Tuesday AND Wednesday 9am-5pm    Flat patterns are necessary, but not necessarily the best starting point for accurate fitting and designing for your three-dimensional figure. Join expert fitters and designers Joe Vecchiarelli and Nick Coman, in this multi-day draping experience, as you work on your own dress form. You’ll learn more than you can imagine, as you pad your form (creating your ‘body double’), create your own sloper on the form (your fitting block) and move on to the creation of garment designs in knit fabrics.

Begin with padding your dress form to accurately represent your own shape, in preparation for draping your first bodice on the form. Your body measurements, Joe’s demonstration and both his and Nick’s assistance throughout the morning make this a priceless opportunity to create a dress form that truly fits you.

Once completed, your dress form will become the base upon which your bodice sloper is draped. Learn the basics of draping as you create, in fabric, what will become your pattern fitting block. By the end of the day you will have:
● Created your ‘body double’ on a dress form;
● Draped your basic princess-style bodice on the dress form;
● Converted the draped bodice into a flat pattern:
● Learned to compare and contrast your personal sloper with a paper pattern, and explored how to use the information for fit and design purposes;
● As time permits, you’ll learn to change princess lines to darts for both knits and wovens.
You’ll take home:
● A record of your exact body measurements;
● A collection of fitting/draping/drafting equipment, including a 2” x 18” grid ruler, industrial tracing wheel (not the wimpy home version), metal 24” Curve Vary Form ruler, soft lead Berol pencil, #17 French Curve ruler, #24 straight pins for draping;
● Muslin for draping and bodice fitting;
● Your padded ‘body double’ for use in your own sewing studio.

Day two is where things get really creative, when you start draping fashion garments on your form. Your jam-packed day, spent with Joe and Nick, is fulfilling enough all on its own … but you’ll also gather ideas from what’s going on around you (think Project Runway workroom).

This day is all about knit fashions -- tops, in particular. We love to wear them, we should be draping with and designing for them, too! You’ll be working with good quality European knits as you to create your first top (which of course will fit perfectly) in the morning. Make a second style top in the afternoon -- maybe a tunic or dress.

Bring sketches, photos or RTW garments as your inspiration -- thinking about the clothes you’d love to make and which will fit you automatically because they've been draped on .... well, you! Maybe you want to take a detail or feature from one photo and add it to the shape of another -- or take the silhouette of one garment and change it to be more flattering to your own figure -- exaggerate it a little more in one place, and make it a little more body conscious in another. Lengths and the addition of design details…. these are the things you can really work out while draping on your own form, with professional advice available all day long. What could be more fun?!

Nick’s do’ and ‘don’t’ guidelines will help you get started on the right foot (and not stray) as you’re learning, and both his and Joe’s years of experience and great design sense will help you create flattering and wearable designs. Working right on your body double lets you see clearly and analyze proportion and style for YOUR body shape. In the end, you’ll be able to convert your draped designs to flat patterns, all ready to cut from new fabric, sew, and wear. And …. they’ll fit YOU!
   

(Note: Only Tuesday time is listed on ticket, but your registration is valid for the entire workshop on Tuesday and Wednesday.)

About "More the Days Before"

Immerse yourself in a two-day workshop before the Expo opens. Share in the guidance, artistry, technical advice and inspiration your expert teacher brings to the classroom. 

PLUS...your MDB registration qualifies you for a Value Package, which includes discounted pricing on your MDB class sessions AND any additional Expo class sessions, 3 free General Admission tickets, free shopping bag and free project pouch!

Classroom opens at 8:30 Tuesday and Wednesday, instruction begins at 9:00, and your fees include a re-energizing lunch each day to carry you through until 5:00. If you have any dietary restrictions, please email info@sewingexpo.com or call 800-699-6309 as soon as you register for class.