THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 5, 1995 TAG: 9503020190
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Mary Ellen Riddle
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
When William Casper was in his first year of college, his two young nieces came to live with his family in Elizabeth City.
Since the children had few clothes, Casper pulled out his mother's rarely used sewing machine and worked on it until he got it running. For the next four years he outfitted the grade-school girls, sewing shirts, skirts, pants - everything they needed.
``I guess they were my guinea pigs,'' Casper, 37, said of his early models.
The early clothes were pretty straightforward. ``At the beginning they may not have been great,'' Casper said. ``Now I could dress them up.''
The antique jet black Singer sewing machine with gold letters still whirls these days at the nudge of Casper's knee.
His repertoire has broadened along with his skills. Casper sews home accent items like pillows and drapes, but his latest show stopper, sold only by word of mouth, is a quilted jacket that is cut in layers.
His first jacket was a surprise for his live-in girlfriend, Donna.
``I kept it a secret, and after she wore it, everywhere we'd go somebody said something about the jacket,'' Casper said.
Fifteen jackets later, folks are begging him to make one more.
Casper is happy for the business, but the jackets are work-intensive. It takes him two weeks and 12 yards of fabric to finish an average-length coat.
Five layers of cloth are quilted together, and then the outer jacket is snipped with scissors to create flaps that roll and curl. The effect is fascinating, and the cloth combinations are endless.
Most of the jackets are made of 100 percent cotton so the fabric will roll or curl effectively. Casper has fashioned bolero and kimono-type jackets, hip- and waist-length styles with open fronts. Each jacket is custom-made.
All Casper really needs to know, he says, is his customers' favorite colors. He takes it from there.
The jackets can be worn with elegant attire or something as casual as jeans. Casper has created sparkly Christmas wraps with blacks, reds, greens and golds. The layers can be solid or print.
Sun design prints can dominate the top layer, or subtle feathers,
Christmas ornaments or flowers can peek from layer to layer. Each fabric choice and placement yields an amazingly different result.
Inspiration comes from many sources. Casper pores through books, magazines and catalogs. An Elizabeth City friend who has a needlepoint business has encouraged Casper to create.
``She's my driving force,'' he said. ``She got me to make something different. She's been a guinea pig of mine, too.''
Casper believes he inherited his sewing talent from his grandmother, an old-time quilter. But he also has put a lot of sweat into working with patterns, sometimes combining as many as four per work to achieve a personal style.
``You read, you read, you read'' the patterns, Casper said. ``You may have to read it 50 times. . . . It's a lot of trial and error. You pick it out and try again.''
One of Casper's greatest challenges was stitching by hand a set of pillow shams he made to match the exquisite double-wedding-band-design quilt his grandmother made for him. Casper said it took him a month - and a lot of tearing out of stitches - to do the pair. Grandmother Dessie had finished her quilt in six weeks.
The shams, though gorgeous, are Casper's last.
Casper's significant other is the envy of Harbinger, where the couple live. Her walk-in closet is filled with garments that he made for her.
``I sew for Donna all the time, from formal wear to everyday things,'' he said. ``I've made dresses for weddings, prom dresses, evening wear.''
He fashioned a vest for himself in the quilted cutaway design, but he rarely sews his own clothes.
``I've not really made a lot for myself,'' he said. ``There's always somebody else who wants it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARY ELLEN RIDDLE
Clothing designer William Casper says he inherited his sewing talent
from his grandmother, an old-time quilter.
by CNB