Sometimes it’s really important to challenge yourself and step out of your comfort zone. I stepped out of my personal box and into the Fashion Box Academy in north London over the weekend to take part in a six hour dress making workshop. The session I attended was taught by the talented and knowledgeable Alexis and really challenged my somewhat dated sewing skills (GCSE textiles!). You see, after watching my dress get made for my cousin’s wedding about 6 months ago, I got it into my head that the way forward would be to sew my own clothes and my mum being the amazing and random woman she is, decided to push me towards my goal by buying me a sewing machine for Christmas and a voucher for the Fashion Box sew a dress in a day sewing workshop for my birthday.
What we learnt during the dress making course
The workshop teaches you a range of very useful skills and by the end of it the class were all able to sew darts, insert an invisible zip, serge fabric, add facings and hem. The fabric for the workshop was already cut by the Fashion Box interns which was a shame as I really wanted to learn about cutting fabric but there’s a class for that, so I guess I’ll just have to sign up!
Location of the sewing workshop
The studio is based in Seven Sisters, less than five minutes from the tube / overground station. It’s in an old warehouse building which gives it a kind of grungy, stylish, Shoreditch vibe, but without the hipsters and over priced coffee. We bought our reasonably priced hot drinks and food from a nearby cafe filled with locals and not a handlebar moustache or skinny jean in sight. If I had one criticism, it would be that there were food facilities on sight but we were told beforehand to bring our own refreshments so it didn’t come as a surprise to the workshop participants.
Singer serger
Other workshops available at The Fashion Box Academy include:
- Introduction to sewing
- Fabric manipulation
- Clone your clothes
- Tailored, lined coat
Our tutor, talented fashion designer Alexis Evelyn
What was the sewing teacher like?
Our tutor, a newbie to the UK, was a bright eyed, enthusiastic and knowledgeable teacher. Alexis brought with her a wealth of fashion knowledge and was more than happy to impart her wisdom on everything from which sewing machines to buy to the best websites to find good quality notions.
She was patient and able to adapt her teaching to suit our individual abilities, which ranged from complete and utter beginner to ‘I can kind of sew in a straight line and make a cushion’ beginner. Poor Alexis! It was no easy feat and at times I thought it would have made more sense to have two teachers running the sewing workshop, but she managed to keep us all going at a similar pace throughout the entire 6 hour workshop without once getting flustered or looking like she needed us to just quit it with our questions. You can tell she’s got years of teaching experience, even though she is a self proclaimed baby face!
I would definitely come back to The Fashion Box Academy for some more workshops. It’s really convenient to get to and had a warm and friendly feeling. Don’t let the lack of information on the website fool you, the workshops are well run and worth the money. What’s even more attractive is that they’re on sale at the moment! If you’re interested in learning a new skill or brushing up your existing sewing knowledge, it’s worth checking out their workshops.
