I sounded pissed

I haven't been here in awhile; reading those last two entries, it sounds like I was pissed. Better go to Fashion-Incubator where I post (and sometimes get pissed) daily. It's a huge site. You'll love it. It's probably the most popular* blog on clothing design and manufacturing for start ups on the whole world wide web!

*Okay, so it's the only blog on the topic but that doesn't mean it's not good.

My real blog

If you've followed a link off of my blogger profile, this is not my "real" blog. To get the skinny on lean manufacturing in the apparel industry, go to Fashion-Incubator.com which has loads of advice, tutorials and links -all free!- and just say no to greedy manglement consultants who are using Lean as just another catch-phrase cash-cow program they can use to expand their client base. I'd link to the specific offending party but I don't care to up their page ranking.

Fashion blogging goes corporate

How irritating...how does a new blog with exactly 4 posts get to the top of Blogger's search blog feature? Worse, it's just a vehicle to draw clientele...very little content and I notice the comment I posted on their site hasn't been published yet. Seems rather contrary to the spirit of blogging if you ask me. Hmmm. You'd think blogger would beyond accepting payment for placement. Whatever, I suppose I shouldn't kvetch since my blog Fashion-Incubator is still within the top three listed but still, blogger lists my last post as October 4th. October 4th? Good grief. I post everyday, monday thru friday. Well, at least Google's blog search feature is working well.
Anyhow...this week's postings from Fashion-Incubator are:
Monday-holiday. I took the day off.
Tuesday: Are you a target? How to avoid having your products knocked off by a knock off artist.
Wednesday: Find a sales rep -circuitously How to find a sales rep without a lot of money
Thursday: Are you a target? pt.2 The other side of knock-offs...maybe you do want to be a target. Here's why.
Friday -TBA but I have two posts penciled in. One is from my co-author Miracle Wanzo who's adding to my post about getting a sales rep and then another from a contributor out of Canada. David Rushton is a sewing contractor and he'll be giving those of us in the lower 48 the skinny on the ins and outs of sourcing sewing production there.

How to hire a pattern grading service

This post comes in response to a posting on an internet board from a woman (who wishes to remain anonymous) who was charged outrageous fees for pattern grading. She paid $960 to have 6 pieces graded in five sizes. That's right, $960! The customary price from any professional grading service is $50 at most, so I was beyond outrage when I heard this. She was unaware of acceptable industry pricing and I publish this with the hopes of preventing someone else from being taken advantage of in a similar way.

The following material is reprinted from The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Sewn Product Manufacturing ©1998 by Kathleen Fasanella (me). All Rights Reserved. All of the original material is included with minor amendments, having been re-formatted for easier reading on your screen. In addition, I've added a couple of reputable pattern companies you can contact if you need to hire someone and I will be adding to the list. You can order a copy of this book here or by writing me. Depending on reader feedback and demand (and hopefully donations), I will consider writing a follow-up post that deals specifically with the issues faced by designers of home-sewing patterns due to ludicrous and outrageous grading prices from certain companies. I define "ludicrous and outrageous" as grading prices that are ten to twenty times the average going rate of industry professionals.

How to Hire a Grading Service
"...Sometimes a designer thinks we'll grade their design with a B- or C+..."
When a new designer needs technical help in design creation, they rarely know the steps it takes for a design to come to life. When discussing grading with new designers, they may become very quiet and then a "I don't have a clue look" crosses their faces. Designers know a pattern needs to be developed, but rarely think about the range of sizes a pattern may need.

So what is grading? Grading is increasing and/or decreasing pattern sizes proportionate to specific instructions. Since the best client is an educated client, a designer should learn more about grading. Designers can learn about grading from books such as Professional Pattern Grading for Women's, Men's and Children's Apparel by Handford through college courses or even from pattern graders. Learning will help anyone understand the precision of grading and help designers to make educated decisions as to how the work needs to be done.

Continue reading "How to hire a pattern grading service" at Fashion-Incubator.com

Just stopping by...

This service is still alive. To read the daily posts to this blog, go to Fashion-incubator. I probably would've posted sooner but I moved. My new contact info is:
Kathleen Fasanella
1149 W Picacho
Las Cruces NM 88005
Tel: 505-525-1577

Fashion-Incubator.com updates

Is anybody still coming here? Here are all of the recent posts you can find at the new blog location at Fashion-Incubator:
* Why We Buy
* Wanna buy some loot?
* Couture Pattern Puzzles
* Marriage by Movable Type
* May I suggest FedEx?
* Management Software
* Moving
* Pattern puzzle #1
* Sweatshop study
* Pattern Puzzles
* 22692 Bagging Tutorial #2
* 22692 Bagging Tutorial #1
* Site Stats
* Wholesale Fabric Show
* CAFTA

So come on over. Check out the bulletin board too.

Is anybody still coming here?

I moved the party over to the new blog site at Fashion-Incubator and I'm kind of getting tired of coming over here to put up sporadic posts just so that somebody won't think this blog project has been abandoned entirely. Anything you can find here is over there except better and more of it. Maybe I'll just come over to repaste this message over and over so you can see the server is still alive...

How quickly we forget

In my warehouse cleansing frenzy, I found an old dress that I'd saved for demonstration purposes.



The thing is mentionable because it won third place in an annual design contest -earning a scholarship- and it's horrible! Don't get me wrong, the designer had a cute idea but the quality is appallingly bad. It's distressingly bad. It's awful! One can only imagine how horrible the 4th and 5th place winners were. I save this as a reminder of what design schools put out and/or put up with; it depends on your perspective. Anyway, here's the list of this student's sins:

Continue reading at Fashion-Incubator...

Style 22692 Bundling & Bagging

This serves as a brief introduction to Bundling. Bundling is how large quantities of goods are managed in many companies. This company bundled styles in quantities of 10 but it's just as common to find bundles quanitified by the dozen. That's a preference you'll have to establish when managing the sewing end of your production. May I recommend units of 10? It simplifies the math.

This is a bundle of cut jackets ready to be sewn. Note how all the pieces are lain neatly with the ticket edges readily visible.

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Continue reading at Fashion-Incubator...

Leather dies style 21206

Style #21206:

Much of what I need to get rid of is stuff I've collected for the purposes of demonstration. This post will detail a set of leather dies I have for sale. My critique of the pattern follows. Why I'd ever think anyone would ever consider buying this is beyond even me. Still, I got the dies for the purposes of demonstration which follows.

Continue reading at Fashion-Incubator...