Sheryl Belson from the Plano chapter of ASG recently held a fireside chat with Jenny Rushmore from Cashmerette. The Cashmerette pattern line offers modern, elegant designs for curvy sewists, as well as classes and online workshops including fitting for curves, swimsuit making for curves, full bust adjustments and more. Focusing exclusively on plus-sizes, her patterns celebrate curves, confidence and limitless style. ASG members can enjoy a 20% discount on everything in the Cashmerette line, including patterns and classes, for one week only, May 13-19, 2020, with the discount code available in the Members Only Special Offers section.
Linda MacPhee named Keynote Speaker for 2020 Conference
ASG is excited to announce that international designer Linda MacPhee will be the keynote speaker at the 2020 conference in San Antonio. As our way of introducing her to you, we have selected her as our independent designer of the month for February. Linda hails from Alberta, Canada and will be once again making her way back to conference.
Sears Catalog for Inspiration
As number 5 of six kids and raised on a family farm in northern Alberta, money wasn’t abundant. In fact, her early memories include going through the Sears catalog with her siblings and picking out their favorite outfits, only to have a local seamstress try to duplicate them from old garments. Even then she realized the finished product never really did live up to the picture she had chosen and hoped for. That’s why she decided at an early age to try her own hand at sewing. She sewed her first garment when she was about 12 when she wanted a new dress for her cousin’s wedding. “My dress was quite successful I remember; but because I knew nothing of fitting, I had to position myself against a wall so I could use my one hand to hold/grab a handful at the back of the dress to make it look like it fit! I guess that dressmaker likely influenced my desire to create my own look. Looking at family pictures now she really was a master as my brothers were in good looking suits that she had recycled from whatever. My mother didn’t sew or have any interest in sewing, although I’m sure she must have mended and repaired things as necessary. Our dressmaker, Mrs. Schmitt, was from Germany and was truly a master at the sewing machine. (We had a treadle of course!)”
Concerning her formal training, Linda commented, “I joined the local 4-H sewing club when I was old enough and that was my only training until I graduated from high school. I enrolled in Home Economics at the University of Alberta as by that time I was sewing all my clothes and was interested in learning more.”
It Started With a Parka
While working as a district Home Economist for the Department of Agriculture (extension agent) in Northern Alberta and at one of her meetings with 4-H groups, Linda met a leader who had on a beautiful Parka. She was a nurse and had recently immigrated from the Phillipines. While chatting, Linda learned that the woman had made it herself. That set her mind in motion and she set about to make one herself. It was no easy task for the woman had tanned her own coyote skin for the fur trim and had sourced her own fabric (wool duffle) from the local Hudson Bay store. Linda explained, “Well, I didn’t tan my own skin but decided if she (a nurse) could do it so could I—a Home Economist! So I did!! My favorite childhood story that I had read to me many times was “The Little Red Hen,” and the theme has fulfilled itself many times in my life!”
She continued, “One of my responsibilities as the extension agent was to teach adult sewing classes to rural women. I met lots of people and with my parka on, came many requests to make them for people. I had learned also how to make moccasins/mukluks from some of the Native American ladies I had worked with. So in my spare time I started making parkas and matching mukluks for a never ending line up of customers. I charged them $100 which seemed pretty good at the time! I realized quite quickly that the demand would never end, so I decided to teach people how to do it themselves. That was the start of my business!”
The Inuit ladies of the N.W.T. had been making parkas for years so those parkas were the inspiration for the basic design. Wanting her parkas to be different, she added applique and trim, and each one became its own work of art. She came up with many different patterns for parkas and applique designs to help people come up with their own look.
Creating the World’s Easiest Patterns
In commenting on her patterns Linda added, “I have always wanted patterns to be simple, “not rocket science.” I had basic pattern drafting from my university training, but my object was to have as few pattern pieces as possible and as simple construction as I could too. My object was to have everyone be able to make one of whatever I designed. My line of “world’s easiest” patterns were best sellers and business boomed. World’s Easiest meant the pattern was usually one, two or three pattern pieces total! I then taught an army of instructors to help in my quest to get everyone sewing. We then franchised our shops across Canada and life was good (but very busy). By this time I was married and my husband who was an R.C.M.P. officer turned down a transfer and joined the business full time which is the only way I could have carried on. Yes…. we are still happily married 52 years later!”
On the future of sewing…
“I’m seeing a renewed interest in recycling coming from the younger people, and that I find so exciting. They have inspired me to recycle/recreate, and I have made many patterns to help with this aspect of sewing. Once this group discovers the potential of the sewing machine, they will be hooked! This direction has brought me full circle to my humble first attempt!”
In her quest to teach the world to sew, she decided the best way to do it was by having her own T.V. show. It was quite a task to get going but she and her husband managed and directed “Sew Much Fun” and ran with it for 6 seasons (72 shows) which showed on Canadian channels as well as PBS in the U.S. They then developed that into “Linda Macphee’s Workshop” which ran for another 6 seasons. “That was likely the highlight of my career,” she added. “I was awarded the “Woman of Vision” by CTV Television and YWCA “Entrepeneur of the Year” and also an “Award of Merit” from the Canadian government for Business. My alma mater, University of Alberta, awarded me their highest Distinguished Alumni Honor award.”
When asked about her favorite aspect of her job, she replied, “It is creating/designing the original garment and then seeing it through to a pattern to enable me and others to teach the world.”
However, she also reflected, “I have been saddened by the lack of Home Ec training in schools where I think the spark should begin! I never did take Home Ec. in school as my school was too small to have it. I, of course, did take it in University and did earn my teaching degree but opted to teach adults instead of youth.”
“If we can keep the world sewing, I think the future is bright. How you ask? I think the patterns have to be kept quick and easy. More sewing T.V. shows like mine would certainly help to show how easy it can be. For example…..in all the garment patterns I designed (well over 200) there was never a buttonhole in any of them. That was something that a novice might not do well, and my motto always was ‘make it look like you didn’t make it!’”
Being from Canada, Linda was never part of ASG as a member. She said, “I was a sort of member of the Holt Michigan group who I worked with/for many years. I very much enjoyed my work with many ASG chapters across the country. I was always promoting the formation of Canadian groups, but we just don’t have the population to make it work.”
Today Linda describes herself as “sort of retired” and only does “private gigs.” She has stopped doing major sewing shows, but loves doing her own version of fashion shows using local women as models for her garments. She spends her winter months in Mesa, Arizona and finds fun in doing smaller gigs for the multitude of retirement parks within driving distance. You can check out Linda’s patterns at her website at www.macpheeworkshop.com.
~Rosemary Fajgier
Meet Linda Lee
Congratulations to Linda Lee on her induction into the 2019 ASG Hall of Fame!
Linda has long been one of ASG’s most popular educators at ASG conferences as well as a sought-after speaker at ASG chapters throughout the country. She began her sewing journey at a very young age sewing doll clothes and, by the sixth grade, she had begun her first business venture by making and selling felt beanie hats for $1 each. She soon expanded her line with dirndl skirts and a career was born. Her formal training began at Kansas State University with a degree in Interior Design which included two years as a Clothing and Textiles major.
Her resume reflects a number of business endeavors including I, a commercial and residential interior company; Threadwear, a retail fabric store; and The Sewing Workshop, a sewing school in San Francisco. When asked about how this all came about, Linda commented, “When you don’t have access to good fabric, then doesn’t it make sense to open a fabric store? It did to me. I had heard about a woman in Kansas City named Karen Ladish who knew the insides of the garment district in New York. She took me there and showed me how to buy fabric from the jobbers and brokers at the right prices. It was fascinating!”
As a shop owner, Linda took a class from sewing icon Sandra Betzina and said, “I couldn’t get enough of what she had to say. That was the first time I had ever heard of The Sewing Workshop, a sewing school in San Francisco. I went there and fell in love with the place. And it was Sandra who encouraged me to buy it. So let’s see, if you don’t have access to good sewing education, then doesn’t it make sense to buy a school? It did to me.”
Continuing to reflect on the path her career has taken, Linda said, “The best seamstress I have ever met, Shermane Fouche, was teaching at The Sewing Workshop at the time. One Sunday night I was in her studio while she was putting the finishing touches on her first pattern collection. This was before Fedex and I discovered that the patterns needed to be at her printer the following day in Manhattan, KS. Well, I was flying home to Kansas, so I offered to hand deliver the patterns to McCalls in Kansas. And that’s where the idea of starting a Sewing Workshop pattern collection began.”
Linda describes these patterns as “designs that are simple but have a little ‘edge’ to them so they are more interesting to construct—a unique detail, a fine finish, asymmetry. I think it is important to teach people the correct way to do things and to offer some challenges as well. Over time, we have evolved from a pattern company that had mostly oversized Asian-inspired designs to a much more wearable wardrobe concept theme. They are designed to fit a lot of body types and to span the generations, too. If I wear them at 71 and my daughter at 30 wears them, then I consider that a success. The steps to construct each pattern are illustrated in great detail making it easy to make one of our patterns. All of the production of our patterns happens in-house so we are in complete control of every step. The only thing we sub-contract is the fashion illustration on the cover of the envelope.”
Getting back to her career path, Linda continued, “At the same time, I started the Sewing Workshop pattern collection, I received a phone call from Vogue/Butterick pattern company in New York who wanted to use The Sewing Workshop as the site for filming a pilot television show. Of course I took that phone call and promptly converted the school to a filming studio for about a week. The pilot sold to PBS and 30 shows needed to be produced. They needed ideas for the 30 shows, so I became the content editor and writer for all of the shows. This is where I honed my skills for making step-out samples, writing scripts and boiling content down to a few minutes—all within a really tight timeline and budget.”
Linda also filmed over 100 how-to shows on HGTV, filmed shows for Sew It All and It’s Sew Easy for PBS, became a contributing editor to Threads magazine, and wrote 13 books related to sewing and home decorating. Her latest book is Sewing Knits from Fit to Finish. And if that wasn’t enough, she also produced a tutorial program called Sew Confident! featuring fitting, pattern variations, wardrobing, sewing techniques, and sewing inspiration with over 65 online sewing tutorials on her website.
With this wealth of knowledge and experience, it is no wonder that students flock to her classes when we are fortunate to have her teach at conference. And if you haven’t been able to get into one of her classes there, don’t despair. Linda also has a number of classes on Bluprint.com (formerly Craftsy).
When asked what she has enjoyed most about her career, she was quick to respond, “I love the thrill of marketing and selling the best. I think that anyone who is in business needs to love that part of a business; otherwise, it is pointless. I am bored by the repetitive aspects of what my business requires such as sewing. I don’t like to make the same thing twice; however, unfortunately, that has to happen when developing a pattern. I like to think about things and then delegate. Don’t get me wrong, I love to sew, but I would prefer to sew without deadlines and just for me instead of constantly sewing for a purpose in the business. I do use some really fine seamstresses to make some of the samples but, ultimately, I need to sew most of the samples garments in order to understand the hurdles of a design or a particular fabric.”
Linda reflected, “Everything has come together and formed a rich career that I can’t seem to leave. But I am watching the young people in my company begin to implement new ideas and take charge. My daughter Alex will complete her Masters in Fashion Management from the London College of Fashion this October. Will she join my company? I hope so! I have never felt more positive about the future of sewing — it really is in good hands. I enjoy reading blogs, following mind-blowing fashions, and staying tuned into Instagram. I am looking forward to seeing where The Sewing Workshop will be in 10 years. Hopefully I will be starting some new project, because if I don’t have access to something I need, perhaps I will start it or buy it.”
Linda is a proud ASG member in the Kansas City Chapter and offers fellow ASG members a generous one-time per year discount of 25%. Check the Special Offers page in the Members Only area for the code. Be sure to check out Linda’s collection of patterns and other items on The Sewing Workshop website.
~Rosemary Fajgier
The American Sewing Guild is truly fortunate to be able to count many gifted sewing designers and instructors among our friends, members, and supporters. Throughout this coming year we will be featuring some of them in our Notions Blog. We hope you will enjoy reading about them and take the opportunity to get to know them better and explore their many talents by visiting their websites, taking their classes, and discovering the wide variety of designs they bring to the home sewing market.
