PATTERNMAKING CLASSES

Advanced P&C with Sharon Blair, BA, MA, PAA

Portland Sewing and Sharon Blair have appeared in several articles for Threads Magazine.

Fridays, 10 am-1 pm or 6-9 pm

$15/hour or $150 for book of 12 hours or $300/month

No class Friday, July 5

Take advantage of our guided lab and take your skills to the next level.  Design, develop and produce the garments of your choice.  Produce your next clothing line. Do your work with the advice and guidance of Sharon Blair.  Blair studied in Paris.  She has written several articles for Threads Magazine.  And she has taken many local designers through producing their collections and even helped some get on and win Project Runway.

Tackle more difficult projects.  Resolve fit issues.  Master tricky construction issues.

Let your ideas run free!  What do you want to create today?  Bring it here and we'll make it happen.

Prerequisites:  Intermediate Sewing classes, Patternmaking Series

Learn the professional way to make patterns for commercial or personal use.

Introduction to Patternmaking Series (Pattern 1&2) 

Wednesdays, April 17-July 10, 10 am-1 pm OR 6-9 pm (Sorry, Pattern 1 is full.  Please click here to get on the wait list.)

After these classes, you will be ready to design clothes — for yourself or others.  You will have patterns that fit and you’ll be able to turn it into innumerable designs for skirts, shirts and blouses, dresses and pants.

Take the whole 13-week series  for $725 or $389 for Pattern 1, $359  for Pattern 2. Series includes pattern papers and textbook “Building Patterns” by Suzy Furrer and special handouts.

Patternmaking 1, Wednesdays, April 17-May 29, 10 am-1 pm OR 6-9 pm   (Sorry, the evening session is full.  Please sign up for the morning session or click here to get on the wait list.)

Draft slopers made to your measurements.  Start with a torso sloper that you can use for dresses, jackets and coats.  Create a bodice sloper for blouses and shirts.  Go to sleeves.  Then create a skirt sloper.  Finish with pants.  Prerequisite: Beginning sewing, experience with commercial patterns.

Computer Patternmaking, Grading, Marking with Optitex
Contact us to arrange your private or group session:  info@portlandsewing.com

$998/person for 12-weeks of 3-hour sessions.  Includes plotting paper, use of plotter.

Limited to 4 students/session.  Prerequisites:  Intro and Advanced Patternmaking (Pattern 1-4)

with instructor Sharon Blair, Northwest representative for Optitex

Computer Patternmaking.
Go from flat pattern to CAD (computer-aided design) in twelve sessions.  You'll learn to digitize your patterns, modify them, check and correct notches, armholes, necklines and seamlines, create variations and seam allowances.  You'll also learn the principles of grading and marking, then apply them to your pattern.  Use Optitex 11 -- the same software used by Nike and many designers -- and an Algotex digitizer.

Grading.
Learn the principles of cardinal points and grade rules on a flat pattern, then move to the computer program and apply them to your pattern. Size grading is the process of increasing and decreasing clothing sizes. Fashion designers work with a patternmaker to develop their first patterns. Samples are made from these patterns and when they are complete and ready to be produced, they need to be graded. The pattern pieces are increased and decreased at specific locations to create each size.  Need to know more about grading?  Take our basic grading class.

Marking.
Layout a size run of your patterns for the best fabric usage for your size runs and styles.  Learn the difference between mixed, single size and other markers and which to use where. A marker is a layout of the pattern pieces that a cutting service will place on top of the spread fabric. Your goal: The highest fabric usage while conforming to grainline and sizes per your company's requirements.   Need to know more about make?  Take our advanced grading and marking class.

Adam Andreas teaches assymetric designs in Advanced Draping.

Advanced Draping

Tuesdays, May 28-July 2, 6-9 pm

Patternmaking 4 (Knits & Stretch)

with instructor Sharon Blair, BA, MA, PAA

$319 or $599 if combined with Pattern 3 (Garment Design). Includes pattern papers, handouts

Fridays, May 31- July 12, 10 am-1 pm OR 6-9 pm

No class Friday, July 5.

Everybody wears knits.  So try your hand at making patterns for knits. Use the slopers you made in Patternmaking 1 and create new ones. Make tops, dresses, sweaters, activewear — including raglan sleeve hoodies — bras and swimsuits.  Learn how to adjust your patterns for different kinds of knits.  Patterns can be used for stretch fabrics too.

If you’ve taken Intermediate Sewing: Knits & Performance Fabrics, you’ll find yourself making the the pattern, cutting and sewing then wearing that garment to class the next week!

Prerequisites: Patternmaking 1 & 2

Class policies