Sewing Genius Bar

The cooking newbie has it easy. There are any number of easily accessible places where one can call in and ask why the egg whites aren't whipping, or why the turkey "looks funny". King Arthur Flour has a website with a blog plus recipes and pictures to show baking newcomers every little step. There are entire cooking TV networks with stars like the hunky Eric Ripert showing where he gets his inspiration. But sewing newbies...those poor people! They have to search. There is no equivalent Butterball Party Dress Hot line for sewistas in a panic to turn to. The pattern companies have incomplete, crazy or just plain weird instructions (I'm talkin' to you, Burda.) It can be scary. Plus everybody eats, so cooking advice is everywhere, but not everyone sews, so unless you know a sewista, where do you get advice?
My phone number is on my website, and so I get lots of calls from sewistas from all over asking for sewing advice. (Of course I'm not an expert, but I have been interviewed on NPR talking about sewing, so I guess that counts.) It occurred to me that sewistas everywhere need a Sewing Genius Bar (like Apple's) where sewistas at all levels of experience can call or write in and get help. I was on the phone this very morning with Jane from Alexandria (Hi Jane!) and she was looking for advice for sewing from the Italian sewing magazines.
(The Sewing Genius Bar will have an Italian Translator on staff...and a German one, of course.)

Jane had the following questions:
1. How do I know what size to sew?
2. How is the fit compared to the U.S. Big Four pattern companies?
3. How do I sew without instructions?

Sewing Genius Bar Answers:
1. Sizes are tricky. The measurements are listed, but in my experience, the European sizes run smaller than U.S. sizes. There is less ease, and they seem to be based on a smaller boned body type. So making a muslin the first few times to determine your size is a must. I recommended tracing a simple pattern, and then laying a tried and true pattern that you know fits you on top, lining up the center fronts and shoulder seams. Compare - do you need to go up a size? or down?
Make a muslin and try it on, making note of the ease allowed. This will give you a more accurate idea of what your Italian size is.

2. How is the fit? I find that the fit runs slimmer. The sizing block used fits better in the shoulders, but uses less ease than U.S. patterns. They seem to use a C cup as the base instead of a B cup like the Big Four. Since the majority of women in the US are C cup, this works for me. You may or may not have to do a full bust adjustment. Make a muslin! Do I sound like your mother yet?

3. How do I sew without instructions? Instructions? You really don't need them. (haha just kidding! We geniuses have a wicked sense of humor.) Anyone who has attemped to sew with Burda Whatevertheirnameisnow knows that bad instructions are actually worse than no instructions. Here's what I do. With basic patterns like t shirts, blouses and tops...well, they are all made the same way. First you sew the shoulders, then you finish the neck, then you add the sleeves, and so on. Use the instructions you already have as a guide to completing your Italian masterpiece, with a sewing guide like the Vogue Sewing Book or Reader's Digest on hand for questions. Think about this: if you were designing your top, there would be no instructions then. You would have to make up your own. Visualize yourself as the designer and imagine your own next step. In some ways I prefer figuring stuff out on my own anyway. But if you've never sewn before, you need to think of yourself as an apprentice in the middle ages and find a Master to Apprentice to, until you learn the ropes. If you really are a beginner, put DOWN the Modellina right now. That's for later, missy. Baby steps.

Do you have questions for the Sewing Genius Bar? Let us know. Who knows? This could be the beginning of Something Big.

Modellina Extra

Lucky for me, my daughter speaks fluent Italian. When she was in college she had to take a foreign language, and she took Italian; it seemed like more fun than French or Spanish and the classes were small. When she graduated her University offered a chance to study in Italy at the Universita per Stranieri. We thought this was a great idea and offered to pay for a couple months of school there, thinking that she might learn better Italian, and also learn something about the country. It turned out to be a life-changing experience - for all of us. She spent a month taking classes at the Universita, then for the second month she traveled around Italy by train, staying in hostels, meeting people and seeing the sights. There is no better way to practice Italian. While she was there, she met the Italian gentleman who is now her boyfriend. Now she visits Italy a couple times a year, and she always brings me European sewing magazines. This last visit she found Modellina Extra, which is their special issue for plus sizes.
Here is their size chart - click to make it larger. It is a magazine similar to Burda in that the patterns are stapled in the center and look like road maps.



I noticed that the longer jacket is featured in several of the recent European magazines; I saw similar in Burda, and also in the European lines from summer. This is a very slimming look if you have somewhere to wear such an elegant coat. Italian ladies probably wear it while shopping. I never saw such elegant people as the Italians. They would be cruising by on their little scooters, wearing Prada and looking impeccable. (They must have a gene I don't have.)
They offer several sleeve options (this is a late summer issue), recognizing that ladies of a certain age might not want bare arms for all occasions.


I've never sewn from Modellina, so I'll have to compare with the Burda sizes and see where I fit in. What I'll do is pick a size that seems closest to mine, trace a pattern and lay the pieces on top of a pattern I know that fits and compare them. Then of course, a muslin and we'll see what happens.
It's fun to sew something that's different from the usual Vogue or Simplicity. The European patterns have interesting details and a different sensibility. I feel more chic just reading them.