Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Week 1 of Palmer/Pletsch Beginning Sewing Complete!

We've finished week 1!  The first of 4 weeks in the series I'm teaching of Palmer/Pletsch Beginning Sewing classes at our local Babylock dealer is now complete.  I have 3 students who want to learn basic sewing techniques so they may sew & repair garments and shorten hems.  Oh, there's so much to learn in a beginning class and the students are hanging in there with me. 

The project is a chef's/artist's apron in which they will learn about reading a pattern, preparing the pattern tissue, cutting out fabric, marking, stay-stitching curves, sewing on facings, clean finishing edges, sewing machine stitched hems, top-stitching, sewing on patch pockets and many sewing tips that I've learned over the years. 

The curriculum includes Level 2 and Level 3, both of which the students may take later.  They'll make a wrap robe in Level 2 and a 2-pc PJ project in Level 3.  By the time they finish the 3-level series, they'll be very well-equipped to sew just about anything they want.  I'm really looking forward to seeing how far the students will go with their new sewing skills!  The photo shows one of the aprons that I'm using as my class sample.  I love the teapot fabric, since I am a teapot collector!


Friday, June 5, 2015

Palmer/Pletsch Beginning Sewing Series, Level 1

The long-awaited Palmer/Pletsch Beginning Sewing Series, Level 1 is starting tomorrow, June 6, at Austin's Sewing Center in Fern Creek.  This series has been planned for months, but with bad weather, health situations and other things, we finally have a "go" for the classes!  I am so excited about teaching this series!  In it, students will learn basics about their sewing machine, as well as basic sewing skills that they can use over and over throughout their sewing adventures.


As we get into the series, I will share with you here some tips and suggestions I also share with my students.  This will not be as valuable as actually being in the classroom with us, but it can be helpful to anyone who is thinking about learning to sew, or who wants to return to sewing after a long absence.  So many things have been improved over the years, and techniques have been made easier with new tools that are on the market today.  So, stay tuned for an exciting 4 weeks of basic sewing adventures with me!