Sew you want to sew like the professionals: using appropriate seam allowances for variable places.  I have been published in Threads Magazine with instructions for creating seams using the places where they need to be smaller and some suggestions for couture seams to allow for alterations for more expensive garments.  Here is an example showing various seam allowances for different parts of a garment.  The garments I have shared here are all woven garments, not knits. Wovens  usually have larger seam allowances for inserting a zipper in the center back.( at least 3/4 sa or 1 inch).All body seams are usually 1/2 seam allowances. Necklines and collars are 1/4 or 5/8 inch seams. Factory sewers do not do trimming of seams after sewing them.. It is easier sewing neckline curves with small seams. that need no trimming. I have often wondered why commercial sewing patterns put 5/8 seams everywhere and then tell you to trim some of them down. Do they think the consumer is not bright enough to sew different seams in different places?? Whatever the type of industry you enter be sure to learn and be prepared. Of course if you plan to enter this industry you will need to know how to make patterns as well. Find someplace where you can take a pattern making class. I will be writing more about seams and pattern making in another in another chapter. You can print out these pages and save as long as you want.

JohannaFashionWorld@gmail.com to ask me questions

Difference seams for different places

  Lets start with the ELEMENTS of Design for a human body.There are primarily only 3 basic elements of clothing to put on a body. You must always be true to these

Elements.

1.FORM: shape, space, line- you want this garment to have.

2.COLOR, find a color or colors you want to use, establish warm,cool or in between colors.

3.TEXTURE is the feel of the fabric you have chosen, crisp,silky,smooth,rough, etc….

look at the designs I have shown her and observe the elements of design and how I have used them.

Here is one of my 10 head fashion mannequins for basic sketching. She is tall ,what we call 10 heads high,mostly in legs. Draw your simple figure like this to practice on the ELEMENTS of DESIGN

SEW YOU WANT TO BE A FASHION DESIGNER… You better at least know how to sketch your ideas in a simple way. In my past fashion tips I have given you some information on how to draw a simple sketch.  Now with the coloring book craze, I have decided to give you some of my illustrations to color in as you want to. You can also copy over them to create your own designs, The top one is called Skinny Tights  The next one is called Fancy Shoe. I love to color shoes of all kinds, especially tall and impossible to wear. 

As long as you do not claim mine as your own this should just be fun.

I know a lot of you are looking forward to more about Sew you want to be a Fashion Designer. These are some of my illustrations for you to color in. The next one is Ball cap with Flying Hair. I have mostly colored with  the marker type pens for the brightness on these sketches. On some other ones I used watercolor pencils and brush them for watercolor shading. Just do not get them too wet.

The pages are all an 81/2 by 11 paper like a standard sheet of lined paper. Mine are printed on heavy duty paper and should not color the next page, Put a sheet of paper between if you like or tear out the pages and share them.  Single pages are here now for you to download and color, for $1.00. Print yourself. The book will be on the shelves of my Etsy Store in September. Almost here. Here are a few pages I have colored for your inspiration. I have been sketching my designs all my life with at least 40 years in the real garment industry.  This last one is Profile Safari.

Fashion Design Coloring book will be out this month Already published are my single pages offered in my book of over 30 original illustrations by me. You can now download them to your phone or technology, for $1.00 only buy one or more. Print them out yourself for you to color on 8×10 paper of at least 24lb.

I sell deerskin tiny bags hand made by me .,  some painted with my original art. Most are sold at a local gallery in Webster Groves MO 63119  Green Door Art Gallery

One of the most important decisions you will have to make is choosing the right fabric for your designs.  Some fabrics lend themselves to knits and some to woven fabrics.  Test your ability to pick the right fabric for your designs ,by feeling all the fabrics on clothing you own. First step FEEL IT! You are testing the HAND of the fabric. Is it soft , is it stiff , is it heavy is it light. Then look at the content tag to read what the garment is made of. This is a law, by the way, in the USA. You can also try to tell if the fabric is woven or knitted or a combination of both. I have told you before that stretch fabric may be combined with woven fabrics to add a little stretch for comfort.  If you have read my last post you will see my introduction to woven fabrics set up on a loom.

Knitted fabrics are  not created on a flat  loom, but on a circular one. I have seen some being knitted at  the textile fabric mills when I worked in the garment industry. There are many, many types of knit stitches , but  the knowledge of a few basics will be helpful to you.  Hand stitching is a common stitch  for beginners to learn how to knit. It is described as a plain stitch by people who stitch. On what we call the  FACE side, you will see row after row of the plain stitch climbing up. On the BACK side of the knitted fabric. You will see is called a horizontal PEARL stitch. Fabrics that are knitted  can be very complicated and can change from basic knitting to a knit pattern that the loom can knit. Rachael stitch is just one example  of the fancy stitches you can work with, usually not very stretchy.

A rib stitch is usually knit two pearl two.This stitch is usually used for cuffs or any where you want garments be tight. It stretches very much when pulled, and sometime will not recoil A full garment made from this  stitch will  not cling to the body easily.  You see it on tank tops a lot.

A stitch that is a good one for beginners to use is  a top weight double knit  It  is what I required for my students at Palm Beach Community College  to use for a tee shirt. It is really a double knit, but not a heavy one like the original double knit was used in the 70,s It was introduced to women that need stretch in their pants. Men wore garments worn out of this double knit also. What a sad time for the garment industry. Double Knit pant Suits loved by men too.

We eventually came up with more and more combination of fibers that will stretch a lot. You see them in work out stores now with amazing man made (synthetic) textiles. a whole lot  of books have been written about all there subjects. check them out and pick one to buy. The stitches we see in work out wear garments today does not get out of shape easily like the rib knit stitch because they are loaded with synthetic fibers ,sometimes only man made fibers  (synthetic) Check out my next post about Comparing fabrics  from natural to synthetic

You dressed your dolls when you were young, You need to learn what type of material worked then. My granddaughter learned how to sew on her sisters sewing machine. She made a tube dress for her doll and wondered why she could not stretch this fabric on her doll. She made a new tube dress out of knit and it pulled up perfectly.There are woven fabrics and various knit types to choose from. You should know how to make your dress (work) based on the garments you sketched.A good lesson would be while shopping, check looking,feeling,fabrics as you go. Remember, to look at knitted fabrics and woven ones. Nowadays many woven fabrics will include some stretch fabrics.

Start with WARP WOVEN FABRICS on a long cutting table just like the tiny pot holders you made for your family back in the day. In factory’s,the fabrics that support woven come in various weight,from heavy yarns for jeans and other stronger yarns to various thin fabric very sheer fabric.

Weft is the name of the fabric that goes across the loom over and under each yarn which can vary according to unless the fabric desired.It has to be suitable,for your design. So I sent you to a large store to look at fabrics. The right fabric for the design is really important. Now go to a fabric store and feel a lot of fabrics. See if there is any stretch in some of the woven,because that will dictate how your ideas work or not

I have already given you a chart for high fashion illustration on a tall model. Most designers like to sketch their illustrations on a tall (10 head) fashion model. The clothing looks great on the tall runway models. You will still count off the 10 heads as I suggest on the static illustration in the sketching lesson I showed you in the last post. In my action figure illustration you can see the the model looks like she is moving forward. Her back leg is away from the front leg and she does not look like she is falling over. This is because her weight is distributed between both of her legs. If that were not the case she would look like she is falling over. The simple rule of thumb is that from her earlobe to the floor will be somewhere between her legs, I have drawn what is called the balance line on this illustration.If the model is leaning against a pole or holding on to one you can break the balance rule. Again practice practice. Check out some of my other illustrations here and you can find the balance line, so they look like they are standing up straight. Taking a class in figure drawing is a good option to learn more about how to draw fashion figures Other options are to draw your garments only. in the industry we call these FLATS. I will post more information about how to draw posts. The must show all details about the garment including seams,darts etc. This will indicate as to how the pattern should be made.

Sew you want to be a Fashion Designer….. I know you like to draw pretty pictures of your dream designs…. Then what?? Find someone to build your dream into a garment?  How are you going to explain how to do this if you do not know how to do it yourself?    If you cannot sew yet, you better bite the bullet and take some sewing lessons. That does not mean you will always have to build your garments yourself.By building I mean engineer them. Note that I said “Build”. I believe a real Fashion Designer can build their own garment, but maybe not beautifully, like a professional seamstress.  The point is, if you have the idea, you have to understand how your garment can be made. I am not talking about, just stretching a piece of knit around a mannequin or someone.  Even knit garments, that everyone loves today, need to be sewn on a sewing machine. Remember, most fabric is flat and needs to be cut apart to fit around our cylinder bodies. Learn how to draw  a sketch of how you are going to construct your garment. It does not need to be pretty,it should Include all seam lines necessary  to shape your fabric around a human form. I am not saying do not try to work on knits first. Seems easy doesn’t it? All woven fabrics today include some stretch in them and are comfortable. Try to test a woven fabric , maybe just make a pair of baggy shorts or on a pillow so you can get used to using a sewing machine. If you do not have a sewing machine or there is not one in your family,purchase a reasonable machine or a used one or borrow one. If you have already done all of this, start an inspiration folder. When I taught my students at Palm Beach Community College I reviewed their inspirations folders. The rule was, no photos of garments or models wearing something you like, this is too easy and your designs might look like someone else’s ideas. My students were required to include home furnishings, artists work  and photos in nature etc. Designers in the past were occasionally inspired this way. A famous designer, Yves St Laurent once designed a dress based on a piece of art by Mondrian. It was a hit. Elsa Schiaparelli designed a sweater of knit with hands covering each breast,very daring at the time. No one else inspired them. Try this in your sketchbook. If you cannot draw well buy a book with tips on how to place a design of yours on a body. There are books like that in art stores all over.  i am writing a Fashion coloring book with some of my designs in it for people to color in, not especially wanna be designers, just for fun. Soon I will be selling them in my etsy site, which you can get from her. Scroll to the bottom of my blogs and see how to get to johannafashionworld on my Etsy site. Keep reading for more tips about this industry that I have loved all my life

Johanna