Shirt class leads to success

Hi Sharon,

I'm just writing to thank you for your wonderful classes. Yesterday morning I put the finishing touches on my second-ever shirt. I made the Perfect Shirt adapted for short puff sleeves (petite version of the draft from Pattern 2) - and of course I couldn't wait to wear it. Within the hour I received an enthusiastic compliment on it from a stranger. Thanks for teaching me great skills, and for making my day!

Alison

PS -- I'm finishing up a seersucker shirt for my husband right now!

Knit a scarf in two hours

Fifteen people stood and watched. And all Lisa Silveira was trying to do was set up her knitting machine. By the time she had started knitting, they had brought up chairs so they could sit and watch.

Lisa drew a crowd at Sunday's Open House to showcase apparel and sewing classes at Montavilla Sewing Center. "I think it's fascinating to see how easy it is and how beautiful the results," said Joyce, who sat behind Lisa's left shoulder." Within two hours -- despite interruptions! --Lisa had created a soft turquoise neck scarf with three cables.

"I wouldn't buy sweaters anymore if my wife could do this," one watcher said. His wife took one of Lisa's class flyers.

The next machine knitting class starts Tuesday, Oct 26, 6-9 pm

In 6-weeks students learn how to cast-on, cast-off, striping, increasing, decreasing, ribbing, and cables. Students put together a notebook of knit swatches as well as create a piece of wearable knit.

"No need to own your own machine," Lisa says. Portland Sewing provides the machines and tools for this class. "No experience required, just enthusiasm and desire to create your own knit garments in far less time than hand-knitting!"

Lisa specializes in knits and studied knitwear in Italy. Most recently, she created garments for Wendi Martin under the WeMa label.

Knitting by machines is one of a dozen classes Portland Sewing is offering this Fall.

Go to www.portlandsewing.com to learn more.

Portland teen wins $1000 Fashion Design Scholarship

Stephanie Linn just landed a future in fashion design.

The St. Mary’s Academy student won a scholarship contest and $1,000 worth of fashion design classes at Portland Sewing, an apparel design and sewing school in northeast Portland.

As a result, she will create a portfolio that could land her entry to the fashion design institute of her dreams.

“As cheesy as this sounds, fashion is truly my passion,” Linn says. “I have recurring dreams of meeting [designers] Karl Lagerfeld and Nicolas Ghesquiere, and after returning from a trip to New York with my dad, I can't stop thinking about Parsons and FIT. The truth is I can't see myself doing anything other than this.”

Parsons and Fashion Institute of Technology are two internationally recognized colleges for fashion design. Their alumni include designers Donna Karen, Calvin Klein and Marc Jacobs. Parsons is featured on the television show, Project Runway. Both schools require portfolios as part of an admissions application. A good portfolio can also help win a scholarship to such colleges.

The contest was open to full-time students in Portland area high schools who had a GPA of 2.5 or more. Each contestant created an original apparel design idea with sketches, interviews of influential people and an essay on fashion design.

Judges included Marc Murfitt, fashion buyer for Mercantile, Jennifer Baggett, product developer for Fred Meyer, and Laura Tempesta, product developer for Nike.

The judges chose Linn’s entry because of the richness and maturity of her concept. “It was fresh, original and complete,” one judge said. “It was sweet yet functional,” another said. “I would wear these garments.”

The scholarship was created in honor of Holocaust refugee Elisabeth Marie. In 1939, she fled Nazi-occupied Austria. She found her way to Portland where she opened a custom clothing business and became one of the first patternmaking instructors at Portland Community College.

Sharon Blair also taught patternmaking at PCC before founding Portland Sewing in April 2010. Portland Sewing is the first of its kind school in Portland. “We offer a range of beginning sewing classes for those who’ve never touched a machine to those who want to make patterns or learn how produce a professional garment or start an apparel business,” Blair says.

“We also see ourselves as a prep and finishing school for those seeking jobs in fashion design and the apparel industry.”

Blair studied in Paris, has a bachelors and masters, and advanced studies in apparel design and construction. She also owns two clothing lines, Studio SKB and SKPDX.

Some of her students have gone on to study at Parsons, FIT and the Art Institute of Portland. Two have competed on Project Runway.

PDX COLLECTIONS -- PHOTOS FROM THE FASHION SHOW

Hot fashions in an industrial setting.  Models strutting while rusty railcars roll by.  This was the setting for the first PDX Collections fashion show, Sunday, June 14.

To see the show, visit www.studioskb.com.  You'll see fashions from Sharon Blair/StudioSKB plus Adam Andreas, Carolyn Hart, Alyson Clair and Janeane Marie.  Enjoy!

WRITING FOR MAGAZINES

Hi Sharon!  I am writing to ask you some questions about writing articles for sew and craft magazines. I saw your "Hems in a Hurry" piece in Threads, and since being laid off last month :( I am looking for anyway I can to supplement my income. I don't see myself writing informational and or instructional pieces so much as fun, easy and cute things that can be made with recycled fabrics etc. 

Are there any tips you could give me to help my ideas stand out from others? Do you supply the photographs as well as the instructions? How much could I expect to be paid for something like this? Also, if you have any contact information or any other tidbits of info you think I could use I would appreciate it so much! 

Thank you Sharon, you are my powerhouse of knowledge! -- VM

Dear VM -- So sorry to see that you've been laid off.  Ugh!  With luck, the economy will turn around soon.

Contact the editor for the magazines of interest to you.  Get a copy of their editorial guidelines.  Make a list of topics you'd like to write.  Choose the one you think is most appropriate to them and where you feel the strongest.  Make sure they haven't had a story about it recently.  You can do this on-line.  If they've had such an article in the distant past, be sure to get a copy so whatever you write is not the same -- better that it is new and improved!

Then choose an article you like from the magazine.  It doesn't matter what it's about.  Write your article in the same style and format.  This lets the editor know that you will fit in.  Write tight in short, declarative sentences.  Need a reference?  Look up William Zinsser's "On Writing Well."

Then send a pitch per their editorial guidelines.  Sometimes this is just a paragraph.  More often it's an outline that shows them you know what you're talking about and can give them a complete article.  And hey, you've pre-written the article, so creating the outline will be easy.

Be ready to give them visuals.  Sew up samples and send in pictures to show how you'd illustrate the article.

Understand that the editor could change things dramatically.  No worries, they are just trying to please their readers.  You just work with them to make it accurate.  Be prompt and easy-going and they'll ask you to write for them again.

BTW -- This does not pay well.  But any money these days is a good thing, right?

Good luck and let me know how it goes!

Answers to your serger questions

Hi Sharon,

Thank you for teaching us the Sergery 1: Basic Serger class Saturday.  Even though I have used my serger for a number of years I did learn some new things in class.  Would you please remind me of the types of serger thread cones are the best to use.  I checked all of my cones when I got home and found them to be TruLock. -- A

Dear A -- Glad you enjoyed the class and got something from it.  Maxilock is the thread I recommend for consistent, top-quality results.  But go ahead and use your TruLock until it's depleted -- or give it away. SCRAP and Goodwill donations give you a tax deduction.

Hi Sharon -- My serger is a hobby lock made for Pfaff from the 1980’s.  In order to do the gathering/ruffling and other fancy things with the serger do you think that I should trade up for a newer model with a differential drive and the miscellaneous feet attachments that come with the newer machines?  If so what machine do you think is the best on the market today? -- E

Dear E -- If you plan to serge regularly, especially with 2-thread or embellishments, then you might want to trade up.  Babylock Evolve (has a coverlock) and Babylock Imagine are the top of the line.  As I showed in class, they thread the loopers with a puff of air and have a tension dial that not only sets automatically for different kinds of stitches but also senses the different kinds of fabric.  If you don't want to spend that kind of money, then look for a Husqvarna 936 computer overlock/coverlock. It has a wider hole for accepting fabric than the Babylocks.  Even less spendy is the Janome 634D.

I use the 936 and 634D as my school machines.  They've taken a lot of abuse from students and keep on ticking.  I don't use the Evolve and Imagine in my school because I keep them too busy myself!  They too are workhorses and have not given me an ounce of trouble.

But if you plan to use only 4-thread for wovens or 3-thread for knits and your Pfaff is working well, then stick with it!  

Hi all -- Sharon here.  Below is a message from our friend, Meg Okies.  She has a great space to sublet.  Questions?  Give her a call.

"Hello friends, The space hind my shop is available for rent.  Of course, I would like to find a great tenant like my previous one.  Their business grew so much taht they moved to a space 4 times larger.

Here are the details. . .

1925 NW Overton Street.  Street level, back office.

- Modern, well constructed building.  Space fills with natural light throughout the day.  3 glass overhead doors.

- Kitchenette.  Storage.  Finished walls and concrete floors.

- Parking courtyard is lined with bamboo.  A single parking space is available.

- 1000 sq. ft. for $1700/month.  Equivalent to $19.68/sq ft/year or $1.64 sq ft/month.  NNNs not included and average $410/month.

For questions or viewing contact Meg or Ed Okies, 503 224 9443.