Draft Your Own Block – Trousers

Day – Saturday

Date – 20th May

Time – 10.30 – 5.0pm

Venue – St Michael’s Road Community Centre Hitchin SG4 0QA

The best part of making your own clothes is having the ability to adjust the fit to match your individual body shape. However, as much as we love our pre printed patterns the process of adjusting them is often time consuming and fiddly. Getting a perfect fit by making your own basic block or template can sound daunting, but actually with a little help from the professionals it can be very straight forward.

In our one day workshop we will be taught by Alice Prier from the renowned pattern company Alice and Co Patterns. We will learn how to to draft our own trouser block, using her no fuss, fail proof method.

We have successfully collaborated with Alice and Lilia on many occasions making up their patterns in our Sew Alongs, but this time we want to bring you something a bit special.

Alice will be teaching a small group of 10 with the help of Kaye to draft a perfect trouser block.

The morning session will start with Alice teaching  how to take accurate body measurements. Then with the aid of the Telestia Pattern drafting tool we will draft out our own block. After a delicious catered lunch the afternoon session is devoted to making up your block and making alterations to get a perfect fit. If time allows we will also explore some ideas to adapt your block to some simple trouser styles.

At the end of the day you will take home a fully customised block which you can then use to draft your own trousers and use to tailor fit your existing patterns.

Alice & Co Patterns are designed in London by mother and daughter team Alice and Lilia.

They believe that garment making should be fun, with fast and simple techniques so you can sew inventive and stylish outfits at home. They are passionate about creating modern patterns that fit well and you love to wear.

Alice is a designer, pattern cutter and teacher, with over 20 years experience making fabulous made-to-measure clothes for women under her label Alice & Co. Whenever she can, Alice likes to travel the world writing her fashion/travel blog www.where2wearit.com seeking design inspiration and adding to her ever growing fabric and haberdashery stash! Lilia has been making her own clothes since she could thread a needle, and now works as a Textile Conservation Display Specialist at the Victoria & Albert Museum. She can also be found blogging about the weird and wonderful world of costume mounting here.

We are very privileged to have Alice teach for us and look forward to welcoming her.

We will teach, demonstrate and help you draft your own trouser block to include skills such as:

• Take accurate body measurements
• Convert the measurements onto paper to create a customised trouser block
• Create a dart
• Add seam allowances and other markings
• Learn how to adapt your block to create various styles
• Learn the slash and spread technique to create different designs.

• 6hrs of tuition by Alice assisted by Kaye
• Hire of hall
• Bottomless hot drinks throughout the day, morning pastries on arrival, cold buffet lunch and afternoon tea
• Dot and cross paper for drafting

Please note the Telestia tool will be on loan to you during the course but kits will be available to purchase at the end of the day.

You will need to bring

• Your sewing machine threaded and ready to sew up your toile
• Haberdashery to include tailors shears, pins, fabric markers etc
• Your telestia tool and book if you have one
• 2m of Calico, old sheet or fabric to cut and sew your toile
• Tape measure
• Note pad
• Pencil Eraser and sharpener
• Long ruler
• Magic tape or sellotape
• Paper scissors
• Mug for hot drinks

• You will receive a confirmation email upon booking please ensure you have given us your telephone number. You will be added to a course WhatsApp group 1 week before the start of the course
• Our classes are non-refundable so please make sure you’ve checked your diary carefully before booking
• Please read our FAQs and T’s & C’s before booking.
• Should you need to contact us before your course please email [email protected]