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 Those
who use the books say:
The pant books
are a college course in your own home. They
are the Cat's Meow! says Linda Piechowski
from Oshkosh, WI, shown on the right. Linda
is a member of PACC, the Professional
Association of Custom Clothiers.
Order the Books
Industrial Fashion Methods students show
their pant muslins, made to test their
patterns before cutting their pants in
fashion fabric. |
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I was a student at
Professor Hoffmann’s class in January 2000. I have to
admit that the class is great because of the fact that
we use her book, which she is currently still writing.
Having been a student of fashion designs back in my
country of Kenya for two years, I have used other
textile books in those classes, but none made my sewing
such fun like Prof. Hoffmann’s book.
The book makes the difficult procedures of sewing simple
and clear to understand. It is quite a user-friendly
book, with numerous sufficient explanations to clarify
each step. The diagrams are self-explanatory and
therefore very helpful especially for students whose
first language may not necessarily be English. As one
such student from the developing country, I really felt
privileged and rewarded to have used her book in my
classes.
I do plan to take her book with me to my country because
I am convinced that many students would love to use it,
especially the home sewing students. It would be handy
and very helpful.
Dorcas Chetoo Sikowo
Student,
Prof. Laurel Hoffmann’s Industrial Fashion Methods Class
Ms. Dorcas Chetoo Sikowo lived in the Philadelphia area
for five years, studing fashion design and business,
while her husband, Dr. Emmanuel Chemengich, earned his
doctorate in theology at Westminster Theological
Seminary in Glenside. During that time he also served as
assistant pastor at The African Episcopal Church of
Saint Thomas in Philadelphia. Dorcas and Emmanuel
returned to Kenya in the summer of 2005, and are working
with Mwamba, Church Ministries International, to further
the education and well being of their people.
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Laurel’s ability to
teach her method of fit and pattern making is
incredible. Her methods are clear, concise and
thoroughly tested to ensure success for sewers of all
skill levels. She has identified, addressed and
corrected all of the fit problems that most sewing books
and courses deem “problem areas,” forcing the sewer to
accept less than perfect results. She has successfully
married her methods to those of industrial construction
techniques to guarantee professional looking results.
As an accomplished tailor and dressmaker who has worked
in the industry, I attended one of Laurel’s courses to
prove to myself that I had mastered sewing. I soon
realized that I had a lot to learn from Laurel. She
encouraged me to raise my bar of excellence, to tackle
pattern making for others with more complicated figures,
removing all guesswork. Needless to say, I’ve attended
more than one course and regularly refer to my notes
from those classes.
I’ve also trained associates and students in the apparel
industry in Laurel’s methods so they could easily
identify fit problems with ready to wear garments, what
would be required to alter those garments and which
styles should be completely avoided based on the figure.
All of the work Laurel has done to address fit and
figure has gone beyond the work room, into the dressing
room and onto sales associates who are now truly
competent wardrobe consultants.
Laurel is a master at technical construction,
communication, training, educating and encouraging. Her
passion is in her work – and all of her work is in my
many sewing projects.
Very Sincerely,
Marguerite Rittenhouse |
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