PIECE OUT: PATCHWORK BOXY TOP THREE WAYS with Cal Patch + Katherine Ferrier
PIECE OUT: PATCHWORK BOXY TOP THREE WAYS
Cal Patch + Katherine Ferrier | Saturday, May 11, 10am-5pm
$225 (includes a hearty vegetarian lunch)
Sure, you can sew a garment with just one fabric. But have you ever dreamed of making your own unique PIECED textile garment? In this playful workshop, Cal and Katherine join forces to show you three different methods of making a patchwork boxy top/tunic: improvising yardage, engineering a pattern, or piecing onto a foundation. You’ll have time to experiment with the options before choosing your approach to making your own one-of-a-kind top! You can incorporate favorite leftovers from other projects, treasured small bits, upcycled clothes and thrifted gems as your source material. Transforming textile waste into fantastic clothing is not only really satisfying, it also keeps perfectly good material out of the landfills, and is friendly on the wallet to boot. Plus every garment will be a one-of-a-kind work of art!
This class is designed for folks who already have some basic sewing skills under their belt, and ideally have already made a boxy top or tunic. You should be comfortable threading and troubleshooting your sewing machine without assistance.
Homework: Please arrive to class with 2 copies of your pattern already traced and cut out on paper. Trace the full pattern (as opposed to the traditional folded on center) so you have the option of working asymmetrically.
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.
Katherine Ferrier is a queer poet, dancer, textile artist, teacher, and community organizer based in Rockland, Maine. Her research grows out of a deep practice of paying poetic attention to the world, and lives in the intersecting communities of movers, makers, writers and activists. Since 2018, Katherine has directed the Medomak Fiberarts Retreat in Washington, ME, a nationally recognized gathering of fiber artists from around the world, where she teaches improvisational patchwork, slow stitching, wet felting, and writing for makers. Her work has been featured in Uppercase Magazine, The Knot, Contact Quarterly, and several poetry anthologies, including A Dangerous New World: Maine Voices on the Climate Crisis, and a self-published collection of photographs and poems about making, called Thread Says Stay. She has recently shown her textile work at Speedwell Projects in Portland and at The Ice House Gallery on North Haven. She earned her B.A. in Dance/Women’s Studies from Middlebury, and M.F.A. in Dance from Sarah Lawrence. She regularly teaches and performs throughout the US and abroad, and believes in patchwork as the radical practice of being patient, saying yes, and making space for everyone at the table.
Supplies
Sewing machine (a limited number available to rent if you don’t have one, or are traveling)
Approximately 2+ yards (total) of smaller pieces of woven fabrics, special remnants, old garments, etc to be combined into your project
2 yards muslin or inexpensive lightweight woven fabric (to be used as hidden foundation/lining)
A few sheets of 18 x 24” or a 14+” roll of paper (tracing paper, newsprint or sketch pad are all great)
All-purpose thread
Bias tape, 1 yard of ½” single-fold, can be self-made or packaged
Basic sewing kit: Pins + cushion, scissors, seam ripper, tape measure, marking tool (chalk, wax or pencil) and ruler
Roll of painters tape, any color.
Pattern for a simple top (choose one from below):
Boxy Tee/Drapey Tunic: drafted in a previous class with Cal, or from her online video class, or tutorial found on her website (NOTE: please just do the simple version without the seam and pocket)
Lou Box Top https://www.sewdiy.com/shop/lou-box-top-pdf-pattern
Fen Top https://fancytigercrafts.com/products/fen-pdf-pattern
All Well Box Top https://www.etsy.com/listing/713038843/all-well-box-top-sewing-pattern-hacking
Maya Top https://www.etsy.com/listing/206020747/pdf-maya-dress-and-top-sewing-pattern
Shirt No. 1 https://shop.100actsofsewing.com/products/100-acts-of-sewing-shirt-no-1-sewing-pattern
NOTE: These are loose-fitting tops, so you should be fine to choose the size called for your measurements. If you are concerned about a perfect fit, you may wish to machine-stitch a muslin/fit sample first to confirm size.