Barbie started sewing her freshman year in high school, and found she had inherited a knack for dressmaking from her mother and grandmother.
Barbie moved to Idaho and officially opened her business, aptly named “Sew Good” in January of 1994, and shortly thereafter became a member of the Professional Association of Custom Clothiers (now called The Association of Sewing and Design Professionals).
She attends yearly educational sewing conferences to learn different and the latest techniques in her field, and takes classes whenever she can to further her sewing abilities. She studied with Kenneth King of San Francisco/New York to learn European pattern drafting and fitting, with Sandra Ericson to learn Madeleine Vionnet methods, as well as designing techniques, with Susan Khalje of Baltimore to further enhance her couture clothing construction knowledge, with Robert Haven of Lexington to learn couture French tambour beading, and most recently, Astrid Gallet of Boston to leran some of the secrets of Italian tailoring. She even attended Susan Khalje’s “Couture Tour” of Paris, where she spent 11 days in Paris learning pattern draping and couture embroidery techniques.
While Barbie does all sorts of sewing, she specializes in formal, bridal, and couture clothing. Much of her form fitting formal wear for women encases a built in corset-type foundation, that whittles the waist and keeps a smooth, firm line under the dress. These are essential for strapless garments so that they stay securely in place throughout the day or night, but are often built into sleeved garments as well, to enhance the figure and make the wearer absolutely stunning in her personally designed gown.
Barbie can create a dress from a sketch, picture, or series of pictures, or she can design a gown based off of an idea.
Barbie also is at the beck and call of Caledonia Fine Fabrics to teach any advanced sewing classes that they wish to offer, including French designer jackets, tailored jackets, pants fitting/construction, basic slopers, and corsets!
Upcoming classes can be seen at
www.CaledoniaFabrics.com
photo by Kevin Roberts Photography
