Beginners Garment Making

Day – Tuesday Evenings

Dates – See above

Time – 7-9pm

Venue – St Michael’s Mount Community Centre, St Michael’s Rd, Hitchin Herts  SG4 OQY

We’re doing things a little differently here! Instead of starting with a shop-bought pattern, we’re going to teach you how to draft your very own A-line skirt pattern, from scratch, using your own measurements. No standard sizing, no guesswork, no wrestling a paper pattern — just a pattern made especially for you.

In week one, you’ll be in very good hands: we’ve teamed up with the wonderful Alice Prier of Alice & Co Patterns, an expert pattern cutter, to help you draft a block that fits beautifully from the very start. Once that’s done, you’ll cut and sew your own A-line skirt with Kaye, picking up all the lovely core techniques of garment making along the way.

And here’s the exciting bit — by the end of the course, we’ll show you how to take that same block and turn it into all sorts of other skirt styles: pencil, circle, pleated, tiered, and any length you fancy, from a flirty mini to a floaty maxi. One pattern, so many possibilities!

We genuinely believe this is a better way to learn to sew. Learning to pattern draft isn’t just a nice extra — we think it deserves just as much attention as learning to sew, because even the neatest stitching can’t save a garment cut from a pattern that never fitted properly in the first place.

Why learn to pattern draft?

• A pattern made just for you — drafted to your own measurements, not determined someone else’s size chart
• A skill for life, not just a skirt — once you can draft your own block, you can keep using it to make more, share it with friends and family, and tweak it whenever your body changes
• Say goodbye to pattern-altering faff — no more hours spent adjusting a paper pattern
• Room to get creative — learn how to turn your block into pencil, circle, pleated or tiered skirts, at any length you like
• Learn from the best — created in collaboration with professional pattern cutter Alice Prier of Alice & Co Patterns, so you know your fit is in good hands

Alice & Co Patterns are designed in London by mother and daughter team Alice and Lilia.

They believe that garment making should be fun, with fast and simple techniques so you can sew inventive and stylish outfits at home. They are passionate about creating modern patterns that fit well and you love to wear.

Alice is a designer, pattern cutter and teacher, with over 20 years experience making fabulous made-to-measure clothes for women under her label Alice & Co. Whenever she can, Alice likes to travel the world writing her fashion/travel blog www.where2wearit.com seeking design inspiration and adding to her ever growing fabric and haberdashery stash! Lilia has been making her own clothes since she could thread a needle, and now works as a Textile Conservation Display Specialist at the Victoria & Albert Museum. She can also be found blogging about the weird and wonderful world of costume mounting here.

We are very privileged to have Alice teach for us on this course and look forward to welcoming her.

• How to take accurate body measurements for pattern drafting
• How to draft your own A-line skirt block from your measurements
• Understanding ease
• How to add seam allowances and prepare your pattern for cutting
• Interpreting pattern markings and cutting layouts
• How to transfer pattern markings using tailors’ tacks, dressmakers’ carbon paper and various types of marking pencils and pens
• Understanding interfacing and how to use it
• Learn how to do the following techniques:
  • Stay-stitching
  • Under-stitching
  • Topstitching
  • Pocket insertion
  • Yoke insertion
  • Interfacing techniques
  • Darts
  • Centred zip insertion
  • Hems
• How to manipulate your finished block into other skirt styles — pencil, circle, pleated and tiered — and adjust the length to mini, midi or maxi

• 7 x 2hr lessons in a small group
• Free love and warmth of your fellow sewing buddies!
• Inclusion in a WhatsApp group for support from your tutor throughout the course and afterwards via a WhatsApp group

• Sewing machine– Please bring your machine, manual and accessories, also ensure you have a good quality zip foot to fit your machine. If you need help choosing a machine please head over to our trusted supplier click the link here 
• Dressmaking tool kit to include dressmaking shears, fabric snips, basting thread, ruler, seam gauge, chalk wheel/stick or marking pen, dressmakers pins, pin cushion
• Pattern drafting equipment – tape measure, and a long 50cm ruler
• Fabric – 1.30m – 2.10m of medium weight woven fabric
• Zip – A  7″ (18cm) closed-ended zip in a colour to match your fabric (we recommend YKK)
• Sewing Machine Needles – 1 x pack of universal 80’s (we recommend Schmetz)
• Thread – A colour to match your fabric ( We recommend Gutermann Sew all thread )
• Interfacing – lightweight woven interfacing appropriate for your fabric (We recommend Vilene Vlieseline G710 lightweight woven)
• Bias Binding – approx 3m x 20mm matching or contrasting bias binding for your hem
• You may wish to bring a bottle of water and a notepad

N.B. Please ensure you launder your fabric prior to cutting out in the way recommended on the care label or website. Fabric can shrink by up to 10% when laundered.

• This course is suitable for those who have used a sewing machine before and have completed our Adult Machine Beginners course.
• No prior pattern drafting experience is needed — this is taught from the very beginning.
• Please note we aim to complete your skirt during the course, but the complexity of your chosen style and your level of sewing experience may mean you might not entirely complete your garment. You will be given lots of tips and support to help you finish comfortably at home.
• Once you book, you’ll get a confirmation email — just make sure we’ve got your phone number as we’ll also add you to a WhatsApp group with the rest of your course-mates before you get started, so you can say hello and get excited together.
• A couple of practical notes: our classes are non-refundable, so do check your diary before booking to make sure the dates work for you. It’s also worth having a read of our FAQs and T’s & C’s, just so you know what to expect.
• Got a question before the course starts? We’d love to hear from you — just drop us a line at [email protected].
• And finally, we like to keep our groups small and friendly, so spaces do fill up quickly — booking early is always a good shout! (We do reserve the right to cancel a course if we don’t have enough makers signed up, but we’ll always let you know as soon as possible.)