Steps to Exquisitely Comfortable Fit - The Jacket
April 2012 ~ I attended the "Original Sewing & Quilt Expo" in Worcester and took every Cynthia Guffey class available.
She is amazing and I became one of her biggest fans.
She is truly an expert and she has such a full of life type personality.
I bought pretty much every book, pattern and DVD she had.
She also had some gorgeous raw silk fabric. I bought some but haven't used it yet.
Periodically I will check to see if Cynthia has new patterns or DVD's.
I was pleasantly surprised when I found that she was now doing on line classes
on dailycrafttv. She has three classes.
I posted it on the facebook sewing group, because I just had to share this great find, of course.
Carolyn - from Dairy of a Sewing Fanatic and I decided we would each take a class and review it.
I purchased How to Fit a Jacket and Carolyn is reviewing Seven Core Sewing Skills.
I do plan on purchasing the other two.
Cynthia is joined with Marlene Ingraham, the founder of Original Sewing & Quilt Expo.
Together they made a great team.
Cynthia is working with real people, not a dress form and a pattern that has princess seams.
She addresses fitting issues, wrinkles, that occur on garments, where they originate from and how to solve them.
She shows these issues on the "mock up" and makes the corrections on the paper pattern.
Some of the issues she covers are:
Shoulder width ~ sometimes you think your problems are armhole issues but can actually be a shoulder width issue.
Shoulder Slope ~ when garment is pulling away from neckline /shoulder area. Looks too big ~ so to fix we "nip" it just a little . That is bad ;)
I saw her do this alteration at Expo, but forgot about it. The paper alteration may surprise you.
Center back to Side Seam ~ side seam pulls toward the front- hem drops lower in the back. caused by back hip issues.
Upper Back Curve ~ an alteration that is often overlooked and seldom addressed and will solve many fitting issues.
When Cynthia did my fitting at Expo, this same alteration is what she did on me but for protruding shoulder blades. An alteration I did not realize I needed to do.
Bust line ~ Full bust adjustment
One of her models is a petite model and Cynthia addresses fitting/alteration issues when having to decrease.
The class was a pleasure to watch. Cynthia has a true passion for what she does and it shows. (At some points It was like being right there in one of her classes at Expo. I was expecting her to share a recipe at any moment. That is what she did everyday. She would Give us one of her favorite recipes and tell us to "write this down"!)
In summary this class addresses many jacket, (or upper body) fitting issues that we have and she sees the fitting/alteration issues through from mock up to paper. She makes the fitting and corrections seem simple so we can achieve that custom look we want.
After taking her classes at Expo, I remember feeling that her methods, her way of teaching, her passion and just her overall personality inspired you!
Still applies.
Still applies.
She gives you all the information.
You just want to do it ~ and do it right.
I have seen most of the jackets on display in this video.
They are gorgeous!
The baby blue coloured jacket has her signature "Guffey Seam" .
An inset seam which is in her "Exterior Seams" part 1 DVD.
I am anxious to take Cynthia's other two classes, which I also bought :)
Have a great day!
Ann
Ann
