Abaya fabrics course

Begining on November 14, 2009 we will offer courses whereas ladies can create their personal patterns to be printed on silk and used as abaya sleeves. 

The courses will be taught at our studio using Adobe Photoshop. No prior experience with graphics software is necessary. We will teach the custom fabric designing process.

Participants will choose from hundreds of graphic textures, backgrounds and images and then create their own collages to be printed on silk. The silk pieces will be sewn in to abaya sleeves and tarhas.

There are several colors of coordinating silk to choose from for the body of the abayas.

Each course will have 4 classes during a 2 week period: two 1 hour classes per week. The course will cost SR 1,500 and will include all the fabrics and sewing.

One week after the course finishes, the participants will come back to the studio to pick up their abaya and tarha which will already be sewn for them.

All fabrics used are 100% silk charmeuse imported from the U.S.

The morning classes will be on Sundays and Wednesdays from 10:00 to 11:00am.

The afternoon classes will be on Saturdays and Tuesdays from 12:00 to 1:00pm.

There will be a maximum of 3 participants per class with 2 teachers.

Course description

• Day One

The first day will involve creating the pattern of the abaya sleeve and the tarha border on the computer. The participants will then choose texture and/or background images for the base of their image. They will change the colors of the files if needed and learn the basics of using layers in Photoshop.

• Day Two

We will begin choosing the rest of the images in order to create a collage over the background images chosen on the previous week. Participants will learn how to clean-up, rotate, and otherwise retouch the images they chose. They will learn to arrange them in to a collage and continue learning how to manipulate layers of images to add special effects.

• Day Three

Day three will entail adding the final touches to the image for the sleeves and creating the border of the tarha.

• Day Four

We will have the fabric printed and it will be ready by the begining of class. The participants will be able to choose the coordinating silk fabric that will be used to sew the complete abaya. We will use this day to take measurements and for an extra fee of Sr 150, we will offer Swaravoski crystals for the participants to glue on their fabric.

Following Week

The abayas will be completely sewn and ready to be picked up!

FAQ:

• What exactly wil I be designing?


• Do I need to know how to use Photoshop?


• Can I use my own fabric?


• So, at the end of the course I will take home my abaya and tarha?


• Are there any extra charges?


• Can I bring my own images to class?


• Will you be offering other courses?


• How do I sign up?

What exactly will I be designing?

You will be designing the sleeve of the abaya and the tarha border.
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Do I need to know how to use Photoshop?

Not at all. We will be instructing you on how to create your images.
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Can I use my own fabric?

The fabric we use for the course is charmeuse silk which is imported from the U.S. This silk has been treated especially to absorb the ink our printer uses. The body of the abaya will be sewn from another type of silk charmeuse that was also imported from the U.S. You will have four colors to chose from to match up with your final design.
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So, at the end of the course I will take home my abaya and tarha?

Yes! We will measure you and have the abaya and tarha sewn in to the style that you see on the right of this page. This style is best suited to show off the printed fabric. You will be able to pick it up on the week following the last day of the course.
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Are there any extra charges?

Not unless you would like to have your fabric embellished with Swararovski crystals. This will be an additional charge of SR 150. We will teach you how to attach them to your fabric with a heat-gun for crystals.
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Can I bring my own images to class?

Yes. If you would like to create a design out of your own photographs or graphics images, that would be fine. In addition, you can also add text to your design as well.
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Will you be offering other courses?

Yes, in the future we have planned to offer a custom pillow course where you will design a personalized pillow (45 x 45cm) with your photographs and text. One of the main parts of the course will involve teaching you how to retouch photographic images.
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How do I sign up?

Please fill out the form shown below and send a SR 200 deposit to our studio (see map). We need the deposit in order to confirm your place in the course. Each course will only have 3 people per class so it is important that participants confim that they are attending. The remaining balance of SR 1,300 can be paid on your first day of class.

Click here for the map and the sign up form

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