December 2020: Our Holiday Social!

Our next meeting on Tuesday December 8, 7 pm via Zoom is a relaxed Holiday Social for SGG members -- plus anyone who just wants to check out the Guild and see what we're like! We'll be gathering to socialize and chat about our sewing...maybe even have a couple of party games...

Everyone is welcome: if you have a friend who'd like to visit us, all are welcome to attend. If you're not a paid up member yet, come to this meeting to see how we do things, and decide if $15 for 6 more meetings in the first half of 2021 is a good deal!

Don't forget to bring any Sew & Tell to share -- and relax with your fave beverage & snack while you're at it -- recipes welcome

To be sure to get the Zoom link when it's ready, join our Facebook page -- paid up members will also get an email with the link to remind them. 

Hope to see you all there! 

November Sewing Challenge for January Reveal

Photo by Laura Chouette on Unsplash

After our November meeting with Her Honour Elizabeth Dowdeswell we were all impressed with the quality of her fabric choices and complex pattern selection. 

 And so we set a challenge to SGG members to make something worthy of a Lieutenant Governor's wardrobe -- with a show & tell date of January to give us time to make something elaborate ;)

So if you have a jacket or a coat or a suit you'd like to try out, make it for our January meeting and be ready to show off your amazing work!

As always the parameters are fairly open -- make something that you feel represents the more formal style, or work wear, needed in a position like the Lieutenant Governor's, maybe inspired by her go-to of a neutral dress with an eye-catching structured jacket or drapier kimono-style topper. Make what you like and tell us why you chose it. 

November 2020: The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell

 

We are very excited to announce our special guest for the November meeting, which will be held November 10, 2020, at 7 pm.

 The Stratford Garment Guild will host The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, who will be sharing her sewing journey and the story of her couture wardrobe.

We are honoured to have her with us and look forward to her stories! 

This meeting will start at 7 sharp to make the most of our time together, so if you've had any difficulty signing into our Zoom meetings in the past, please be sure to get in touch ahead of time so we can ensure you will be able to join us for this special meeting. 

Zoom links will be sent out on our private Facebook page and via our email newsletter, so if you haven't signed up for the 2020 season yet, be sure to do so before November 10! 

October 2020: SOS!

October's meeting is coming up quickly! Join in on our Zoom meeting on Oct 13, 2020 at 7 pm for a Member Led SOS Party!

What's that, you say? If you have a Sewing SOS that you need answers to, post it right here, or on our Facebook or Instagram page, as soon as you can, and someone will work on getting an answer for you for the meeting.

If you know an answer to a question, please feel free to volunteer to take it on for the meeting! We'll cover as many questions as we can fit in, and have some fun sharing our sewing knowledge. It can be a general question or a very specific one if you have a fitting issue or project problem.

Have your Sew & Tells ready as well, and don't forget the October challenge to make something Warm & Cozy!

We'll also be announcing our very special guest for the November meeting at the end of the October call. Don't miss this fun evening with your SGG pals 

Membership 2020/2021 Announcement

 

As we are all aware by now, Covid restrictions have limited what we can do as a guild this year. The decision was made to continue on with Zoom meetings until otherwise able to meet. Please be sure to follow this blog as well as our Facebook and/or Instagram accounts for notification of Zoom meeting information. 

After much deliberation, we have made the choice to require membership registration for this year despite the change in structure, and as part of that to ask for a $15 membership fee. This is just less than half of our regular membership fee; even though we are meeting virtually, we still have expenses, and want to ensure the continuation of our guild for the future. 

Expenses include the Zoom membership fee (free accounts are very limited and don't serve our needs), any small honorariums we may want to offer our Zoom guests in future, and any unexpected things that may arise. We need a financial reserve to allow us to rent space when that is an option again, and to make sure we can stay in business! 

If you feel you cannot afford this membership fee this year, please let us know by emailing membershipsgg@gmail.com or by messaging executive member Laura Van Niejenhuis directly on Facebook. We will make it work for you.

If you feel able to add an extra donation to your membership fee of $15, this will be used to support our members who cannot afford the membership fee this year due to Covid hardships. Thank you for sticking with the SGG this year and for your support. 

Please fill out the membership form found here on the website or via the Facebook page, and email it to membershipsgg@gmail.com, and send an etransfer to the same email address, noting your name. You can find the form and further information on our Membership Page. 

As always, if you have questions, please email or leave comments here or on the Facebook or Instagram page for us to get back to you on.

Member Challenge for October's Meeting

The Monthly Challenge is back! We challenge members of the Guild to make something on the theme of "Warm & Cozy" for October's meeting.

Whether that means a shawl, scarf, sweater or slippers, or even that quilt that you're working on, get busy on something that you consider warm and cozy and be ready to share it at the next meeting, Oct 13!

September 2020: A new season & a Gathering of the Guilds!

It's already September, and time for a new season of Guild meetings. After much discussion, we've decided to continue meeting via Zoom until further notice. This allows us all to participate safely, and gives us the option to speak to people who are too far away for us to bring in person -- a silver lining! 

September's meeting is next Tuesday, Sept 8, at 7 pm via Zoom. We are hosting a Gathering of the Guilds: representatives from the Ottawa Garment Guild and the Atlantic Sewing Guild will be sharing the history of their guilds, the kinds of activities they've shared over the years, and how they are facing up to this Covid crisis. I hope you'll be inspired to imagine how the SGG could grow in the future, too!

 Members should receive a link to the meeting room in your email or via our private Facebook page. If you haven't, let us know.

We hope to see you all there, to refresh ourselves talking sewing!

May 2020: Zoom Meeting with Special Guest!

Due to the social distancing in effect right now, we've decided to throw together a quick sew & tell meeting on Zoom on Tues May 12, 2020 -- our regular meeting night -- at 7 pm. This month we have a special guest, Emilie from Jalie! She'll be talking a bit about Jalie and their new patterns too.

The information on how to join the meeting is on our private Facebook page and has also been emailed directly to all members who've signed up with your email.

If you haven't received the information in either of these places, please feel free to send a quick email to thestratfordgarmentguild@gmail.com and we'll reply with the meeting invite. If you haven't used Zoom before, don't worry, it's very easy and we'll send all the info you need.

Hope to see you there!

April 2020: a Zoom Meeting!

Due to the social distancing in effect right now, we've decided to throw together a quick sew & tell meeting on Zoom on Tues April 21, 2020 -- our regular meeting night -- at 7 pm.

The information on how to join the meeting is on our private Facebook page and has also been emailed directly to all members who've signed up with your email.

If you haven't received the information in either of these places, please feel free to send a quick email to thestratfordgarmentguild@gmail.com and we'll reply with the meeting invite. If you haven't used Zoom before, don't worry, it's very easy and we'll send all the info you need.

Hope to see you there!

April Meeting CANCELLED

Due to the Coronavirus outbreak and the need to both stay home and comply with social distancing requirements, the April meeting of the Stratford Garment Guild is cancelled.

We will be evaluating future meetings as they come closer and we see where things are at with these unprecedented times.

March #SGGPOM Challenge

Something easy and freestyle for this month's POM Challenge! We are asking you to make a skirt. That's right, any skirt! Knit, woven, lined, maxi -- whatever floats your boat.

Use an Indie pattern or a Big Four one, draft your own, whatever you like. Just be ready to share it on March 10!

Here are some ideas for free skirt patterns in case you'd like to try something new.

Itch to Stitch Lindy Petal Skirt 

Simple elastic waist skirt tutorial

By Hand London's Circle Skirt Calculator

Megan Nielsen's Veronika Skirt (free with newsletter subscription)

Pleated A Line Skirt from So Sew Easy (lots of pop-ups on this site but safe)

Wendy Ward basic a line with pockets (free with a free registration)

Elbe Textiles Lawley Skirt

Ready to Sew Justine Skirt

Justine Skirt

And don't forget, you can always check out the free resources at the Stratford Public Library, like perhaps this book, The Essential A-Line

March Meeting: Fast Fashion & Trashion Week

March 10, 2020   7 - 9 pm, St James Anglican Church, Stratford ON
Non-members welcome; $5 at the door


March's meeting is an exciting presentation about Fast Fashion, Sustainability, and Stratford's own Trashion Week! Founder Jessica Guy will share information about how and why she was inspired to create a Trashion Week right here in Stratford, and what the ideas behind it are. A designer from the ReFashion Competition in 2019 will accompany her to talk about her experience entering the ReFashion runway show.

If you're interested in taking a look at the various events (including the ReFashion Show) ahead of time, check out the Trashion Week website for lots of info on the 2020 events as well as images of past years. (ps - check out the 2018 ReFashion show pics, too!)

February Fitting!

February's meeting is coming up quickly! Learn all about how to gauge patterns, assess for fit and make your changes properly, from an expert sewist.

February's #SGGPOM challenge

February is on its way! We've chosen our POM Challenge this month in honour of Valentine's Day -- we are challenging you to make some lingerie.

We are working with a loose definition of lingerie -- if that means you'll finally tackle some bra making or maybe undies from knit scraps, or try some nightwear or a slip, whatever counts as lingerie to you counts as a part of our challenge.

We encourage you to bring your #SGGPOM item to show off at the February meeting, but no in person modelling required -- or desired! ;)

Here are a few patterns to inspire you:

Bras -- All Ontario, all the time:

Beverly Johnson's Bra Makers Supply has SO MANY patterns!

Emerald Erin's Jordy Bralette

Ooh LuLu's Romy Soft Bra


Undies

Acacia Undies by Megan Nielsen

Colette Madeleine Mini Bloomers

Muna & Broad Plus Size Undies

Slips/Camis

'Patterns by Gertie' Butterick 6031 Slip & Camisole set

Ogden Cami by True Bias

Ella Cami Set by Designer Stitch (free)


Nightwear 

Carolyn Pajamas by Closet Case Files

Suki Robe by Helen's Closet

Melanie Kimono by Jalie

There are also a variety of free patterns in all these categories at Mood Sewciety


Or, take a look at this extensive list of free lingerie/nightwear patterns on Hello Sewing (some links may be out of date)