Financial Times

Novel ideas

Barbara Wijesinghe

Two blocks: New trends in dressmaking
By Aaysha Cader
Dressmaking is something most of us know very little about, except maybe that it is very difficult and we're better off avoiding it for good. Not so, says Barbara Wijesinghe, who has been teaching the skill since 1988. What makes her outstanding from the rest of those who teach it, is that Barbara's method is easier, and a lot less work than the scientific method of dressmaking taught anywhere else in the island.

Unique Businesses
Got a unique business idea that needs support? Then write to the Business Editor, The Sunday Times FT on ft@sundaytimes.wnl.lk (email) or telephone- 2304179 or 075-345163.

This is part of our effort to promote entrepreneurship and turn it into commercially viable products.

Any company or individual interested in Barbara's unique method of dressmaking could contact her at Tel: 2811756.

Aptly referred to as the 'check block method', Barbara's approach requires simply two measurements, as opposed to a staggering 14 required of the scientific method. Having taken the measurements, she proceeds to cut a block, after which it is folded into squares of the same size, resulting in checks.

"The size of the checks may differ from person to person, but the number of checks remains the same for everyone," says Barbara, adding that it is just like an ordinary scale drawing. In other words, Barbara's approach, though not a 'one size fits all', is most certainly a 'one-style-applies-to-all' method.

"I am not condemning the scientific method of dressmaking," she says adding that despite its intricacy, it has been the one and only approach to the subject for a very long time. Just to verify, Barbara attended one of these classes and saw its complexity for herself. Apart from the measurements, it also involved a number of calculations and division of fractions in order to get the correct size of the block. "My students only need to know their four-times tables," says Barbara. The scientific approach hasn't been of much help to those who want to do the sewing themselves, as revealed by Barbara's students who previously attended lessons before coming to her to learn the easier tricks of the trade.

"I couldn't keep up with the earlier course," says Devika de Silva, a student. "It used to take six or seven lessons to cut out a block according to the scientific method, but in Barbara's class we did it in less than a couple of hours."

Says Mahira Ismail, a housewife, "This method involves minimum measurements, and it is very easy to learn and put into practice." Barbara reveals that at the end of her 4-month initial course, her pupils are able to look at a journal, pick out a style, learn how to draw a basic block, and cut it, all by themselves.

She was taught this innovative method by her mother, and it is Barbara's hope to pass it on to posterity. However, she has encountered difficulties marketing the method, She is currently in the process of compiling it into a book, which she hopes will be published thus enabling widespread access to not only learning the complex trade of dressmaking but also putting it into practice at the end of the course. Says Barbara, "It's such a simple method, and I just don't want it to die away."

Back to Business