Marta Alto is a teacher, writer, and researcher at Palmer/Pletsch, the author of 2"1st Century Sewing," and the coauthor of "The Serger Idea Book" and "Sewing Ultrasuede," Pati Palmer is the CEO of Palmer/Pletsch Publishing, a designer and consultant for the McCall Pattern Company, and a coauthor of "Sewing with Sergers," They are the coauthors of "Fit for Real People," "Jackets for Real People," and "Pants for Real People." They both live in Portland, Oregon.