VOGUE PATTERNS
SEWING TODAY’S
THE ULTIMATE SEWING MAGAZINE
PATTERN CHALLENGE A California class takes on the stripped-down schematics of Marfy, achieving artful results
Plus an interview with Marfy founder Clara Gamberini
TIPS FOR
MAINTAINING AND UTILIZING YOUR SERGER
CUTTING SCHOOL Shingo Sato’s 3D Transformational Reconstruction Technique
Couture Tips From Claire Shaeffer
SAMPLER SAMPLER SAMPLER SAMPLER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2013 VOGUEPATTERNS.COM FEBRUARY/MARCH 2013
Free pattern offer See page 95 for details
Contents Vogue Patterns Magazine February/March 2013
FEATURES
46 The Art of Accessory Marjorie Schick’s stunning sculptural jewelry blurs the line between fine art and fashion. by Daryl Brower
52 The Old World Mastery of Marfy An interview with Clara Gamberini, founder of the Italian pattern company. by Jean Hartig
56 The Marfy Challenge A sewing class tackles the stripped-down patterns of the Italian purveyor, achieving artful results. by Jane Foster
82 On the Town Create lively statementmaking garments with bold texture and color.
70 Black & White Liven up classic looks with structured garments and acid-bright accessories.
86 The Power of Prints Today’s panel prints—fitting for all ages—give classic silhouettes attitude.
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DEPARTMENTS Editor’s Note 5 Letters | Contributors 7 What Are You Sewing? 8 Must-Haves 10 Destinations | Twin Cities Textile Center by Jean Hartig 13
SEW BIZ Industry | Cash’s 14 by Jean Hartig
Boutique | Merchant & Mills 16 by Jean Hartig
FASHION HISTORY Storied Lines 40 With a little help from fashion icons, stripes have managed to climb from the bottom of the ranks in medieval society to this year’s spring runways. by Daryl Brower FREE PROJECT Snip and Stitch 62 How to give a ready-made dress a high-design touch in only a few steps. by Laurie Jackson-Murray
Sew Moni 18 A family’s love of sewing lays the groundwork for a buzzing business. by Suzanne Pettypiece
STYLE STRATEGY
TIPS & TOOLS
Two Garments, Four Looks 68
Accessory Feet for the Serger 22
THREAD TALES
How to get more from your workroom assistant. by Kathryn Brenne
A Lifetime of Sewing With Style 96
Serger Maintenance 26
Fabric Match 64 Accessorize 66
18
by Edith M. Roeder
How to keep your machine at peak performance. by Kathryn Brenne with Larry Shackleton
MASTER INSTRUCTION
40
Transformational Reconstruction 30 Using 3D pattern design to take your sewing skills to the next level. by Shingo Sato
COUTURE CORNER Behind the Seams 36 Finishing the lining seams of a cardigan jacket. by Claire Shaeffer
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MASTER INSTRUCTION
30 VOGUE PATTERNS
MASTER INSTRUCTION
TRANSFORMATIONAL
RECONSTRUCTION Using 3D Pattern Design to Take Your Sewing Skills to the Next Level BY SHINGO SATO
Transformational Reconstruction (TR), which represents a departure from conventional pattern-cutting norms, is a method that allows creative shaping and effects to be built into the cut of the garment as the pattern is developed, providing inspiration for the home sewer to create unique designs. While TR primarily involves flat-pattern design, the initial concept and much of the manipulation of the fabric occurs on the form, as the designer intuitively determines the proportion, balance, and fit, treating fabric as if it were another medium, a substance that flows around the body and transforms into fantastical shapes, all the while keeping the structure of the basic garment functional for wearing. The fundamental process consists of constructing a new shape by building it into or onto a basic block pattern with fabric, paper, and tape. In the next stage, the new design form is dismantled into new pattern pieces and recut in fashion fabric, often in more than one color pattern. In the third stage, the design is carefully reconstructed and finished. Your design could include inserts that run into the middle of the piece or seamlines that cross, in addition to dart points. Practice using half-scale blocks, simple minimalease bodices, skirts, or dresses, until you are ready to create your TR design in full scale. What follows are the steps for creating a pattern puzzle, just one of the many approaches to TR, for which a basic pattern block for a bodice is divided into more than one pattern piece.
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FASHION HISTORY
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FASHION HISTORY
André Bouys’s La Récureuse, 1737, depicts a young servant wearing a striped dress, a symbol of servitude that eventually became fashionable.
Storied Lines With a little help from fashion icons, stripes have managed to climb from the bottom of the ranks in medieval society to this year’s spring runways. BY DARYL BROWER
T
he boldly striped styles that sauntered down this year’s spring fashion runways (and there were lots of them) may have raised a few eyebrows, but that reaction was nothing compared to the ones those linear bands garnered in medieval France. In 1254 Louis IX, better known as Saint Louis, returned from the Crusades with a few Carmelite monks in tow. The brothers were garbed in striped cloaks, a clothing choice that set French tongues wagging—and not in a complimentary way. Medieval society used dress as a way to define class, literally barring such unsavory types as lunatics, lepers, jugglers, and prostitutes in striped clothing. Figures depicted in such garb in the art of the time denoted some sort of social deviance: Heretics, hangmen, and prostitutes were identified as such by their striped garments, as were biblical characters of questionable morals— Judas, Delilah, Salome, Saul, and Cain, to name a few. In his book The Devil’s Cloth (Washington Square Press, 1991), historian Michel Pastoureau speculates that this stripe-averse sentiment was fueled both by a line from the Bible, “You will not wear upon yourself a garment that is made of two,” and by the medieval mind’s need to clearly distinguish between figure and ground. Stripes—with their single plane of alternating colors—were tricky to view, and as such became a visual symbol of impurity. But back to the Carmelites. The sight of holy men dressed in stripes was just too much for polite French society to bear. Crudely mocked as the frères barrés (the barred brothers, barré being a double entendre for illegitimate), the monks were met with jeers, catcalls, and oftentimes violence wherever they went. To still the unrest, Pope Alexander IV demanded they give up their cloaks; the Carmelites summarily refused. Arguments and threats ensued. The monks held their ground. The dispute ended in 1295, when Pope Boniface VIII issued a papal bull banning striped clothing from religious
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2013 41
STYLE STRATEGY
TWO GARMENTS FOUR LOOKS
V8865 as pants for warmth and comfort for daytime errands with sweater set by August Silk, augustsilk.com; belt by Isaac Mizrahi, wcmbelts.com; and Finesse by French Sole shoes, frenchsoleshoes.com.
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TWO STYLINGS OF TWO CLASSIC PATTERNS—combined with the perfect accessories and shoes—create radically different looks that make for an easy transition from late winter to early spring. Add to the mix your own variations of fabric textures and color for an endless supply of go-to pieces for any occasion.
V8865 as shorts and a classic and crisp shirt, V8689, for workday lunch date with belt by Nanette Lepore, wcmbelts. com, and Parfait by French Sole shoes, frenchsoleshoes.com.
A shortened dress, V8866, with high neck and long sleeves balanced by VanGreg sandals by Clarita Accessories, claritabags.com, and a belt by Fahrenheit.
A longer V8866 for cold nights, paired with a Rachel Zoe leather blazer, bergdorfgoodman.com; ribbed 1937 tights, madewell.com; and Giuseppe Zanotti boots, zappos.com,
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