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VOGUEPATTERNS.COM

SEWING TODAY’S

THE ULTIMATE SEWING MAGAZINE

TIPS FOR MAINTAINING AND UTILIZING YOUR SERGER

CUTTING SCHOOL Shingo Sato’s 3D Transformational ReconstructionTechnique

Couture Tips From Claire Shaeff er

A California class takes on the stripped-down schematics of Marfy, achieving artful results

Plusan interview with Marfy founder Clara Gamberini

PATTERNCHALLENGE

Free pattern off erSee page 95 for details

SAMPLER SAMPLER SAMPLER SAMPLER

2 VOGUE PATTERNS

Contents Vogue Patterns Magazine February/March 2013

FEATURES

46The Art of AccessoryMarjorie Schick’s stunning

sculptural jewelry blurs the

line between fi ne art

and fashion.

by Daryl Brower

52The Old WorldMastery of MarfyAn interview with Clara

Gamberini, founder of the

Italian pattern company.

by Jean Hartig

56The Marfy Challenge A sewing class tackles the

stripped-down patterns

of the Italian purveyor,

achieving artful results.

by Jane Foster

82On the TownCreate lively statement-

making garments with

bold texture and color.

70Black & WhiteLiven up classic looks with

structured garments and

acid-bright accessories.

86The Power of PrintsToday’s panel prints—fi tting

for all age s—give classic

silhouettes attitude.

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2013 3

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

Sew Moni 18A family’s love of sewing

lays the groundwork for

a buzzing business.

by Suzanne Pettypiece

TIPS & TOOLS

Accessory Feet for the Serger 22

How to get more from your

workroom assistant.

by Kathryn Brenne

Serger Maintenance 26

How to keep your machine

at peak performance.

by Kathryn Brenne with

Larry Shackleton

MASTER INSTRUCTION

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

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

STYLE STRATEGY

Fabric Match 64

Accessorize 66

Two Garments,

Four Looks 68

THREAD TALES

A Lifetime of Sewing With Style 96

by Edith M. Roeder

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MASTER INSTRUCTION

30 VOGUE PATTERNS

MASTER INSTRUCTION

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2013 31

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 pro-

cess 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, ofte n in more than one color

pattern. In the third stage, the design is carefully reconstruct-

ed 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 minimal-

ease 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.

Using 3D Pattern Design to Take Your Sewing Skills to the Next Level

BY SHINGO SATO

TRANSFORMATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION

40 VOGUE PATTERNS

FASHION HISTORY

FASHION HISTORY

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2013 41

T he boldly striped styles that sauntered down this year’s spring fash-

ion 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 cloth-

ing. 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 specu-

lates 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

BY DARYL BROWER

Storied LinesWith a little help from fashion icons, stripes have man-

aged to climb from the bottom of the ranks in medieval society to this year’s spring runways.

André Bouys’s La

Récureuse, 1737, depicts a

young servant wearing a

striped dress, a symbol of

servitude that eventually

became fashionable.

68 VOGUE PATTERNS

STYLE STRATEGY

TWO GARMENTSFOUR 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.

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.

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2013 69

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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Today’s fabrics are about texture and color. Paired with

the right pattern, they create lively statement-making garments

for women of any age. Opposite page: A silk-jacquard top

with matching slim-cut pants, in red brocade, yields

easy elegance, V8840, Misses’ 8–14. This page: This wrap-top evening

dress, shown in bright blue shantung for a classic, glamorous look,

has body-conscious construction, V8852, Misses’ 4–20.

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