Behind the Scenes... Workshops in the Studio

This time last week I was busy arranging the studio for the sewing workshops we've started hosted. I've been designing and teaching courses for ten years now, but last weekend were particularly thrilling because they're the first I've ever run in my own space. Once I'd nailed the lesson plans, I got a bit (over?)excited making the other preparations...

Fiskars sent over an assortment of dressmaking scissors, rotary cutters and - best of all - these dreamy A1 cutting mats. Why so excited? Because they're not that standard shade of dark green, no. They're banana yellow! One of my two favourite colours! Sigh... they make me so happy...

Something else that makes me happy is having a MASSIVE THREAD STAND in the studio. The lovely people at Mettler brought this round this week, so in future workshop participants can choose a shade of thread for their project right here. Duncan from Mettler was quite excited that the studio is north-facing - apparently it means the light is perfect for colour matching. Not something I'd really thought about before!

And of course you can't have a sewing workshop without a goodie bag, and you can't have a goodie bag without sweeties. Stitchers need sugar sustenance! Mollie Makes sent over some mags for the bags too, so the participants would have plenty of creative inspiration (to go with their sugar rush) to take away with them.

We had a full house on Saturday, with eight lovely ladies for Learn to Sew 1: Make Friends with a Sewing Machine. Some of them had never used a sewing machine before in their life, others hadn't sewn in a while and were looking for a refresher. They all got stuck right in and we had such a giggle that some of them have now become friends after the class.

Once they'd got to grips with the (not so) mysterious art of threading a sewing machine, we moved on to sew a Brigitte head scarf and play around with decorative stitches. At one point the room went particularly high pitched when someone discovered the kitty embroidery stitch on the Janome DKS100. (Awwwww!!!) Cue eight kitty themed head scarves!

On the Sunday, four stitchers returned for Learn to Sew 2: Make Pyjamas. Even though I wasn't sewing myself, I found it the perfect way to spend a Sunday - cutting, stitching, chatting and drinking tea. Look at those grins - these ladies did themselves proud! We toasted their achievements at the end of each day with a glass of prosecco. You've gotta celebrate learning, haven't you?!

It was such a wonderful weekend and I'm looking forward to our next workshops already! Most of the workshops for the rest of the year are sold out, but we do have places still available on Learn to Sew 1: Make Friends with a Sewing Machine on Wednesday 12 November (6.30 - 9.30pm - for novice stitchers or those looking for a sewing machine refresher) and Learn to Sew 3: Make a Skirt on Saturday 25 October (10am - 5pm - for beginners who can use a sewing machine and want help starting dressmaking). And if you're desperate to do one of our sold out classes, just email hello at tillyandthebuttons.com and we'll put you on the waiting list and let you know as soon as we have new dates.

Hope to see you there!