Maison Fauve

[Greybird]

I was prompted to look this company up after @Starryfish (I think?) mentioned them recently. The Ispahan jacket she mentioned is lovely, although I think the cutaway front might emphasise my stomach sticking out! I would have to adapt it. If you subscribe to the site (free) you can watch their tutorials which I have been fascinated by. I have watched 3 now and have learned something from each one - I am going to work my way through all of them. Just the way they go about things is interesting. They are quite long because they show each process thoroughly but you can opt to "watch later" and next time you look at it, it will start from where you left off. I haven't managed to find an English translation (even the subtitles are in French) but its not really necessary. I might even learn some French along the way! I was amused to note that what we call French seams, they called English seams!

[Ouryve]

I recently made their Atlas blouse and the videos are excellent (and definitely compensate for the ambiguity of some of their instructions.


My only real beef was that the button placket wasn't drafted to account for the thickness of the fabric on the many folds, leaving no room for even the slightest error. I just added a little extra allowance to the long edge so I had enough play to make sure everything was fully enclosed.

ETA I found it useful to watch some of the video sped up.

[Greybird]

That's useful to know @Ouryve . I haven't plunged in and bought a pattern yet. I think if I do it will be the Ispahan jacket but I would have to make it straight down the front, sadly. Do they give fabric suggestions in the pattern or do they expect that you will be using theirs?

[Ouryve]

They give very comprehensive suggestions, including on the pattern page, @Greybird.


The info for mine is


Choice of fabrics[/size]: linen and light cotton, embroidered cotton, chambray, tencel, viscose twill, silk, light weight fabrics from 100 to 190 g / m2, the fabric MUST be marked with an iron.[/color]



There are a few free Pdf patterns on their uk site which are useful for giving you a flavour of their style, even if you don't fancy making that pattern.

[Starryfish]

Yes, it was me talking about the Ispahan jacket! I saw them at the Knit and Stitch show recently and they had samples of their patterns on their stall, I actually saw that jacket ! It looked lovely. Two of my friends bought other patterns, so I will let you know how they turn out.

[Greybird]

That is a comprehensive list of suggestions @Ouryve . Time the big 4 sat up and took notice of their competition.

I shall look forward to seeing your pattern made up @Starryfish . Thank you for drawing attention to them.

[Puzzler]

I like the look of the Sable jacket, kimono-ish but with set-in sleeves instead of cut-on which do nothing for my figure.

[Greybird]

@Puzzler I liked that one too - particularly the pockets and the way they're made - it's one of the tutorials I watched.

[Morgan]

@Greybird and I was prompted to look up Maison Fauve after reading your post.

There are a couple of coat patterns that caught my attention and oh how I wish that more of the sewing patterns were more aligned to my personally preferred styles.
Even so, how great and accessible their approach is with the tutorials, videos, blog/journals and podcasts.
The visual presentation is appealing too.
The linking together of patterns, education and curated fabrics is a great way for each strand of the business to feed into the others. Impressive. 
It takes a great deal of commitment, investment and effort to maintain such a comprehensive publication/broadcast offering.

Despite seeing references to English subtitles I couldn't get them to work so just muted the sound as my French is not good enough to follow (my bad).
 As I'm already familiar with sewing techniques and garment assembly, I understand what is being demonstrated.   
What I cannot judge is whether a beginner would be able to follow the demos without some translation.

[Ouryve]

Some of their patterns are far from beginner friendly but they have marked a selection of simpler patterns though I can see one or two that could be disappointing with no experience in fitting (but good for learning)


https://maison-fauve.co.uk/collections/beginner

[Morgan]

Some of their patterns are far from beginner friendly but they have marked a selection of simpler patterns though I can see one or two that could be disappointing with no experience in fitting (but good for learning)
https://maison-fauve.co.uk/collections/beginner

I'm always looking out for useful resources, guided demonstrations and tutorials for the people I teach, particularly those in a couple of community groups I assist who manage their own learning and mostly teach themselves.  It's about 70/30 for those who are happy to follow books and written instructions (70) and those who need Demos/Videos (30).

[Greybird]

@Morgan I think it would be good for a beginner to watch the videos (probably the simpler ones) even if they aren't ready to attempt the patterns yet. Just watching how its done can take a lot of the fear out of things. I have recently bought a coat pattern from The Assembly Line, on my daughter's recommendation. I think their patterns might be better for beginners. Mine came with an A4 14 page booklet of instructions that make things absolutely clear. A lot of the tips included are general, not necessarily relating to that pattern. She is relatively new to garment sewing and found them excellent. Most of the garments are simple shapes using woven fabrics - nothing in the least scary!