The Top Four Crucial Skills to Have When Designing a Fashion Collection

Designing your own fashion collection can be very exciting. Putting your big ideas out into the world is amazing. But what happens when it doesn’t go exactly as planned? Your pattern maker didn’t understand your sketch and your samples turned out wonky or the factory made decisions counter to your ideas. Being a designer is hard sometimes! But it doesn’t have to be hard, if you know a thing or two about how the manufacturing process works & how to communicate properly with your team even if it’s just your mom sewing up or helping to sew up your designs.

Online Learning, Online Classes, Fashion StudiesJennifer SerrJuly 13, 2021The Sewing Roomfashion design, fashion program, online fashion program, fashion studies, fashion school

Fun, Useful Skills to Learn During Self-Isolation

Are you spending more time at home than ever before? Sure, being cooped up comes with some downsides, but you don’t have to allow yourself to become stir-crazy. You can make the most of your self-isolation by picking up a few new skills.

Whether you’re aiming to turn your newly acquired skills into a career or simply want to fill your time with productive activities, learning something new can add joy and excitement to your routine. Here are some fun skills worth learning while self-isolating in 2021.

Fashion Studies, Online LearningJennifer SerrApril 6, 2021The Sewing Roomonline classes, online sewing, online sewing classes, learn to sew, learn how to sew, learn to cook, learn to cook online, cooking, coking classes, career change, fashion career, fashion program, fashion student, coding, learn to code

Fashion Illustration - Student Highlight - Alisa Clements

This month I wanted to highlight one of our former adult illustration students who is putting out some amazing work. Here is a little bit more about Alisa in her own words:

In 2019, I started an online search for sewing, fashion, art.

I found The Sewing Room! I would look through the classes and feel super excited thinking when I was going to take a class! Then one day while perusing Jennifer's website, I saw Fashion Illustrating with instructor Julie Ann. "WOW," I thought to myself, "gosh, that's so cool- fashion illustrating!" I cannot express how thrilled I was about this class offering. I felt so lucky to have found this opportunity at The Sewing Room.

Fashion StudiesJennifer SerrMarch 16, 2021The Sewing Roomfashion illustration, fashion classes, fashion studies, fashion program, fashion sketching, drawing, drawing fashion, sketching, student highlight, student of the month, fashion student

Fashion Illustration - Interview with artist Velicia Gourdin

Recently, our very own Julie Ann Brown reached out to fashion illustrator artist Velicia Gourdin for an interview. She asked ten great questions. We hope you enjoy Velicia’s answers and her AMAZING illustrations below. She is such a talented artist and illustrator!

Fashion StudiesJennifer SerrAugust 27, 2020The Sewing Roomfashion Illustration, fashion studies, illustration, people of color, poc, representation in fashion, creative process, fashion design, fashion art, fashion jobs, illustrator artist

Fashion Studies: Student Update - Kelly

8th grade Fashion Studies Student Kelly H. has been coming up with amazing designs over the Fall and Spring. In the fall, Kelly draped a bodice and skirt and then created flat patterns from the drape. She also learned out to use a block or sloper to create the dress she's wearing. The embroidery she's holding is based off an illustration she created for the the dress she's wearing.

Student of The Month, Fashion StudiesJennifer SerrMarch 2, 2020The Sewing Roomfashion studies, fashion design, pattern making, embroidery, teen students, teen designer, fashion illustration, fashion classes, fashion class

Fashion Careers: What is a Fashion Designer?

When I was growing up, all I wanted was, to become a FASHION DESIGNER. I wanted the glamorous life of being famous as well as the daily activity of making clothing that started out in my mind and then became a physical garment. I think that’s what most people think of when they think of a fashion designer. In reality, the glamorous life of a fashion designer is few and far between. That kind of designer is the one that many of us all look up to, but isn’t the actual job that most designers have.

Fashion StudiesJennifer SerrFebruary 14, 2020The Sewing Roomfashion design, fashion studies, fashion jobs, fashion, swimwear, swimwear designer, julie ann silverman, swimwear design, fashion career

Fashion Careers: What is Pattern Making?

This is the start of a new blog series about Fashion Careers. I’m starting with Pattern Making or Pattern Maker, because that’s the job I’m most familiar with . I’ve been pattern making and pattern fixing for the last couple of decades and it’s something that gives me great personal satisfaction as well having been a skill I’ve used to earn a living.

Fashion StudiesJennifer SerrJanuary 16, 2020The Sewing Roomfashion Design, pattern making, pattern design, fashion jobs, fashion school, fashion student, patterns, pattern, pattern maker, fashion career

Student of the Month - April

This month we highlight Kelly H. who is one of our Fashion Studies Students. Only 12 years old with a fairly developed sense of style, she is learning the craft of clothes making and cultivating her design skills. She's even doing it with a cast on her RIGHT hand. Yikes! She will be an ambidextrous designer by the end of the school year! That shows a lot of commitment and determination, if you ask me!

Fashion Studies, Student of The MonthJennifer SerrApril 12, 2019The Sewing Roomfashion studies, fashion program, fashion school, fashion education, Fashion Design, fashion sketching, fashion student, student highlight, sewing student, student of the month

Student Of The Month - February

Uma started taking classes in Fall and has been sewing up a storm ever since. I love her style and creative enthusiasm. for instance, she wanted to make the Bonjour Teaspoon Lilli Sailor cap but thought it was too pointy, and then thought that the points looked like cat ears. So she was determined to add cat ears and she did it! I also love this amazing camp she designed made while visiting her dad's work, where they have a sample making room. So cool.

How Our Clothing Gets Made

How Do our Clothes get made?

Lets's think about this for a minute (or maybe 10). Do you know how your clothing gets made? This is a subject we explore in Sewing Class as often as I can without being too preachy. It often occurs to students after they've sewn a few things for themselves, that the process is not really that easy and that it can take a long time. When the subject is broached about their own clothing, they tell me it's made in a factory and that machines make their clothes. They are often astonished that those very machines are operated by humans, just like themselves. WOW! that's an eye opener.

Fashion StudiesJennifer SerrMarch 14, 2019The Sewing Roomresponsible fashion, fashion, fashion design, fashion studies, ethical fashion, sustainability, sustainable fashion, fashion program, high school fashion, kiddesigner, kid designer, sewing skills, thriftshopping, thrift shopping

Student Of The Month - January

Ezra has just started attending our FASHION STUDIES program, but he has already made an impact. I love his creativity and excitement around fashion. As you can see from the photos, he's got his own flair for style. Bravo to his parents Tom and Sarah who clearly see and nurture his creativity.

Fashion Sewing, Fashion StudiesJennifer SerrMarch 7, 2019The Sewing Roomkid designer, kiddesigner, teendesigner, teen designer, Fashion Design, fashion program, fashion sewing, learning how to sew, sewing in fashion

Studying Fashion & Getting into Fashion Programs

I see a lot of students interested in and auditioning for different Fashion Programs in the Area. Just last year, some of the the programs opened up to incoming middle school students as well as High School students. It's wonderful to have fashion programs in public schools for students passionate about FASHION and MAKING fashion. And, several of my best and brightest students (see above - from left - Nyah, Maya, Me, Lilli & Teyah) have recently graduated from High School and are going on to pursue their college dreams.

Fashion StudiesJennifer SerrOctober 1, 2018The Sewing RoomFashion Design, fashion school, fashion program, middle school fashion, high school fashion, high school fashion program, middle school fashion program, home school fashion program, fashion studies, fashion sketching, sewing, learning how to sew

Fashion Studies

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