Dear All,
I am interested in learning sewing. Can anyone in this group would be interested in taking a few classes? Or are there any suggestions where I could attend them.
Please suggest.
Thanks.
Omkar
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I would also be interested in a small sewing workshop.
Hi!
What kind of things are you interested in making? Clothes, toys, bags, fur suits… ?
I primarily do stuffed animals, and I would like to run a workshop but I’ve been staying away from the space for the last few weeks because Covid.
Anyway, I could definitely show you the basics of either hand sewing or machine sewing and reading patterns, but I can’t help with any kind of complicated garment construction.
(And if you’re looking for something more formal, I believe Makerlabs offers sewing classes, and I’ve also heard of Vancouver, BC Sewing Classes - Lessons for Beginners, Garment-Making + – Spool of Thread. I have no personal experience with either, though.)
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Hi Liz,
Thanks so much for your reply.
I am completely new to sewing. I want to learn some basics; there is some sewing requirement for some of my crochet projects, like lining for the Beanie Hat. It would be great if you could run a small workshop for basics.
Thanks for sharing information about Makerlabs and Spool of Thread (SoT). I checked with SoT, they are not offering any classes at the moment, but yes, Makerlabs is one option.
Please let me know if you could plan a workshop.
Hey Omkar! That’s great you are getting into sewing! Have you been able to check out any videos or books about sewing (the library has loads). Not as helpful as in person for sure but still really good to cover a lot of the basics. Those helped me a lot when I got started a few years ago. Check out this list of of links which might be helpful. Cheers!
Hi, I am available to teach a small sewing workshop 
@omkar Cool! If you want, I can show you how to pin the lining on your beanie and secure it using a machine. Do you have a deadline?
@Yannick_Tremblay Happy to teach!
For a workshop, I can demonstrate some basics::
- hand sewing: how to attach buttons
- machine sewing: threading the needle & inserting a bobbin, thread tension, winding a bobbin, basic stitches and seams, back-stepping, changing a needle
I can also cover these methods based on request:
- hand sewing: hiding hems (ex: dress pants), mending areas that are too awkward to do on a machine
- machine sewing: changing a presser foot, gathering, darts, zippers
- ironing: seams, interfacing
And I’ll do my best to answer any other sewing-related questions that you might have. Some background of my experience: I have been using a needle and thread since childhood. In high school, I excelled in Home Ec 8 and received an Academic Achievement award in Textiles 10. I bought myself a sewing machine in 2019 and happily use it regularly to mend and alter clothing. As well, I sewed over thirty face masks last year.
If anyone would like to sew a face mask, I feel like that could be a fun and useful workshop! Each mask takes approximately 20-45min to complete and requires three squares of 8x8in fabric. I have some squares of fabric available if anyone would like to use mine (thin cotton recommended). Electronics wire works well for nose pieces and I have soft black cord for ear loops.
There are some sewing tools & materials available to members at VHS and Dressew is a great resource for all things sewing including scrap fabric swatches (though if you really want to scope the town for fabric, there are multiple options and you may find it cheaper). Thrift stores often have cheap bags of random thread and most dollar stores will have basic tools and thread. I recommend getting yourself a stitch ripper if you haven’t already and a comfortable pair of long scissors if you plan on cutting fabric (any scissors will work for cutting thread but you may have trouble threading needles if they aren’t sharp).
I will need to test drive the VHS machines for usability before scheduling a workshop because I am unfamiliar with them (fortunately sewing machines do not usually vary all that much). There should be 6 sewing machines available at VHS. I would prefer to teach a workshop for only 1-3 people at one time so that we can all see without crowding too much due to COVID-19. I can run more workshops if there is interest.
A 2 hour workshop should be enough time to run through the basic demos, get started on small projects you may bring, each sew a mask, as well as cover proper care for putting a machine away. If you do not want to sew a face mask and instead just want to run through demos and get help with your own projects, that’s okay too! I would like to run a workshop no shorter than 1hr long. I may be willing to run the workshop longer than 2hr depending on demand and what my schedule is like. Due to transit limitations, I will need to end the workshop before 11pm unless someone can give me a lift home.
Estimated costs per person (majority of proceeds will be donated to VHS with the rest being used to cover my expenses but I am strapped for cash right now so a little bit towards a snack that day would be appreciated) let me know if you also are strapped for cash, I’m sure we can work something out:
- $3 (materials) zero if you bring your own
- $25 (first hour) prep, sewing machine orientation, and travel expenses
- $15 (second hour) workshop
Please follow up here if you are interested! If you could notify me in advance what you would like to learn at the workshop, I can better prepare a lesson plan. Thanks!
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Hi Janet, Thanks a lot for sharing the links for sewing tutorials. They look very helpful. At the moment I don’t have a personal machine. After some basic introduction I will plan to get one. I am sure these videos will be helpful once I get hands-on. Thanks again 
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This is also a great book for learning sewing. An oldie but goodie.
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Hey Heather,
Thanks so much for offering a workshop and sharing all the information related to the proposed workshop. I have enrolled to a sewing course at the Cut Fashion Academy, it will start soon.
Frankly, I am in a dilemma now. I think it is good opportunity to get introduced to basics through your workshop but I think these methods will also be covered in the classes that I enrolled.
I think I will get back to you if I need any help.
I really appreciate the efforts you have taken to think about a workshop and its structure. Thank you very much!
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Dear Harondel,
Thanks for sharing about the book. I have placed it on hold on VPL
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Hey, no worries! Enjoy the class!
& thank you for the appreciation! Lesson planning takes me back to teaching art at the local community centre before covid. I was getting a bit carried away today thinking of what projects to do for a series of workshops… hehe ^^’
I’ll do my best to help whenever I can! I would like to book a lazer session soon, perhaps then we could take a look at what you’re working on at the space together if there’s time.
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Had a random idea last night for a simple and neat beginner sewing project and this thread just popped up in my inbox, so figured I’d share. I have a friend’s birthday coming up and I prefer not to use wrapping paper for gifts, so I had the idea to pick up some fabric they’d like and make a pillowcase with an easily-removable drawstring and put the gift in that. Bonus gift and less wasted paper.
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Amazing @t.he.art I would like to enroll for the quick beginner course . my gf would be interested too so that would double the donation. let me know when you plan to run it .
we could do the face mask project .
we generally are available on the weekend .
my goal would be to learn how to sew with the machine.
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Awesome! I’ll swing by the space this week to get familiarized and shoot you a message to schedule a run time. I’m busy for at least the next couple weekends, sorry. First weekend in March, I have a couple on-call graveyard shifts Friday/Saturday so we could plan for either Friday or Saturday afternoon if that works for you? I still have some plans to confirm later in March but if there’s a day of the week/time you prefer, lmk and I’ll do my best to make it happen!
thank you no worries we are really not in a rush. we are waiting for you invitation
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I went by the space and confirmed that there are lots of tools and materials for member use so no worries about buying anything! I tested a couple of the machines for an hour but the Brother Innov-is 80 wasn’t working for me, I wasn’t able to get proper tension. It was incorrectly threaded when I arrived and had a loose bobbin so idk who’s using it but it was weird. The Singer 656G was more successful. The machines under the desk seemed to all need repairs. We can still do a workshop with one machine but it won’t be as immersive.
Here’s the machine list: tool:sewing_machines [Vancouver Hack Space]
I just joined the #sewing-and-more channel on Slack and see that other members are giving machine demos. I’ll shoot a message to the channel and hope to continue conversation with you there.
Ttys
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FYI: I will be hosting open hours every other Sunday for the next couple months, and can do informal machine demos. Check the calendar!
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Would you like to still meet up at the hackspace sometime for basic sewing lessons? I love sewing and feel like giving a few demonstrations could be fun. This would not be a full-fledged workshop and I won’t charge for it, though donations to VHS are appreciated. Hopefully by focusing on fewer tasks we can really get a good feel for at least one machine at the space and produce the desired results.
Perhaps an overlap is in order with @elizabot’s Sunday open hours to observe and absorb some of their machine wisdom 
yes Hi, when would you like to do that? I cant get on any of the vhs thread on slack . in fact I have never use it. I am available this weekend to meet at vhs.