janestarz | Nom nom knowledge

First day at school today, and my brain felt like it was nomming on knowledge as I made my way home.
Class starts at two on Monday afternoon, and the setup is much the same as in Rotterdam: a small class, a single teacher, a blackboard for the patterns and formulas. Differences include numerous machines, all of them less than fifty years old, and good seats. Rotterdam had a single rickety but well-kept ancient Bernina and horrible three-legged stools.

The structure of the class was also quite different. We first discussed the children's wear exam the rest had made in a previous class, and then moved onto continuous rolled collars. Although my original pattern drafting method differs from this one, its basis is Rundschau (or they use official Rundschau in Arnhem, I'm not sure) and I could follow the lesson quite well. I did finish all my pattern drafting classes in Rotterdam, so this was all basically a repetition of what I had already learned, but sweetened by minor differences and my brain trying to work out what that means in the finished garment.

Example (this might get a wee bit technical):
When drafting a collar, the fold line at the neck gets "swung" because our shoulders are not at a right angle. In my Rotterdam class, the formula reads "½collar width + 1.5". For my new class, it reads "collar width - 0 to 2.5". What it does is decide how steep the collar lies against your neck. A low swing gets the collar much steeper, while a larger swing gets it to lie very flat. By changing what you deduct from your collar width, you can decide how steeply your collar will stand.

I have to learn all sorts of new secret language (blue for lining, green for facing) and I'm getting technical homework. My first assignment is to adjust the sleeve pattern to fit the armscye we made in class -- and to sew a bound buttonhole with facing, which is so delicious that it makes me salivate.

There's also a larper in my class, and I've got two new carpool buddies, one being aforementioned larper. I'm very much looking forward to my next class on Monday!