February 2022 – Denver Art Museum

In March 2022, the Colorado Chapter visited the Denver Art Museum to see the exhibit titled Suited: Empowered Feminine Fashion (Suited | Denver Art Museum).  The fashion started in the late 1900’s and progressed to the present.  Most of the fashions were haute couture with a few ready-to-wear garments.

Members and friends of Colorado Chapter at Denver Art Museum

Of course, there was a Channel suit.  This one, in beige with back trim, is from 1960.

We liked the seaming on the red Channel suit shown here, with its dual princess seams to the shoulder and armscye meeting at a waist that drops from the side seam to center.

And we liked the detailed piping on the off-white haute couture gown by Ralph Rucci from 2009.  The graceful lines in this wool garment flow from below the bust diagonally to the side waist and back across the skirt.

January 2022: eCommerce

At December meeting of the Colorado Chapter of ASDP, we learned what to ask ourselves when starting an eCommerce (web-based) business.  Speaker Bethany Siegler, from UniqueThink (https://uniquethink.com), spoke about the various topics that people tend to forget and topics that need to consider before choosing the web site host, site developer, and software to run the site. 

Bethany divided her talk into seven sections: Product, Workflow, Payments, Shipping, Marketing, Reporting, and Final thoughts. Bethany asked us an hour’s worth of questions on these topics and wrapped up by telling us to write our answers clearly and concisely, because anything we forget could be out-of-scope with the web site development and therefore cost more or even require rethinking the whole project.

To learn more about the Colorado Chapter of ASDP see our web site https://colosewingpros.org and our Facebook page Colorado Sewing and Fashion Design Professionals. To get added to our mailing list or come to our meetings, contact Pat at colosewingpros@gmail.com.

December 2021: Holiday Party

The December meeting of the Colorado Chapter of ASDP was the Holiday Party.  This time we met once again at Jane’s lovely home.  We enjoyed waffles, egg dishes, and a variety of other brunch items.  We ate at two tables, which facilitated small group conversations. 

After our meals, Carol, Pat, and Jane shared their Sew and Tell items.  Carol is progressing on her business to scan patterns and reproduce a full set of left and right oak tag patterns, this time for Clara to use to layout patterns on single layers of silk.  Pat reported that she had a new car, an RDX, and that she had scanned an image of an RDX molecule into her embroidery software programs; she passed around the resulting embroidered t-shirt she planned as a gift to her spouse.  Jane showed a lovely jacket she had made with a beautiful rose-gold colored zipper that contrasted beautifully with the black fabric.

November 2021

At the November meeting of the Colorado Chapter of ASDP, member Karen Bengtson gave her summary of “A Day in the Life at the Learning Experience” that was held in Boise, ID, instead of Conference. Karen attended classes by Claire Schaeffer (couture tailoring) and Robyn Spady (garment trims). We met at our usual location in South Denver, so that Karen could show lots of pictures on the library’s big screen.

Highlights of Claire’s classes included:

  • The grainline of the lapel should be along the outer cut edge to make the fabric look good.
  • A picture of the “goose” iron with a block of wood behind it. The wood is used to hold fabric in a bend for couture shaping.
  • Views inside many designer jackets, such as using wigan fabric across the sleeve cap to keep the sleeve from collapsing.
  • Views of different edge trims used on designer jackets, including fringes and using the wrong side of the fabric to contrast with the fashion side.

Highlights of Robyn’s classes included:

  • The definition and pronunciation of the term Passementerie for decorative trims on garments.
  • Pictures of lots of hand-made wound buttons with various intricate patterns.
  • Various patterns made by braiding multiple cords and by feeding cords through other trims.

For more information about couture tailoring, see Claire Schaeffer’s latest book: Couture Tailoring: A Construction Guide for Women’s Jackets.

To learn more about the Colorado Chapter of ASDP see our web site https://colosewingpros.org and our Facebook page Colorado Sewing and Fashion Design Professionals. To get added to our mailing list or come to our meetings, contact colosewingpros@gmail.com.

Instructor Claire Schaeffer
Instructor Robyn Spady
Inside designer jacket with wigan fabric at sleeve cap.
Designer jacket with inside fabric used as trim.

Cover of Claire Schaeffer’s book on Couture Tailoring.

September 2021

In September the Colorado Chapter returned to its old meeting place for the first time since January 2020.  We met to continue stitching our Fashion Gloves, using the techniques John Koch taught at the October 2019 ASDP National Conference.

Member Pat did a quick review of terms and what we’d done previously: setting the thumb into the bolton – the thumb hole with an attached gusset.  Then we stitched “darts” in the fourchettes – the strip of fabric between the fingers – to account for the different depths of the webbing on the palm and face sides of our hands.  After aligning the fourchettes to the trank – the body of the glove – we spent the rest of our time stab stitching the pieces together.

We had a few stumbles, but by the end many were trying on their gloves checking the fit of the first two fingers, and others were happy to understand how the pieces fit together on what originally seemed like strange shapes.

Thumb of fashion glove showing attached gusset.

August 2021: Picnic

In August the Colorado Chapter of ASDP met as a group for the first time since January 2020; we had a picnic at member Marci’s back yard.  We enjoyed decent morning temperatures, low humidity, and relatively little smoke from distant states. 

After enjoying a diverse arrangement of egg dishes, fruits, and deserts we had a short Sew-And-Tell.  Marci had made fourteen WW1 Women’s Signal Corps uniforms for a stage play, and Carol showed her method of computer cutting slits in a sheet of oaktag (Manila folder material) for marking cutting and sewing lines of a pattern.  We also had freebies: Yvonne brought a box of quality fabrics looking for new home, and Pat brought a canvas organizer to hang from an ironing board.

Next month we plan to meet together at our usual library location and finish the gloves we started pre-Covid, based on a class Pat attended at the 2019 National Conference of ASDP. In the future we plan to alternate between online and in person events.

July 2021: Angela Wolf

For our July meeting, the Colorado chapter invited Angela Wolf to speak to us about Marketing for the Solopreneur (Solo Entrepreneur). 

After speaking to us about how she ended up in a sewing career and the value of ASDP, Angela spoke about the importance of one’s brand.  She emphasized using that brand on everything you do, even if the business evolves.  She also noted that the brand should be developed before considering marketing.

For developing brand awareness, social media is excellent.  Instagram and Facebook are good because you can post pictures and sell things there because people like to see pictures of the sewing process.

One suggestion that we liked was having a fashion show.  Angela started with a small group one year and after a couple years she connected with a non-profit organization that used the fashion show as a fund-raising event.  This worked well because all she needed to worry about was the fashion show itself and the non-profit handled all the other details like advertising, setting up the environment, and hosting the event.

Another suggestion was to host dinner parties or cocktail parties to show your work.  If a bar is provided, then tickets can be provided so participants can get a free drink.  One caveat was not to host an event outdoors – she had one scheduled in the middle of a week of rain and luckily it stopped raining just in time, but she vowed never to do that again.

Angela also advised us to have a website.  She has had good experiences doing it for little money using GoDaddy and WordPress.  The website is like a business card and it can link to your social media sites (e.g. Instagram, Facebook, Etsy, YouTube).

When asked about partnerships, she emphasized the importance of a legally binding agreement in case the situation changes.  She’s not done a partnership; she hires people instead.

Angela also talked a bit about pricing.  If you are too busy to get all the work done, raise your prices.  You may lose a few customers, but you may gain better customers. 

Angela also likes digital patterns because they sell themselves.  When asked about developing patterns and the inevitable errors that arise, she suggested writing a correction sheet rather than reprinting all the paper patterns.

Angela also talked about the benefits of getting a studio outside of the house.  She started her business in her home, and it consumed the entire house.  Having a separate studio helped her establish a better work/life balance.  To determine if one is ready to rent a studio, she suggested doing a 3-5 year budget and see if you have enough cash on hand to pay for six months of rent.

When asked about doing videos, she said not to spend money on video equipment that is higher quality than YouTube uses.  The important aspects are lighting and sound equipment, and don’t worry about what you wear. 

For more information, check out her book “How to Start a Home-based Fashion Design Business” and her Sew Me the Money Business Classes at www.AngelaWolf.com.

June 2021: Denver Art Museum

For our June meeting, the Colorado chapter had a field trip to the Denver Art Museum (DAM) to see the exhibit “From Paris to Hollywood: The Fashion and Influence of Veronique and Gregory Peck.”  Even before meeting Gregory Peck, Veronique was a fashionista; her father was an architect and her mother was an artist.

We saw couture fashions from the early 1950’s into the 1980’s; from tailored suits to couture piping renditions of the 1970’s mod fashions.  Many of the dresses were actually two-piece blouse and skirt ensembles often done in luxurious silks, but frequently made of the man-made fabrics of the time.

Veronique enjoyed fashions by Saint Laurent, Valentino, Pucci, and Thea Porter in the 1960’s and 1970’s.  By the 1980’s she added fashions by Jean-Louis Scherer and Guy Laroche.

We found ourselves critiquing the style and construction of the garments.  We commented on inadequate seam trimming above the top bound buttonhole, zipper locations, center front bust darts in the form of a center front panel, and the fact that Veronique had a slightly higher right shoulder. We enjoyed the museum’s travel through times experienced by many of us at the time.  A book about the exhibit, normally $25, is available on the web site for $10 (https://shop.denverartmuseum.org)

May 2021: Susan Child

The Colorado chapter invited ASDP VP of Conference Planning, Susan Child, to its May meeting.  Susan agreed to this position because she always learns something new at conference.  She also likes conference because it is a chance to network with others in the business, it is an opportunity to grow, and it is a good way to learn about running a business.  She also noted that conference encourages her to work hard but also learns how not to work so hard at tasks.  Plus, everyone is willing to share their knowledge and enthusiasm.

Conference tried something new this year: preregistration deposits.  This has helped tremendously in planning and estimating the number of people to expect at conference.  It also helped because she was unsure how many would want to come to conference due to uncertainty caused by COVID concerns.  There are a lot of moving parts to planning for Conference, and planning got a late start this year due to COVID, so she has really appreciated a good estimate of the number of attendees.

This year’s conference will be celebrating 30 years as ASDP.  The keynote speaker will be Deepika Prakash.  Deepika started PatternReview.com 20 years ago.  Susan has heard Deepika speak at a non-ASDP sewing conference and found her to be an excellent and dynamic speaker.

Special activities include a Meet-and-Greet lunch for attendees new to conference and a fabric-and-tools swap.  For the swap, attendees are encouraged to bring 2-3 items and perhaps pick up something special brought by someone else.  Attendees and their businesses are also encouraged to donate items for door prizes.  The fashion show will include audience choice award, so attendees are encouraged to bring something they have made that they or a model can wear.

The Annual Dinner will include board reports and election of new officers.  The Master Classes include Men’s Tailoring and Alterations, Introduction to Couture Sewing, and Advanced Couture Sewing.

Transportation to the hotel is by taxi or hopefully hotel shuttle (currently not operating due to COVID).  The hotel is a 10-minute walk from the convention center, so shuttles have been arranged to and from for those that do not care to walk.  These shuttles will run in the morning, at noon, and in the evening.  Anyone needing a ride at other times should go to the conference office to get a ride on the shuttle.  There are 115 places to eat within a 15-minute walk of the conference center, many within a 5-10 minute walk.

In terms of special considerations: The city of Boise has a no-smoking policy within city limits.  All public areas and buildings are smoke-free zones.  Smokers must stay at least 20 feet away from any public entrance.   In addition, we must abide by any city and state restrictions due to COVID.

We will have most of the fourth floor of the convention center.  The conference rooms have plenty of natural light from numerous windows.

After talking to us, Susan left with several questions that she’ll answer in her regular eblasts about conference.  These included taxi fare to the hotel, availability of rental sewing machines, and whether rooms for more than two people can get a cot for an extra person.

ASDP members who put down a deposit can register for classes starting July 1, non-members who submitted a deposit and ASDP members who did not send in a deposit can register starting July 15, non-members without a deposit can register August 1, and late registration starts September 1.

Susan noted that the hotel’s reservation page is a bit confusing.   She is willing to help anyone desiring assistance.  Because of this, she got the direct phone number to the hotel: 208-342-7000, and the conference code SPD.

April 2021: Lalon Alexander

The Colorado chapter invited ASDP VP of Education Lalon Alexander, Ph.D., to its April meeting.  Lalon is VP of Education in addition to her duties as a University fashion professor and president-elect for the Costume Society of America.  Lalon talked about various forms of ASDP education, including Eye of the Needle, national conference, University of Fashion, and new programs being considered.

Eye of the Needle is the name for new videos available to ASDP members on the national website under Resources.  This program started in January of this year (2021) and is funded by ASDP’s Charitable Foundation.  Videos by ASDP members lasting 15 minutes to over an hour include hints, techniques, and ideas for creativity.

Lalon informed us that details about this year’s national conference will be available May 15, 2021, in the form of an online and e-blasted brochure.  Participants can attend one to several days and can attend Master Classes and/or core conference classes.  Master Classes this year include Bonnie Carmicino’s beginning couture techniques, Barbie McCormick’s men’s alterations, and Claire Shaeffer’s couture tailoring (based on her new book).  Claire will also offer a shorter version of her master class: Tailoring in a Thimble.  [More class titles can be found at Association of Sewing and Design Professionals – Conference Deposit (sewingprofessionals.com).]

Fifty-seven ASDP members have preregistered for this year’s conference and they can register for classes starting July 1.  Members not preregistered can register for classes starting July 15 and non-members can register starting August 1.   Ideas for classes next year are now being solicited on the web site.  That conference will be held in mid-October 2022 in Baltimore.

Lalon is looking at training for the MAS and MSDP certification programs, an apprenticeship program, and education for brick-and-mortar businesses.  Details about these programs are still being determined; members who already offer appropriate training are being identified and hopefully educational discounts can be offered to ASDP members.  In parallel to this, Lalon is looking at updating the ASDP Standards and Quality document and adding to the Pattern and Illustration Standards.

When asked about University of Fashion, Lalon noted that ASDP members get about a 90% discount.  However, many members do not take full advantage of this program; only 35 of 65 paid UofF memberships activated their accounts last year.  Anyone who loses their activation code should contact Lalon.

Lalon also asked for ideas for future education.  Ideas included upcycling garments, software for digitizing patterns, and copyrighting patterns.  Also desired were sources for US-made fabrics, sustainable fabrics, “dead stock”, and how to transfer stash fabrics among members.

Anyone with additional ideas for ASDP education can contact Lalon at education@sewingprofessionals.org    .