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2025 Workshop Dates

12 Aug

Hey everyone!! Just dropping in to share my 2025 workshop dates 🙂

🗓️ 2025 WORKSHOP DATES 🗓️

Alter + Repair Your Garments
Friday, March 21, 2025
Pintuck & Purl / North Hampton, NH

Alter + Repair Your Garments
Saturday, March 22, 2025
Pintuck & Purl / North Hampton, NH

Alter + Repair Your Garments
Sunday, March 23, 2025
Pintuck & Purl / North Hampton, NH

Sew Your Own Jeans Weekend Workshop SOLD OUT
April 25 – 27, 2025
StyleMaker Fabrics / Stanwood, WA

Alter + Repair Your Garments
Monday, April 28, 2025
StyleMaker Fabrics / Stanwood, WA

Alter + Repair Your Garments SOLD OUT
Thursday, May 15, 2025
Sew On Central / Evanston, IL

Sew Your Own Jeans Weekend Workshop
May 16 – 18, 2025
Sew On Central / Evanston, IL

Alter + Repair Your Garments 4 SEATS REMAINING
June 12, 2025
Pins and Needles NY / Mt Kisco, NY

Sew Your Own Jeans Weekend Workshop SOLD OUT
June 13 – 15, 2025
Pins and Needles NY / Mt Kisco, NY

Alter + Repair Your Garments
July 10, 2025
KC Maker Studio / Mission, KS

Sew Your Own Jeans Weekend Workshop
July 11 – 13, 2025
KC Maker Studio / Mission, KS

Alter + Repair Your Garments
August 7 2025
Former + Latter Fabrics / Edmonton, AB, Canada

Sew Your Own Jeans Weekend Workshop
August 8 – 13, 2025
Former + Latter Fabrics / Edmonton, AB, Canada

Alter + Repair Your Garments
September 11, 2025
Stitch Sew Shop / Alexandria, VA

Sew Your Own Jeans Weekend Workshop
September 12 – 14, 2025
Stitch Sew Shop / Alexandria, VA

Alter + Repair Your Garments
October 9, 2025
Pintuck & Purl / North Hampton, NH

Sew Your Own Jeans Weekend Workshop
October 10 – 12, 2025
Pintuck & Purl / North Hampton, NH

Alter + Repair Your Garments
November 13, 2025
Domesticity / Baltimore, MD

Sew Your Own Jeans Weekend Workshop
November 14 – 16, 2025
Domesticity / Baltimore, MD

Alter + Repair Your Garments
December 4, 2025
Fringe Fabrics / San Diego, CA

Sew Your Own Jeans Weekend Workshop
December 5 – 7, 2025
Fringe Fabrics / San Diego, CA

A few things to note:

Workshop dates are selling QUICK – some are already sold out! I would encourage you to sign up as soon as possible so that you are able to attend 🙂
Miss the cut and looking at a sold out class? Please sign up for the waitlist! Occasionally I am able to offer additional classes if there is enough interest in the form of a waitlist.
These are all the Sew Your Own Jeans weekend workshops I will be offering in 2025!
I am not sure if I will be offering any Alterations workshops in my home town of Nashville, TN. I was able to host several last year, however, the space I was using is in the process of closing and I have not yet secured a new space. Future dates are TBD, if they happen at all, and will only be for my Alterations workshop (not Jeans).

More information is available on my WORKSHOPS page. Please note that while dates are confirmed, not all workshops are listed yet! I have included links where the listings are active and currently accepting registration. For all other workshops, you will want to visit the website of the hosting shop for information on when the class will be active, and how to sign up.

Now, let’s talk about the workshops themselves!

👖SEW YOUR OWN JEANS WEEKEND WORKSHOP👖

Ready to be your own personal denim designer? Join me for a 2 1/2 day workshop and I’ll show you all the secrets to sew up the jeans of your dreams! We will kick off the weekend with a half day to fit and cut – there will be samples you can try on to determine your size and any fit adjustments. Saturday and Sunday will be dedicated to sewing, and we will go over aaaaaall the details – front pockets, zip fly, killer topstitching, secure bartacks, serged seam finishes, creating and attaching a waistband, hardware installation, and stress-free buttonholes (yep, those exist and imma blow your mind with them!). Students can expect a fun, energetic, and fast-paced environment that focuses on learning and creating. You will leave with not only a new pair of jeans, but also the knowledge and empowerment to make more on your own!

✨JEANS WORKSHOP FAQS✨

What can I expect to learn in this workshop?

My Sew Your Own Jeans Weekend workshop primarily focuses on construction – you will learn all the details that go into making a pair of jeans, including order of construction, seam finishes, topstitching, inserting a fly zipper, attaching a waistband, and loads and loads (and loads) of little tips, tricks and best practices sprinkled throughout the weekend (seriously, so many little tips!). The knowledge you obtain isn’t just jeans-specific – you can use what you learned to apply toward all sorts of future sewing adventures (Denim jackets!! Rad pants! Skirts! Dresses! Bags! Your possibilities are endless!). You will leave with a great pair of jeans, plus the confidence to go home and make more!

Does this workshop cover fit?

We will go over fit, although this is not a fit-focused workshop. The first half day is devoted to choosing our size (including trying on samples!), adjusting our preferred fit, and preparing our fabric for sewing (cutting, marking, etc). We *will* go over minor fitting adjustments as needed for each individual body. We will *not* spend a long time fussing over fit, nor can I guarantee that your first pair will be ~the most perfectly fitting pair of pants you’ve ever worn~. There simply is not enough time in class to allow for us to make multiple muslins for a perfect fit – and to be completely honest, this is hard to obtain without wearing the pants around for a few days to really get an idea of what needs to be adjusted. I don’t say this to discourage you, but rather, to set the expectation of what you will get out of your weekend. We will tweak the fuck outta your pants throughout the weekend (if it needs it – most students find they get a great fit right out of the envelope! #magicpants) and you will leave with something lovely and wearable that I promise you’ll be proud of. Should you need future adjustments, you will be armed with the knowledge to make it happen!

Is this class suitable for plus sized sewists?

Hell yeah! The Closet Core Ginger Jeans pattern is available in sizes 0-32 (up to a 63″ hip). Need a bigger size than that? Holler at me and I’ll get it sorted. This class caters to EVERY size, no butts left behind!

I’m a dude / don’t wear lady pants, can I take your class?

Hell yeah you can! The Ginger jeans pattern can be adapted with minor tweaks for more androgynous fit, or we can adapt a men’s jeans pattern for you. Please contact me in ADVANCE of the workshop so that I can be sure we’ve got the perfect pattern ready for you!

What experience level should I be at in order to take this workshop?

Beginners, rejoice: You don’t need to be a sewing superstar with years of experience under your belt to take this class. The prerequisites for class are that you should be comfortable threading and operating a sewing machine, and have experience sewing at least one sewing pattern. That’s it, that’s all you need to take this class!

If you are a very experienced sewist with lots and lots of sewing (and maybe even jeans making!) under your belt, I still believe you will learn a lot in this workshop! I have had a vast array of skill levels in my classes – from the total beginner to the seasoned professional – and everyone leaves with more knowledge than they came with.

**For all skill levels** Please note that this workshop moves really fucking fast. 20 hours of instruction sounds like a lot, until you realize that I talk through most of it and our actual sewing time is quite limited! You will feel like an absolute warrior when the weekend is over, and also very very tired. If you are a very timid or slow sewist, I encourage you to practice working quickly and confidently to prepare for class. You can do this!!

I don’t like that pattern, can I use a different one? Can I modify it?

If you are feeling absolutely certain that you’ll hate this experience unless you get to sew xxx Jeans Pattern, then don’t let me be the fun sponge who ruins your life! Bring whatever pattern you want and we can adapt the front fly to work with my class curriculum. However, some caveats – I will only have samples of the Ginger Jeans pattern (want to make your own sample and bring it in? That’s cool, I support it!), and I obviously cannot guarantee the fit of any other pattern as I have not personally tested them.

We will not have time in class to make any major design changes to the Ginger Jeans pattern. The PDF version of the pattern includes both leg options (skinny and stovepipe) with both rises, and there is also is a downloadable pattern for the Ginger Mid-Rise Jeans that you are welcome to bring to class. We can make additional small fit tweaks as needed, but plan on saving the major changes and additional patterns for your home sewing practice!

Will you ever offer this workshop as an online class?

Probably not! I don’t wanna do online classes! Sorry!

🪡ALTER + REPAIR YOUR GARMENTS 1 DAY WORKSHOP🧵

What about those garments that aren’t quite right? Whether they need basic adjustments or a full-on overhaul, we all have pieces that we want to keep but don’t necessarily want to wear. Garment alterations are a truly empowering way to level up your own sewing skills and expand your wardrobe options. This one day workshop is a fantastic opportunity to dip your toes into the world of alterations and garment repairs, while having a knowledgable teacher on hand to throw around ideas, show you the ropes, and get you out of any trouble that might arise! Students will work on garments of their choosing, meaning you won’t be stuck learning techniques that you aren’t interested in. Bring those pieces have been languishing in your closet – whether handmade or RTW, vintage or new – and let’s elevate them into pieces that give you real joy!

⚡️ALTERATIONS WORKSHOP FAQS⚡️

What can I expect to learn in this workshop?

My Alter + Repair Your Garments workshop is an absolute wildcard in terms of what you learn – that’s entirely up to you, the student! Since you will be bringing your own pieces to work on, it’s really a matter of what do YOU want to learn? In general, students can expect to learn a variety of basic alteration techniques such as pin fitting a garment, transferring the fit adjustments for sewing, techniques for successful seam ripping, and how to make adjustments and repairs to your particular garments.

Does this workshop cover fit?

Yep, that’s kind of the whole point of alterations! 🙂

Please note that this is a fitting class that focuses entirely on COMPLETED garments only. We do not work with muslins, or handle flat-pattern adjustments (this is likely something already offered by your local sewing shop!). We fit for style, for comfort, for wearability. You will learn new fit techniques and be able to see fit from a different perspective, which will aid you will your personal fitting quest!

What experience level should I be at in order to take this workshop?

This is a truly “all skill levels are welcome” sort of class. Since we work at a slower pace, there is plenty of opportunity for help with the beginner students, and more advanced students will not be bored. Students will get loads of one-on-one time, as well as a healthy of amount of self-guided sewing. For this reason, I do recommend that students have *some* sewing experience taking this class – you should know how to use a sewing machine and understand basic clothing construction (including how to press) – as you will get a lot more out of the experience.

The thought of doing alterations makes me want to die, why the hell should I take this class?

Hey, I get it – alterations are a bit unpopular in the sewing world. Hemming someone else’s pants for free ~just because you know how to sew~ is not how any of us want to spend our free time! And maybe you don’t want to work as a tailor, that’s understandable! But beyond boring pants-hemming, there are so many other benefits to understanding how to execute successful alterations. You will be able to fit and wear clothes that have evaded your body in the past. Your handmade items with weird issues that you didn’t notice during muslin (or maybe you skipped the muslin, you little rule-breaker!) can be rectified. Your understanding of fit, and how to execute it, will explode. You will learn interesting things about clothing construction that can be applied to your own handmades. Alterations are the most sustainable way to sew, and quite a bit faster than making an entire garment from scratch (I like to refer to it as “micro-sewing” 😉). And let me tell you – just because you know *how* to do something, doesn’t mean you *have* to do it for someone else. And that includes hemming pants. You can absolutely be smug about it when you tell people no 😘

⚡️👖🧵🪡✨

2024 was a magical year and I’m excited to bring that energy into 2025! I hope you will join me this year – it’s gonna be a great one!

Tags: 2025, alterations, diy, fashion, garment repair, handmade, jeans, jeans workshop, sewing, sewing class, sewing workshop, workshop

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Categories completed projects - new, misc

TUTORIAL + GIVEAWAY: The Sewtionary (+ last week’s giveaway winner!)

22 Sep

Sorry, y’all, I’m in giveaway overload this month! Can’t help it if my friends are releasing awesome shit all at once, you know?

I’m sure most of y’all have heard all about this fabulous little book by now – The Sewtionary, written by Tasia of Sewaholic (one of my FAVORITE sewing pattern companies! Seriously, some top 5 shit right there). A couple of months ago, Tasia reached out and asked if I’d like to be a part of her Sewtionary Blog Tour to help promote the book. While I do realize that blog tours can be a little redundant if you read the same blogs over and over (I know I can sometimes get jaded at looking at the same photos/reading the same gushing daily for 2 weeks or whatever), I really wanted to help promote this book because I really do give a shit about Tasia and her business. She’s one of my friends, and I like to do things for my friends. Plus, the book is beyond excellent- a great resource of 101 sewing techniques, written out like a dictionary. The photos are beautiful, each technique includes why it’s necessary (something my nerdy brain just loves), and it’s spiral-bound, so it’ll lay nice and flat on your sewing table. Lots of wins here!

Anyway, that’s about as much of a review as you’ll get from me (if you want a true review, definitely check out some of the tour stops that I’ll be linking at the bottom of this post!). Today, I wanted to do something different. I’m going to share a tutorial from the book with y’all .Everyone likes tutorials, right? 🙂

Today’s tutorial: Making a Tailor’s Ham & Seam Roll.

First up – you’re probably thinking, “What the hell are these things and why the fuck would I spend my time making them?” Well, I’m so glad you asked! Both are used as pressing aids – the Tailor’s Ham is a big pillow-shaped tool that is used for pressing curved areas (such as darts and necklines), and the Seam Roll is a long, narrow stuffed tube that is used to press hard-to-reach seams (such as the inside of a sleeve), as well as a helpful way to avoid making seam allowance impressions on the right side of your garment. While I have a Tailor’s Ham that I’ve used for for years (and no lie, my cat literally uses that shit as a pillow when she naps on my ironing board), I’ve yet to get a Seam Roll. They are both great to have, but can easily cost you $20+ a pop when you buy them from the fabric store. So here’s where we learn to make our own – at the delightful price of FREE NINETY-NINE. You heard me!

You will need:
– Large scraps of wool fabric & cotton fabric. Try to choose something with a dense weave that does not stretch, that is 100% (aka – no poly blends!). I used leftover wool coating from my Vogue Coat and black quilting cotton.
– Something to stuff it with. Traditionally, these things use sawdust. You can also use cedar shavings (from a pet supply store), wool fabric scraps, or even old nylon stockings. For the purposes of this tutorial, I am using sawdust. It is *extremely* messy. It is also extremely free. No lie, I just waltzed right into my local Home Depot and asked for a bag of sawdust, back where they cut wood to spec. I can’t speak for other countries (Tasia tells me that you can’t sell sawdust in Canada, say whaaaat), but here in the good ol’ US of A, lots of hardware stores will give you free sawdust because they would otherwise throw it away. My sawdust man also informed me that it makes a nice mulch for the garden. Isn’t that handy!
– Sewing machine, thread, and hand sewing needles.
– Outdoor space, or a really really good broom. I told you, this shit was messy. You have been warned.

Here are the instructions, Sewtionary-Style. Told y’all that book is just lovely.

Now here are my steps.

TO MAKE THE TAILOR’S HAM:

I found it easiest to start with a paper pattern piece, since the shape is so weird. You’ll want to make your ham 14″ long; 10″ wide at the wide end and 8″ wide at the narrower end. This will result in a bit of an egg shape.

Using your paper pattern piece, cut one egg from both the wool and the cotton.

Pin the pieces, right sides together, leaving a nice 5″ gap at the wide end. PROTIP: Whenever I’m sewing something that requires an unsewn gap, I mark each end with a double pin. This reminds me to stop sewing when I get to the double pin! Otherwise, I’ll just keep going my merry way and complete the circle, which is exactly what we don’t want right now.

Using a 1/2″ seam allowance, sew around the entire circumference of the ham, again leaving that 5″ gap at the wide end. Make sure it’s 5″, too – you’ll need the room for stuffing (don’t make it more than 5″, or you’ll hate yourself for it).

Turn the ham right side out.

Ok, time to get messy! Take that ham outside and start stuffing your stuffing in it! If you are using sawdust, expect a big mess that will get everywhere.

Instead of just quickly trying to fill the ham with sawdust, take the time to pack down the sawdust with each handful. The narrow end of the ham especially needs to be packed pretty tight, or else it will collapse. Once you’ve packed it down, work on the next section and pack that. Again – this IS messy, and it will take longer than you think, because sawdust loves to pretend it’s tightly packed when it’s secretly not. You want the ham to be pretty hard so it will retain it’s shape. When you think it’s full – keep stuffing. Then stuff some more.

In the meantime, here’s a photo of my cat glaring at me for daring to sit outside without her, haha.

Once you are sure the ham is packed as tight as it can go (Are you sure? Are you sure you’re sure?), it’s time to sew it up!

Holding the ham between your legs (do as I say, not as I do – don’t set it on the ground; you don’t want to push the narrow end back in!), turn under the seam allowance on one side and lap it over the opposite side. Using a tight whipstitch, sew the opening shut by hand.

Next, you’ll probably want to beat the shit out of your ham (if it’s covered in sawdust like mine, anyway). I just pounded mine against the porch railing until all the dust was knocked off.

This post is turning into one long “That’s What She Said” joke, isn’t it?

End result: Completed Tailor’s Ham!

TO MAKE THE SEAM ROLL:

Unlike the Tailor’s Ham, I didn’t bother making a pattern piece for this one – I just drew it directly on my cotton with a Chaco pen. Draw a 14″x5″ rectangle and round the four corners.

Cut one of each of these rectangles from both your cotton & wool.

Using a 1/2″ seam allowance, sew the two rectangles, right sides together, leaving a 5″ opening in the middle of one long side of the seam roll (I have no idea why I don’t have a photo of this, but I trust you can work this step out). Turn the roll right side out.

Time to stuff that bad boy!

As with the Tailor’s Ham, really stuff and pack each long narrow end before focusing on the middle of the roll. This will ensure that your roll is nice and tightly packed, and hard enough to hold it’s shape.

Once you’ve packed the roll nice and tight with sawdust, turn one seam allowance under and lap it over the opposite side of the opening. Sew this closed by hand.

Again, you’ll probably want to beat the shit out of that thing to get all the dust off. Be aggressive! ~~Honey Badger~~ Seam Roll don’t care!

And here’s the finished seam roll!

And here’s my new pressing family! Yay!
BTW, be sure to save some of that remaining sawdust – once you use the ham or seam roll, you may find the sawdust settling and thus need to be repacked to firm up the shape. Unless you just really love having an excuse to go to Home Depot – in that case, don’t let me stop you.

GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED
All right, I promised y’all a giveaway so let’s get on that. To win your own copy of the Sewtionary, simply comment on this post and tell me your favorite sewing technique. Are you a freak about pressing (high five!) or is sewing patch pockets your thing, or…? You tell me! This giveaway is open WORLDWIDE and I will close the entries a week from today, on SEPTEMBER 29, 2014 AT 7:00 AM CST. Good luck!
GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED

If you’d like to buy your own copy of the Sewtionary, you can pick up a signed copy at the Sewaholic website (or a boring ol’ unsigned copy on Amazon). Thanks so much, Tasia, for letting me be part of this book tour & for generously donating a copy to giveaway!

Want to read some more Sewtionary reviews and/or enter some more giveaways? Check out the full blog tour here:

Wednesday, September 10th: Thread Theory Blog
Thursday, September 11th: Miss Crayola Creepy
Friday, September 12th: Coletterie
Monday, September 15th: City Stitching with Christine Haynes
Tuesday, September 16th: Tilly and the Buttons
Wednesday, September 17th: Madalynne
Thursday, September 18th: Closet Case Files
Friday, September 19th: By Gum, By Golly
Monday, September 22nd: LLADYBIRD (that’s me!)
Tuesday, September 23rd: True Bias
Wednesday, September 24th: Four Square Walls
Thursday, September 25th: Ada Spragg
Friday, September 26th: Did You Make That?

ONE LAST THING – We have a giveaway winner to announce! Lucky number generator says:

Donna, you’re a winner! Is this now offically the second time I’ve made your Monday exciting? 🙂 Congratulations! Sending your email now!

Everyone else (and there were a lot of y’all – nearly 400 entries, wow!) – I’m not turning you away completely empty-handed. Kat has generously offered a coupon code, which is awesome! Use the code LLADYBIRD to get 15% off the purchase of the Jenna Cardi from Muse Patterns, good through 9/29. Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway! Y’all are the best 😀

Tags: book, diy, giveaway, giveaway winner, pressing, seam roll, sewaholic, sewing books, sewtionary, tailor's ham, tutorial, winner winner chicken dinner