left to right - Janet, Jocelyn Smith, Catherine Goetz and Lorna Rae.
I was fortunate enough to be a celebrity teacher at the Creativ Festival in Toronto, Canada this past weekend. What a treat; the students were enthusiastic and eager to learn industry techniques for sewing without pins. Here I am with three lovely ladies from www.DistinctiveSewing.com, a fabulous online source for fabrics, Islander Sewing Systems products, independent patterns and creative fashion inspiration.
No Pins, No Basting, No Kidding!
November 11th - 13th
The Islander Sewing Systems™ workshop and certification class is one of Janet's favorite events. The class size is limited and presented in a relaxed setting.
Join her for three days of professional techniques and an optional fourth day for those wishing to become a certified Islander Sewing Systems instructor. Two optional field trips are also available to a better fabric store and a "snoop shopping" trip to examine fine ready-to-wear.
The first day and half will consist of making samples from a provided pre-cut kit of the basic Islander Sewing Systems techniques (learning to sew without pins). The next day and half you will construct a shirt from the provided kit. By making this shirt you will learn even more industrial techniques and take home a lovely sample shirt as well. For those wishing to certify, the fourth day will be a short day with a lecture and Q&A on teaching sewing as a business. More information and details are available on the website or call us at:248-889-5091. $530. 3 Day Workshop complete with kits
$630. Add 4th day for Certification
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We are excited to announce this year's event will be held at the beautiful new Hyatt Place Hotel in Novi, Mi; a convenient location to shopping and every level of dining you could ask for. The hotel has a pool, workout room and restaurant.
Janet has an educational background in business and fine art. Self employed since 1981 as a Fiber Artist, Fiber Arts teacher and Sewing Instructor. Ms Pray began her career in the sewing industry creating a unique line of artistic women's clothing. Her specialties were coats and scarves sold at fine art fairs and boutiques. While creating her clothing line she found that dyeing the fabrics became a passion and added tremendous opportunities for creativity. Janet soon began teaching dyeing and discharge techniques and created the video, "Bleach or Dye". She also taught industrial sewing techniques developed by Margaret Islander. Janet's next venture was developing the largest independent sewing expo in the United States, The American Sewing Expo held annually in Novi, Michigan. Soon after that she took over the operations of the Islander Sewing Systems Company. As the owner of this company Janet publishes fashion sewing patterns with industrial sewing techniques included in the pattern guides. Ms Pray wrote the book, Islander Sewing Systems™ I. and co-authored the popular DVD, Easy Zippers. Janet served as the Executive Director of the National Sewing Council for 3 years. In 2012 she was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Association of Sewing and Design Professionals.
