New year, new classes

Sewing is a great way to relax, to be able to switch off from everyday life and to let your creativity flow!  Our aim is to encourage you to develop your sewing skills, whether you are a beginner or more advanced stitcher, and we hope that your will meet new friends and have loads of fun along the way.

Our classes are taught by tutors who are experts in their subjects and have a passion for sewing and sharing their skills with others. There’s no need to bring your own sewing machine: our classrooms are fully equipped with sewing machines, overlockers, and large cutting tables for use during the classes. Importantly, the kettle is always on and tea and coffee are provided!

Let’s take a look at our tutors and what they have to offer – grab a coffee and read on!

Our Tutors

Catherine Crew

Catherine has been valuable part of the Coles shop team for over 10 years, so if you’ve been into the shop you may have met her. Along with being part of our shop floor staff, Catherine teaches overlocker courses for new owners, as well as more advanced techniques for people who have be using their overlockers for longer. Catherine has studied City & Guilds Tailoring Level 2 and Pattern Cutting Level 2 and gained distinctions in both; she has also completed a teaching course for adults at Nottingham Trent University.

Catherine Crew

Catherine teaches a regular dressmaking class on Wednesday mornings and afternoons and new for this year she is teaching a dressmaking and tailoring class that runs once a month on a Saturday. Our dressmaking classes are designed for you to work on your own project at your own pace, whether you want to make something from scratch or upcycle (or alter) an existing garment.

Catherine has also developed classes for learning to sew with stretch fabrics. The first is Jersey Trousers, a one-day class in February, and the second is a two-day class in April, Sewing with Stretch Fabric and Your Overlocker. She will also be part of the teaching team for our weekend sewing retreat in February, along with Emma Smith.

Emma Smith

We extend a warm welcome to Emma, who joined us at the end of last year and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the team. Emma is an avid dressmaker and enjoys sharing her knowledge to help others discover the joy of sewing and develop their own skills and experiences. She has a degree in fashion and textiles and has spent many years in the UK manufacturing industry.

Emma Smith

Emma has reintroduced Pattern Cutting into our programme. Buying a commercial pattern and getting it to fit can be tricky and, as we all know, one size really doesn’t fit all! Creating your own pattern block allows you to be able to make clothes that really do fit, and you will also be able to use the skills learnt to alter commercial patterns. Emma will also be part of the teaching team for our weekend sewing retreat in February, along with Catherine.

Tracy Corns

Tracy joined our team two years ago, having been a freelance tutor for the past six years and teaching at venues across the East Midlands. She enjoys helping learners of all abilities refine their skills to produce high quality bespoke items. She specialises in teaching dressmaking, homewares and bag making, often creating her own patterns.

Tracy teaches a regular dressmaking class on a Tuesday morning and afternoon and new for this year she is teaching a beginner’s class on a Saturday morning and a junior class for 11- to 16-year-olds on a Saturday afternoon. Learning something new can be daunting, but both these classes have been designed to give you the confidence and skills needed to take your sewing journey to the next level!

With recycling and reusing in all our minds these days, Tracy is running the first of our Don’t Ditch it Repair It classes this February. You can come along and learn the basic skills needed to repair your favourite garments, from replacing a missing button to repairing a hole in your jumper or rescuing your favourite pair of jeans.

Gilli Theokritoff   

Gilli has been part of our team for many years, she is an experienced quilter and teacher and has won awards for her contemporary quilts. She is an active member of the Quilters Guild and is keen to encourage new quilters with her lively and engaging classes. Gilli teaches around the country and exhibits her work at national and international quilt shows.

Two new projects you can sew in Gilli's Quilt Saturday class, the Beginner's Quilt and Table Runner

Gilli teaches a regular Thursday morning Patchwork and Quilting class, which is aimed at all abilities. Whether you are a complete beginner or already an avid quilter, Gilli will take you through the whole process from choosing your fabric to completing your first project. If you are already a keen quilter this is an opportunity to learn new skills and techniques or finish that UFO!

Gilli also teaches a monthly Quilt Saturday class, ideal for those new to quilting or those who would like to build on existing skills. If you want to have a go at a sampler quilt, Gilli has plenty to choose from, pop over to our website and take a look!

Jill Dean

Jill first came to classes as a soft furnishing student herself and has now been teaching for us for over 10 years. She enjoys making all kinds of items for the home and enjoys sharing her passion and enthusiasm whether you are learning to make your first cushion or measuring up for a curtain.

Jill teaches a soft furnishing and craft class on a Wednesday morning; the class is suitable for all skill levels. Jill will teach you how to make a variety of beautiful soft furnishings and crafts for your home from blinds and curtains to cushions and bags, the choice is yours!

Anna Mather

Anna has been a member of the shop staff for over 10 years and on our teaching team for the past 6 years. She is a keen quilter and embroiderer and is a beta tester for the Husqvarna Viking software. Anna has a degree in fine arts and loves to share her ideas and creativity with her students.

Anna Mather

Last year Anna launched a range of software Zoom classes and will be launching more of these later this year, as well as more face-to-face software and embroidery classes in our classrooms.  New classes and dates will be launched in our newsletter.

Anna is also one of the tutors for our Epic Retreat in September, a weekend of workshops, product demonstrations and Q&As with Husqvarna Viking that is designed specifically for owners of Epic and Ruby 90 machines. This weekend always books up quickly, so please don’t delay in booking if you are interested.

Rose Coles

Last year I filmed the owner’s courses for our online learning centre and this year I have more filming planned so that we can build our learning centre syllabus and add some project-based classes. Like Anna I’m also planning some Zoom classes, as well as face to face classes in our classroom. New classes and dates will be launched in our newsletter very soon!

What else do we have to offer?

Weekend Retreats

We are pleased to reintroduce weekend sewing retreats and this year we have two: one for garment makers and one for owners of top-of-the-line embroidery machines.  You are welcome whatever your ability, it’s a great way to learn new skills and meet lots of new people – treat it like a mini holiday as there’s no cooking or washing up!

Last year's Epic Retreat

Online Classes

Last year we launched our online learning centre, where you can find online classes for owners of Husqvarna machines as well as some free tutorials on accessories. We have plans to add more classes this year, which we’ll let you know about by newsletter so please make sure you’ve signed up to receive it! We also have plans for more Zoom classes, so again please keep an eye on our newsletters.

Guest Tutors

From time to time we have guest tutors visiting us. Kathleen Laurel Sage will be returning to our classrooms later this year, so please watch this space! Jamie Warren from Husqvarna Viking will also be back in our classrooms in September for our Epic and Ruby 90 retreat.

Sit & Sew Classes

Sometimes it’s nice to spend time with like-minded people and by that, I mean people that sew and share your passion! We’ve introduced Sit & Sew sessions, where you can come along to our classroom with your latest project, take advantage of the large cutting tables and sew and natter to your heart’s content. Sewing machines are provided and the kettle will be on, but please note there’s no tutor for these sessions!

Friday mornings are for dressmakers, Friday afternoons are for quilters and sessions run once a month on a Saturday that are for everyone, whatever your sewing persuasion! Places are limited and fill up fast, so booking is essential.

Booking and paying for classes

You can book all our classes online. Did you know that if you are spending over £30 then you can pay with your PayPal account and spread the cost over 3 months? We do recommend early booking – our classes fill up quite quickly and class numbers are limited as we like you to have plenty of room to sew. We wouldn’t want you to miss out and be disappointed! We recommend you read our conditions of booking before booking a class.

You can find all our upcoming classes on our website here, or if you prefer you can download our latest course brochure here. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post, we hope to see you very soon either in our classroom or in your own home on a Zoom class!