Beyond Beginner

22/10/2023 - 29/10/2023 - Sun

10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Dressmaking: Make Your Own Clothes – 2 Day Course

Availability

2

£ 229.00

If you’ve ever wanted to make your own clothes and dreamed of perfect fitting dresses, trousers, tops, this class is ideal! Its the natural follow on from our beginners course if dressmaking is your overall goal lets get stuck in!

We guide you through a sewing pattern of your choosing, debunking the jargon and terminology along the way, starting with a prototype and moving onto your final garment in gorgeous fabrics!

This 2 Day course aims to teach you the basics of following a commercial pattern.

You will learn how to:

Understand the jargon and terminology used in a pattern
Understand all symbols and directions on a pattern
Understand different fabrics
What’s a toile and why are they useful
Fitting the toile and adjusting your pattern
Pattern construction
Finishing techniques

This course is great for those who have completed the beginners course or those who have a few projects under their belt. If you are unsure whether you are suitable for this course please get in touch and we can advise you! If you have just finished our beginners class and think it’s too soon to get into dressmaking IT’S NOT, you are perfect for this!

The pattern is not included in the class but we do have a great selection of beginner friendly patterns available on our website and are always on hand for advice!

Sewing pattern wise, when working out your size, take your rough measurements and check the measurements on the pattern to ensure it is right for you. Don’t go buy your high street dress size as sewing pattern are notoriously small made! Our tutor can help you with the rest when you get to class.

You might not get your garment finished in class, as we all work at different speeds(and we would never rush anyone!). You will however have the knowledge and understanding to complete it at home. You can do some sewing at home between classes if you like but this is not necessary – let’s leave the homework assignment at school where they belongs eh!

What to bring:

  • 1 Sewing pattern of your choice
  • Enough inexpensive fabric to make a mock up/toile
  • Fabric for the final garment(we can help you pick this in class if you prefer so you don’t have to bring this to week 1)
  • Threads, buttons, zips etc (pattern will tell you and we can help you with this in class)

If you have completed our beginners class YOU ARE READY to get right into making clothes. I know you might not feel ready, but you might never feel ready and sometime you need to take a leap of faith. Why not let us help you choose a nice simple pattern. Remember that making your own clothes is just taking 2D shapes and sewing them together to make 3D clothes. When you think of it in these simple terms it sometimes feel a bit easier to take the plunge. YOU CAN DO IT!

Absolutely! There is always a mixture of brand new dressmakers, those getting back into it after a break, and those who are back to do a difficult pattern with our guidance in the class. If you want a hand picking a pattern(there is a world of amazing pdf patterns out now) why not let us help you pick?

Yes it will! We make a toile in this class which is a mock up out of inexpensive fabric/an old duvet cover which we will help you fit to your body and then we will help you amend your paper pattern so that the next time you come to cut this out all the amendments have been made for the perfect fit!

That’s entirely up to you. The aim of the class is to build up your confidence in dressmaking and get rid of those preconceived fears about patterns, so what you choose to make can be as simple or as complicated as you feel comfortable with. We can put together a pattern and a kit for you too so if you are unsure just get in touch! Remember there’s always a tutor on hand to answer all your questions no matter how big or small. Some of our favourite patterns at the moment are the Zadie Jumpsuit, the Saltwater Slip and the Saguaro Set - all of which are beginner friendly!

Where to Find Us

Need supplies? Visit our online shop!