Description
Tuesdays: 5 Sept – 28 Nov (2 weeks break in October)
6pm – 9pm
£335
(11 weekly classes)
Craft Central, High Street, Dunblane
Workshop Description:
Making your own clothes is about learning to BE YOURSELF. Choose your own fabric; fit it to your own unique body; express your own unique style. If you’re tired of wearing low quality, ill-fitting and generic hi-street clothing, then this course is your opportunity to break from the herd.
Led by Stitchery Founder Cassandra Belanger, this is an 11 week, intermediate level course in making your own clothing, for those looking to take their beginners skills to the next level. Topics covered will include: taking body measurements, understanding and adjusting the flat pattern to fit your specific body shape, specialty seams and seam finishes, sleeves, darts, pleats and gathers, fitting and alterations, inserting facing and linings, using an overlocker, buttons and buttonholes, inserting a collar, hems and finishing techniques. You will also learn techniques and tips for a more sustainable making practice.
You will use all the techniques you have learned to complete a garment from a selection of patterns in a fabric of their choice in our welcoming and well equipped Dunblane Studio.
This is an intermediate level course, 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 available for each student; 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 Sewing Sessions or private tuition.
Course cost includes:
- 11 x 3-hour lessons
- Use of 230DC Janome computerized sewing machine each
- Use of 6234XL overlocker (shared between students)
Course cost excludes:
- Cost of pattern
- Cost of fabric and haberdashery
Skill level: Intermediate
Student Testimonials
“This was a wonderful (re)introduction to the basics of sewing, presented with a really helpful step-by-step approach, and has given me the confidence to read and understand patterns, and use the techniques learned to sew a well-fitting item of clothing!”
Sarah, Student Testimonial, 2021
“I would recommend this wonderful course to everyone! I found the classes really detailed but accessible. Cassandra is a lovely and extremely knowledgeable teacher. I’ll be signing up for more sewing with Stitchery in the future!”
Katherine, Student Testimonial, 2021
About Your Tutor
Cassandra’s work is an invitation to a more sustainable future. It challenges home sewists, designers and educators to think through the social and environmental impacts of their practice, exploring issues such as zero waste, transparency, embedded storytelling, feminism, sizism, and body image.
Originally from Western Canada, Cassandra currently runs The Stitchery Studio in Glasgow, Scotland, which offers private tuition and pop-up workshops, educating both home sewers and designers on the topics of making a zero waste wardrobe, garment construction, machining skills, sustainable design processes, garment fitting and patchwork quilting, all with an approach to encouraging sustainable thinking and zero waste sewing. She is also the co-founder of the Zero Waste Design Online Collective that develops online education resources in the field of zero waste design and systems thinking in fashion.
We all wear clothes, which means we all contribute to the consequences of the fashion industry on our planet and the people who make our clothes. The fashion industry has caused both environmental and social crises and many of us are now learning about the ways we can change our actions to ensure a better future. One of these solutions is by sewing, designing, and making zero waste garments.
As research progresses, designers find new motivations for doing things differently, and as home sewers experiment, we are finding more and more ways in which we can change the status quo and implement minimal or zero waste garments into our wardrobe. Did you know that we waste 15 – 25% per each garment we make? This equates to 60 billion square metres of fabric annually in the fashion industry and this doesn’t include clothing made at home. Learning new ways of making clothes without making waste is vital for the future health of our planet.
People of all genders, sizes, and backgrounds are welcome and encouraged to attend this course.
