ISLAND STYLE
Sewing schools adapt to modern trends to survive

By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer

Fashion designer and teacher Mai-Scherelle helps Kehaulani Molina-Gamponia create a sloper, or basic pattern, from which future garments can be created. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

Today, the economics of sewing have changed. A dress at Ross's or Forever 21 costs less than the fabric to make the same dress at home. Yet the sewing schools are still filling up their summer classes.

At Kuni Island Fabrics, owner Terri Kamakana said her sewing school is "not a growing field, but our classes are always full." In fact, their summer classes are already booked solid.

Kamakana has seen a change in the direction of sewing. Rather than sewing a garment from scratch, young women may buy something at Ross and embellish it with handwork. There is less interest in sewing garments and more interest in crafts, quilting and making items for the home such as pillows, futon and slipcovers. Ethnic items such as kimono and hapi coats are popular to sew, especially around Girl's Day and bon-dance season.

Another change: "Kids want to be here" in sewing class, Kamakana said. "They're not being forced to be here."

At the Sewing Center, Sharilyn Kanayama said her business has remained steady. She also is seeing a shift toward sewing for home décor and crafts. However, she does have some young students who are serious about sewing garments because they want to go into fashion design. There also is increasing interest in learning mending and alterations. Perhaps the youth passion for vintage garments is driving that trend.

Gertrude Ogawa of Chic Mode, who has been teaching dressmaking for 25 years, has seen more demand for classes this year. "Kids see other kids wearing the things they have made, and they want to learn, too," she said. "They take pride in the individuality of their clothes." Her school offers individualized instruction based on adjusting commercial patterns to fit each student's body.

Another long-time teacher, Ellen Hamada, opened the Fashion Center 45 years ago, and her classes in dressmaking and tailoring are still popular. She loves working with teens and has special classes for them, which usually fill up.

Jayne Miho, who has been teaching sewing, drafting and pattern-making for more than 40 years, has few young students. She offers private lessons for two or three at a time, and has found her student base has aged along with her.

Waikiki fashion designer Mai-Scherelle (who, in the manner of some European designers, is known by only one name) is of French-Vietnamese ancestry and grew up in Vietnam, with nine siblings for whom she did much of the sewing, so it seemed natural for her to take up dressmaking when she arrived in Hawai'i.

Since 1974, Mai-Scherelle has been studying methods of pattern design and clothing construction. She began her studies with Jayne Miho in Honolulu, followed by three years in Paris at the Esmod Cours Guerre-Lavigne School of Fashion Design. She learned all three classical methods of pattern making: draping, flat pattern and pattern by measurement.

A designer of custom clothing, Mai-Scherelle has created everything from tailored suits for society women to pageant gowns for Miss Hawai'i. Last year, she worked with actress/singer Courtney Love to rebuild a vintage dress for Love's appearance at the premiere of the movie "Pearl Harbor."

She takes a no-nonsense, uncomplicated approach to pattern design, based on tried-and-true methods evolved through the years. However, her methods are geared for the individual, not for manufacturing or the mass market.

She takes her students from fashion sketch to fabric selection, through the making of a pattern and all the techniques required for sewing, from a simple straight stitch to tailoring details such as bound buttonholes and welt pockets.

Mai-Scherelle's practicality is evident in all aspects of her teaching. She has found, for example, that it's easier to work in metric measurements than fractions, so she teaches pattern-making in the metric system.

Her hybrid teaching methods involve using colored pencils to indicate back and front measurements, using 90-degree angles while draping on the body and finding the exact waist placement with a piece of elastic.

Though some of her methods may be unconventional, Mai-Scherelle's students swear by them.

Erwin Castro, who recently graduated from Honolulu Community College's fashion design program, learned draping from Mai-Scherelle and found it helpful in his draping classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. He said when he designs a custom gown now, he uses her methods.

With so much sameness on the racks in stores these days, being able to sew, embellish or alter clothing is a major step toward establishing a personal style.

Summer sewing sessions

Chic Mode

• Owner: Gertrude Ogawa
• Phone: 487-1400
• Location: 98-023 Hekaha St., Harbor Center, 'Aiea (behind Cutter Ford)
• Days/Times: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. and 1-4 p.m.
• Session dates: June 12i28, July 1i16, July 17i31, August 5-16
• Cost: $208 for 10 classes

Fashion Center

• Owner: Ellen Hamada
• Phone: 597-8250
• Location: 1296 S. Beretania St.
• Days/Times: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 8:30-11:30 a.m. and 1-4 p.m.; Tuesday, Thursday, 3:30-2:30 p.m. (adults only); Saturdays, 8:30-11:30 a.m. and 12:30-3:30 p.m. (teens and adults)
• Session dates: June 10iJuly 26
• Cost: $275 for weekday 7-week sessions, $102.50 for Saturday 7-week sessions

Mai-Scherelle

• Owner: Mai-Scherelle
• Phone: 921-0084
• Location: Pan Am Building, 1600 Kapi'olani Blvd., Suite 1230
• Days/Times: Tuesdays 6i9 p.m.; Saturdays 9 a.m. — noon or 1-4 p.m.
• Session dates: Tuesday classes begin June 4 for 6 weeks, Saturday classes begin June 8 for 6 weeks
• Cost: $315 for 6-week sessions

Sewing Center

• Owner: Sharilyn Kanayama
• Phone: 941-7260
• Location: 930 Hauoli St., Suite 302-A
• Days/Times: Kids: Monday-Friday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Tuesday, Thursday, 9 a.m.-noon or 1-4 p.m. Adults: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 6-9 p.m., June 18-August 29
• Session dates: June 10-June 28, July 1-July 26, July 29-August 15
• Cost: $110-$410

Style Center

• Owner: Jayne Miho
• Phone: 593-0665
• Location: 1315 S. King St.
• Days/Times: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
• Session dates: ongoing
• Cost: $10 an hour with 2-3 students per class