Better Dressmaking 👗

Transform your sewing from ‘homemade’ to beautifully ‘handmade’ 🧵

Wednesday 15 – Friday 17 July 2026
10am–5pm each day

If you’re tired of puckered seams, floppy facings, stretched necklines or zips that never quite behave, this three‑day summer school will change everything. Better Dressmaking is designed to help you elevate your skills, refine your finish, and sew with confidence and precision.

Over 18 hours of expert tuition, you’ll discover the techniques that make all the difference — the small, clever adjustments that turn a garment from “I made this” into “I can’t believe you made this”.

What to Expect

Across a blend of demonstrations and hands‑on practice, you’ll build a library of beautifully sewn samples to take home and refer to again and again. We’ll begin with the foundations: choosing the right pattern size, understanding terminology, and making common adjustments for a great fit 👚

From there, each session builds your technical skill step by step. You’ll learn how to:

Press, trim and handle seams for a smooth, professional finish
Add impact with crisp edge‑stitching and perfectly straight topstitching
Sew flawless darts
Choose and use interfacing with confidence
Make facings lie flat (no more flappy edges)
Insert a concealed zip neatly and reliably
Create neat hems and understand when to use different seam types
Set in sleeves without stress
Make buttonholes by machine and sew on buttons securely

And because dressmaking should be fun as well as functional, we’ll explore a few simple pattern hacks too — changing a neckline, adding pockets, swapping a waistband for a facing, or adding a lining even when the pattern doesn’t include one.

By the end of the course, you’ll have a toolkit of high‑end techniques to use in every future project, helping your sewing look more ‘High End’ than high street.

Why Learn with Artisan Stitch?

Jen been sewing since childhood and admits she’s made every mistake imaginable — which means she now knows exactly how to help you avoid them. She’ll share the shortcuts, the “aha!” moments, and the professional habits she wishes she’d learned years earlier.

Artisan Stitch is proud to be Scotland’s most award‑winning sewing school, with accolades including:

Certificate of Excellence (2019)
Best Sewing Classes in Edinburgh (2020)
Best Private Sewing Education Tuition & Most Outstanding Sewing Classes (2021)
Best Craft Tuition Provider, Scotland Prestige Awards (2023/24)
Best Sewing Classes (2022/23, 2024/24, 2024/25, 2025/26), Scotland Prestige Awards

Who Is ‘Better Dressmaking’ For?

Novice dressmakers ready to build confidence and expand their skills (ideally you should already made at least 1 garment from a commercial pattern)
Home sewists who want a better fit and a more polished finish
Anyone familiar with commercial patterns and basic garment construction who wants to level up

Course Arrangements

Classes run from 10am–5pm each day with a break for lunch and short rests throughout.

Sewing machines are provided, or you’re welcome to bring your own (don’t forget your power cable/foot control, spare needles, presser feet and manual).

Please check here before booking as once purchased, tickets are non-refundable.

You will need to bring:

1m of light-mediumweight calico (180gsm) 150cm (60″) wide (or some old sheeting)
30cm lightweight fusible interfacing
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.
pattern-making tools: Dressmakers curved ruler, mechanical pencil, rubber, small glue stick, 3 different colours of coloured pencils

Travel, meals and accommodation are not included.