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.

#ministrymakes

After many years of faithful service we are retiring our very popular 'Tell the Bobbin who's boss' (Boooo!) But we're launching a new monthly competition #MinistryMakes (yayyy!) 

#MinistryMakes will be open to all crafters; sewing, knitting, printmakers and everything in between you're all welcome!

All you have to do is share your next project with us and you could be in with a chance of winning some fantastic prizes!

How to enter

Simply send us a photograph of your latest making success to Info@ministryofcraft.co.uk or tag us in your social media posts using the hashtag #MinistryMakes.

This month's #MinistryMakes closes at midnight on 30th June.

The Prize

Each month up for grabs:

- A £10 Ministry of Craft gift voucher to use against any of our courses

AND

- A six issue subscription to either Love Sewing Magazine or Simply Cards & Papercraft 

So get making, we're looking forward to seeing what fantastic things you come up with!

Don't forget Father's Day (Sunday 21 June): Our Top 5 Father's Day Gifts

We’ve got a whole bunch of great ideas for Father’s Day over on our Pinterest board. From gadgety gifts, to awesome and quick DIYs for a handmade token of affection, there’s a host of options to show your Daddy he’s the coolest. Here's our top 5 picks:

1. DIY Pretzel Pincushion
I don't know how many of you have dads who sew, but this is the kind of gift that Great British Sewing Bee winner Matt Chapple would love! It's fun, easy and cute.

Tutorial from www.whileshenaps.com

 2. Ministry of Craft Screen Printing Course

 Your dad will be in his element printing up his very own band tshirt under the expert tutelage of our resident screen printer Nell Smith

Cute cine camera print by one of our past cusomers

3. Sew-it-Yourself Denim Tool Roll 
Does your other half store his tools in a big pile in the bottom of the cupboard or shed like mine does? Encourage good storage habits by sewing this space-saving manly roll-up tool organiser. Great for tools, knives, or any other equipment which shouldn't be stored in a pile at the bottom of a cupboard. (Ps- we run a course where you can learn to sew a pouch like this, check it out here)

Tutorial from www.instructables.com

4. Fred Aldous Block Printing Kit
This kit is the bees knees. I have just bought one for a friend: it's THE PERFECT gift for someone with a creative side, who likes beautiful packaging and who wants to try printing from the comfort of their own home. Just gorgeous.

Kit from www.fredaldous.co.uk

5. Home-made Rosemary & Mint Shaving Cream
Whip up a storm with this organic rosemary mint shaving foam. Find yourself a lovely vintage storage jar (you can buy them from Fred Aldous) and voila: home made, fresh-scented foam to combat those pesky shaving ouchies. Time to get rid of that embarassing hipster beard, Dad.

Tutorial from www.foodformyfamily.com

Don't forget we've got a REVERSIBLE APRON course happening this weekend, so come along if you'd like some help to make a thoughtful and useful gift for your Dad or husband. **NOW AT THE SPECIAL PRICE OF £30** use code APRON30 at the checkout.

You can always buy gift vouchers from Ministry of Craft too - so if you think he'd like to choose a craft course to attend himself, then that's a good option. Why not come along too and have some quality father-and-daughter time? 

Happy Father's Day to all of you lovely lot, enjoy your Sunday!