Learn tips and techniques to make your home sewing look more professional.
Do your seams look wrinkled or puckered? Do your facings refuse to lie flat, and are you tired of wonky zips – or do you even avoid zips altogether? Yes? – Then this is the course to help you raise your sewing game.
I’ve observed a few areas that many home dressmakers where commonly struggle, and rolled them all up into this 3-day course. It will teach you loads more tips and tricks to improve the fit and finish of your home dressmaking projects and avoid that ‘homemade’ look that is the downfall of many sewing projects.
Through a series of tutorials, and practical sessions, you’ll be working samples of each technique, so you can practise the skills learnt in that session. We’ll start with getting the groundwork right. How to choose the best size of pattern, and making some common adjustments for a perfect fit. Then I’ll teach you the lingo of pattern terminology. I’ll show you how to improve the appearance of your seams with pressing and trimming, and adding the WOW factor with perfectly straight and even topstitching. Darts, interfacing, buttonholes, zips, sleeves and waistbands are covered too. Each session expands on the skills learnt in the previous one, building your knowledge and technical ability over the three days (18 hours in total). By the end of the course, you’ll have a library of new techniques at your fingertips to take home so your sewing will be more ‘high end’ than ‘high street’.
Artisan Stitch won a Certificate of Excellence in January 2019 and is rated ‘Best sewing classes in Edinburgh’. Further UK Enterprise and Business Prestige awards have followed every year since.
Who is this aimed at? Novice dressmakers who’d like to further their skills Home dressmakers who’d like to achieve a better fit and finish to their home sewing projects You must have had some dressmaking experience and be familiar with using commercial paper patterns and basic garment construction What will I learn? How to choose the best size(s) of pattern to achieve a good fit Understanding pattern terminology How to do some common pattern alterations Learn different seam types and when to use them How to take up hems Neatening and finishing techniques Edge stitching and top stitching to add impact Perfect darts Make machined buttonholes and sew on buttons How to sew in a concealed zip Avoid stretched necklines Choosing and using interfacing How to make facings lie flat Setting in a sleeve
There will also be time for a question and answer session so if there’s anything you’d like to know that isn’t covered above, then please let me know and I’ll try to include it if there’s time.
Course arrangements The classes run from 10am to 5pm each day. There will be a break for lunch, and opportunities for short breaks throughout the day.
Sewing machines are provided or you can bring your own if you have one. Please remember your power cable/foot control, spare needles, feet, instruction manual
You will need:
1.5m of medium-weight calico (180gsm), 30cm of lightweight interfacing, a 9" concealed zip (not a standard skirt zip), thread. Also your basic sewing kit of: fabric shears, paper scissors and small trimming/embroidery scissors, pins, tape measure (cm), chalk pencils or fabric marking pens, notebook.
Travel, meals and accommodation are not included.