The Mighty Stitch: May 2011

Weekend freehand machine embroidery courses in Islington with Laura Lees.

Have no fear if you’ve never embroidered before.
From the highly skilled to the complete novice, the courses cater for all.

Overview

We will start with an introduction and demonstration. A goody bag of scraps and fabrics will be provided. We will then select and design the options for your embroideries. This can take the form of an embroidered cushion, bag, wall hanging or customizing a bag, hat, jacket or any other form of textile. I will break the weekend into two sections.

Saturday 10 - 5pm
Sunday 10.30 - 4pm

Sat am; introduction and demonstration
Sat pm; selection of item (cushion, bag etc) designing and prep.

Your designs will be quickly realized through sewing. By the end of Saturday students will be well on their way to creating their chosen item.

Sun am; Continuation of embroidery
Sun pm; Completion and informal presentation of finished work.

The presentation is, of course, optional. It is merely to get people talking about their newfound skills and a chance to absorb what they have achieved by way of discussion. This will happen over a glass of wine or a beer so we may toast our newfound skills.

What to make

As the course is completely open to interpretation... the choice is yours. I have found the best results come from a students personal interests, ie, customizing their own denim jacket, shoes, guitar straps and so forth. I will be on hand to show how to make things from scratch, such as making a cushion, wall panels, shopping bag, clutch bag, the list is endless. Customizing has always been my forte and I will show you the tricks of the trade.

The ratio of sewers and non-sewers is around 50/50...many of the non-sewers have embarked nervously on a piece of embroidery which they said was for practice only and by the end of the weekend have referred to it as their art pieces.

The location is clean, safe and has tea and coffee making facilities. Set in the heart of Islington there are plenty of restaurants and bars to choose from for your lunch however, to maximize your time on the course, you can bring a pack lunch.

Materials

Various fabric and scraps goody bag provided. Please bring fabric scissors. A domestic machine is not expensive and, if possible, it’s best to bring your own. Embroidery foot can be bought at all good haberdashers and fit most domestic sewing machines easily.
After extensive research the most affordable domestic sewing machine is a John Lewis JL125 for around £129.00 and a Darning foot for around £11.00, machine depending.
However, if you do not have your own sewing machine, there will be a couple of machines on site for everyone’s use.

If you have any textiles, threads, ribbons, anything that inspire you, please bring them along