Lyla Messinger Seminar

Usually I complain that there are very few opportunities for further sewing education in my area, and here I've had 2 opportunities on 2 consecutive weekends. Pretty nice!

I went to the Lyla Messinger Seminar on Saturday, and it was very interesting. She brought tons of samples to show that we were also able to try on, and a selection of notions and most of her patterns were available for purchase. She was a very approachable presenter, and made the day a lot of fun. She mainly focused on interesting techniques she uses to personalize her patterns. She does lots of binding, and her scalloped binding technique is very cute. Most of her patterns are slanted toward a person who wears the Dramatic Style of clothing, which is what she wears. Most of us like a piece of that type now and then, but I am not one who can wear it comfortably day in and day out. Lots of her techniques are very applicable to any design however, and I got some ideas that I'd like to put into use, and some inspiration for things to think about doing in the future. I liked her fleece/boiled wool appliqué, but whether I'll ever actually get right down to it is another thing.

She uses fusible stay tapes extensively, and I have to admit that I should probably use them more than I do. I've gotten some before, and when I have used them, I've been pleased with the results, but it's just not the first thing I think of to solve a problem. Perhaps I should move it up the list.

I did purchase the Sassy Jacket pattern, which is simple enough for easy embellishment opportunities, and yet has some nice shaping. There were a couple other patterns that intrigued me, but I couldn't make up my mind. Lyla was nice enough to give us a discount code for the same discount available at the seminar to use on The Sewing Place website for a month. I really appreciated that, as it's very hard to make up your mind on the spot with so many choices. I found out the Lyla is the owner of The Sewing Place, which has lots of harder-to-find notions and independent patterns.

One pattern she had which I really liked is her Girlfriend Shirt. The pattern is only for the embroidery tracing and appliqué pieces though. It's really cute, however.


All in all, it was an enjoyable day, and I would recommend her seminar as an enjoyable experience.