Wednesday 16 September 2020: Online Workshop (Skills-Builder)

Gary Mills - Wednesday 16 September 2020 - 6.00pm to 9.00pm (BST)

Online Interactive Workshop: Fab-Chat, Stitch & Make (Building a textiles Skills & Knowledge Portfolio)

Join the CraftyMonkies Fabric Chat Room with Gary Mills, where he will help you build your Sewing Skills Portfolio, discuss, demonstrate and teach you some of the key rudiments and skills to expand, improve and open up the possibilities within sewing skills and textile knowledge!

Gary will discuss the differences between fabrics: what is a natural fibre and what is a synthetic one? How can you distinguish between the two? What are some fabrics suited for where others are not? Gary discusses some of the key considerations when gathering fabrics; from some basic colour theory, pattern understanding and principles, but also adding coordinates and contrast within your work. During the session you will have some practical sewing and construction exercises to learn, follow and master with Gary a useful 'Flat Fell Seam', a 'French Seam', stitching a 'Curved Seam' and inserting a 'Stitched Right Angle', finally mastering a 'Jetted Pocket'!

You end up with a collection of informative samples which then can be cut and stitched to create into a simple yet stylish improv-pieced Cushion Front - perfect to impress all your crafty friends with your stitching skills and knowledge!

Skills / Techniques covered in this Online Interactive Workshop are as follows:-

• Fabric chat about fibre content & fabric suitability
• Colour and pattern theory
• Choosing different fabrics that work together
• Colour and pattern theory
• Different seams: Including Fell seam, French Seam, Curved Seam & right angled Inset seam!
• Jetted Pocket
• Controlled and accurate textile construction skills using a sewing machine
• Improv piecing

What you will achieve in this Online Interactive Workshop is as follows:-

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A portfolio of theory and practical exercises which will build into a textile knowledge portfolio, culminating in a very stylish cushion cover.

Ability Level: From the beginner to the intermediate who wishes to improve or up-skill. This project would suit all genres in textiles, from quilter to dressmaker!

Fabric requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop are as follows:-

• For the jetted pocket you will need 12”x12” (30cm x 30cm) medium weight iron on Vilene/ interfacing or similar
• For the samples you will need a selection of pure cotton or polycotton squares measuring 16”x16” (40cm x 40cm)
• 3 x Patterned 8x mixture of plains/ block colours (try to coordinate colours where possible. Do check out your own stash first; take the colour pallet from the initial patterned fabric you choose. See my example. Be bold and bright!)
• Total of 11 squares
• Fabric for the back of the cushion is an envelope opening so 2x block colour 16”x16” (40cm x40cm)
• Optional: you can back your Improv quilt with Domette / Bump interlining 16” x 16” and an extra layer of muslin or fine cotton to give it body.
• Cushion pad 16”x16”

Haberdashery required for this Online Interactive Workshop is as follows:-

• Good quality 'sew-all' machine threads to match and contrast your fabrics.

Equipment required for this Online Interactive Workshop is as follows:-

• A dinner plate to draw around to make a curve.
• Somewhere to cut out, such as a table, pasting decorating table or long worksurface
• Cutting Mat and Rotary Blade (you can use fabric sissicors if you prefer)
• Sewing machine with simple straight stitch used
• Pins
• Small Snips and Embroidery Scissors.
• Tape measure
• Something to draw directly onto fabric (Fabric Maker) a Pattern Square or Quilters Square
• Ruler, Pen and Paper - to make notes!...

​Tickets for this Online Interactive Workshop (via the Zoom platform) will be limited & allocated on a first-come/first-served basis! Ticket price is based on ONE person attending this workshop.