MAKE A SELF-DRAFTED BOXY TEE/DRAPEY TUNIC with CAL PATCH

MAKE A SELF-DRAFTED BOXY TEE/DRAPEY TUNIC
Cal Patch | Friday, May 10, 10am-5pm | $225 (includes a hearty vegetarian lunch )

Sewing your own clothes is satisfying and practical. Drafting your own patterns goes one step further and puts the entire design process in your hands. Cal will teach you how to draft a pattern for a simple woven top that can easily be customized in myriad ways. As a shorter, loose-fitting top, it’s a “Boxy Tee”, but make it longer, with a bit more ease, in a fabric with good drape like linen, and it’s a “Drapey Tunic”. This is a perfect intro to pattern-drafting if you’ve been wanting to dip your toe in the water, and the sewing couldn’t be simpler. This basic t-shirt shape makes a lovely “blank canvas” pattern to use as a foundation for all sorts of techniques: piecing, quilting, embroidering, dyeing, eco-printing… and of course you can combine and layer the treatments to create the most special garments.

In this workshop, we’ll begin by drafting the basic pattern to your measurements, then cut + sew a quick muslin (fit sample) to check fit, and tweak the pattern if necessary. Next you’ll either continue by turning your sample into a *wearable muslin*, or cut a new one, perhaps adding extra seams or pockets. Beginner stitchers will keep it fairly simple, and those with more advanced skills can customize to their hearts’ content. Everyone will leave with a garment that reflects their personality and ideas to make endless variations!

Please have at least advanced-beginner sewing skills, with a few simple projects under your belt. You should be comfortable threading and troubleshooting your sewing machine without assistance.

About Cal
Cal Patch has been making, designing and teaching all things textile-related in New York City since 1991. She sews, crochets, embroiders, spins, prints, knits, dyes, and more. She designed clothing for Urban Outfitters, Free People, Gap, and Old Navy before developing her own line of one-off pieces called “hodge podge”, which she currently sells at craft fairs and in her Etsy shop. After owning a boutique for four years which showcased her own and other local indie designers’ work, she opened one of the nation’s first craft schools in 2002. She contributes to books and magazines such as Stitch N’ Bitch: The Happy Hooker, Mend It Better, Applique Your Way, Made by Hand, Crochet Today and Sew Stylish. In 2009 Cal relocated to upstate New York where she is learning to be a crafty farmer. She offers classes in the Hudson Valley, and travels to teach at retreats and events like Squam Art Worshops, the Makerie, and Lucky Star Art Camp. Her first book, Design-It-Yourself Clothes: Patternmaking Simplified, was published by Potter Craft.

Supplies
Sewing Machine*
Pad or roll of paper, at least 14″wide (can be newsprint, drawing paper, etc)
Notebook, Pencil, eraser and sharpener
Ruler (18” x 2” clear sewing ruler is best)
Tape measure
Paper scissors
Clear tape
2+ yards of muslin or inexpensive woven fabric for fit sample (this could also become your final project after fitting)
About 2-3 yards total of woven fabric, though this can made up of smaller pieces of a few different fabrics, and is also dependent upon the actual measurements of your pattern (quilting or other cottons work well for a boxy tee shape, drapier linens or rayons will be better for longer, drapey tunic/dress styles)
All-purpose thread to match
2 yards 1/2” single-fold bias tape
Basic sewing kit: Fabric shears, pins, marking tool, seam ripper

*Several sewing machines are available if you don't have one, or are traveling. Please make a note when you register if you need to rent a machine. Fee of $10 includes