There are so many ways to learn to sew: from a mentor, trial-and-error, YouTube, blogs, patterns, and classes online or in person! Today we’d love to hear from you: do you take classes to learn new skills? If so, why? And if not, tell us why too!
For myself, I learned the basics from my mom, and levelled up my skills through practice and reading blogs. I’ve taken a few Craftsy (now Bluprint) classes online, but I tend to get bored quickly. The only in-person class I’ve taken was a weekend intensive in bra-making, and it was well worth the hefty price tag for me because I found it such an intimidating type of sewing and fitting.
Nowadays, I’d rather spend money on materials or even kits than classes. It’s just how my brain works! Classes can be quite expensive, and I find myself thinking, “I could just figure that out myself, right?” I’m lucky to live in an area where I could take classes at a few locations within an hour drive, but even that distance becomes a barrier. That said, I’ve taught intro to sewing knits a bunch of times, and I think the students found it useful!
Personally, I figure classes are great if:
- you are intimidated by a new skill and that is stopping you trying it on your own
- you enjoy having someone on hand to explain how and why to do something
- you appreciate the social aspect or it helps you set aside time to craft
- the craft requires specialty equipment, like shoemaking, weaving, or 3D printing
- you have a budget which allows you to maximise your learning time and chances of success
Classes might be harder for you if:
- you’re on a budget: classes and workshops can be expensive individually, or add up over time (I hope you are enjoy our “Fitting with Gabby” series, which is basically a free class!)
- they’re not accessible: either they aren’t offered in your area or getting to/from/around class is a barrier
- online video classes don’t suit your learning style
- you get more joy from digging in and trying things out experimentally
Do you take classes to level up your skills? Tell us why or why not in the comments below! And while you are at it, perhaps you could recommend your favourite classes face-to-face and online!
Gillian love sewing knits in bright colours and crazy prints, and blogs at https://craftingarainbow.com/. She lives in Canada and co-founded the Sewcialists in 2013.
Hi Gillian, I HEAR you. My attention span is the same length as my cats, lol. Even U-Tube is a stretch for me. But, I love to learn so take some classes, and some of the best ones I’ve taken have been taught in “spurts”. The teacher speaks, then shows, then off to do as you’ve been instructed. And although I’ve been sewing for a long time, I usually learn something new. I teach sewing (and machine knitting) and have for many years, so for me to TAKE a class is relaxing and usually fun. I must admit though, there have been a few where I’ve wanted to leave early.
That’s a convincing pitch for taking classes! I have so much to learn! I tried to learn a new skill for May by ordering a kit, but that totally backfired because it’s been a frustrating expensive endeavour and I’m still waiting for a replacement.
I self taught myself to sew as didn’t know anyone else who did and have just taken in person classes for pattern cutting and overlocker techniques which were one off day long ones. I struggle with the online classes for some reason and do much better in person or even just reading about it. Only trouble with in person classes is there is very limited offerings near me, even the closest are a 3hr round trip!
Although I could teach myself what I have gone to the class for, it is nice to have someone on hand to ask a quick question and also is a dedicated time for it, at home there are too many other things that have to be done.
I took one quilting for teens class when I was a teen, but it was definitely more of a moral support group than a class. Since most of my sewing life has been as a student (yay for grad school) I’ve been on a budget and classes in my area are either at unavailable times or out of my price range, so I pocket that money for more craft supplies! I’m always intruiged, but it’d have to be a very convincing class to make me sign up.
Though I sewed quilts for decades, I was clueless when I wanted to start making my clothes last year. I tried figuring it out on my own but I live rurally with zero in person classes, stores, people who who make clothes, etc so I took Brooks Ann Campers online SkirtSkills class in January. I, ironically, do not wear skirts or dresses but I learned how to draft my own patterns, fix patterns specifically for my body, how to properly take measurements and all the terminology, symbols, and sewing techniques needed to get started. It was SO good and I feel like I can make anything now. My first make was a pair of joggers out of a somewhat delicate knit fabric. I’ve since made more plus underwear, shirts and I just finished some bike shorts. Not bad for the first three months of garment making. I do try to watch or read tutorials if they are available for anything I’m interested in sewing BEFORE I buy the pattern.
I love classes for adding a skill, usually very basic, but I’ve never taken one for developing skills further. I would consider it for something where another person is essential – like making a great sloper! They are pricey though (and when you start pricing things in yards – ‘this costs 10 yards of linen’ – well, you know where your heart truly lies…).
I’ve taken a few classes. I really enjoyed them. The first was a dressmaking class at Workroom Social in Brooklyn, which I took a few years ago when I was getting back into apparel sewing after a long hiatus. I later took a class there in sewing pants, since fit issues had bedeviled me. They were both excellent. They’re two-day classes, so enough time to complete a project. I love the luxury of having two whole days to myself to sew. I also took a class in making a pattern sloper because I had no idea how.
I didn’t take any classes at all for the first few years I got back into sewing. But I kept getting frustrated by many struggles. This year, I decided to shift my focus away from buying more fabric and patterns, of which I have plenty, and spend my sewing money on learning tools. I bought a bluprint subscription, a couple books, and an in-person jeans making class at my local sewing store. It’s improved my skills and been fun to try new things. It also feels good to invest in this hobby without acquiring more stuff. My budget is fairly modest – plenty of sewing classes or retreats are still out of reach for me – but I am lucky to have the resources that I do.
I’ve taken classes and I really appreciate the intensive learning that happens when I’m surrounded by others who are also interested in learning.
I’ve learned how to use my serger, including developing a “notebook” full of swatches, thread samples, and machine settings through a workshop with Pamela Leggett.
I’ve done a sit-and-sew with Kenneth D. King (!) where I brought in my projects for special attention and hands-on recommendations. The sit-and-sew allowed me to see what others were working on and to overhear or participate in learning what they were getting advice on.
I’ve taken classes from Cynthia Guffey, Rae Cumbie, Angela Wolfe, and other instructors at the Quilt and Sewing Expo. While these generally run about $20-50 depending on the class materials and tools provided, they have helped me develop my confidence and improve the results of my sewing projects.
Sure, I could figure out some of these techniques on my own and I could spend lots of time hunting through the various YouTube videos. However, the opportunity to ask an expert for hands-on advice and get it answered right-then-and-there saves me time, which I do not have in great abundance (after all is said and done, I have about 1 hour of discretionary time once I get home from work).
For me, it is easier to save money by focusing on what I’m learning instead of wasting fabric and time on something that does not fit or does not look as good as it could have if I would have had an expert providing individualized advice (especially fitting advice).
I belong to the American Sewing Guild, and many of these classes were subsidized by my membership, which is very reasonable. I would love to go to the annual conference which is held in July each year. Unfortunately, this year is not good for me, so I’ll continue to put it on my wish list until I can finally attend!
I would love to take more sewing classes, but most of the ones local to the Seattle area have a beginner/advanced beginner focus. Occasionally, someone “famous” to the sewing world will offer something as a visiting teacher, but I seem to not usually be fast enough on the ball for those, or I’ll have a conflict that weekend or whatever.
With the hotbed of garment sewing that Portland, OR is, I’m actually really surprised that we haven’t seen something equivalent to, say, Workroom Social come out of that area.
None of this even gets into the size inclusivity issue (which seems to be getting better) where in my early days of sewing, most project-based sewing classes picked indie darling patterns that often had very limited size ranges.
I go to a class every week and I have for years. It is more of a sewing group I suppose but we do have an amazing teacher. It’s two hours on a Thursday evening. The idea is that you take your own project. Our teacher helps us if we get stuck. We chat and eat cake. It’s a lovely space both physically and also mentally, a time when I can sew. If I don’t go I often don’t have sewing time at all and my projects lay idle. Having a teacher there does mean I can tackle harder projects if I wish, I have support. Often I don’t need help. Either way, we are happy in our sewing sanctuary.
Where I live there isn’t a lot of classes offered. The ones offered are for kids or for quilting. There is personalized instruction, but that is out of my price range at the moment. I’ve learned more from books and magazines, though. I also read a lot of blogs and Facebook group posts. My browser has bookmarks for a lot of techniques. I’ve tried videos, but unless I write it down or practice the technique I don’t remember it. I tend to spend a lot more time fitting more than actually sewing, so if I did take instruction it would probably be in that area.
Your natural curiosity never ceases to amaze me. Another Q to consider! I went through my Craftsy phase as an early adopter and I never look at those classes now. I really wanted the platform to work but it failed me in numerous ways numerous times. So much unnecessary blather. Get to the point. And I’m not a class goer because I find evening and weekend learning to be challenging. Once one has spent a week at a crazy job, she doesn’t have energy to hang with a bunch of people she doesn’t know, touching machines that have been pawed by many who could be carrying germs. In truth, the hardest thing in the world for me is to go places i.e. transport. Having said this, I LOVE Gabby’s series from the comfort of my own couch, and have learned from it. I’ve watched every online tutorial on every topic I’ve needed to learn more about – with great success. My new fave thing is to buy e-books (fast, no storage required, on the computer aka my main way of reading) and to highlight and take notes, just like I would with a real book. It’s an awesome way for me to connect dots and remember / revisit. I’ve reread every issue of Ply Mag I’ve bought in the last 2 months at least 5 times. Every time, I see something new. I am happy to ask any and every question of my insanely awesome online crafting community and I love it when people ask me questions. Also, I think we are similar (and Geminis :-)) in that we want to figure it out. Sure, we need ways to learn, but I really don’t like prescriptive learning. I’m immersive and I need to find my own path.
I’ve done some Bluprint classes. Beverly Johnson’s bramaking classes were really helpful to me in building up my drawer of self-sewn bras & undies. I’ve also taken a couple of shoemaking classes. Maybe I could have figured out shoemaking on my own, but there aren’t a lot of d.i.y. educational resources out there, not a lot of books or online tutorials. It definitely would have taken me YEARS to learn everything I learned from those two workshops. (One of the biggest things I learned was…maybe I don’t want to make my own shoes?)
I’m mostly self-taught though. I had this weird idea that I should know my way around a sewing machine before I took a class. I went to my local fabric shop after I’d been sewing for a year or two & asked if they thought their beginning garment-making class would be good for me. The owner asked, “Did you make what you’re wearing right now?” (a Renfrew tee & some pants made from a Vogue pattern). I said yes & she said, “Honey, you could teach this class.” Haha!
I’m more of an independent learner, but I’d happily take more workshops in the future. I always want to be leveling up & expanding my skillset. Classes & workshops are one way to do that!
I *ONLY* take classes where I can produce something. I don’t want to watch someone sew, I want hands on. And I prefer one-day classes because time is precious and I would rather be sewing than listening to someone talk. Fortunately, there are a zillion options for classes here in Atlanta – there’s the sewing guild, a sewing studio, a fibre arts center, craft shops. I’ve tried watching online classes but lose interest.
I recently took a Learn to Sew class at a local sewing studio. I don’t even have a sewing machine right now, but I remembered how much I enjoyed sewing “back in the day.” Taking a class appealed to me, because it gave me an opportunity to meet others who were interested in learning, and it motivated me to actually make something instead of just thinking about it!
I have taken lots of sewing classes over the years through high school and university, and while interesting, it wasn’t really my favourite to have the pressure of things being graded. After that, there wasn’t much in terms of classes that were available to me but felt I had enough skills to figure things out on my own. I know when I learn I need a hands on element, so online classes were immediately out. I take lots of general crafting classes locally, but the sewing ones don’t really speak to my interests.
If there’s something I am really interested in, I am open to traveling within reason. I went to Vancouver recently for the Jeans Making Intensive. It was my first sewing class in years and I found that it had lots of great reminders for practices and techniques I have gotten lazy on over the years and challenged me to sew something outside my comfort zone.