Beginners Sewing

You may have noticed that we are offering more Beginners sewing workshops than ever before and they all approach teaching you to sew in different ways. One exciting new addition is our Learn to Sew workshops run by the tremendously talented Deborah Simms. 

But with all these new options it can be hard to know which one is for you, so we've put together this handy little chart which will hopefully steer you in the right direction.

It's June next week and if you are still slipping on your New Year's resolutions to learn to sew THIS YEAR, let us help, we promise you won't regret it!

View all beginners sewing courses here 

Book Review & Giveaway: Torie Jayne's Stylish Home Sewing

Is your Mum is a dedicated sewist or have-a-go crafter? Are you looking for a special DIY project for Mother's Day on March 15th? Or do you just want to drop a massive hint to your own children by sending them a link to a quality gift that you actually want for Mothering Sunday?

I think I might have found the very thing you've been looking for...

Stylish Home Sewing by Torie Jayne, published by CICO Books, is the perfect book for Mother's Day and to welcome in the Spring. 

I'm happy to report that this book is chock full of stylish DIY sewing projects, there's not a dud in there. It's all killer and no filler! Torie Jayne, who studied fashion, is a paragon of style; her blog toriejayne.com gets 100,000 hits a month (that's right: A MONTH!), and she has designed for many high street brands such as M&S and Zara.

Her style is very feminine and pretty, using a trademark palette of tasteful pastels, which makes this book feel like breath of fresh air. Even if you don't share the same taste in florals and linens you could still make up your chosen projects in geo-inspired prints and neon colours.

It's all about sewing for the home, and the projects are grouped into rooms: hallway, kitchen, bedroom etc. There's also a very handy how-to section at the beginning with very easy to understand instructions and helpful illustrations.

 

I particularly like the bags and baskets which feature these chic leather handles. I'll be running up some of the sturdy storage baskets to address the 'tidiness issues' in my house (kids: I'm looking at you!). My other fave projects are the doily bunting (so simple, so effective and a great excuse to start treasure hunting for vintage doilies in my local charity shops), the rose garland fairy lights (absolutely gorgeous) and, for practical reasons, the drawstring bread bag (watch out for my make - coming soon!).

The lovely team at Cico Books have given us a copy of Stylish Home Sewing to give away to one of our lucky followers. To be in with a chance of winning head over to our Stylist Home Sewing Facebook photo album for further instructions.

For Mother's Day, or just as a treat to yourself, this book is the bees knees.

Stylish Home Sewing by Torie Jayne, photography by Sussie Bell, published by CICO Books, rrp £14.99

Meet Our Talented Tutors - Deborah Simms - Hand Embroidery

**We originally posted this in June 2014 but it seemed appropriate to re-post in the light of the new series of Great British Sewing Bee! GO DEBORAH!**

Introducing...

Deborah Simms is our hand embroidery specialist. She's a keen crafter of many disciplines, but sewing just floats her boat. She even made her own wedding dress! Which is testament to her skill and creativity. You can learn the peaceful art of hand embroidery with Deborah at Ministry of Craft, and it's completely suitable for beginners. Read on to find out more about Deborah's crafty habits... 

What first drew you to your craft? 
I really enjoy hand sewing as it’s such a calm break from day to day life. My mum always embroidered when we were young so I must have picked up my enjoyment of it from her. 

What’s your crafting background?
I have been sewing in one way or another since I was very young, and have dipped into all sorts of things from knitting and crochet to clothes sewing.

Did you train professionally as an embroiderer or are you self taught?
I have never trained professionally, but love to learn so have picked up stitches and techniques as I’ve gone along. I take inspiration from following blogs but much of what I know has been handed down to me from my mum. 

What are your main sources of inspiration?
I love to make brightly coloured embroideries, to make art for my home which reflects what I love. For example, I stitched an umbrella design, (as I love the rain) lucky I live in Manchester! And a garden design on a cushion, as I love to get out in the garden when I can.  

Who’s been the biggest influence on your career so far?
My family, everyone is creative in their own way, and I love to chat with all of them about their different interests and crafts. 

What’s the best thing about being a crafter?
The opportunity to meet other people who enjoy being creative, and but to also have such a contemplative craft which I can use as a quiet time to be calm, it’s like my meditation. 

Do you do any other crafts in your spare time, apart from what you specialise in?
I love any and all crafts, so I knit and crochet, as well as sewing my own clothes and bits and pieces around the home. Anything to have a creative outlet!

What’s the best thing you’ve ever made?
The thing that I am most proud of is my wedding dress, it took months to complete but was definitely worth it. I love looking at it now as it reminds me of such a brilliant day, and of all the little finishing details which made it special

Have you ever made a creative mistake?
I make minor mistakes all the time! Strangely it’s one of the things that I enjoy most about being creative, making mistakes which you can work into your sewing. Making something entirely unique and working around any problems.

And your favourite tool or material?
Probably a piece of craft cotton, as it’s so brilliantly versatile. I can use it for clothes, embroidery, and around the house. And you can get such a brilliant variety of patterns, from lobsters to galaxies

What’s your favourite crafty anecdote / story?
Probably when I learnt how to French knit, it was one of the only things I could get my head round doing when I was young, so I used to just make miles and miles of it without stitching it together. I once measured it, hung it off the top of my stairs in the house… we made it out of the front door and round to the back of the house before we ran out of French knitting. I never did do anything with it, its sat somewhere in my sewing room waiting to be made into something spectacular.

Where can we see / buy your work?
Everything I do I blog at dfabricate.blogspot.com, unfortunately you can’t buy my items, but you can read all about my sewing and crafting exploits from extreme knitting to tackling the French knot

What have you got coming up in the future?
I’m hoping to set up some social sewing and crafting events in the future, to get out there and meet some of the super talented (and novice) sewers and crafters in Manchester! Watch my blog for further developments.

**If you'd like to come and craft with Deborah then sign up for one of our Sew Simple: Introduction to Hand Embroidery courses (next one is Saturday 15 March 2015). It's a great way to enter the world of sewing! You can also follow Deborah's exploits on Twitter @dfabricate, or on her blog at dfabricate.blogspot.com**