Deepika
 
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Date: 6/23/08 2:48 PM On a recent trip to the lovely Quebec City, one of the things I was looking forward to is a meeting with Jalie pattern owners and to learn more about their patterns we so love.
I decided then and there that I HAVE to share everything with all of you so here you go.
My visit started with Emilie coming to pick me up from the Old Quebec City near the Chateau Frontenac.
We made it to Saint-Romuald in less than half hour and Emilie took me to their Office. I was greeted with a big smile and a pleasant surprise by the lovely Jeanne Binet, the woman who started Jalie patterns. She had read my review on PR of the foldover top and she had a treat for me.
She was going to sew the top for me start to finish and I get to take the top with me! I couldn't believe my luck!
But before we did that I got a thorough tour of the entire facility!
They also shared with me how a pattern is made at Jalie. Jeanne designs all the patterns herself. After they are happy with the design of the pattern, the pattern is drafted and graded. They then test out the pattern in 5 different sizes several times until they get the fit right. That's a lot of prototypes!
To keep the costs low for everyone, they try to squeeze the pattern pieces on one sheet. Once they are happy with the results, the pattern is sent to the printers. Meanwhile they also start working on the pattern covers. Model selection is an ongoing process. They try to sew upto 4 pieces for each new cover. The clothes are sewn to the model's measurement and they get to keep them when the photo shoot is over. Lucky them!
When they get the printed and folded sheets back in their office, the patterns are then packed with the cover sheet, inserted in plastic sleeves, sealed and stored away in their warehouse. It took me a little over 2 minutes to pack a pattern. They have someone who packs 2000 patterns a day!
Jeanne shows me how a pattern is inserted in the plastic sleeve | 
Sealing the plastic sleeve | 
Pattern is ready to be stored | 
Moving a heavy pattern box to the conveyor belt |
They ended the tour with my favorite room of all. Jeanne's sewing studio!!! It was HUGE. There she showed me the pattern pieces for 2806 and asked me check the clock when she started sewing. I'll post the step by step construction details on my review but I just wanted to say how impressed I was with her meticulous construction and the speed at which she sewed it all up. It took her only half an hour from start to finish!
I then changed into my new top and we went to the photo studio for a quick photo shoot!
 
Emilie then showed me her office where she gets the orders and they are fulfilled.
Jeanne had to run for a business meeting so she excused herself while Emilie and I went... you guess it right? FABRIC SHOPPING!
We went to this awesome store where Jalie buys most of their fabric.
 
I came back with two yards of really bright knit prints which will be two more Jalie tops, both 2806. I am in love with this pattern! I don't think I can stop. Emilie then dropped me back to my hotel with lots of restaurant recommendations for dinner.
Meeting Emilie, Jeanne and seeing Jalie patterns up close and personal was the highlight of my trip to Quebec! But you know more than that, it was just 3 women hanging out talking about sewing and how fun it is. When I asked Emilie which is her favorite thing to sew, she opened up her closet to reveal tons of skating dresses! Jeanne showed me photos of 3 generations of women in her family who sewed and shared with me the trip back to memory lane when she made her first doll dress cut up from the expensive curtain fabric which her mom was using for a client!
They even showed me the FIRST Jalie pattern from their archives!
As Emilie prepares for motherhood, they are also working hard on prototypes of diaper patterns she can personally test :). Both Emilie and Jeanne told me how much they love PatternReview.com and how much they look forward to hearing from their customers. It's what keeps them going!
A heartfelt thanks to Jeanne and Emilie for sharing so much of their lives and passion for sewing with me and other PatternReview.com members.
-- Edited on 6/24/08 8:54 AM --
------
- Deepika
Founder, PatternReview.com
Blog: http://www.deepikablogs.com |
goodworks1
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IL USA
Member since 7/19/03
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Date: 6/23/08 3:01 PM Wow! Lucky you! Thanks for sharing this, Deepika! Fascinating! ------
blog: goodworks1.wordpress.com
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Linda E.
Beginner
OK USA
Member since 4/23/02
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Date: 6/23/08 3:08 PM Wow that sounded like a really nice visit.. The top you got is great.. a real treat..   ------
Linda E.
"Creative minds have always been known to survive any kind of bad training."
Anna Freud
"Inspiration will always sing; inspiration will never explain" Kahlil Gibran
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Christina Sonja
Intermediate
WA USA
Member since 7/2/06
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Date: 6/23/08 3:47 PM Behind the scenes at Jalie - how awesome! Thanks for sharing all the pictures! ------
Christina
www.assortednotions.com |
Leslie in NZ
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NEW ZEALAND
Member since 12/24/05
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In reply to Deepika
Date: 6/23/08 4:12 PM It sounds like such a wonderful trip. I would love to hear what her sewing studio was like. Your top looks great, I guess productivity really increases when someone can make a top in 1/2 hour!
-- Edited on 6/23/08 4:12 PM -- ------
Leslie (Auckland, NZ) |
FirecrackerKTM
Intermediate
CO USA
Member since 3/28/08
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Date: 6/23/08 4:15 PM That looks like a fun visit! |
Deepika
Intermediate
MA USA
Member since 11/28/01
Posts: 10917
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In reply to Leslie in NZ
Date: 6/23/08 4:43 PM Leslie,
I am kicking myself for forgetting to take photos of her studio. But the glass tile wall you see where I am hovering over Jeanne is what separates her cutting area from her sewing room. The studio itself is huge. She has 6 sergers all threaded with different color threads to minimize thread change when sewing. She also has two (I think) coverstitch machines. Her Machine is a Pfaff from what remember.
One thing I noticed when she was sewing is that instead of pinning the pieces together, she zigzags them on the sewing machine and then takes it to the serger to serge quickly. Jeanne prefers it this way because a) it looks professional and b) if you need to rip out the seams, a wide zigzag is easily removed. ------
- Deepika
Founder, PatternReview.com
Blog: http://www.deepikablogs.com |
Birgitte
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CA USA
Member since 9/28/04
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Date: 6/23/08 5:19 PM Thank you Deepika, that was a great read. I always have very good results with their patterns, and it was wonderful to get a 'behind the seams'. ------
Bubblegum 4 Breakfast |
squirrellypoo
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UNITED KINGDOM
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Date: 6/23/08 5:26 PM That is SO cool! Thanks so much for writing this up. I'd love to see a whole behind-the-scenes series of all the pattern companies! :) ------
www.fehrtrade.com |
MelissaB in WA
Intermediate
WA USA
Member since 3/18/04
Posts: 1688
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Date: 6/23/08 5:59 PM Oh I'm totally envious of you Deepika - what a fun time you had, lucky lady! I love Jalie patterns and need to try the new ones the just came out with. ------
"The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain." ~Dolly Parton
Fabric sewn in 2012 ~ 20.5 yds
Fabric sewn in 2012 ~ 50 yds
Fabric sewn in 2011 ~ 65 1/8 yds
Fabric sewn in 2010 ~ 112 1/2 yds
Fabric sewn in 2009 ~ 137 3/4 yds
Fabric sewn in 2008 ~ 218 3/8 yds
Fabric Sewn in 2007 ~ 209 1/4 yds |
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