Part SEVEN: A Style is Born

The fabric has been cut.  Now all the pieces need to be sewn together.  Remember how many different prints and sizes?  Well, the sewers use the cut tickets to figure out what goes where.  All the sizes are bundled and organized correctly.

Often we will have 3-4 sewers working on ONE style at a time.  One person will sew the bodices, another person sews all the skirts together, a third person sews the finished pieces together to create the dress.

In order to sew efficiently, the sewers don't cut all the little threads when they complete a seam.  They know these will be taken care of during "Finishing".  Finishing includes trimming all the loose threads, checking the quality of the garment....

...applying the hang tag, and finally folding or hanging the garment.

Now everything is ready be picked up and delivered to the TwirlyGirl Headquarters.  Orders are waiting!  Heather and Robyn arrive with the empty rolling racks.

And we leave with full rolling racks.

Hope you enjoyed seeing how it's all made!  We do have NEW styles that are being sewn as I write this.  After they are photographed, you will get a chance to name them for the website before they are available for purchase! 
You will need to join our page in order to see the new styles and put in your suggestions.

Part EIGHT:  New Styles: The Name Game

 Next Post: July 2nd (the names will be revealed)

Leave your questions or comments below.  We LOVE your feedback.  Visit us at TwirlyGirlShop.com  and email us at Love2Twirl@TwirlyGirlShop.com
Thanks so much for being a part of the journey!
Cynthia

Part SIX: Get this party started! Production Begins

Now that I've gotten all the fabric, I'm prepared to move full speed ahead.  (Reality check: About 5 months have passed since the initial idea to where I am now, at the cutting house.)  There is no turning back at this point. Once the garments are cut, they can't be adjusted or changed.

 

As you can see from the completed cut tickets, I'm creating 2 different versions of the same dress.

Next, the cutting team needs to make their own Spread tickets.  They have to know how many layers or "plys" to spread for each size.  If I'm asking for 4 size 10's, then they know they need 4 plys.  It can get pretty confusing depending upon how many different fabrics or "contrasts" are used for EACH dress.  And each version is not getting the same amount of each size!  I'm getting dizzy just writing about it.

Here I am helping spread the fabric.  Time doesn't usually permit me to get so hands on, but it's fun to be in on the process.

Once we get the roll of fabric on the rack.  We lay it down and then cut it at the correct place for those sizes needed.  Ingrid and I are doing it together here.  But most of the time Ingrid would be cutting one side, then walking around to cut the other side.  Or hopping up on the table, depending on how adventurous she's feeling.

As we are spreading the fabric, we look for damages and imperfections.  Most rolls are perfect, but sometimes there are flaws and this is our last chance to find them before being sewed together.  All we have to do is cut off the bad piece and continue, easy.  (Occasionally, flawed fabric makes it through all the way.  If the damage is small, the piece will be posted in our SALE section on our website and listed as Perfectly Imperfect). 

The tables are quite long because the markers (paper pattern pieces) for most styles are typically 10-20 yards, at least.  Underneath this fabric are other plys. 

In this case I'm doing 3 different versions of the same style.  So there would be 3 different fabrics on top of each other (bodice fabrics pictured below).

If the styles are using stretchy knit fabrics, it's important to let the fabric relax for 24 hours (typically we have to do this for all my styles).  The act of spreading actually stretches the fabric more than it needs to be.  If knits are cut right after they are spread, the fabric will actually shrink back in, making all the cuts inaccurate.  You can imagine how this would mess up all the sizing and sewing!  Everything would come out smaller and misshapen.
Once the fabric has settled.  It's now time to roll out the paper marker.  This has all the exact pattern pieces in every size. 

Ingrid (so cool) then uses a special fabric cutter that "saws" through all the plys.  She follows the thin lines on the marker.

The finished cuts are then bundled together and stacked by size.

Whew!  That was intense.  Sew, what's next?

Part SEVEN: A Style is Born!
Next post:  June 20th

Leave your questions or comments below.  We LOVE your feedback.  Or email us at twirlygirlshop@gmail.com or visit us at TwirlyGirlShop.com.
Thanks so much for being a part of the journey!
Cynthia  

 

 

Part FIVE: Mix vs Match, let the games begin!

When last we left off, the fabric had been bought and delivered to the cutting house. Now it's just sitting there waiting to be used. So I head back to the TwirlyGirl Global Headquarters to figure it all out!

 

Whenever I head to the elevator of my building, I'm always reminded of the "Get Smart" theme music.  Sorry if you're too young to get that reference :)

Once in my office, I gather all my swatches from the rolls I've purchased and lay them out on the table. I group them by colors -- or rather cliques -- so that I can get a sense of what I have to work with. Then I just start playing with them. "Who's going to be Ms. Pretty Peach Butterfly's friend? She's quiet, so she needs a sweet friend." "Ms. Purple over there, she a STAR. I've got to put her with someone who doesn't mind not getting all the attention." A little unconventional maybe, but it works for me. 

You might find it odd, but purple is one of the hardest colors to find. Like a special friend that you only get to see occasionally. 

Typically, I just buy what I love and they all come together organically, I love mixing it all up. But sometimes, I just happen to find a combination of prints at the same time.

I spotted these beauties from different places on the shelf and just reunited them as they should be, like 3 sisters. I love these black prints together, I couldn't believe my luck. I rarely do the matchy-matchy thing, but in this case it works for me. 

Once I decide on which fabrics go together, I have to relay that information to the cutters and sewers. To do this, I have to put together a "cut ticket". Here's an example of one:

This next part is really fun. I'm going to take you to the cutting house to see how this process unfolds.

Part SIX: Get this party started! Production begins
Next post: June 13th 

Leave your questions or comments below.  We LOVE your feedback.  Or email us at twirlygirlshop@gmail.com or visit us at TwirlyGirlShop.com.
Thanks so much for being a part of the journey!
Cynthia 

Part FOUR: Picking Out Fabric (my kind of candy store)

Stoffa, tela, schmata.  Different languages for the same word:  fabric.  Fabric shopping is like going on a treasure hunt in a giant candy store.  Will I find the perfect prints?  Will I discover something totally unexpected and brilliant?  Most of the time, the answer is YES.  I have four favorite places that I go in downtown, Los Angeles.  These fabric houses do not carry remnants or "end of bolts".  They get special prints specifically made for them.  I'm only interested vendors that carry the best, hiqh quality fabrics with a unique selection.  

I know, it looks totally overwhelming. Over time, I've learned where all my prints like to hide. It'a a sixth sense. The fabrics just "call to me." And they usually call from the most out of reach places. Yep, I spot one at the very top!

Sometimes I'm looking for very specific prints or solid colors.  But usually, I'm just looking for something new.  The prints are inspiring and often "tell me" how they want to be used.  It's fun to just be in the moment and see what I can create from what I find on any given day.  Because TwirlyGirl does only small production runs of every style, I get to go shopping for fabric often.  It's a real joy! 

 

Once I've decided on what I want, the vendor needs to roll each print separately to determine the yardage.  This is a good time to check for damages, as well.  The white behind the fabric is actually a light which illuminates the fabric.  Very rarely do we find a roll that has flaws, but it does happen.  It's always best to catch any issues BEFORE the fabric is bought, cut and sewn!  

After I purchase the fabric, we load them into the delivery van where they are taken to the cutting house.

There about 20-25 rolls packed inside.  Each roll is about 70 yards - that's about 1610 yards all together to play with... my kind of playground.
Now it's finally time to start figuring out what fabric goes with which style.

Part FIVE:  Mix vs. Match, let the games begin!
Next post: June 6th 

Leave your questions or comments below.  We LOVE your feedback.  Or email us at twirlygirlshop@gmail.com or visit us at TwirlyGirlShop.com.
Thanks so much for being a part of the journey!
Cynthia  

Part THREE: Making the Grade (totally cool)

So now I have all the samples, but in only one size.  We need 9 more sizes to be able to sell to all the girls between the ages of 2 and 12, so we have to start "grading."  This is an amazing process.  First, the pattern is "digitized."  It sounds like it's going through some kind of time machine, but actually, it's just this little device that looks like a toy calculator/compass.

The digitizer sends all the measurements on each point of the pattern to a computer.  The computer connects all the points together to form the pattern piece on the screen.  Once all the pieces are recorded and uploaded, we can start figuring out all the sizes.

We have to know how much bigger a size 12 is than our BASE size 7.  And how much smaller a size 2 is from a size 7.  And from there we can "grade" what all the other sizes should look like.  All the little lines around the pattern pieces are showing all the different sizes.  After we figure this out, it's a good idea to actually make some more samples just to be sure.   Sometimes we need to go back to the computer pattern and adjust the measurements. 

Once we decide that every size is going to fit perfectly.  We make a "marker."  This is the stage when all the pattern pieces for EVERY SIZE are actually printed on a huge, long, piece of paper.  Each color/column contains all the components necessary to make one dress.   The bodices and sleeves are shown below.

These are the skirts:

The grader is the person who builds the markers above.  It's like the game Tetris.  The goal is to put the pieces together in a way that will use the least amount of fabric possible.  We don't want a lot of waste (black space).  At TwirlyGirl, we use the waste fabric for the ribbons that we wrap our retail orders in.   We also use remnant fabric as wrapping, no paper or plastic bags.  We strive to be as eco-friendly as possible.

OK, now we can take this marker to the cutting house.  But wait, we need to decide what kind of fabric we're going to use!
 

Part FOUR:  Picking Out Fabrics:  My kind of candy store
Next post: June 2nd

 

Leave your questions or comments below.  We LOVE your feedback.  Visit TwirlyGirlShop.com or email us at 

twirlygirlshop@gmail.com 

Thanks so much for being a part of the journey!
Cynthia

BeHinD the SeAmS: Part TWO Sketches & Samples, not so simple

So what do I do once I have the new design ideas swimming in head?
Well, I have to actually stop dreaming about them and create! In December 2009, I came up with the following 6 new designs for the next season:

4 new dresses
1 tank top
1 pair of new shorts we are calling UnderTwirls (little shorts for high-flyin' twirlin')
1 new Sugar Swee-Tee design

First, I make rough sketches of how I want it to look. Then I take those sketches to my pattern maker, Aldaberto.  (He has 6 little dogs that greet me).  His job is to translate my ideas into a workable pattern that the sewers can follow.

Next, we make a sample to see how the design works in real life. My daughter, Lola, is a perfect size 7. Sizing is SO important and is probably the hardest part of this whole process. If Lola isn't comfortable in what she's wearing then no one else will be either.   No itchy seams, comfy, not too tight, soft soft soft, and the fabric has to flow and move.

Unfortunately, patterns seldom come out perfect the first time.  It needs to be shorter -- so we make another sample.  Then it needs to be tighter --  so we make another sample.  When we finally get the sample to hang just right, we can create a formal pattern of the new design. Yay!

FYI: Those big holes in the paper are made with a "Rabbit Ear Punch".  This makes the pattern easier to take on and off a special hook without ripping.

Here's the cool tool that looks like a rabbit ear. 

This one process can often take 3 months! And this is just to make a size 7.  From here, we have to scale the sample up or down to make the nine other sizes.  This process is called Grading. 
Stayed tuned for:

Part THREE: Making the Grade (it's totally cool)
Next post: May 30th

Leave your questions and comments below.  We LOVE your feedback.  You can also follow us on FaceBook.  Or email TwirlyGirlShop@gmail.com

Thanks for being a part of the journey,
Cynthia 


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