IVY TECH COMMUNITY COLLEGE Valparaiso Campus
EWS Fashion Academy Professional Fashion Education
Professional Garment Fitting Workshop

If Your Clothes Do Not Fit Right... It Is Not Always the Sewing — It Is the Fit.

Most people spend years sewing garments, yet never truly understand why clothing fits correctly—or why it does not. Garments pull, twist, collapse, feel uncomfortable, or hang poorly because the real fitting problems are rarely understood.

This focused 2½-hour professional workshop teaches garment fitting, body proportions, garment balance, drape, and fit analysis—the same core principles used in professional tailoring and fashion work.

This is not a sewing class. No sewing machines, embellishment, beading, or bridal instruction—just the fitting knowledge that determines whether a garment succeeds or fails.
View Workshop Details Call 708-424-4397Registration Opening Soon
Date September 16, 2026
Time 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Location Ivy Tech – Valparaiso
Professional tailor fitting a suit jacket
Learn One Specialized Subject at a Time

A New Monthly Series of Professional Fashion Workshops

All Workshops Are Just $68.21 Each

Each workshop focuses on one important fashion subject in depth. Enrollment will be intentionally limited so students can receive personal attention, ask questions, and gain practical knowledge they can immediately use in their sewing and fashion work.

1
Commercial pattern paper pieces and rulers
First Workshop • Wednesday, September 16, 2026

The Art of Professional Garment Fitting & Body Proportions

6:00 PM – 8:30 PM Ivy Tech – Valparaiso One-Day Workshop

Learn the professional fitting principles used by experienced tailors and garment specialists to evaluate body proportions, diagnose fitting problems, analyze garment balance, and understand why the same garment fits differently on different individuals.

  • Recognize the true causes of common fitting problems
  • Evaluate body balance and garment proportions
  • Improve fitting, alterations, and garment construction
  • Develop skills useful for personal or professional sewing
2
Butterick, Simplicity, Vogue, and other commercial patterns
Second Workshop • Wednesday, October 14, 2026

Learn the Real Power of Commercial Patterns

6:00 PM – 8:30 PM Building D • Room D226 One-Day Workshop

Commercial sewing patterns are only as effective as the person using them. Learn how to properly read, select, fit, adjust, and assemble patterns from Butterick, Simplicity, McCall's, Vogue, New Look, Burda, and other major pattern companies.

  • Select the correct pattern size
  • Understand markings, symbols, grainlines, and notches
  • Make practical fitting and pattern adjustments
  • Follow a cleaner, more professional assembly order
More Workshops Will Follow

A Different Professional Fashion Subject Every Month

Additional workshops are already scheduled for November 11 and December 2, 2026, with new monthly workshops continuing throughout 2027. Topics and registration information will be announced as each workshop is confirmed.

Professional Garment Alterations
Tailoring Techniques
Pattern Making
Commercial Pattern Adjustments
Professional Sewing Techniques
Jean Cloning
Garment Construction
Advanced Fitting Methods
Fashion Design Techniques
Additional Specialized Subjects

2026 Workshop Schedule

Every Workshop Is Just $68.21 Per Person
September 16, 2026
The Art of Professional Garment Fitting & Body Proportions
First Workshop
October 14, 2026
Learn the Real Power of Commercial Patterns
Second Workshop
November 11, 2026
Topic to Be Announced
Coming Soon
December 2, 2026
Topic to Be Announced
Coming Soon
Pattern paper, rulers, and garment construction tools
Professional Experience with Brioni, Giorgio Armani, Polo Ralph Lauren, and Tom Ford
About the Instructor

Eric W. Stiles Sr.

Eric W. Stiles Sr. is a Master Bespoke Tailor, designer, and professional fashion educator with more than four decades of experience in custom clothing and garment construction. His professional background includes work with Brioni, Giorgio Armani, Polo Ralph Lauren, and Tom Ford.

Since 1989, he has taught thousands of students through eleven Illinois colleges, community education programs, the EWS Fashion Academy, and online courses offered through more than sixty colleges across the United States and Canada.

Mr. Stiles offers live sewing, tailoring, and pattern-making classes, affordable online classes, and specialized professional fashion workshops designed for beginners, experienced sewers, and those pursuing fashion skills at a professional level.

These are independently presented workshops held in rented classroom space at Ivy Tech Community College – Valparaiso Campus.

A Flexible Way to Keep Learning

Professional Online Sewing & Fashion Classes

For those who would like to attend our regular sewing, tailoring, and pattern-making classes but cannot because of distance, scheduling conflicts, work, family responsibilities, or other circumstances.

EWS Fashion Academy is making affordable professional online classes available to students throughout the United States and around the world. Learn sewing, tailoring, garment construction, pattern making, alterations, fitting, draping, and other specialized fashion subjects from the comfort of your own home.

✓ Focused mini-courses for beginners through experienced students
✓ Learn at home without travel or classroom scheduling pressure
✓ Professional instruction from Master Bespoke Tailor Eric W. Stiles Sr.
✓ Take one focused session at a time and continue at your own pace
Most online mini-course sessions are only $17.00 each
Online Classes Coming Soon

Professional Fashion Education, Now Closer to Home—Right Here in Indiana.

Seating for each workshop will be limited to support individualized instruction and personal attention. Registration information for each workshop will be added as it becomes available.

Visit EWS Fashion Academy Call Mr. Stiles