Better Dressmaking

Better Dressmaking

Learn tips and techniques to make your home sewing look less – well – ‘homemade’

Course Description

Level:  Intermediate.  You need to have had some experience of dressmaking with knowledge of a variety of garment-construction techniques.

Do your seams look wrinkled or puckered? Do your facings refuse to lie flat, and are you tired of wonky zips? Or do you even avoid zips altogether? Yes? Then this is the course to help you raise your sewing game.

I’ve observed a few areas where home dressmakers commonly struggle, and rolled them all up into my popular 1-day class ‘Improve your dressmaking’. But ‘Better Dressmaking’ is an extended version. First run as a 3-day Summer School, it’s now available in regular weekly sessions. Week by week, it will teach you loads more tips and tricks to improve the fit and finish of your home dressmaking projects and avoid that ‘homemade’ look that is the downfall of many sewing projects.

Through a series of tutorials, and practical sessions, you’ll be working samples of each technique, so you can practise the skills learnt in that session.  We’ll start with getting the groundwork right. How to choose the best size of pattern, and making some common adjustments for a perfect fit. Then I’ll teach you the lingo of pattern terminology. I’ll show you how to improve the appearance of your seams with pressing and trimming, and adding the WOW factor with perfectly straight and even topstitching. Darts, interfacing, buttonholes, zips, sleeves and waistbands are covered too. Each session expands on the skills learnt in the previous one, building your knowledge and technical ability over the 9 weeks (18 hours in total).  By the end of the course, you’ll have a library of new techniques at your fingertips to take home so your sewing will be more ‘high end’ than ‘high street’.

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 and learnt 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’. The UK Enterprise Award followed for Best sewing classes 2020 then Best Private Sewing Education & Tuition in 2021. Artisan Stitch is the only course provider in Edinburgh, and one of only two in Scotland, that is recommended by Queen Margaret University for sewing tuition.

Who is this aimed at?

• Home dressmakers who’d like to achieve a better fit and finish to their home sewing projects
• You must have had some dressmaking experience and be familiar with using commercial paper patterns and basic garment construction

What will I learn?

• How to choose the best size(s) of pattern to achieve a good fit
• Understanding pattern terminology
• How to do some common pattern alterations
• Learn different seam types and when to use them
• How to take up hems
• Neatening and finishing techniques
• Edge stitching and top stitching to add impact
• Perfect darts
• Make machined buttonholes and sew on buttons
• How to sew in a concealed zip
• Avoid stretched necklines
• Choosing and using interfacing
• How to change the shape of a neckline
• How to make facings lie flat
• Setting in a sleeve

Course arrangements

All fabrics needed for the course are provided. Sewing machines are available for your use or you can bring your own if you have one. Please remember your power cable/foot control, spare needles, feet, instruction manual.

You will need your basic sewing kit of: fabric shears, paper scissors and small trimming/embroidery scissors, pins, tape measure (cm), chalk pencils or fabric marking pens, notebook.

Cost £210 (includes all fabrics, zip, interfacing etc)

Useful links:

If you need a new sewing machine or any sewing equipment or accessories, then my trusted and recommended specialist retailer is Pembertons.

One of the topics I’ll cover in the course is sewing machine tension, but here’s a wee note that you might like to read beforehand.

Better Dressmaking reviews:

“attended the Better Dressmaking course, really enjoyed it.  What a great course!” – Anne B.

“Wow. What a great 3 days!  I loved it. Your style of friendly professional teaching was spot on and I learned so much. I will be back for more sewing courses in future and will recommend friends to sign up. ” – Helene B. (This lady attended the 3-day Summer School event)

“I really enjoyed my Better Dressmaking course at Artisan Stitch. Jen explained everything clearly with lots of time to practice. I discovered new and clever techniques and left feeling far more confident in my ability to achieve professional and neat results.” – Jyoti S.