Sewing Clothes : Beyond Beginners – Tuesday Evenings

Led by Stitchery Founder Cassandra Belanger, this is a 9 week sewing course for ‘beyond beginners’ and improvers, in making your own clothing. The focus will be on learning to sew with jersey fabric in order to make comfortable everyday staples, like the classic t-shirt. Using the Concord t-shirt pattern from Cashmerette Patterns you will learn how to work from a pattern, take your body measurements and choose the correct size for your body shape. You will learn about how to optimize the amount of fabric needed for the t-shirt through a lesson on zero waste / minimal waste pattern cutting.

Other topics include: 

• Understanding and adjusting the flat pattern to fit your specific body shape
• Using a sewing machine for sewing with knit fabric (example jersey used for tshirts)
• Tips and tricks for sewing with knit fabric
• How to cut knit fabric using a rotary cutter
• Using an overlocker for sewing with knit fabric 
• Using a coverstitch machine
• Sewing with elastic
• Sewing hems on knit fabric: zigzag stitch, coverlock, twin needle

You will also learn techniques and tips for a more sustainable making practice. 

This is an intermediate level sewing course for ‘beyond beginners’ and improvers, which means it’s suitable for returning students, or anyone with previous experience of basic sewing and garment making. We have a Janaome 230DC computerised (with speed control) sewing machine and Janome overlockers (varying models) and a coverstitch machine available for student use; although you can bring your own if you like. And don’t worry if you might miss one or two classes: we’ve plenty of opportunities to catch up through our additional Sunday Stitchery Sessions or private tuition.

Course cost includes: 

• 9 x 3-hour lessons
• Use of Janome 230DC computerized sewing machine each
• Use of Janome 6234XL overlocker (shared between students)
• Use of Janome 2000CPX coverlocker
• Concord t-shirt sewing pattern
• Handouts for resource pack

Course cost excludes:

• Cost of fabric and haberdashery