Alter & Repair Your Clothes: Beginner 6/6

Class Date: Thursday 6/6

Class time: 10-5pm

Garment alterations are a fun and empowering way to level up your sewing skills and expand your wardrobe options. Professional tailor Lauren Taylor is here to guide you through the entire process of this essential skill set! Whether you are working with handmade, ready-to-wear, vintage or thrifted clothing – this class will teach you how to see flaws in garments as exciting opportunities for improvement.

Join guest instructor Lauren Taylor for this one day workshop from 10-5pm. A light lunch is provided for students.

Students are encouraged to bring a variety of garments, both handmade and ready to wear. Although we may not get through every single piece by the end of class, students can expect to leave with the knowledge and confidence to be able to continue their practice at home.

Materials Needed for Class:

• A VARIETY OF GARMENTS TO ALTER AND REPAIR: Please bring a minimum of 6 garments (or more!!). Acceptable garments include both handmade and ready to wear. Students may bring garments for themselves or anyone in their family/friends (men or women, adults or children). The best garments to bring are the pieces that you (or your loved ones) want to wear but do not. It is recommended that you bring a variety of pieces that require alterations ranging from advanced to very easy (including those pants that you’ve been meaning to hem but haven’t gotten around to yet). No formalwear, no leather. Please do not bring work-in-progress garments or muslins – completed garments only. If you are unsure whether a garment is suitable, bring it anyway! Bring all the garments!
• SEWING NOTIONS (SUBJECT TO ANTICIPATED REPAIRS AND ALTERATIONS): Suggestions include fusible interfacing, extra fabric (matching or contrast – be sure to prewash before class!), buttons, zippers, elastic, patches
• THREAD: Various colors + weights of thread to match your projects
• BASIC SEWING SUPPLIES: Pins, extra sewing machine needles, extra bobbins, hand sewing needles, seam ripper, seam gauge or ruler, thimble, marking tools (Chaco liner, FriXon pen, tailor?s wax, etc), Wonder Tape or fabric glue, thread snips, small scissors.
• NOTEBOOK AND PEN: You will want to take lots of notes!

What students can expect to learn in class:

• Effective seam ripping techniques for a variety of stitches, including straight stitches, serged finishes, and chainstitches
• How to assess a garment?s fit and style, and how to determine what changes need to be made
• How to pin fit a garment and transfer the adjustments in preparation for sewing
• How to take apart a garment, look inside, and determine the best method for executing whatever adjustment needs to be made based on the construction of the original garment
• Basic garment repair
• How to determine whether a garment can successfully be altered or repaired, best practices for using trial-and-error to approach for alterations on existing garments, and how to troubleshoot any problems that may arise

The exact techniques covered in class will depend on the garments that are brought in by students. Don?t know what to bring? Here are some suggestions of topics that can be covered:

• Altering a garment for a better fit
• Making design changes to a garment – shortening or removing sleeves, changing necklines, or collars, adding or removing style ease/volume, adding or removing pockets
• Changing hemlines – topstitched, blind, rolled, using the original hem on jeans
• Garment repairs – holes, split seams, tears, replacing elastic, replacing buttons, replacing broken zippers, adding patches and repairing worn fabric
• Making a garment smaller or bigger
• Repairing or replacing garment lining
• Garments for friends, family members, loved ones, etc