Summer school: Beginners Intensive Sewing course

Summer School: Beginners Intensive Sewing Course: Learn to sew like a pro in 3 days!

Wednesday 24 – Fri 26 August 2022        10am- 5pm each day

The Summer School Beginners intensive sewing course for adults will teach you all the foundation skills to launch you into the world of sewing.  It is a good starting point to learn expert sewing techniques whether you want to progress into dressmaking, soft furnishing or craft projects.

Course Description

Starting at the very beginning with how to use a sewing machine, each session expands on the skills learnt in the previous one, building your knowledge, technical ability and confidence over the three days (18 hours in total). You’ll learn how to understand sewing machines and be competent and confident in using one. I’ll explain what the different presser feet are for and you’ll learn how to handle, measure and cut a variety of fabrics, interfacing, interlining, and tackle common fastenings such as buttons, zips and velcro.

The course is composed of a series of tutorials, each followed by a lovely project. So you can practise the skills learnt in that session.

I’ve been sewing since I was a child (and that’s a lot of years’ experience!). During that time, I’ve made every mistake in the book – then learned how to avoid them. Now you can benefit from my mistakes and learn to sew like a pro as I share my expert tips. I wish I’d known all this stuff when I started to sew.

Artisan Stitch won a Certificate of Excellence in January 2019 and is rated ‘Best sewing classes in Edinburgh’. They won a UK Enterprise award for Best sewing classes 2020 and in 2021, Best Private Sewing Education and also ‘Most Outstanding Sewing Classes.

Who is this aimed at?

• Absolute Beginners (if you’ve never used a sewing machine before)
• Novice sewists (if you’ve recently learned and would like to fill in some gaps and learn a bit more)
• Lapsed sewists (as a refresher course if you haven’t sewn for a while)

(Adults only – children’s classes are listed in the ‘Kids’ section of the website

What will I learn?

• How to use a sewing machine safely and confidently
• How to wind bobbins and how to thread a sewing machine
• how to sew perfect straight lines, smooth curves and turn corners
• understand the importance of correct thread tension
• different stitch types, lengths and widths
• learn different seam types and when to use them
• how to deal with raw edges
• how to take up hems
• make machined buttonholes and sew on buttons
• how to sew in a zip
• four great sewing projects to practice your new skills:
  • a tote bag,
  • An envelope cushion with buttons
  • padded I-pad/tablet cover
  • a zipped make-up bag

Course arrangements

Sewing machines are provided or you can bring your own if you have one.
Meals, travel and accommodation are not included.

Useful links:

If you’re looking for a sewing machine, then Andrew at Pembertons  is my trusted and recommended specialist retailer. And what’s more, he’ll sort out a special deal for Artisan Stitch clients.

What sewing equipment will I need?

(I have a small stock of quality scissors and marking tools for sale in the studio)