May 14, 2026

Leah

• Land Acknowledgement
• Announcements & Events

Kallie

• Took over the meeting to run the elections as a past president

• We have someone running for each vacant position

• Nominees gave short introductions

• Need a quorum for the voting even if running unopposed. 

Speaker: Kallie - Flux Sewing

• Body neutrality vs body positivity. You don’t have to love your body but it’s good to make comfortable clothes for whatever body you have

• Kalie’s pants: Closet Core Ginger pants

• Laura Lee showed bloat-friendly jeans (adding extra fabric around the zipper/crotch area)

• Seyda: add waistband elastic to Hinterland dress

• Sewing Therapy is highly recommended

• The Mystical Attic - flux-pants

• shirring is  a big trend this summer and flux-friendly

• Threadloop - sewing app

• Patterns from the slide: Pietra Pants (Closet Core), Mitchell Pants (closet core) Alba Pants (Tessuti), Willandra Pants (Muna and Broad), Emerson Pant (True Bias), Townsend Shirt (Elbe Textiles), Hortense Shirt (Ready to Sew), Homme Wrap (Elbe Textiles), Zadie Jumpsuit (Paper Theory)

• Other recs: Hughes dress from Friday pattern company, Hinterland Dress 

Sewing SOS

Q: Anyone have a good pattern for a milkmaid style dress?

A1: Hughes dress from Friday pattern company 

Q: Pants  have small front pleats but they are ballooning horribly! How to fix? (Pants have already been made.)

A1: Sew down the pleats a few inches/as needed

A2: Turn into darts

A3: Take some fabric out on the sides

Q: Looking for tips and tricks working with knits. Especially how to avoid puckering when hemming and surging.

A1: Fiddle with machine tension and stitch length, steam after stitching.

A2: Wonder tape

A3: Make sure you are not stretching out when hemming.

A4: Check your presser foot tension, sometimes a walking foot can help

A5: Use handstitch (herringbone, V stitch)

A6: Use a strip of knit interfacing along the hem to help stabilize the fabric

A7: using a 1.5 differential feed on the serger when working with knits is magic!

Q: Where to thrift plain clothes to alter. Don’t want to have prints on it. Or how to get rid of them? 

A1: Sometimes you can use acetone to get rid of print - work outdoors with gloves!

A2: Church thrift shops

A3: Getting two of the similar shirts and making a frankenshirt 

A4: YStreet on instagram has good ideas

A5: Eco Equitable has cheap fabric if you are willing to sew

A6: applique or reverse applique - knits don’t unravel

A7: embroidery can be removed with a cheap plastic razor and some patience

A8: Blank tee shirts at Michaels/Costco - good price

A9: @riskthrift on instagram has some fun inspiration for thrift alterations

A10: Lainey’s Luck on Bank

A11: @upcyclex on instagram has some inspiration too

Q: Too much fabric in the crotch area of pants block

A1: Ruth Ithaca Maven’s pants fitting substack has all the good info

A2: Scoop out the inseam, make sure front and back pieces match. 

OGGPOM: Fluxing and Flexing

Pattern ideas on the slides: Magic Pants by Anne Tilley Handmade, Glebe Pants by Muna and Broad, Ophelia Overalls by Decades of Style

Sew + Tell

Laura Lee: Cropped version of Jenna Shirt by Closet Core, fabric from Destash for Palestine

Cathy: Niece found pants for a wedding at a thrift store but couldn’t sit down. She added a crotch extension. 

Kim: Friday Pattern Co - Square Neck top, added 2in at the adjustment line, Fabric by Audrey Armstrong design bought at Fabrications.

Eleanor: Self drafted costume headpiece for a game character; Wizard hat and capelet (Will from Stranger Things), added kind of a papermache structure inside the hat to have it stand up. Used fabric pieces mismatched in size to make it look crooked. It was awesome! 

Sheela: Some vintage top patter, stretchy lace fabric for sleeves, matching jersey for the body. 

Jenny: Took a vintage nightgown, chopped it at the torso and dyed to make a prairie girl style top

Sewist: Cross body bag from old suede jacket. Top patter: Butterick cowl neck. 

The OGG 2025-2026 Season Starts Soon!

 September is very quickly approaching, and so is a new season of the Ottawa Garment Guild! The executive committee is hard at work planning another year of sewing fun. 

Before August 31st, we're running an early bird membership special so fees are $45. This will increase to $50 for all memberships purchased from September 1st onwards. Student memberships are always $30. Purchase memberships from our Square Site. 

If a membership fee is a luxury that you cannot afford this year, please send an email to ottawagarmentguild@gmail.com so we can accommodate your membership in the guild. We very much want to include as many people as possible, and recognize your right to privacy and discretion in making these requests.

Our drop-in fee will also remain at $8 and will be available to purchase each month at our square store. If you decide to join us for the season after dropping in, we'll credit your drop-in cost against your seasonal registration fee. 

Meeting Schedule: We meet on the second Thursday evening of the month from 7:30-9:30 pm, September through June. You can always refer to the calendar on our web page for date reminder. Dates as follows:

September 11 October 9 November 13 December 11 January 8 - online February 12 - online March 12 April 9  May 14 June 11

Election 2025: Meet Your Candidates

Treasurer: Kallie Auld

Hi all!  I’m Kallie (Kay-lee, aka @kalliesews) and I was the Founding President for the OGG.  After a few years working with the Executive team to build the OGG, I took a step back from my duties to start a family.  I've been back on the Exec for a year now as our Social Media Coordinator, and I am now running for the position of Treasurer.  I'm well acquainted with how the OGG runs and I'm looking forward to continuing the great work Laura has been doing to keep our accounting running smoothly.

Secretary: Seyda Ipek

Hi! I am Seyda. I joined the Guild in 2020 - before I even moved to Ottawa! Since then I have attended the meetings regularly and enthusiastically. I try to follow the #OGGPOM as well but sometimes I am behind :)  I started sewing shortly before the pandemic and then couldn't stop! I mostly sew garments but also make bags, pillowcases, etc. The OGG community has been always supportive with answering questions and problem solving. I have been especially grateful to the execs for organizing the monthly meetings and all the other opportunities to get together regularly. It is so important to keep the community engaged. I am looking forward to contributing to these efforts in the Secretary role. 

Social Media Manager: Cathy Adcock

Hi! I'm Cathy Adcock, @CathyAknits on Instagram. I have been sewing for over 40 years, and have learned so much from participating in the guild. I have been a member of since the beginning, and have gained so much from membership. Now, I hope to give back to the guild as the social media coordinator. 

April Meeting Summary

Introduction

• Leah opened the meeting with a land acknowledgement.

Housekeeping

• Leah provided a brief overview of the calendar of meetings.

• Next meeting May 8th and final meeting of the season, with our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and board elections, and a fabric, garment and pattern swap on June 12th.

Workshops

• Two workshops coming up - both up on the square store for registration: 

• April/May: Bodice Block Workshop with Assela - running another session of the popular workshop. Wednesday Evenings: April 30, May 7, 14, 12  6-9pm at Assela’s home studio in Barrhaven

• May 17:  Moccasin Workshop w/ Colleen Nolan - follow-on to the mittens workshop, this one will be held 10am - 4pm at St. Marks. 

• Similar to last meeting, Natacha showed members the knit top she recreated as part of Coco’s workshop in January. She chose a top with a square neckline with a side seam as a design feature. It turned out wider than the original as the fabric she used was less stable. Overall, she enjoyed the workshop and thought Coco was a great teacher.

Sew-Ins & Events 

• The Hintonburg Fabric Flea market

• Event is on Saturday May 3, 9:30-3:00. Set up Friday 6-8pm & Sat 8-9am.

• Entry fee is $3.

• Billings Estate High Tea - OGG has booked Sunday, June 22 from 2:30-3:30 for high tea at the Billings Estate (one of our best attended events)

• Gluten free options available.

• Members asked to reserve by June 1st. 

• Two in person Sew-ins coming up - first on Saturday, April 19 and last one on June 21.

• Both are open for registration on the Square store. 

• Zoom sew-in coming up on Sunday, April 13 and May 11.

• Free registration, available on the “events” page of the OGG website.

Community Events

• Leah gave an overview of the events on the Community Calendar

• Stitch, Hook & Knit social on Tuesdays, run by member River. 

• Link to register: www.ottawaeastcag.org/stitch-hook-knit-social 

• Ottawa Queerly Sewing Circle is holding a silent auction to celebrate their first anniversary, which will support the Ottawa Trans Library. The Auction will run from April 17th - 24th. 

2025/6 Executive Elections

• Leah announced that OGG is looking to fill three executive positions for next year, which all have two year terms. Leah gave an overview of each of the roles:

• Secretary - takes notes at the General monthly meetings for the post-meeting summary emails; prepares the Agenda for Executive Committee meetings; and takes notes at Executive meetings and prepares meeting minutes

• Leah noted that this position is not good for someone who travels a lot, as the Secretary is required to attend all the meetings to take the notes. 

• Treasurer 

• Maintains the bank account for the Guild, and presents a summary of the state of the account for Executive meetings;

• Manages the membership fees, and workshop & special event fees;

• Prepares an annual budget for the Executive’s approval;

• Aids the Vice-President, Workshop & Sew-in Coordinator, and Events Coordinator in the preparation of event-based budgets;

• Pays outstanding invoices as required;

• Files any required paperwork and tax returns in a timely manner;

• Has signing authority on the bank account.

• Manages Square Store.

• Leah also noted that Kallie, who is currently occupying the Social Media Position, is intending to run for the Treasurer position. 

• Social Media

• manages the Instagram account, public Facebook page, and Discord;

• Keeps track of the passwords document for all accounts;

• Can solicit members for content for these pages;

• Takes photos at monthly meetings, to be shared on the various social media accounts;

• Establish and maintain a schedule of posts, across platforms, fostering the ongoing engagement of Guild members and the broader Ottawa sewing community, in ongoing programming, and special events;

• Works with the Vice-President, Workshop & Sew-in Coordinator, and Events Coordinator in the preparation of content for use across platforms, as determined on an event-by-event basis.

• Leah also gave an overview of the election process, noting that an email formally announcing Elections will be sent out, aiming for Monday, April 14.

• Interested members were asked to email their nominations to ottawagarmentguild@gmail.com by May 5th

• Then at the May 8 Meeting, the candidates would be announced and members would have a chance to hear from Candidates

• Between May & June meeting: Anonymous Google Form ballot sent to all members 

• Winners would be announced at the June AGM Meeting.

Meeting - Zip it! All about Zippers

• Laura-Lee opened her talk by recalling that she previously spoke about wrap garments - the oldest ways to close garments - and now she was going to talk about zippers, which are one of the newest.

• Zippers are frustrating! So she will include some tips and tricks to inserting them, in addition to the history.

• Laura-Lee gave an overview of the zipper’s beginnings, highlighting the patent illustrations on the slide, noting how many parts go into a zipper and there is a lot that can go wrong. 

• The very first inventor of the zipper was also the inventor of the sewing machine.

• In 1893, at the Chicago World Fair, an inventor demonstrated their clasping closure for footwear and created the Universal Fastener Company. However, the design was flawed and it didn’t take off.

• Fast forward to 1913, a Swedish engineer in Philadelphia came up with the zipper we know today. He increased the number of bits and improved the closure.

• BF Goodrich used to make boots and used their design for zippers on their boots and bags. They came up with the name zipper, which is an onomatopoeia for the sound it makes when closing.  

• Laura-Lee then went into how the zipper entered the fashion world. In the 1930s, zippers started appearing in clothing but they were not widely adopted. In the 1950s, it was more widely used but predominantly in kids’ wear - ironically with the intention of getting kids to dress themselves. But separating zippers didn’t appear until much later. 

• 1954 was the first time Levi’s used a zipper in their overalls, and it was only in the 1970s when they started to use zippers in jeans. But it wasn’t until the 1980s that it was the default. 

• Laura-Lee also described some controversies related to zippers. One story - that cannot be confirmed with citations, so might not be true - is that people were destroying stores in NYC when zippers first started appearing in men’s clothing, people were destroying stores because people thought it was too easy to get undressed. 

• In the 1950s, motorcycle jackets - with their many zippers for practical reasons - became a symbol of rebellion. Lastly, Laura-Lee described the limited edition of the Rolling Stones April 1971 album “Sticky Fingers” that was designed by Andy Warhol that featured a men’s jeans fly zipper that actually opened. But they switched to a picture after people reported the zipper scratching the record. One OGG member present mentioned they owned a copy of the limited edition record.\

• Laura-Lee pointed out how she was wearing her Closet Core Jo jumpsuit - for which she included a long zipper pull so she could zip herself up even with the zipper at the back. She pointed out how zipper placement is a feminist issue - only fancy ladies who had servants to dress them had zippers at the back of their clothes. The people who were servants had clothes that zipped at the front or side. 

• Zipper placement is also an accessibility issue. 

• Laura-Lee then explained what the most common YKK zipper stood for Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha (which roughly translates as Yoshida Company Limited). Started in 1934 by Yoshida, YKK now makes 1.5 billion zippers per year.

• Laura-Lee mentioned a 1962 video produced by Ontario Agriculture that said “so many people would sew their own clothes - if only someone else put in the zipper” - but is a helpful resource video on how to insert one. It also underscores that frustration with inserting zippers is longstanding.

• Laura-Lee then went over the types of zippers, starting with pants zippers. Metal teeth are best for denim. 

• As zippers are usually the first thing to go, it’s best to go with the heaviest duty zipper you can even if you do not need it. 

• Heavy fabric with no stretch need a heavy duty zipper.

• Zippers come in different lengths. A longer zipper than you need is easier to use than a shorter one. Extra metal teeth can be removed with pliers, while plastic can be snipped to the desired length and then have a few stitches over the end to create a new stop. 

• Double-ended zippers are used in coats. It can take time do get it right as you may need to do each side separately and then hope it works together. Basting is key!

• Invisible zippers don’t show on the right side of the garment. Getting the invisible zipper foot is really worth it!

• Zippers by the yard are another great option. The Sallie Tomato zipper by the yard is available at Fabrications - it’s not cheap but it works well when the exact length of zipper is important. Using a zipper-jig will help get the slider on/back on, acting like a third hand. 

• As a final tip, Laura-Lee emphasized that it is COMPLETELY worth it to buy the appropriate zipper foot. For example, the invisible zipper foot helps get the stitches close enough. 

• During the discussion, members offered several tips of their own, including:

• Iron invisible zippers to help the zipper slide right into the foot.

• Zipper Shipper is an online zipper store with a big selection of zipper lengths - a member found a specific length of zipper for a baby onesie they were sewing here. 

• When sewing a bag, it’s better to leave a bit of space between the fabric and the zipper teeth to give more space for the lining.

• If adding a zipper to a hand knitted item, it’s better to hand sew the zipper in due to the difference in tension. 

• North Face will replace zippers on their products free of charge. 

• One member noted they liked to start sewing their zippers in the middle to get a more accurate placement. It was easier than trying to start at one of the end which they found to be bulkier. 

• Sticky zippers can be fixed with zipper grease, soap, candle wax, or crayons to match the colour of the zipper. 

• Zippers can be pre-shrunk by hand washing in hot water (though might not be necessary for polyester ones). 

Resources to be shared with members (Via meeting summary email):

• Great intro to sewing a zipper - Vintage Ontario Style!
  Putting in a Zipper (ca. 1962) 

• How to sew an invisible zipper by StyleSewMe
  https://youtu.be/uvzZUF68GIg?si=bVd1aMdUIjBkAMdF 

• Sewing an invisible zipper into a garment with a lining by SewAnastasia
  https://youtu.be/wbXGlbMEAb4 

• Sallie Tomato shows how to use Zippers by the Yard.
  https://youtu.be/X7j5jVVxm30?si=VA83hQYw4npAReyt

• https://historycooperative.org/who-invented-the-zipper/

• https://www.threadsmagazine.com/2021/04/29/a-brief-history-of-the-zipper 

• by Carol J Fresia

• https://www.fashionhistorymuseum.com/post/zipping-down-history 

• by Johnathan Walford

• https://swaay.com/a-feminist-issue-lets-talk-about-the-back-zippers-on-womens-clothing 

• By Celeste Headlee

• https://blog.library.si.edu/blog/2010/05/03/the-up-an-down-history-of-the-zipper/ 

• by Ninette Dean

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zipper

• https://www.tatter.org/history-and-future-of-the-zipper/

• https://ziprshift.com/sustainability.html

• This is the new overlapped zipper, similar to waterproofed ones used on dive suits. 

Sewing SOS

• Chloé asked for advice on how to reuse a hand-embroidered panel/yoke on a button up shirt that is now too small - it cannot be buttoned up and feels too small across the back/shoulders even left open. The fabric is wool. She put a lot of time into the embroidery and would like to still use it. Members offered the following ideas:

• Colour block with something of the same weight

• Reuse the yoke for another project

• Applique - for example, for a bag

• Insert a giant sized panel under the arm and down the waist to create more room - like an underarm gusset.

• Leah also gave an overview of the questions posted on Discored over the past month - where to find buckles (including a tip to check thrift stores!) and printer settings for printing patterns at home. 

OGGPOM - Zipping right along 

• Inspired by this month’s talk, try a zipper! In a bag, as a major design feature like the Juniper Dress by Tiana Herring Patterns, or a more straightforward sew like the Bernadette skirt by Friday Pattern company (which has its zipper on the side!)

• Members are also encouraged to share their tips and favourite videos on Discord. 

Sew & Tell 

• Leah kicked off Sew and Tell by showing her quilted jacket, which also was the OGGPOM for Spring Sewing. She made it from an old handmade quilt thrifted from Facebook Marketplace. It is the Coast Coat from a pattern found on Etsy. She used bias tape on the inside and made it cropped. 

• Laura-Lee brought her OGGPOM (Spring sewing!) to show. It was a vintage Butterick shirt pattern that she found at the Almonte Fabric Festival. The pattern has a cute pocket and winged collar. She made a size 14 with no alterations from a cotton fabric from Blackbird Fabrics. 

• Jessica wore her pants she sewed as part of the Sewing Slacks Support Group - she made the BF Patterns Taylor Trousers in vintage fabric she found at EcoEquitable. It has an elastic in the back. She ended up grading from a 14 to a 16 and back to a 14 as the pattern is very high waisted. 

• Chloé showed the latest version of her pants pattern, which was made from orange corduroy fabric from Simplifii Fabrics in 100% cotton. In this version, she played with the stripes of the corduroy, particularly on the pockets. She used buttons from her stash and incorporated the side adjusters with the buckle to give more room when sitting. 

• Katie wore her Anna Allen Pomona pants, which she hacked into a straight leg. She also brought a WIP of a tulip top that she was making from a thrifted apron that has a cow on it.

• Bonnie brought her House of Kotor jacket, which she made from four pairs of upcycled jeans and a thrifted blanket. She really like the big hood feature. 

• Kimberley wore her Cashmerette Miriam trousers, which she worked on as part of the Sewing Slacks Support Group over the past 1.5 months. After getting feedback from Paddye Mann, she took 2 inches out of the rise and the back and slimmed down the leg. Kimberley used khaki twill. 

• Zahava used 0.7m of fabric printed with butterflies to copy an existing shirt.

• Natacha showed her Mimi G coat, made from fabric from Club Tissu in Quebec. While the pattern is not lined, she lined it with flannel to make it a transitional coat. The hood is also removable, being attached with a zipper. 

Next meeting - May 8, 2025