I took the Sleeve Drafting class with Joe Vecchiareli. Joe took a subject that could be a little dry and technical, and made it fun and entertaining as well as educational, weaving a facinating story about Tim Gunn through the lecture. The hand out he provided is great, I feel confident I could recreate what he demonstrated in class. I will take another class from him, and highly recommend his classes.
I also took Notions you Can’t Sew Without class. The instructor who was supposed to present was unable to be there. Her substitute did a great job of explaining the notions and their uses. Many of these were for quilting or crafts. This class is great for someone who is fairly new to sewing, or hasn’t sewn in a while, or is interested in notions that make scalloped edges, and other tools for quilting and crafting.
I think I got the most practical, useful information from the third class I took, Sewing Hacks for a Professional Look, taught by Jim Suzio. He started with techniques for setting zippers. One suggestion was to use different feet, not the zipper foot, so that’s something I’ll have to actually try for myself before I decide if I like it or not. But I do like his “hand picked look” technique that’s actually done by machine. Hands down the gold nugget from his class was an amazing technique for creating double welt pockets. The only dislike I have is that he passes out his handouts after class. I understand he does this so students focus on what he is saying instead of wandering around in the notes. But, I wish I had been able to take my own notes on top of his. Next time I’ll bring a notepad (paper or digital).
The last class I took was another one taught by Jim Suzio, called Designer Sergery. This class was much less technical and much more about embellishment and fun. He showed some amazing garments, full of cool ideas. I’ve used the satin serger edge before, but he added some new twists to it, along with techniques for getting solid coverage, a stable edge, and a sharp corner.
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