The Fitting Masterclass

5 Day Course// 10 am - 4pm // Level: Beyond Beginner// Cost: £475 // July 21st - 25th

Instructor: Cassandra Belanger Founder of The Stitchery, Co-Founder of Zero Waste Design Collective and Founding Member of Sustainable Fashion Scotland // Location: The Stitchery Studio, 23 Acorn Street, Glasgow G40 4AN

Up your sewing game, broaden your options, and make something new and unique for your wardrobe!

About This Course

Led by Stitchery Founder Cassandra Belanger, this 5 day intensive sewing course for ‘beyond beginners’ and improvers will help you take your clothes-making skills to the next level.

Making your own clothes is about learning to BE YOURSELF. Choose your own fabric; fit it to your own unique body; express your own unique style. If you're tired of wearing low quality, ill-fitting and generic hi-street clothing, then this course is your opportunity to break from the herd.

We're all different shapes and sizes. Thankfully. But when it comes to making clothes from a commercial pattern, this can sometimes make things tricky. Learn a unique, tried and tested method for getting a great fit every time. Create a fitting pattern, based on your body shape, and use it for your future projects.

This is Cassandra’s most in-depth Fitting Masterclass to date: she’s going to take five days to equip you with a tried and tested method for getting great fit every time. You'll also come away with a paper pattern, adjusted to your body, that you can use time and time again on your own projects. As always, the workshop is hands-on and student focused.

All body shapes and sizes welcome. We are a LGBTQI+ friendly and safe space. People of all genders, sizes, and backgrounds are welcome and encouraged to attend this course.

Teaching Method

You will learn a unique fitting method, utilising horizontal and vertical balance lines to visually draw the eye to recognised fitting issues.

The method is iterative, starting with adjustments to the paper pattern and the construction of a toile (a fitting sample). The toile is then used to determine further adjustments, which are transferred back to the paper pattern.

This process, and the pattern created, can then be used as a template for tackling future fitting issues, modifying commercial patterns, or designing your own garments.

During the workshop you'll also be using scaled pattern samples to practice techniques. At the end of the course you'll take away a completed comprehensive sample book on paper pattern adjustments, which can be used for future reference.

Topics Covered

Students will be using our in-house Fitting Pattern to create their toiles, learning additional techniques at each stage:

• Cup size and bust adjustments.
• Fitting the shoulders, including forward rotating shoulders.
• Shortening or lengthening the bodice.
• Determining the correct armhole size.
• Rounded back and sway back adjustments.

• Fitting the sleeve
• Fitting the skirt
• Pattern drafting techniques for designing a top, based on the adjusted bodice.

Outcomes

Students will learn new skills as we cover topics and techniques, applying them through sample practices, making a pattern block (sloper) for your unique body:

• You'll learn how to understand the adjustments needed for your body and observe how is done on your pairs.
• You'll make and take home your own 'resource book' which will be your future reference for fitting all garments.
• You'll make and take home your own 'pattern block' sample (sloper); fitted to your body, which you'll be able to use and re-use for all your future projects!
• You'll make and take home a weareable garment consisiting of a bodice with sleeves and a skirt, which you can use as reference for future fiiting.

In short, students will learn new skills to understand what adjustments are needed for your body, basically... you'll leave knowing how to make custom made clothes that fit your beautiful body!

Skill Level

Beyond Beginner. If you’ve taken one of our Sewing Clothes for Beginners classes you’re good to go! Must have made at least one garment. Understanding how sewing patterns work is a plus for this course.

Booking Your Place

To book your place on this course, you will pay a non-refundable Booking Deposit of £50 through this Eventbrite page. This Booking Deposit goes towards course fees however, the remaining balance is due no later that two weeks PRIOR to course start. Once you’ve booked a place on the course, you will receive the details to bank transfer the final amount. We do it this way to additional external fees. Please familiarise yourself with our Terms & Conditions before making your booking.

You can pay by PayPal or any major debit/credit card. NOTE: You do not need a PayPal account to make a booking. Simply click on the link which says "pay with a debit or credit card". It looks like this. Please note that deposits are non-refundable.

Any Questions?

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us.

Non-Refundable Deposit

All of our courses and workshops require a deposit to book your place. Please note that the Booking Deposit is completely non-refundable.

Cancellation & Course Fees Refund

Because of the popularity of our courses and the limited number of spaces available, we've now introduced a Cancellation & Refund Policy. If you cancel your booking 14 or more full days before the start date of your course or workshop, you will be refunded the balance of your fees. This is equivalent to your full course fees minus your non-refundable deposit.

If you decide to cancel your place once the course has started, a refund is not guaranteed. In this situation we shall review the circumstances of the cancellation before deciding on appropriate solution.