Sewing Essentials Course

What you'll learn

Learn sewing for beginners with our sewing short courses in Sydney!

Sewing Essentials is a basic sewing skills course for anyone wishing to learn to sew. These comprehensive sewing classes will teach you machine set-up, maintenance of equipment and troubleshooting, how to control your machine and get to know its stitch capabilities. You will also learn about different seams and finishes, pattern cutting and by the end of the course, you will have made a complete garment using all the skills you have learned.

This sewing course will teach you the sewing basics and have you well on the way to altering, repairing, and producing beautiful garments for yourself and your family. You will find this course very enjoyable whilst learning a worthwhile skill for life. Once you have made your first garment this course will have you addicted to sewing!

Learning outcomes

By the end of these sewing classes, you should be able to:

Maintain and make adjustments to machines
Perform basic sewing and pattern cutting skills
Make a complete garment
Complete a beginner sewing project

After finishing this course, you might like to enrol in our Sewing Extension Course

Course content

What will be covered in this sewing course?

Machine set-up and maintenance
Basic sewing and pattern cutting
Machine techniques and applications
Sewing a complete garment

Lesson 1: Get to know your machine

Safe sewing tips
Learn about different machine parts and how they work
Machine set-up and adjusting thread tension
Machine maintenance, clean and oil
Stitch capabilities of the machine, zigzag, stitch length, etc.
Practice controlling speed, stopping and starting, and practising on calico with thread

Lesson 2: Different seams and finishes

Sewing a flat seam, an open seam, and a French seam and learn when it is appropriate to use each seam for different fabrics.
Sewing a stitched hem, a double turned hem. Other hem finishes.

Lesson 3: Learn about patterns and cutting

Discuss a commercial pattern and get to know the terminology on the pattern and what all the various markings are.
Fabric selection and spend some time learning about the perfect fabric/pattern design marriage.
Cutting efficiently and learning about why some fabrics must be cut a certain way i.e. stretch fabrics, velvets, cords, and one-way prints.

Lesson 4: Machine techniques

Various machine techniques will be covered in this lesson, like gathering, pleats, pockets, and various other applications.

Lesson 5 & 6: Individual project work

You will have a choice of a range of simple garments that will be discussed at the beginning of the course.

Intended audience

Who is this sewing course for?

This course is for any beginners who want to learn to sew, or anyone looking to brush up on their basic sewing skills.

Course venue

Rozelle Campus

2A Gordon Street, Rozelle NSW 2039 (corner of Gordon St & Victoria Rd on the grounds of St. Joseph's Church)

Course materials

What to bring to class

The following items must be supplied by students and will be needed on the first night:

2 meters of calico (120cm width)
Clear plastic Singer bobbins × 1 packet of two
Pins and hand sewing needles
1 reel of white and 1 reel of dark coloured sewing thread
1 pair of fabric cutting scissors
1 pair of small thread cutting scissors or clippers
Measuring tape
Notebook, ruler, pen, and pencil to take notes
You are welcome to bring along your own machine (if portable) if you would prefer to learn on it
Machine needles: The machines on campus take standard domestic sewing machine needles. They will have 130/705 H on the packaging somewhere to tell you they are domestic type, which is different from the code for the size of the needle (an 80 or 90 size needle is best for use with sew-all thread).
Bobbins: They must be plastic, not metal. They must be designed for top-loading or drop-in machines. The best bet is to buy a pack that says it's suitable for Singer Drop In machines or Janome Drop In machines (either one will work on both machines). Avoid "universal" bobbins as there is no one-size-fits-all bobbin.
Thread: a quality thread brand is recommended. Some of the more common household brands are Gutermann, Rasant, Mettler, Aurifil.

Additional information

Please note the following:

Additional fabric will need to be purchased for the various projects of your choice. The tutor will advise you on what you will need to buy.
For classes running all day, a 30-minute lunch break will take place halfway through the class. Students are encouraged to bring their own lunch, alternatively, there are cafes and takeaway restaurants nearby on Darling Street.
Please wear closed-in shoes.

Course testimonials

Nicola said: Valerita is a wonderful teacher, I really enjoyed the course and learnt so much, thank you!
Sabrina said: Started with zero experience but could see improvement with each session. At completion of this course I went home with a beautiful apron that covered all the techniques we learnt. I surprised myself with the end product and look forward to my next sewing projects..
Ellie said: This class was amazing! Ilona was such a patient and clear instructor, and showed so much experience and skill. She took us through all the basic we needed to know and explained why, which made it easier to understand. Would highly recommend this class!
Lydia said: Sylvia was a fantastic teacher! The class was so much fun & I’ve learnt so much. Only thing I would change is it needs to be longer, 5 weeks was too quick & would loved a bit of extra time
Fiona said: We all learned so much to get us started on our sewing journey, and also met an interesting and diverse group of people. I loved the class! Sylvia was really knowledgeable. We made beautiful pillowcases!

Course tutors

Sylvia Murray

Sylvia fell in love with craft at the tender age of 5 and began to learn how to use her mother’s old Singer sewing machine when she was 10. At the age of 11, she was making her own clothes. For...

View Sylvia Murray's profile

Classes Online Courses

Sewing Essentials Course

Mon 21 Oct 2024 - Mon 11 Nov 2024

3 sessions, 19.5 hours total

9:30am - 4pm (UTC+11:00) (first session)

2A Gordon St, Rozelle

Sylvia Murray

When	Time	Where
Mon 21 Oct 2024	9:30am - 4pm	A2-1: Sewing Room - 2A Gordon St, Rozelle
Mon 4 Nov 2024	9:30am - 4pm	A2-1: Sewing Room - 2A Gordon St, Rozelle
Mon 11 Nov 2024	9:30am - 4pm	A2-1: Sewing Room - 2A Gordon St, Rozelle

If there isn't a class to suit you, please join our waitlist and we will notify you when we have places available. Join waitlist for Sewing Essentials Course