful for those who have rekindled that spark in you!
🌞With summer coming to a close, I wanted to share a dress which has become one of my fav’s. A simple sleeveless rayon sundress, letting the fabric speak for itself. 😎
I’m a firm believer in pattern reuse, so I chose to reuse princess seamed dress pattern Butterick B6850. This is a great Palmer/Pletsch pattern if you want to learn how to fit a princess seam. 👗 Looks fabulous on those fuller busted. I have made the dress in linen as well as a stretch velvet. Each dress has slightly different details making them unique to themselves.
I wore the dress the other day and a perfect stranger stopped me and commented on how nice the dress looked. What a great way to start your day! 😁
Enjoy the last few warm days as we transition into fall!
Happy Canada Day!
Enjoy time with your family and friends!
😎Take the day to appreciate Fathers and Father figures in your life.
Happy Father's Day Dad! 💗
😎Take the day to appreciate Fathers and Father figures in your life.
Happy Father's Day Dad! I enjoy every day we spend together. 💗
💥SALE! SALE! SALE!💥
25% OFF ALL FABRICS!
Starts June 21st to the 26th. Fill your cart with all the great fabric you've been wanting! So many beautiful colours and great knit fabrics for summer or fall projects! Get them now before they're gone!
👉👉Shop Online: www.fitssewwell.com
06/13/2022
ONLINE SEMINAR! REGISTER TODAY!
Designer T-shirts can be costly to purchase and don't always fit as well as they should. But what if you could change that?
Join us for another info packed, live online session to learn how to do just that. You be the designer!
Change up a basic T-shirt pattern and make it an original, custom made just for you!
What you’ll learn:
• How to start the design process
• What to look for when purchasing patterns
• Common bodice alterations
• Basic design changes like necklines, sleeves, dart manipulation and fabric manipulation
• Using images of ready-made garments as inspiration
Take your creativity to new levels!
Format: Presentation (online)
Dates: Wednesday June 15 @ 7:00pm MDT
Register: https://fitssewwell.com/products/register-designer-t-shirts-online-seminar
06/08/2022
👀 NEW BLOG!
Learn some great tips on properly laying out, cutting and marking knits.
This is the last post in the series Knit Basics – Know Before You Sew. This post will explore layout, cutting and marking techniques for knits, as well as beyond the basics. I know you are eager to get sewing but some additional care during this phase will improve your overall success and isn’t that what we all want? My goal is for my clients to be delighted with their sewing projects. Selecting the right fabric, proper fitting, good layout, cutting and marking techniques all contribute to the overall success. Let’s get started.
👉Read it on our blog page: https://fitssewwell.com/blogs/blogs/knit-basics-know-before-you-sew-layout-cutting-marking
05/12/2022
👀REGISTER TODAY! LIVE ONLINE SEMINAR 💻
Rethink the T-shirt Dress! T-shirt dresses are not only comfortable, cool on hot days, but so easy to personalize and wear. Slip on your favorite shoes or boots, a cute little jacket and you are good to go just about anywhere. A great piece to travel with as well. In this online seminar we will cover topics like:
• how fabric can change a look completely
• fitting techniques specific to knits
• adding new design elements
• must have tools and notions
• to line or not to line
• sewing techniques to increase success
Get the most mileage from your favorite pattern!
Format: Live presentation (online)
Dates: Tuesday May 17 @ 7:00pm MDT
Or
Wednesday May 18 @ 11:00am MDT
👉REGISTER HERE: https://fitssewwell.com/blogs/seminars/t-shirt-dress-reinvented
05/10/2022
👀 NEW BLOG!
Learn about fitting knit pants; how to measure correctly; types of ease; some tips and tricks and more!
👇
Knit pants have gained popularity over the years. For good reason, they are not only comfortable but stylish. You can have everything from leggings, casual athleisure, classic pants, jeans, full evening pants and everything in between. Depending upon the desired ease, these techniques will work fabulously for stretch woven with no or minimal desired ease.
👉Read it on our blog page: https://fitssewwell.com/blogs/blogs/knit-basics-know-before-you-sew-fitting-knit-pants
05/07/2022
❤️My Mom is my sewing buddy🧵. She is in her 90’s now but I have many fond memories of our sewing adventures together.
As mother and daughter, we attended many Palmer / Pletsch workshops in Portland OR and for years we attended many seminars, fashion shows, and purchased much at Sew Expo in Puyallup WA. We would come home exhausted but elated.
As a speaker and vendor at our local sewing show, she also helped me in my booth😊. Though we don’t have such adventures anymore, I shall never forget all the fun we had together.
💗 I love you Mom.💗
🌷Happy Mother’s Day! 🌷 May you cherish time spent with your mom.
🤩NEW! 🤩 Pamela's Pattern Facing Fabric
If you are looking for a premium product for tracing patterns, look no further! This non-woven "fabric" is see-thru, has a wonderful lightweight drape and is easy to draw on. You will love this for tracing digital and paper patterns, tissue fitting, design work, quilting foundation
• Grips to fabric for minimal pinning or weights
• Easy to sew, can be used for muslins, design work, quilting
• Has a realistic fabric-like drape
• Works perfectly with the Palmer/Pletsch Perfect Pattern Paper
• No marking or taping seams with tissue fitting - just clip and pin
• Strong - doesn't tear - and see-thru
• A water resistant and recycled product
• Easy to draw on
Package contains 3 sheets
31" x 72" each / 46.5 square feet
Order today: www.fitssewwell.com
04/25/2022
💥💥There's still time to register!!💥💥
🤩Don’t just clean out your closet, streamline it with these guided strategies from certified Palmer/Pletsch Instructor and Color Me Beautiful Consultant, Janice Aston.
Your clothing choices have great impact on how you feel about yourself. Most people only wear 20% of the items in their closet 80% of the time. Have you ever wondered why? 🤔
Join Janice for this knowledge packed, live online seminar to learn some great strategies to give you the confidence and know how to utilize your wardrobe to it’s full potential.👩🎓
Janice will take you through a 7 step process to not only clean up your closet, but to also help you understand things like:
•What is investment dressing
•How to make a “stay or go” decision for your wardrobe pieces
•What lines look best on your figure
•Colour harmony
•Wardrobe analysis/ wardrobe capsules
•Organizing your wardrobe to it’s full potential
•Accessorizing correctly
•Shopping smarter with a plan and budget
Register today for a spot in one of the two time slots available. Bring your questions as this is a live and interactive seminar!
👉REGISTER: https://fitssewwell.com/.../sem.../the-great-closet-cleanout
🤩Don’t just clean out your closet, streamline it with these guided strategies from certified Palmer/Pletsch Instructor and Color Me Beautiful Consultant, Janice Aston.
Your clothing choices have great impact on how you feel about yourself. Most people only wear 20% of the items in their closet 80% of the time. Have you ever wondered why? 🤔
Join Janice for this knowledge packed, live online seminar to learn some great strategies to give you the confidence and know how to utilize your wardrobe to it’s full potential.👩🎓
Janice will take you through a 7 step process to not only clean up your closet, but to also help you understand things like:
•What is investment dressing
•How to make a “stay or go” decision for your wardrobe pieces
•What lines look best on your figure
•Colour harmony
•Wardrobe analysis/ wardrobe capsules
•Organizing your wardrobe to it’s full potential
•Accessorizing correctly
•Shopping smarter with a plan and budget
Register today for a spot in one of the two time slots available. Bring your questions as this is a live and interactive seminar!
👉REGISTER: https://fitssewwell.com/blogs/seminars/the-great-closet-cleanout
Wishing you a great Easter weekend with family and friends! 🐰🌸🌷
Visit www.fitssewwell.com to discover your next project, fabric, notions, books and more!
Day 5 – Final day at the Palmer / Pletsch Jeans workshop in Vancouver WA. 👏👖
This was finishing day for the waistband, rivets and bar tacks. The importance of fine tuning the waistband to ensure I don’t have wrinkles where I have hollows before my hip bone. 🧐
On to rivets. I have never used a rivet machine before, boy it was fun!🙂 Quite pleased with the outcome of my final jeans. Still need to wear them a bit to ensure I have the fit just right.
The class had fun modeling our new creations and everyone went home with a great pair of jeans. 👍
I want to thank Helen for her patience and sewing expertise. Truly inspiring and lots of fun!
I graduated too!
Day 4 at the Palmer / Pletsch Jeans Workshop👖
Awesome sew day, especially when it snows! ☃️ We woke up to falling snow which brought Vancouver WA and Portland OR to a stand still. But a little snow can't keep us away from a great day sewing!😉
With most of the fitting completed, we spent the day sewing. Lots and lots of edge stitching and topstitching. Very fun and therapeutic! You must give it a try. 🧘♀️
Tomorrow (last day) we will tackle the waistband and finishing touches!
www.fitssewwell.com
Day 3 at the Palmer/Pletsch Jeans workshop 👖
Today was a great day sewing but isn't every sew day great?🤩 Completed the front pockets, back pockets and fly front for the first fabric fitting. A bright cotton for pocket bags adds some fun to the inside of the jean.
Basting the in-seams and out-seams allows you to tweak the fit before you do all the final stitching - so important.👀
Helen is helping me customize the fit as well as the placement of back pockets to get the look just right. 👌
We were also treated to a surprise visit from Pati Palmer. She dropped in to say hello. She looked fabulous in her custom jeans and blazer. Looking forward to another sew day tomorrow! 😁
Day 2 - Another great day at the Jeans workshop! 😁
We finished fitting our jeans👖️ and created a contoured waistband by draping the tissue around the waist.
👉If you have a sway back and your jeans gap at the back you must try this.
Time now to cut out✂️ our jeans. I always need to take a deep breath before I make the first cut! 🧘♀️
The next step interfacing, not fun but necessary especially for the waistband.
👉If you are constantly pulling up your stretch jeans, more than likely the waist stretched out of shape.
Now time to start sewing - YAY!!! The first activity was to create the belt loops. I was so pleased with myself. Looking forward to a great sew day tomorrow! 🌞
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🎓The teacher is off to school! Join me as I attend the Palmer/Pletsch Jeans Workshop in Vancouver WA with Helen Bartley. I am learning how to fit and sew custom Jeans. 👖
Day One - arrived loaded with my sewing machine, serger and sewing supplies. Helen gave us an overview and provided a fabulous Jeans kit with everything we need. 😍 I just love the Indigo dyed stretch denim, fabulous! My biggest learning today was selecting the right pattern size. So important to understand finished garment measurements, desired ease and the impact the type of denim has on fit. Here you can see I am doing the "wrap-test" to confirm how I want the fabric to fit - helps to confirm sizing. I ended up with a size quite a bit smaller than I normally sew for pants. Fitting started today and excited to cut out the fabric. Helen keeps saying to "trust the process" so I am trusting the process!!
You can buy her book from our website: www.fitssewwell.com>Shop>Notions
🌸Spring has Sprung! And we've got NEW FABRIC 👀 AND a FREE fashion update webinar coming up!
Visit our website to see all the new fabric colours and designs : https://fitssewwell.com/collections/spring-collection
👉 SIGN UP FOR THE FREE WEBINAR: https://fitssewwell.com/blogs/seminars/the-art-of-dressing-well
Brush off your lucky green clothing and celebrate in style!
If you’ve taken any of our fitting workshops or online seminars then you are way ahead of the game. All your sewn garments will look fantastic with the custom fit only tissue fitting can give you! No Luck needed!
Visit our website to learn more and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
www.fitssewwell.com
03/15/2022
👀 BLOG!
Much of your success when sewing knits is determined by what you do prior to sewing. Stabilizing shoulder seams, necklines and hems is one of those important steps that shouldn’t be ignored if you want a professional looking garment. If you skip this step, you might end up with a droopy neckline that doesn’t fit well. The front of the garment was worse making it unwearable.
https://fitssewwell.com/blogs/blogs/stabilizing-knits-why
03/09/2022
👀 NEW BLOG!
Many think that all you need to do to fit a knit is get it over your body. Well, depending upon your comfort level, that may not cut it. I find it is more of an art when fitting a knit as opposed to following a set of strict rules. It depends on many factors including the amount of stretch in the knit fabric, finished garment measurements (relating to the amount of ease), the style of the garment, and of course your personal preference.
👉 Read it on our Blog page: https://fitssewwell.com/blogs/blogs/knit-basics-know-before-you-sew-fitting-knit-tops
03/08/2022
REGISTER TODAY! LIVE ONLINE SEMINAR
Join us for a virtual hands-on seminar to learn some great tips and techniques for fitting and sewing a princess seamed dress. A princess seam is very flattering and looks fabulous on everyone, especially a fuller bust.
This technique can be applied to any princess seam pattern and is a must have for sewing your own great fitting clothing!
As part of this seminar you will be provided a workbook with scaled pattern pieces so you can follow along while you learn and have a reference tool for future sewing projects.
Key topics covered include:
• Princess seam bust adjustment
• Design changes
• Impacts of different fabric choices
• Drafting a lining
Still time to register! https://fitssewwell.com/blogs/seminars/that-little-black-dress
Format: Hands-on and presentation style
Materials: Workbook (print-at-home pdf)
Date: Wednesday Mar 9 @ 11:00am MST
Or
Thursday Mar 10 @ 7:00pm MST
Knit pants are all the rage but fit is the key to looking great. If you are having problems getting that great fit and live in the Calgary area, why not join me for the upcoming workshop, Skinny Pants and Leggings.
You will fit and sew a basic knit pant starting with McCall’s M6173 and be empowered to make design changes that suit you best! We have fabulous printed or heavy weight Ponte that will make a stunning pair of pants.
Register today!
https://fitssewwell.com/blogs/workshops/skinny-pants-and-leggings
03/01/2022
🧵SALE!!🧵 ALL FABRICS 25% OFF MARCH 1st TO 7th
Now's the time to get that fabric you've been dying to make a beautiful garment out of.
Knit pants, tops, dresses, the sky is the limit!
Visit our website to see all the great options available. So many amazing colours and prints!
Shop today!
www.fitssewwell.com
I just fell in love😍 with this eyelash sweater knit, it is so cozy and soft. I rifled thru my pattern stash (who doesn’t have one!) and found the perfect pattern - Sew House Seven Tabor V-neck.
I decided it would be fun to colour block the two fabrics. To be sure I arranged the fabric and used the line art to see if I liked the effect. I did, so decided to proceed.
When working with bulky sweater knits, traditional markings don’t work that well. I found that something sticky (stationery dots or painters tape) works great. I used draping tape.
To match the diamond pattern on the side seams I cut the front and back single layer. Lay the front over the back and peek to see how things line up before you cut.
Because the knit is more loosely woven, I stabilized both the front and back shoulders and necklines. This helps to prevent stretching.
I am really enjoying my new sweater, especially on these cold days in Calgary.
This amazing fabric and the stay tapes are available on our website stop by and have a look!
www.fitssewwell.com
02/24/2022
I came to know Dana Maria Designs from my many trips down to Sew Expo in Puyallup WA. Seams Easy to Me has a very interesting design element with only one side seam and asymmetrical hem.
I’m a big fan of pattern reuse, especially when you take the time to fit. I utilize the Palmer/Pletsch Tissue-Fit method on all my patterns. This allows you to not only make necessary fit adjustments but also test drive the design (depth of neckline, overall length, amount of design ease etc.)
I have now made this pattern two times. Once this summer in a stripped bamboo jersey with short sleeves and a second time this winter in a Rayon/Cotton/Modal sweater knit with long sleeves and a collar.
If you alter your fabric and design elements you can easily reuse a pattern creating a totally different look. The beautiful drape in the sweater knit gives the collar an interesting drape. I opted to leave off the buttons on the collar to allow the collar to drape more naturally on its own. The collar is the main focal point for the sweater knit top. For the short-sleeved top, the stripes placed on the bias make this top, especially evident from the back.
Get the most from your pattern and time, try reusing your pattern more than once. Vary the fabric, change the neckline, or sleeve length and you might be surprised what you come up with.
These great fabrics and more can be found on our website!
www.fitssewwell.com
02/22/2022
Sew expo is less than a week away…
I’m registered for Virtual Sew Expo are you? For the second year the show is going virtual. Even though I have attended in person for many many years, this is still a really fun way to participate. I encourage you to check it out!
For those who have attended before, here is a trip down memory lane.
https://sewexpo.com/
Click here to claim your Sponsored Listing.
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