FASHION SEW CLUB – AGE 8+

3rd April 201620th February 2020

I have started a new sewing club for children above the age of eight years old who love sewing and designing. So, if you have a Little Sewing Bee in the making, then this is the perfect club for them.

Learning how to make mini clothes is a fantastic introduction to dress making as they are quicker to make and use less fabric! I spent many happy hours making clothes for my Sindy dolls when I was little (I know I’m getting old!) and I’m feeling pretty excited at the thought of being able to do it again!

Those children who come every month will soon pick up all the essential techniques needed to make clothes and then with a creative mind and my guidance, the possibilities are endless. In this class all the clothes will be sewn by hand using a simple running stitch or back stitch. It would be brilliant if your child already knows these stitches, can thread a needle and tie a knot as they will be able to go straight on to making clothes, but if not, don’t worry, they will be taught all these skills in their first session.

The children will be encouraged to work on their own project so even though they will all be sewing together and learning the same techniques, they may well be making different things. Hopefully this will be inspiring for them. I will help with the technical side of things like making sure the design is achievable, making a pattern, and explaining how to sew it together.

Once a student has been coming for some time, they may get the opportunity to learn the straight stitch on a sewing machine. However, as this class is for a younger age group, the sewing machines will only be allowed if I feel it is safe.

I also run a teenage sewing class every other Saturday morning where the children learn how to use and safely control a sewing machine. After they have mastered a few basic techniques, they work on projects chosen to build on techniques and gain confidence. Most of these projects are fashion related.

I am really looking forward to my new Fashion Sew Club. I think this club is a fabulous introduction to dress making and a fantastic opportunity for any young designer.

The Fashion Sew Club will take place once a month on a Saturday afternoon from 3pm-5pm.

£15.00 per session PAYMENT IS REQUIRED IN ADVANCE TO BOOK A PLACE

You can do this through the Bookings page on my website.

Sew School Students in Business

8th February 201620th February 2020

I feel so proud whenever one of my Sew School students emails me a picture of something they’ve made or brings it to a sewing session to show me, some Sew Clubbers have even done craft fairs selling various things they’ve made (mainly to fund their sewing habit!), but when a student goes into business using skills they have learnt from Sew School then I could almost burst with pride!!

Kelly did the Sew Basic Course in February 2014. She then joined Sew Club and came along every month full of enthusiasm, a big bag of projects from home and a list of questions! A serious collector of fabrics, it made total sense when Kelly started Fabric Love, an online fabric store, in January 2015. This is all very impressive considering that Kelly is a mum of three boys all of primary school age! Fabric Love is a great place to find gorgeous, quality fabrics for your next crafting or dressmaking project and to share your beautiful makes with others. After a year in business Fabric Love has gone from strength to strength but with Kelly in the sewing seat I’m not at all surprised. http://www.fabriclove.co.uk

Sian completed the Sew Basic Course in 2014 whilst on maternity leave and after returning to work still manages to fit Sew Club in once a month. Sian always has a challenging project on the go and I really enjoy helping her develop her ideas. With another baby on the way, Sian invested in a very clever sewing machine and launched her business making and selling beautiful personalised sewn gifts in December 2015. It’s Sew Personal is collection of personalised gifts, made from high quality materials all handmade to order. Sian has been super busy this Christmas and received some fantastic reviews, nearly all commenting on the quality of her products which doesn’t surprise me as when it come to sewing Sian is a perfectionist! http://itssewpersonal.co.uk

Emma had private lessons with me for quite some time several years ago. Full of fabulous creative ideas and big plans, she needed help turning her ideas into garments. She was already pretty good on the sewing machine but wanted to develop her dressmaking skills to progress her passion of becoming an established designer. With a natural eye for pattern and colour, Emma learnt to create her own printed fabrics and these became the basis of her clothing designs. It’s an incredibly difficult industry to break into but Lucy Peach Slice has been nominated for several design awards and has received lots of exciting reviews. “Eclectic, adorable, original, amazing. That’s how we’re describing the stunning fashions for girls from UK label Lucy Peach Slice.” babyolgy.com.au I still assist Emma with her samples and love being involved in the creative process from fabric to garment. http://lucypeachslice.com

Although Caroline has not gone into a sewing related business I am still very proud of her as she was one of my first ever Sew Basic students and still comes to Sew Club every month where she creates her own style of clothes to match her stunning jewellery. https://www.facebook.com/mybeautifulgothic

BEST DOOR STOPPER FILLING TO USE

3rd January 201620th February 2020

This month’s Sew Club project was a cube shaped Door Stopper. Of course we worked on getting nice corners and so on but mostly we chatted about what’s the best door stopper filling to use. The ones you buy in the shops have something heavy at the bottom to give it the necessary weight and polyester filling on top to push out the shape. When I last did this project I used dried beans as they were on special offer but some of my students were concerned that beans or rice could attract mice!! Thinking this was a very good point, I decided to look into an alternative.

Whilst browsing the internet I soon discovered ‘weighted plastic beads’ designed for the job. They are advertised specifically to weight down toys, door stoppers and blankets for Autistic children. Unfortunately these beads would work out too expensive as I needed enough for 15 doorstops and like to keep costs to a minimum for my students. I also thought of using marbles but again they would be too expensive. And another idea was bags of sand, something I’d seen used so much in shop bought stoppers. Although this would be much more affordable, I was worried I’d end up with sand all over my floor!

After looking at lots of options, I decided to go for a 10mm pebble gravel, which was a bargain from my local garden centre and gave a lovely crunchy beach sound! The added bonus was that our garden path would be getting the left overs! The gravel was put in little plastic bags to keep it all together at the bottom of the doorstop and then the rest of the door stop was filled with polyester stuffing.

Another great tip is to use cushion inners/pads for the polyester stuffing. It’s much cheaper than buying specific stuffing. I always stock up on these when I have to go to Ikea… as well as calico which they sell at about £2 per metre. It makes a very stressful experience feel a bit more worth while!!

SEW CLUB – Level 2

10th July 201520th February 2020

My level 2 Sew Club students have produced some impressive work over the past few months. I feeling very proud to be their teacher!

Sian’s beautiful bear was made out of her daughters old baby grows. It was finished just in time for her daughters 1st birthday. It was a challenging project but definitely worth the effort. We’ve all loved watching it come together at Sew Club!

Above Left – Bindi did a fantastic job at copying a favourite pair of trousers. She made her own pattern, and perfected the technique of shirring with elastic on the bobbin. I love the fabric she choose which was thin but weighty so it hung down rather than puffed out! It’s so important to choose the right fabric when you’re copying a garment. It must feel and drape the same way as the original or else however perfect your pattern is, your copied pair won’t look the same.

Above Right – Maxine is making a fashionable shift dress in a gorgeous Liberty print. Liberty print is a beautiful quality fabric… it’s light and floaty but not see through! It is a bit pricey, especially if you need a lot but I think it’s definitely worth the cost for a special occasion.

Above Left – Kate has made a sweet summer dress for her daughter based on an old favourite. You don’t need much fabric for this style of dress so it’s a great way to use up any odd lengths that are too small to do much with.

Above Right – Sarah wanted to make a pair of pyjama bottoms similar to some Boden ones she had worn to threads! She found a really lovely cotton print from John Lewis and a simple pattern with clear instructions. In Sew Club we have found some pattern instructions to be too wordy and confusing so if you’re relatively new to dress making it’s worth looking around for one with less information rather than too much!

SEW CLUB – Summer 2015

8th June 201520th February 2020

PEG BAGS

In May my monthly Sew Club students made some striking peg bags. They were all edged with bias binding, which is very affordable by the roll from Ebay. The small wooden hangers are from the children’s department in Ikea.

The more projects we do with bias binding the better and more confident my students get at it! We always sew our bias binding on in two stages to get a better finish. Remember… the first stitch line that attaches the bias binding to the edge marks where to fold the bias over to on the other side. Sewing slowly and accurately is the key!

FABRIC STORAGE ROLLS

In June my Sew Club students made a pretty and useful fabric storage roll to practice inserting a zip. Based on a jewellery roll, these cotton versions can be used to store all sorts of things, not just jewellery. I use mine to hold an ‘out and about’ first aid kit!

They were so popular that all the spare ones I had cut out were bought! I always hand out a printed instruction sheet with details on what to buy, measurements to cut out and reminder steps on how to sew it all together so my students can make another one at home if they want to.