Couture Workshops

Offered through the 2021 ASDP Conference in Boise!   

This hands-on class will allow students to see and fit various male models, and practice their choice of basic and/or advanced alterations. Proper fit and fitting techniques are discussed and demonstrated, as well as fit and construction issues and limitations that are unique to men's dress clothing. Quick and efficient alteration methods will be shown, and suit/sport coats, dress shirts, and dress pants will be thoroughly reviewed. Military alterations and patches will be discussed.

Basic alterations covered will be for shirts: quick and easy felled seams, shortening cuffs and sleeve plackets, proper hemming and tips for curved hems, tapering, and dart options. For Pants; quick marking for hems and cuffs, waist/ seat/ stride adjustments, proper leg tapers, adding suspender buttons. Coats; quick vented sleeve hems, adding or modifying the shoulder pads, tapering sides through double vents, taping the roll line, closing vents, hemming the coat, and lowering the collar.

Advanced alterations will include; For shirts: Modifying the neck, shoulders, and yokes, reshaping the armhole. For trousers: adding or removing pleats, adding or removing pockets, reducing the waist by more than 4 inches, lowering/reshaping the waistband. For coats: Taper through blades, reducing the shoulders with the sides, adding shape to the front panel, tapering the lapel, modifying the armhole, and adding working buttonholes to a vented sleeve

Students will also practice and learn proper and efficient use of specialty equipment, including industrial irons (both gravity feed and boiler), vacuum boards, industrial blind hemmers, cuff shapers, sleeve forms, and various pressing tools, such as shoulder stands, "Man Hams", large sleeve boards, buck boards, daubers, pressing mitts, etc. 

Students participating in this class should come away with a solid base for the MAS certification program.

Kit fee includes practice clothing (Suit or sport coat, dress shirt, trousers), extensive hand-outs and samples of various alteration notions. 

***************************************

Supply list for Students:

Hand machine needles, all-purpose thread, seam ripper, fabric scissors, note taking supplies, pins, flexible 18" ruler.

Optional: Task lighting, magnifying glasses, pinking shears, sewing machine

Barbie, along with her colleague Linda Homan, offers couture level sewing workshops. Workshops vary from 3-6 days, and cover fitting and sewing techniques for trousers, French designer jackets, hand tailored jackets, dresses, skirts, and patterns.

January 12-17, 2022

Palm Mountain Resort, Palm Springs, CA

Learn about Chanel jackets, and what sets them apart from all others. Couture Connoisseur Claire Shaeffer will bring in Haute Couture jackets for students to study and enjoy. Start on your own, from a finely tuned personalized muslin.