The first sewing course I had, for adults

As I wrote in the September update 2022, I had volunteered to be a course leader, Where I taught a small group how to sew a jersey t-shirt and tips on how to use basic patterns to create own “designs”.

I was a little bit strict when it came to what kind of pattern I wanted to teach the group, so I decided that everybody got one basic pattern in their preferred size and a simple colored cotton jersey, enough to make a sweater, t-shirt or a tunic/dress. I also gave some tips on how to avoid having a lot of left overs and how to use it in the same project.

I had a little PowerPoint presentation on the first day to tell them about some simple things that can be good to know when you are planning a sewing project like: how to measure yourself, what kind of fabric you need, what kind of seams are on a sewing machine, etc.

The first day went with cutting the fabrics but the next two days was a lot of sewing…

It was fun to be a course leader in sewing again. Last time I volunteered to be a course leader, it was for teenagers, this time it was for adults. I have to say both groups were fun to teach, and I learned that adults seems to like to get things done quicker (might also be that I was strict with what kind of “project” I was going to teach and help them with), but teenager are more creative when it comes to designing and sewing, and therefore use more time to design rather than sewing.

I always say take your time when you are planning and sewing. Do not rush, and enjoy the project you are working on.

I hope to be a course leader again, maybe already in winter or spring 2023, and this time I am planning to have a little bit more about redesign, reparation and decoration. Also I might repeat with having a “basic sewing” course again but maybe this time the participant has to find pattern and fabric themselves (after consulting with me first) and cut the fabric at home first. Because I learned that, we used too much time on cutting than sewing the first day.

Only few manage to finish after three course days (it is often typical, as sewing in stretch first time is really demanding, it needs a lot of patience and time), and one of them was my mother. Yes, she wanted to learn how to sew clothes. Well I think she just wanted to try to sew a tunic and decorate it, in a similar way as I have done on a few other projects I have made.

I think she did a good job on sewing her first tunic, or clothes at all.

I got a lot of praise from everyone and both participants and employees were quite happy with the sewing course. I even got flowers and a nice card. It definitely made me want to come back and volunteer as a course leader again.

Update:

I am having a sewing course/ workshop for the next three thursday, and this time I will not teach much but I will be helping others to get started and/or finish their sewing projects. I might write a own post about it later.

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