Sometimes, going on a course whilst on holiday is a wonderful way to spend your time, especially if you go home with a new skill or hobby that enriches your life. With the idea of Cottagecore, the Great British Sewing Bee and ‘make do and mend’ being very much in the limelight now, what better way than to learn how to sew using a sewing machine?
With that in mind, I booked myself on a course at the fantastic Stitches & Cream, situated on the high street in the seaside down of Falmouth in South Cornwall. This gorgeous, glass-fronted shop is a crafter’s dream, where skeins of wool, in a rainbow of colours, bedeck the walls, and rolls of rich fabrics and haberdashery lie waiting for hobbyist projects.
I was greeted warmly by one of the shop proprietors, Jane, who welcomed me into her Aladdin’s cave of crafting goodies. Helen, our teacher for the day, also greeted me as we made our way to our desks. Helen is the founder of Dot N Cross, who hosts sewing and pattern cutting workshops across Cornwall. Having worked for the likes of Karen Millen and Victoria Beckham, she has spent 10 years working as a pattern cutter in the London fashion industry before relocating down to Cornwall. Safe to say, she knows a thing or two about sewing!
There were four or us in the class, the perfect size. We each had our own sewing machine, and Helen presented us with our own folders, complete with instructions on stitching types and a pattern for a tote bag.
After introductions, Helen showed us the ins and outs of how a sewing machine works, going through it step by step then watching us as we fed thread on to bobbins and threaded both needles. Next, we practiced our stitches on cloth, learning how to stitch straight lines, on the curve, sew hems, create neat points, hemming and seam allowance. As we watched and practiced, the tea and chat flowed as we grew in confidence.
The time flew by, so we stopped for lunch, the group of us popping over the road to Stones Bakery – the perfect place for lunch, with freshly baked bread and pastries to keep the rumbliest tum quiet.
Back in the workshop, we took out our patterns and started working on our tote bags, choosing fabric we liked, then carefully pinning then cutting out the sections needed to create a bag. I chose a thick red and green tartan, with contrasting khaki green fabric for the handles and front pocket. After cutting out and some initial sewing, we stopped briefly for tea and homemade cake (kindly provided by Jane).
Getting back to it, Helen led us carefully through the process of stitching our bags together, each of us ending up with a unique tote to call our own – which handily was the perfect size for our folders!
Running 10am-4pm, a course with Helen at Stitches & Cream is a wonderful way to spend a day. Running an assortment of courses for beginners to experienced alike, from making a shift dress to mending existing clothes and crochet to knitting, there are a lot of courses to choose from, whilst there’s also flexibility to arrange your own private classes focussing on something specific, should you want to.
Feeling inspired? Take a look at our luxury cottages in Falmouth here and our luxury cottages in Cornwall here.
Stiches & Cream, 16 High Street, Falmouth, Cornwall | Stitches And Cream | 01326 218 770 | Dot n Cross | Sewing and Pattern Cutting Classes in Falmouth Cornwall
