Award Winner

	Connie has been presented with the Outstanding Contribution to the Industry Award for 2006. Each year, the American Sewing Expo presents this award to the person who goes above and beyond their own business to contribute to the industry as a whole.
Connie is the owner and designer of Fashion Patterns by Coni. She is an inspiring lecturer with 35 years of experience in apparel manufacturing. She is an author of several fashion related textbooks, and also taught fashion design, patternmaking, draping and sewing for 23 years at FIDM. Connie brings a unique aspect to our industry by teaching home sewers professional techniques.

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CONNIE AMADEN-CRAWFORD

FASHION DESIGN SPECIALIST, EDUCATOR, AUTHOR

Connie Crawford shares her love of sewing and patternmaking by bringing a new level of understanding to the home clothier. Connie is an inspiring lecturer with 35 years of experience in apparel manufacturing, author of 7 fashion related textbooks, and 23 years as a college professor of sewing, patternmaking, and draping. Over the past years, much experience has been obtained from her fashion design background, and, with this knowledge, Connie is leading the home clothier into a new area I of discovery. Recently, she has been a featured author in Sew I News (May 2002 issue), Threads Magazine (September 2001) and a 2-page columnist for Sew Beautiful Magazine for several of their issues. She has been featured in The Creative Machine Newsletter, Total Embellishments and Notions newsletters. Her career spans everything from fashion name dress designing to pattern maker, and design consultant. She is designer and CEO of Fashions by Coni, featuring clothing for the full figured woman sizes XL to 6X.

Ms. Crawford has been a guest speaker on HOME & GARDEN, ABC's TV series HOME and appeared as a special advisor on an info commercial. Also, she has been a guest lecture for various fashion seminars, ASG Convention and Chapters, PACC Chapters, Bernina Clubs, Viking Clubs, colleges, and other women's organizations.

She is a published author of seven textbooks - A GUIDE TO FASHION SEWING, THE ART OF FASHION DRAPING are published by Fairchild Publications in New York. Also, DRESSING THE MATURE AND PLUS SIZE WOMAN, FASHION YOUR OWN PANTS THE SIMPLE WAY, FASHION YOUR OWN SKIRTS THE SIMPLE WAY, CUSTOMIZING THE BODICE AND BLOUSE MASTER PATTERNS, PATTERNMAKING MADE EASY are self Published. These textbooks offer intelligible, detailed instructions and illustrations bound to enable the reader to improve their design and construction techniques. Also, Ms. Crawford was employed as the Education Coordinator for Bonfit America, Inc. During this special assignment, she wrote the patternmaking and sewing instruction books for Bonfit. These books are used as part of the package for their company's Bonfit Patterner.

As a college professor for 23 years at The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, California, Connie wrote a GRADING WORKBOOK and a COMPUTER WORKBOOK for the Fashion Institute to help students learn grading and computer patternmaking on the Gerber Garment Technology System. She continues to expand her knowledge and pass this knowledge to students and consumers. Now at the apex of her fashion expertise, Connie Amaden-Crawford is an excellent consultant, guest lecturer and authority of many fashion topics.