Guest Blog Post: Weekend Doris by Lazy Seamstress Jeanette Archer

This weeks blog post comes from the eminently talented Jeanette Archer of Lazy Seamstress. Jeanette has been tutoring at Ministry of Craft for over a year and this October sees her debuting another fabulous workshop...

 

The Weekend Doris dress and sweater pattern is a retro inspired quick and easy sewing project, ideal for a weekend project to wear on easy weekends…or indeed any other time!

I’m the kind of person that doesn’t really do lounge wear, but I still like to relax a little on weekends, be able to throw on a classic, simple and comfortable outfit that can take me from lounging to outing.

I call it my "Weekend Doris" look because my husband has frequently found me doing housework in heels and a pinny during the week, sighed and said "Oh dear you are having a Doris Day moment again", so at the weekend when I dress down a little, either in a comfy dress or cigarette pants and a top, I like to think I'm having a weekend Doris moment! (And now you all know way too much about the general state of my mind!)

Designed to be sewn up in stretch fabric, either on a sewing machine or overlocker, the Weekend Doris is a very satisfying project for beginners and the more experienced sewist.

I’m looking forward to teaching this class at Ministry of Craft in October.

 If you would like to join Jeanette and create your own 'lounging to outing' outfit then join us on 31 October and Sew your own Weekend Doris.

 

Summer Crafts with Kids

Whether you're home for the whole six weeks or just having a low key 'holiday' at home we've scoured the interweb for the best craftivities to entertain you and the kids this summer.

Painted Rocks

 Homemade dominoes, purely decorative or even your own stone village, source some pebbles and let the painting commence. Cheap and easy this keep those little ones occupied the whole summer long!

Finger Knitting

 Put those little fingers to use and get them winding yarn, it's easy to learn and once you have a bundle of it you can make anything from a cushion to some animal ears!!

Felt Badges, bags, bunting

 Felt is a kid crafters dream, easy to hand sew and no fraying, the sky's the limit. Why not design and sew your own family crest or a mini badge of their favourite animal. A felt bag will keep the more ambition of your nippers quiet, whilst felt bunting can be fun for all the family.

Hama Heaven 

Oh the endless possibilities of Hama beads. Let them run wild with their own designs or find some templates on pinterest, they can spend hours arranging these little beads of loveliness.
 
Plastic Bags

What house doesn't have a bag of bags? Well now is the time to put the to use, get your little ones twisting and weaving and recycle at the same time! This fab tutorial will tell you all you need and you can use your new baskets to go blackberry picking in the autumn.

Happy Making!!

Superior Sofas

It's no secret that we LOVE Fabric but did you know we sell it?

For a few weeks now we've been procuring the tastiest textiles in the land for all your fabric needs.

This weekend you can join us on Beginners Sewing: Zip and Buttonhole Cushions and to give you some inspiration here are our top picks of fancy fabrics that will make an sofa swoon. There really is no better way to show off a fabric than with a good old cushion. 
 

 

 

 

Fabrics from top left: Cotton Small Gathering in Azelea, Cotton Tulip in Eucalyptus, 
Cotton Town Centre in Crush, Cotton Abacus in Eucalyptus

AND

if you can't make it this weekend then order your fave fabric and make like our pals over at Humilde Folk; have a go at this easy cushion tutorial! 

Love Sewing loves...

Did you see us in Love Sewing magazine this month?

We're very proud to be featured and here's what they said:

The Manchester-based crafting school Ministry of Craft has just launched some pretty exciting- sounding sewing and dressmaking courses for the rest of the year, including mastering the basics (with Deborah from this year’s Sewing Bee, who you’ll find giving her pattern picks in this issue) as well as intensive day courses that’ll see you walk away with a gorgeous garment at the end of it. Hurry over to www.ministryofcraft.co.uk before they sell out.

Beginners Luck

We're passionate about spreading the crafty love, especially to those who have never crafted before. Sewing is a speciality of ours and we love nothing more than seeing a class of fresh faces at our beginners sewing workshops. 

We want you to spread the love for us too, so for a limited time (July, August & September) we're offering our most popular sell-out course, CONQUER YOUR SEWING MACHINE at the lower price of £29.50. 

And if you buy a course as a gift, or if you refer a friend and they mention your name and email address in the comments section when booking online, we'll email YOU a £10 Ministry gift voucher as a thank you. 

Did we mention this is the perfect course for kids who'd like to learn to sew (**11 years old and up!**)?
 
Book them some Summer holiday sewing machine fun, and get a £10 voucher for yourself!

#MinistryMakes - We've got a winner!

We launched our brand spanking NEW competition this month, #MinistryMakes and you didn't disappoint with your entries.

Special mentions to Marys Machine who entered a whopping 10 items and also Katrina whose romper was so cute we all want one! In fact we're looking at a way of sneaking this into our Sew a Little Girls Dress workshop (more on that soon!)

Thank you to everyone who entered but there can only be one winner...and that winner is the lovely Jo, congratulations!!

Jo made this gorgeous resin magnet for Fathers Day, we loved that it was such a unique and special gift, to us that's what crafting is about! Jo takes away our coveted prize.

And so it starts again, the deadline for this month is the 31st July, we want to see all your fantastic makes and if you need a refresher on how to enter click here

Looking forward to being inspired by your makes!

Ministry of Craft in Chorlton!

We've headed out into the South Manchester 'burbs and we're delighted to unveil our new range of 'Step By Step' courses: 4-week blocks of weekly evening sewing classes, starting this Autumn. Based in the Craftelicious Studio, in the heart of Chorlton, you’ll find an oasis of crafty calm; fantastic coffee; like-minded classmates and expert tutors. At just £100 per 4-week block, and just 8 students per class, we hope you'll be as excited about these new additions to our portfolio as we are. Your Monday nights will never be the same again!

Start by checking out our brand new beginners
STEP BY STEP: INTRODUCTION TO SEWING course (Mondays 21, 28 September & 9, 12 October).
You asked for a different kind of sewing course, where you could build on your new skills week by week. Well here it is! We've just been waiting for the right venue and the right time to start! Learn how to conquer your sewing machine, master zips & buttonholes and tackle essential clothing alterations to revamp your wardrobe. This is sewing 101!

And we're also thrilled to launch our more advanced STEP BY STEP: INTRODUCTION TO DRESSMAKING course (Mondays 19, 26 October & 2, 9 November). You'll learn to jargon-bust commercial sewing patterns, and how to pin and cut out a pattern accurately. Then, and this is the best bit, you'll get to make a garment of YOUR OWN CHOICE! Choose from one of our tried and tested Ministry patterns or bring in something a bit special from home.