Don McCunn's Blog

Online Classes – Why Take One?

When I first started thinking of teaching pattern design online I seriously considered the question “Why should anyone take a class I offer online?” My description that follows is going to be a little long winded. Fortunately I have a student in my last class that put it very succinctly. I quote her below with her permission.

“I am really enjoying your class. When I was looking at it originally, I wasn’t sure it would be profitable for me since I already had your book. But, with the videos and the critiquing I’m finding it incredibly helpful.”

Karen, Beijing, China (member of How to Make and Upper Torso (aka Bodice) Sloper)

Researching Other Online Classes

I took several online classes to see how others were doing it. The ones I took involved receiving printed material in PDF format, forums, and chats where I could discuss with the instructor the issues that came up in the class.

I was already doing most of this through my book How to Make Sewing Patterns, my eBook How to Make Custom-Fit Bras, and my Yahoo Group forums which are free to anyone interested (see the Blogroll sidebar). The difference between these online classes and my groups and books is that the online classes were available for a limited time period. What I was doing was available 365 days a year. I wanted to be able to offer something of value that went beyond what I was already doing.

Videos for Class Demonstrations and Lectures

I remembered back in the 70s when I first started using my book to teach Pattern Design through the San Francisco Community College Adult Education division. It was a real eye opener to see that when I did a classroom demonstration people who had read my book all of a sudden started to get it. I could see the light bulbs going off in their eyes.

At the time I wanted to create video presentations that would not be limited by the geographic location of San Francisco. But that would have involved creating 8mm movies and people would have needed film projectors and projection screens. I did not think this was a practical alternative.

With the advent of the internet I realized I could now provide the visual demonstrations I had been doing in class through streaming videos like those on YouTube. I started my classes with that in mind. I create these videos so people can download them to their own computer for a permanent resource. For people in my classes on slow internet connections, I provide the videos on a CD. I make the videos not more than 5 to 6 minutes long so they download quickly. This also makes it easy to zero in on a particular topic like chapters in a book.

Fitting Critiques

Then as I was teaching the basic fitted sloper classes I realized I could critique people’s fitting issues through photos they submitted to me through the class (see below for an example). These critiques allow me to give a very careful evaluation of the fitting issues which I put into PDF format. This allows the individual to have a permanent reference they can access any time. It also allows everyone in the class to see the issues other people need to address for their particular body shape.

Doors are Open 365 Days a Year

It also occurred to me that while in a bricks-and-mortar school doors need to physically open and close, there is no such restriction over the internet. So I have adopted the policy that once you take a class, you can have access to the class for as long as you need. When I reopen a class for another scheduled session, I will reinstate you in the class roster at no additional charge.

Ongoing Course Development

It is this combination of factors and the enthusiasm of my online students that keeps me committed to continue my online patternmaking classes. I am thrilled to be able to develop additional online classes that delve into aspects of pattern design that I have been unable to approach when teaching in a bricks-and-mortar environment.

Additional Blog Entries

• Registering, Enrolling, Time Commitment, & Beginning Sewers
• Scheduled Classes, Independent Studies, Repeating a Class & The Sandbox Classroom
• My Mantra: “Nature Never Repeats the Same Shape Twice”
• An Example of a Class Dialog with a Student
• A Fitting Challenge: The Asymmetrical Body & A Sample Fitting Critique (a PDF File)
• All Online Class Blog Entries (multiple pages)

My Online Classes

I have been getting emails asking about how my online Patternmaking classes work. So I thought I’d post the information here and direct people to this information.

Registering for the School:
To take a class you first need to register at the school. This is a one time process that simply confirms your email address. You can do this at the Sign Up page.

Enrolling in a Class
Once you have registered with the school, you can then enroll in a class. You enroll in a class by paying the enrollment fee through PayPal. You do not need to have a PayPal account. You can use a credit card to pay the fee. People who do not want to do that should contact me at Don@deofsf.com for alternate means of paying for the class.

Time Commitment
One of the biggest questions people have is about the time commitment for the classes. People want to know how they can work the class into their schedule. My classes are a combination of running on a schedule and being self paced.

Once you have enrolled and before I start a class when you go to the classroom you will see a “Welcome” section. Then as per the schedule I open up the class one week at a time. Each week contains videos and other information. There is a forum where people enrolled in the class can ask questions about the material. Everyone has a chance to see these questions.

There is a once weekly interactive one hour chat that is at a specific time. As people take my classes from all around the world, not everybody participates in the chats. I always post a transcript afterward. This is the only time sensitive part of the class.

Once a week is opened, I leave the information available until the class starts again which is usually a year later. You can visit the classroom at any time 24 hours a day 7 days a week. You can download the videos to your computer as a permanent reference. So because I never close the doors, if your schedule does not permit you to keep up with each week, you can always come to the material when you are ready for it. For information about repeating a class at no charge, see my Class Scheduling post.

For the sloper classes I do fitting critiques from pictures people in the class submit. To my mind the videos which show the procedures in real time and the fitting critiques are the most valuable aspect of these classes. Basically it is like having a private one-on-one class to help you create the various patterns and garments. And you can watch the videos as often as you want. I am happy to help you almost 365 days a year–even I need an occasional day off.

My Online Classes Compared to Bricks-and-Mortar Classes
I have a classroom where I compare my approach to online classes to bricks-and-mortar classes. It is The Sandbox classroom. You do not need to be registered with the school to go to this free classroom. You can use the “Log in as a guest” feature.

Beginning Sewers:
I have another free classroom for people who are beginning sewers. This classroom has examples of the videos I use and provides basic techniques that you will need to assemble garments. You are welcome to use this free Sewing Room classroom with the “Log in as a guest” feature.

If you have additional questions, do not hesitate to contact me at Don@dceofsf.com.

Online Patternmaking Class Scheduling

My Online Patternmaking Classes are scheduled to begin at different times throughout the year. So far I have only offered any given course once a year. I am very interested in expanding the courses I offer to explore design variations for different types of garments. As I add more courses it may take more than a year before I repeat a given course. I am committed to offering the basic sloper classes (Bras, Upper Torso, Sleeves, Lower Torso, & Pants) at least once a year.

I am flexible about accommodating people who do not want to wait for a class to “officially” begin. Here is the difference between taking one of my classes when it is scheduled and taking it as an “Independent Studies class” at any time that is suitable for you.

Scheduled Class Time:
When a class is scheduled for a given time I usually open it for enrollment two weeks before it starts. When I open it for enrollment I announce it to my Yahoo groups and notify my Email List. Once a class is open for enrollment and before class starts enrolled students will see a “Welcome to…” section.

Each of my classes is divided into a series of weeks. Once the scheduled time occurs, I open the appropriate week. These weeks include streaming videos as my lecture/demonstrations. There may also be some additional web pages or PDF files depending on the content of the class.

Each week there is a one hour interactive chat at a specific time that enrolled students are welcome to participate in. I post transcripts of these chats immediately afterward for everyone in the class. There is also a forum where people can ask questions and share their ongoing patternmaking experience. Some enjoy hearing how others in the class are progressing. Participating in the chats and the forum are voluntary.

Independent Studies Class Times:
If you wish to take one of my classes that is currently not scheduled, contact me at Don@deofsf.com and tell me the class you are interested in taking. I will open it for enrollment long enough for you to join the class.

If the class is currently running, you will see the material for the class according to the scheduled time. You can participate in whatever chats remain.

If it is outside of the class’s normal scheduled time, you will see all the material for all the weeks of the class. You will also be able to read the messages to the forum and the transcripts of the chats. You can post any questions or comments you have in the forum.

Open Time Management
It is up to you to schedule when you do the work for my online classes. There are no deadlines for submitting completed projects and no grades for completing the work for the class. I will not be breathing down your neck asking when you are going to finish a task. There are no doors that open or close.

I am available to help you whenever and however you need it 365 days a year (almost–I do take an occasional day off). Once you are in one of my classes I place no time limit for how long I will be available to help you. I want to see you successfully accomplish the work you set out to do no matter how long that may take to achieve.

Repeating a Class
My current policy is not to charge when you want to repeat a class you have already taken. The school software automatically bumps people who do not use a given class for half a year. But if that happens and you want to get back in, just contact me and I will reinstate you in the class roster.

More Information
I have an open classroom called The Sandbox where I compare my online classes to in person, bricks-and-mortar classrooms. In addition to this comparison you can see examples of the various aspects of how my online classes work. If you are not registered for my school, click the “Login as a guest” button.

If you would like to participate in discussions about my online classes, I do maintain a Yahoo Group, Patternmaking Classes, specifically for this purpose.

How to Make Sewing Patterns — book update

I wrote my book, How to Make Sewing Patterns, back in 1977 and have been asked if I had plans to revise it. There are only two things I do differently today than when I wrote the book 33 years ago. So I am focusing my time on teaching my online Patternmaking Classes and developing supplemental material to my book as Pattern Design Guides rather than taking the time to revise the existing book.

The two things I do differently are I use gingham for fitting the bodice and skirt. And I have revised how I draft the woman’s front bodice pattern.

Gingham for Fitting:
When I was teaching Pattern Design at San Francisco Community College Adult Education Division back in the 70s I would stress the importance of looking at the grain of the fabric to determine whether the fit was correct. As we were using muslin, I would carry around a magnifying glass so that people could clearly identify the direction of the grain.

Then one day I was in the fabric store. When I walked past the display of gingham, I did a double take. The woven pattern of the different colors of threads in the gingham made the grain jump out. It was so easy to see what was happening to the grain as it is shaped on the three-dimensional human body I knew I had found the perfect fabric to achieve super accurate fittings. When I teach my online Upper Torso Sloper (aka Bodice) and Lower Torso Sloper (aka Skirt) classes I can use student submitted photos to help them achieve accurate fits within an 1/8″.

Woman’s Front Bodice Pattern:
Throughout my book I show how to draft the initial patterns without any darts. I do this because nature never repeats the same shape twice. So it is my contention you will never be able to determine the size, location, or length of darts accurately from measurements. If there were corners and sharp angles in the human body, maybe you could take accurate measurements. But the human body is a series of continuously changing contours. From what I have heard even body scans using sophisticated equipment cannot accurately create a two dimensional representation of an individual’s body from the measurements they take.

The one exception to “no darts” in my book is that I show how to draft a woman’s front using a dart. Once again when I was teaching back in the 70s I had large class sizes and lots of bodies who were willing to helping me develop data. So I came up with a chart for how to adjust the woman’s bodice pattern based on the difference between the full bust and above bust measurements.

But the chart does not cover the full range of possible bust sizes. But more than that, it creates a pattern that has a bust to waist side panel that is tricky to design from. It is essentially off grain. So what I do now is draft the woman’s front pattern without a dart. It creates the size you need so that you can establish a very accurate dart in a fitting.

I have a PDF file with the two revised pages for this draft which you can download and print out to revise the drafting procedure in my book: Women’s Front Bodice Pattern Draft.

To fit this pattern I use a dart into the armscye for the above the bust shape, the “A” Dart, and a dart to the waist to establish the below the bust shape, the “B” Dart. What this fitting procedure does is it allows you to use the horizontal grain around the full bust to create a very accurate “A” dart. You can then adjust the “B” dart to ensure that the vertical grain of the fabric is correct at both the center front and on the side of the body.

With the sloper designed in this way, whatever design lines you draw for the side of the body can be envisioned as they relate to the horizontal grain.

Making a Ghost for Halloween

Creating hand crafted decorations for the holidays can be great fun and a rewarding experience. You might want to try the instructions below to create a 7″ tall ghost that glows in the dark.

I feel fortunate that when I learned to sew I also learned how to make my own patterns. I find the process of creating custom patterns extremely gratifying. I have been sharing my passion for pattern making through my book How to Make Sewing Patterns for 36 years now.

Two years ago I started teaching pattern design through my own online school, Patternmaking with Don McCunn. For my first class in this school I wanted to introduce people to the basic techniques for changing fitted garments to different designs. This is my three week long An Introduction to Pattern Design class.

This year I wanted to try something different by showing people how the techniques for pattern design could be used to create holiday decorations and gifts. Last night I was having an online chat with one of my students, Jeana*, and I asked her what she was going to do for Halloween. She said she and her son, Andrew, liked to watch scary movies and eat home made treats. As it turns out Andrew, at the age of 12, enjoys sewing.

So we started talking about the kind of things Andrew likes, spiders, bats, and things like that. I wanted to start him with a simple project so I suggested ghosts. I was so intrigued by the idea of making a ghost, I made one myself today. Here is a picture of my ghost that glows in the dark.

To make this ghost all you need is a domed shape plastic bottle, some craft wire, I used millinery wire used for making hats, a circle of fabric which I cut out of an old tee-shirt, a marking pen, and a flashlight. Here are the pieces that go into making this ghost.

The steps to make this ghost are:

1. Cut the top off the bottle.
2. Measure from the top of the bottle to the bottom.
3. Cut a circle from the tee-shirt that is the radius of the length determined in Step #2.
4. Twist the wire around the bottle.
5. Place the flashlight in the bottle.
6. Place the circle of fabric over the bottle.
7. Draw in the eyes with a marking pen.
8. Have fun shaping the arms into something spooky.
9. Turn off the lights and admire your creation.

Here is a photo of the ghost with the lights on.

After we discussed this we continued to chat about how to make spiders, spider webs, bats, witches and pumpkins. And this is only Halloween. I am looking forward to our class discussions about decorations for Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and New Years.

Happy Holidays.

(*Note: Out of respect for the inspiration Jeana generated, I asked for permission to use Jeana and Andrew’s names. Jeanna agreed to this.)

Custom-Fit Contoured Waistbands

Nature never repeats the same shape twice. One area where this can be important is the shape of the waist-to-hip region of women. When custom-fit patterns are created for this contour of the body, skirts and pants will look their best. When the patterns are not fit to the shape of the wearer, these garments will not hang as well.

The first photo above is a two inch straight waistband at the natural waist. When a waistband is at the natural waist (below the rib cage and above the pelvic bone) it does not need to be shaped. The middle photo shows what happens when the waist is dropped below that level. A straight waistband will no longer follow the contour of the body. The third photo shows how the contoured waistband conforms to the shape of the body.

But nature does not repeat herself. The photos below are of four professional models I have worked with.

When you compare patterns created specifically for these models you will see how the variations in their shapes changes the patterns. I have included the shape of a contoured waistband from a Donna Karan fitted skirt pattern from Vogue Patterns (V2893) for comparison to the shape of these models.

The patterns on the left are from center front to the side. The patterns on the right are from the side to center back. Creating patterns that fit this region of the body is the topic of my online class How to Make a Lower Torso (aka Skirt) Sloper.

Create Custom Fit Clothes — Online Classes

When I started to offer my Online Pattern Design classes I was concerned about whether or not I could make them worthwhile. To say that I have been pleasantly surprised by the process of teaching online would be an understatement. I have come to believe that it is possible to provide one-on-one fitting assistance to my students that is as good as, if not better than, what I have been able to do when I have taught pattern design in person.

The big difference is time and how it can be used. When I teach in person there is a rigid schedule of when the doors will open and when they will close. In a classroom situation there is a given amount of material that needs to be covered in a specific amount of time. In a workshop environment there is inevitably some dead time for me when I need to be available but the students need to follow a sequence of steps. Different students learn at different speeds. With an online class, time and geography both become non-issues.

So how does it work?
In my approach to custom pattern design you start by creating fitted patterns called slopers. These slopers accurately show the shape of an individual’s body. Once you have a sloper you can move on to creating designs for specific garments. As nature never repeats the same shape twice, the key is to get the best possible fit for the sloper.

Designs are just a matter of changing dart and seam locations and adding fullness. The process of designing from a sloper is very easy. You can see all the design techniques in my An Introduction to Pattern Design eBook.

My classes for creating the basic slopers follow the same sequence. I use my book How to Make Sewing Patterns as the text and then show the various measuring, sewing, and fitting processes using streaming videos. You will actually be watching right over the shoulder of my demonstration model as she or he performs the necessary steps. The sequence is as follows.

1. Take measurements.
2. Draft an initial paper pattern.
3. Cut the patterns out of fabric. I recommend gingham for the Upper and Lower Torsos and muslin for pants.
4. Sew up the fabric for a test fitting shell.
5. Adjust the fitting shell so it fits one side of the body. Do this by adding darts and adjusting seams as required. More class videos show this process for both working with another person or doing it yourself (DIY).
6. Remove the fitting shell and transfer the darts and seams from the fitted fabric back to paper.
7. Transfer the darts and seams to the other side of the fitting shell, then sew it up and verify the fit.

Some people will go through this process on their own using the information from my book and class videos with no problems. Others need assistance. When people in my classes need help with the fitting, they take pictures of the fitting shell on the body they are working on. More often than not the students are fitting themselves. The photos go into the class database where I can view them and make suggestions for changes.

With the permission of Judith Branham, I have included a PDF file which shows the process she went through to create an accurately fitted skirt sloper. Her fitting challenge was to adjust the patterns for an asymmetrical body so that resulting clothes would appear symmetrical. You can see a picture of her in a fitting shell before it has been adjusted for her asymmetrical body. Click on the image to see a larger version. Here is a link to the Fitting Critique for Judith.

Judith did this entire process on her own, DIY, except she had her husband take the photographs. For her final project she created an award winning skirt design.

Welcome to Don McCunn’s Blog

Hi All,

I decided to start a blog to record stuff I don’t think is appropriate to post through my Yahoo Groups. This will be how I keep you posted on what I am working on.

For example: I am in the process of making bikinis using the instructions in my new eBook for a photo shoot coming up on Saturday, August 30, 2008. I am really looking forward to it. Christina Lowery is the force behind this event. Maybe I’ll post some pictures here afterwards.