Taunton's Threads - For people who love to sew
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An Online Extra to Threads magazine Threads Design Challenge VIII Peggy Sagers, Sandra Scrivano, and Pamela Ptak transform assorted ethnic fabrics into day-to-eveningwear Last summer I put the eighth annual Threads Design Challenge into the works, writing a scenario, choosing three of our many talented authors to participate, selecting the fabrics, and then sitting back to wait for November to roll around so I could see the results at the Original Sewing & Quilt Expo in Minneapolis. The Challenge is always fun to produce -- and something of a challenge at this end too. We try to dream up a scenario that is real enough to be believable, but just quirky enough to allow the designers to have fun and stretch with creative problem-solving. We look for fabrics that are wonderful, but want them to be a bit surprising -- again to push the designers in new directions. We have to resist the temptation to ask for previews or give advice (hard when talking with someone who is having a blast or a struggle fulfilling the scenario), and we deny our natural sympathies and force ourselves not to respond when the designers complain that the fabrics are simply not what they expected. Contributing editor Susan Allen and I see the clothes for the first time the night before we present the Challenge to an audience at the Expo. I’m always nervous (what if the designers had some horrible lapse of logic or an aesthetic breakdown? -- or more plausible, what if someone’s travel plans go awry and she doesn’t arrive?). Neither of those scenarios has ever played out; instead, the moment of unveiling always takes my breath away. We’re not the only attraction at the Original Sewing & Quilt Expo. This Expo travels to eight cities around the country every year, and at each site, offers a wonderful marketplace filled with fabric, buttons (my downfall), independent patterns, fashion shows, and terrific, inspiring classes (a great place for you to meet and learn from Threads authors like Fred Bloebaum, Nancy Shriber, and Peggy Sagers). JoLee Tarbell of My Cozy Cottage sells Taunton Press books in the booth next to ours, and teaches a fun class on our Quick-to-Make 30-Minute Jacket, from the April/May 2002 issue of Threads (#100). Although the Design Challenge designers appear live only in
Design Challenge VIII required using ethnic fabric to make sophisticated sportswear/soft business clothes that could be converted to cocktail attire (see the June/July 2004 issue of Threads (#113) for the full story). Designers Peggy Sagers, Sandy Scrivano, and Pamela Ptak took up the challenge. Check out the Slideshow to see the fabrics, the garments, and photos of the Expo
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