How to Improve Your Sewing Speed?

Have you ever bought a pattern that says "Quick and Easy," "Super Fast," "Under 2 hours," and when you actually work on the project it takes the entire day or just gets tossed into the unfinished pile?

Like anything else, if you want to get better at something, you must keep practicing/training.  What I like to do with myself and my assistants is time our projects from start to completion.  The first time you time your project, simply assess how long each part of the project takes.  Time your cutting of patterns, cutting of fabrics, pinning, sewing, hand stitching, etc.  And then try to see what part you have a hard time with or what part can be improved.  What are the problem areas?  You need to find out how you can be more efficient with your projects without taking away quality.  For example,  I used to use scissors for cutting patterns and fabrics.  It not only hurt my hand, but it also wasn't precise.  This lead to patterns not matching perfectly and more room for error in my pinning and sewing.  Now I use a rotary blade to cut my patterns and fabrics.  This cuts down over 50% of the time when I worked with scissors.

As you improve your skills, your time will definitely improve.  Good luck and keep on training!

Sincerely,

Sumie

L.A.Textiles 2013

The Los Angeles International Textiles show is next week from Monday, September 30th through Wednesday, October 2nd.  This will be my first visit to this particular show.  I am particularly excited to see some of the European fabric mills and a few of the seminars.

I believe all fashion designers are able to attend for free as long as they have their requested documents that give proof.  For others outside the industry, they are a few restrictions and a $20 guest fee.

The following link will provide more information:
http://www.californiamarketcenter.com/latextile/

I'll post a review next week!

Sincerely,

Sumie Tachibana
   

Balancing Textures

Materials include: lambskin, Italian virgin wool flannel, & cotton jersey

One of my favorite ways of making my designs stand out is by using multiple textures in one piece.  Even my basic solids have subtle textures and different hand finishes.

When you are ready to explore the world of textures, here are a few things to keep in mind:
1.  Make sure you understand how each material is going to behave with each other.  If the materials are too contradicting, for example, one might be really stiff and the other one is too soft to hold the shape.
2.  Make sure the materials do not affect your design in a negative way.  For example, a pattern that is meant to cut on the bias probably shouldn't be cut out of leather as it will not drape softly.
3.  If all the materials are the same color, double check that the colors from all the pieces match.  Some lights can give off a slightly different color on the piece.  4.  Don't be afraid to mix soft and hard, stiff and flimsy, etc. as long as you check 2 and 3.  Part of designing is testing!

Enjoying being creative and not only in the style, but also in the materials!

Sincerely,

Sumie Tachibana