Sunday, August 11, 2013

The carefree fly-front coat – Craftsy course

I followed another Craftsy class. This time the “Carefree fly-front coat” by Kenneth D. King. Need I say more? It is a great class with a wonderful teacher. He explains clearly what he is doing and why.  He shows the result of a part of the jacket (the collar, the way the sleeve hangs for example) and then shows you how to get there. The camera work is excellent.

It’s more than only a step by step guide how to make the coat/jacket: it is an introduction in tailoring. It’s not a beginners class and even though I’ve made a lot of jackets, have done my share of tailoring techniques  (though I admit to using fusibles, not the way mr. King does it of course!) I have learned a lot. I will re-watch this class again and make notes, which I didn’t do this first time round. I was hooked to my computer screen for the chapter of inserting a sleeve/sleeveheads/shoulder pads. He has his own method of defining the notches where the sleeve easing should begin and end. That sort of tips makes the course extra valuable.

A Vogue pattern is part of the course and at the start of the course some changes are made to the pattern to make the pattern for the coat Kenneth King is making. The original jacket only closes with a belt and mr. King adds a  hidden button closure to the pattern as well as a princess seam in the front with pockets in the seamline. The changes are easy to follow. The little trick of shaping the collar so that inserting it later is easier was for me in the category “how clever, why didn’t I think of this”.  But he does think of these sort of details. He said that the sharp corner is often found in European patterns and yes, that is what I have always known. I will adapt my pattern next time in the way he showed it.

The course has the following topics:

 

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I truly loved this course and hope to sew a coat this fall using these techniques.


After yet another praise for a Craftsy course I want to stress again that this is a personal opinion. I bought this class in a regular sale and did not receive it for free.

I’m not as positive on all classes I have bought and even have written a negative review a while ago on one class on the Craftsy site (not a sewing class). You will not see that review on their site as  they show you only the 5 star reviews as long as you have not enrolled to a class.  I would like to read the less positive reviews as well prior to buying a class. I do understand why they don’t do that, but still.   Also: when Craftsy started (or at least when I discovered it) you could preview a few minutes of the class. That way you could hear the voice of the instructor and the way he or she instructs. It was a good way to decide whether or not to buy a class. This preview exists no longer and is replaced by a little introduction by the instructor or by a general introduction, more a commercial, not by the instructor (as far as I have seen).

In general I would like to read more reviews on the classes, either on blogs or on Pattern Review (which has a section for reviewing classes as well) . It would be nice if we all could be a bit better informed about the contents and details of a class and why someone liked it or not. We all have different interests and levels of sewing and with more reviews we can decide for ourselves whether or not we want to take a class, based not only on Craftsy’s own advertising.

That said: if you are interested in tailoring: take mr King’s class!

11 comments:

  1. I signed up for this class and I am glad to hear you are impressed with it. I plan to start it later in the fall - life has gotten in the way. I agree we need to describe our experiences with these classes for each other. Most of the reviews I have read have been by paid commissions for honest reviews but still, I'd like to hear from regular people.

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  2. I have been debating this one and I think you hooked me. Sounds like some serious content well worth the price. Thank you so much for your review.

    I did have one negative class also. It was a freebie so I guess what should I expect. The person doing the demonstrating had results that I would find totally unacceptable and I also knew technique that would have given better results so that one was a Loser, IMO.

    Susan K."s class was fabulous.

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  3. Ben het eens met je mbt onafhankelijk commentaar hopelijk kan ik daar in de toekomst mijn steentje aan bijdragen. (Overigens bij Amazon laten ze wel al het commentaar zien (naaigerelateerde)boek-reviews.)
    Ondertussen maar eens naar deze Craftsy class op zoek gaan...

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  4. Thanks for the review. I have wondered about this one too. I may have to sign up myself.
    And I totally agree that we should be able to have honest opinions somewhere about what you liked and didn't before you sign up and pay your money!

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  5. I just signed up to take Paul Gallo's draping class. I'm very curious as I haven't ever done a Craftsy course before. The price was heavily discounted, which really helped me to take the leap.

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  6. Thanks for the review Sigrid. I will take a look at that class, and because I have devoured everything else by Kenneth King, I am sure I would like it.

    I know what you mean about reviews. I have signed up (and paid for) many Craftsy classes and some have been much better than others.

    I feel awkward saying anything negative about a class, because it seems personal - I don't want to say bad things about a teacher, but having said that - good & accurate reviews are so important. It is very disappointing that Craftsy did away with the free preview. That was how I made my decisions!

    Overall, I love Craftsy. I have learned a ton from all the classes I have taken.

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  7. Kenneth King is the best! I did his Jeanius pants class and have taken a few in person, too. I agree about better previews and negative comments, too. I'm going to make a point to review the ones I've taken on PR.

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  8. I have this class too. I have only watched the first couple of lessions I think. I am not really liking the pattern much, but his changes do take it up a notch.

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  9. I purchased this class and I've watched a few random sections. I can't wait to actually make the coat.

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  10. Thanks again for another great review. I agree completely with you on the 5 star review and preview thing. Both these things bother me a lot and have turned me off buying Craftsy classes but your reviews make the decision easier. Thanks.

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  11. Thank you for this review Sigrid. This class wasn't really on my radar, but I think you've convinced me.
    I have several classes on my Craftsy account, mostly having to do with machine quilting. I agree with you that quality reviews would be helpful.
    I appreciate yours.
    Good to see your blog again too - I'm playing a bit of catch up.

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