Clothesmaking

This new 8-week skills progression course will teach you how to fit and assemble a basic corset to your personal body measurements. This will be made in cotton calico fabric, and at the end of the course you will be able to take your toile apart to give you a perfectly fitting reuseable pattern for future use in the fabric of your choice. You will learn how take accurate body measurements to select the correct pattern size and assemble a PDF sewing pattern (which will be provided and is adaptable for all sizes). Techniques covered will include seam finishes, inserting boning & finishing the boning edges, applying an open-ended zip, and lining & hemming the corset.

Our friendly classes are aimed at learners of all experience levels and will introduce and develop all the key skills & processes you need to know, to enable you to make your own clothes to a professional standard. These include: cutting out, piecing together, fitting, stitching, pressing, the correct and safe use of tools and equipment, understanding and adapting commercially bought patterns and choosing garment styles and suitable fabrics. You will sample a variety of techniques throughout the course, in addition to working on a garment of your choice- in a 10 week class, complete beginners will be able to complete at least one simple dress, top, skirt or trousers. Improvers & returning learners should be able to move on to more complex garments, potentially using different fabrics & construction techniques.

If you are an inexperienced or returning learner with good sewing machine skills and have basic garment making knowledge, then this four-week, full day session course is aimed at progressing your skills and sewing confidence. It will introduce you to, and further develop, a range of key processes and techniques. All learners will work on the same garment, chosen collectively in the first session from one of the following options: a Stretch fabric hoodie top, a Kimono/dressing gown, an A-line skirt, or a Tunic/Kaftan. A pattern template suitable for all sizes will be provided by the tutor. Attendance in the first week is essential, as it covers key preparatory work and information. Participants must bring their chosen fabric in week two, when you will begin garment construction. By the end of the course, learners will have created a professionally finished garment and gained a range of skills for future projects.

This course will teach you a range of skills and techniques to help you to extend the life of your clothes through making repairs and simple alterations- helping you to save money and reduce waste. In the first two sessions you will learn and sample how to correctly sew on buttons, take up a hem using machine and hand sewing, replace a simple zip, repair a tear, and easy patching & darning methods. In the last session, you will be able to bring in one or more of your own garments to repair using any of the methods you have learnt. These essential skills will enable you to feel confident to start more home sewing projects or potentially develop them further by joining a new Clothesmaking course at ALL.

This friendly and supportive course is designed for beginners and will introduce a range of essential clothesmaking skills and processes. All learners will work on the same garment, chosen collectively in the first session from one of the following options: a Stretch fabric hoodie top, a Kimono/dressing gown, an A-line skirt, or a Tunic/Kaftan
A pattern template suitable for all sizes will be provided by the tutor. Attendance in the first week is essential, as it covers key preparatory work and information. Participants must bring their chosen fabric in week two, to begin garment construction. By the end of the course, learners will have created a professionally finished garment and gained a range of skills for future projects.