185 Sewing courses

Learn Traditional Leather Craft, Saddle Stitching And Leather Goods Construction Skills A week-long masterclass offering an in-depth experience of traditional leather craft skills and hand sewing techniques, merging theory with hands-on learning. Dates/times: Five consecutive days - Mon-Fri 10am-5pm Understand the uniqueness of vegetable-tanned leather and the amazing long lasting products that can be created with this material. Proficiently handle traditional hand tools, master various hand-sewing techniques, and understand pattern drafting for the creation of handmade goods. You will gain insights into the technical aspects of leatherworking, including preparation, marking, cutting, gluing, reinforcing, skiving, debossing, finishing, and more. You will create a finished leather bag as well as personalised samples to take home for reference in your future projects.You will conclude the masterclass with the ability to craft entirely handmade leather items and master essential skills such as cutting, finishing, and saddle stitching. You will be taught by a prototype maker and manufacturer with 20 years of experience in this field. Participants also receive valuable handouts and curated lists of leather and tool suppliers for ongoing reference. Leather And Hand Tools: Overview of leather types, tanning, finishing, and best uses Understanding vegetable-tanned leather, how to use it, and how to finish it Importance of choosing the right materials and tools for projects Leather preparation, pattern placement and marking Understanding the cutting of thin and thick leathers and selecting the right cutting tools Using leather punches, skiving, beveling and creasing Finishing leather edges: burnishing and inking Utilising leather glues, tapes and reinforcements Exploration of prototyping and manufacturing leather goods, encompassing varied working methods, machines, and tools. Hand Sewing/saddle Stitching: Saddle stitching leather and understanding related tools and materialsUnderstanding thread types Correctly sewing various leather types, ranging from thin to very thick Sewing straight lines, curves and three-dimensional parts Producing various seams and seam finishes Construction techniques: Sewing and finishing a simple zip on leather Cutting, assembling and sewing simple straps/handles Constructing and sewing common gussets Leather Goods Making: Understanding the basics of pattern making for hand-sewn items and how this differs from machine sewing pattern drafting. Creating a finalised hand sewn leather bag from our designs, choosing colour, materials, reinforcements, hardware and trimmings. By the end of the tuition, you will have: – Developed confidence in utilising specific tools for leather preparation, marking, finishing, cutting and fastening fittings. – Acquired an understanding of working with diverse leather types and thicknesses, with the ability to source and select appropriate tools and materials for your projects. – Mastered essential leather sewing techniques, troubleshooting common sewing issues, and handling challenges such as curves, multiple layers of leather, and three-dimensional objects. – Learned to sew fundamental bag components like simple zips and gussets. – Built confidence in hand sewing, using patterns, and gaining the skills to independently create simple leather items

A sewing workshop to create a simple dungaree dress which has a couple of different style options. Full help is on hand to understand the pattern, cut out and assemble your dress. Bring your own machine or borrow one from Stitching Kitchen.

Improving with stretch fabric - next steps with your overlocker / serger. Spend 3 hours playing with your overlocker to develop your knowledge and get to grips with Seaming, Flatlocking, Blind Hems, Pintucks, Lettuce edging, Rolled Hems and Complex fabric handling e.g. velvet/chiffon/spandex

A dressmaking day at Stitching Kitchen learn to fit trousers with Emma Smith

Learn how to confidently remove the feed dog plate, the hook mechanism and the needle drive cover so that you can effectively cleanand oil your machine between services.

A fully customised lesson for those who would like to either learn new sewing/mending techniques and/or improve on existing skills. 

An intermediate sewing workshop - making your own knickers, pants, undies. Create underwear to suit you and for your comfort.

Bring your poorly sewing machine for some TLC. In this session as part of London Repair week, I will show you how to look after your machine, common issues and how to fix them, and guaranteed you'll go home with a better understanding of how to keep your machine purring. I will talk for an hour and then there's a Q&A/ fixing session for an hour and you'll get to home with a fact sheet and some excellent quality needles (these fix 99% of all issues!). If your machine needs more fixing than can be provided during this session you can leave her, and I will fix her for the discounted rate of £30, effectively taking your ticket price off the repair cost.

Drop in sewical session, open studio come and sew to your hearts content. No tutor just a sit and stitch.

Think of it as a sew and natter, where it does not matter which level you are at, you can come and sew, get help, swap ideas and techniques, etc.