Happy Festivus

I try to keep my blog positive, but not today. Today is Festivus when we air our grievances.

Intro to apparel design: It often seemed that the purpose of this class was to make us want to change majors. The instructor spent a lot of time explaining that the major is too difficult for us and that we will never achieve our dreams of fame and glory. I want support from my instructors; I do not want them to try to get rid of me.

Home sewing: Most of the construction classes at Stout focus on home sewing techniques. I should be learning industrial sewing techniques. Minneapolis Community and Technical College has industrial sewing machines only. Unless I go to work for a company that makes home sewing patterns I will need to know industrial sewing techniques.

Cut and sew knits: I love sewing. This class should have been fun, but it was not. Pattern making was not one of the prerequisites for this class, but the professor thought it was. I had to design all my own patterns, and I was graded on my pattern making. The class should have focused on construction techniques rather than pattern making and design techniques. I am also annoyed that there was no mention of coverstitch machines in the class. Stout has one industrial coverstitch, but this class used only home sewing machines.

Wisconsin: It is too damn cold, and I hate snow. Land’s End and American Girl are here, and Target is next door in Minnesota, but we do not have fashion. I will need to spend some time in New York.

That is it for now. Thank you for listening, and please feel free to use the comments section to air your own grievances. I hope you have a happy and joyous Festivus, and I wish you luck as you engage in your feats of strength.

Stupid ice

Ice covered sidewalks are slippery. Who knew? Yesterday morning I walked out my front door, hit the sidewalk, slipped, and hit the sidewalk. Tomorrow morning I will have surgery to repair my fractured right elbow. I am done sewing for the semester. There are two projects left for my cut and sew knits class. I will ask my professor to give me an incomplete so I can finish the class at a later time. If I have to drop the class I will not have to retake it. It is one of many special topics classes. I need to complete 5 special topics credits, but specific special topics class is required. Whether or not I complete cut and sew knits I plan to complete the two projects. My power stretch garment project is a bike outfit – pants and jersey. My comfort stretch garment project is a onesie (with tush flap) and a set of pajamas or a bathrobe. I love biking, and I think I will enjoy my onesie.

A tough semester

Hi, I am back. I know I promised to write more. I am sorry. It has been a rough semester. I took too heavy a course load. The rule from now on is two apparel classes per semester, no more. I dropped two of my classes, so hopefully I will have a little more time now. I did not want to drop the classes, but I felt that if I kept them I would end up failing everything. Spanish and line development are gone leaving me with cut and sew knits, textile evaluation, and intro to apparel design.

Line development was the most time consuming class. I found myself spending more than 20 hours per week doing homework for it, and it is only a three credit class. Even with all the time I put in I had only a C- average. C is passing, so it was obvious which class I should drop. It is not required for my concentration, but it is a useful class nevertheless. I may take it again in the future.These two boys were part of my men’s collection. You see why my grade was so bad.

Cut and sew knits is my only sewing class this semester. I love sewing, but I am having some difficulty in this class. Part of the problem was finding enough time, but now that I am done with line that is no longer an issue. The big problem is that I need to draft the patterns for all my projects, and I have not yet taken pattern making. Pattern was not a prerequisite for this class, but the professor thought it was.
Some of my projects did not turn out so well, but I am pleased with this sweat shirt.

That’s all for today. I will be back soon with more pictures and some info about my other classes.

Cut and sew knits – first project

There is a story behind my outfit, but I do not think it would make things better; the picture really speaks for itself. This is just the fit muslin. I will bedazzle you with more photos after I finish the project.

The first few days of class

Classes began last week. I knew I would have a lot of work this semester, but I underestimated how much. All my classes will require a lot of work, but two of them will demand tremendous amounts of time. Despite the work load, I think this will be a fun semester.

Español
No hablo español ahora, pero quiero aprender. Me gusta esta clase. La profesora habla solamente español en clase. OK, I am not sure that is correct, but it is only the first week of the semester. By the end of this semester I should be able to write a little more.

Intro to apparel design
On the first day the instructor spent a lot of time encouraging people to drop the class. She stressed how hard the major is. She added that most students arrive at school knowing nothing about the fashion industry, and that whatever they expect is probably wrong. Day two was a little more positive. She addressed concerns students raised on the form we filled out about ourselves on the first day and explained what we need to do to succeed.

As I sit in the class looking around at my classmates I feel as though I am in a landing craft waiting to hit Omaha Beach. There are 100 of us now, but soon people will start to drop. By the time we make it to graduation fewer than 30 will be left. I hope everyone makes it, and I will help out my classmates if I can, but my number one concern is ensuring that I make it to graduation.

Textile evaluation
Everyone in class needs five yards of a fabric to run through a gamut of tests throughout the semester. The requirement was a plain weave with staple fibers. I thought my fabric was good enough, but it was not. My filling yarns were made with crimped synthetic long-staple fibers. They were too weak. I needed something with spun yarns. At least I was not the only one with bad fabric. As the class began its first tests three of us ran to Walmart to buy more fabric. My new stuff is 100% cotton. A blend would have been more interesting, but I did not want to risk buying another bad fabric.

Line development
This will be my most time consuming class. The first few weeks will be spent learning to draw, we will then move on to Photoshop and Illustrator, and finish the semester by designing lines of men’s and women’s wear. The professor said she felt it ought to be two three-credit classes – a drawing class and a line class – but the school wants the two topics combined into one. We will do the work of both classes, but receive only the three credits. So far I have drawn a horse and a lot of arms and legs. I need to draw a man with glasses for tomorrow. Pictures will be posted soon.

Cut and sew knits
This class is taught by the same professor I have for line development. She explained that while this is only a two credit class we will be doing the work of a three credit class. Everyone in class will make the same (or similar) items for the first four projects, and we will design our own garments for the last two. I think the design aspect will be more difficult for me than the sewing aspect. Pattern drafting was not a prerequisite for this class, but perhaps it should have been. I will have to draft the patterns for all six projects. The first four are a women’s bathing suit, a t-shirt, a hooded sweatshirt, and a bicycling outfit (shorts and jersey). I must then design an active wear item and a casual wear item. My casual item will probably be a fleece jacket of some sort. I have no idea what my active wear item will be.

That’s enough procrastinating for now, it’s time for me to get back to homework.