Program Overview

Program Overview

The Machine Sewing Basics course is designed for beginner enthusiastic sewers. This course will guide students from the very beginning of their sewing journey, starting with the first steps of sewing machine operation.

Course Objectives

At the end of five weeks, students will be able to confidently operate a sewing machine to alter their clothing, do basic repairs, and make simple custom pieces. The important thing to remember going into this course is that mistakes are a valuable tool for learning.

Materials

• Something to carry a sewing kit in
  • Sewing kit:
    • Sewing needles
    • Fabric scissors
    • Snips (small scissors for snipping thread)
    • Thimble (optional but recommended)
    • Cotton fabric (any kind, could be an old sheet, factory cotton, or fun print)
    • Thread
    • Straight pins or clips as preferred
    • Pencil
    • Sewing ruler (long, wide, see-through)
    • Tailor's chalk/wax
    • Seam ripper
• Sewing machine
• Bobbins
• Small flathead screwdriver (usually comes with the sewing machine)
• Regular presser foot

Course Schedule

Week 1

Preparation: Threading the machine, loading a bobbin, changing the needle, changing the presser foot.
Fundamentals of stitching: Sewing straight lines, sewing curved lines.

Week 2

Fundamentals of alterations: Pinning fabric, sewing hems, seams, and darts.

Week 3

Making adjustments: Removing stitches, adding fabric.
Quality: Finishing raw edges.

Week 4

Fundamentals of repairs: Repairing holes and adding buttons.

Week 5

Projects: Work in pairs to do alterations, how to follow a pattern.

Winter Term Details

• Tuesdays, March 10 to April 7 (5 weeks)
• 6 - 8 p.m.
• UNB Fredericton
• Memorial Hall, 9 Bailey Drive, room 26
• $149 (+ HST)

About the Instructor

Dana-Lynn Farrell has been sewing since childhood, beginning with creating dresses for her Barbie dolls with the help of her grandmother and learning how to read a sewing pattern from her aunt. Passionate about creating costumes, she often wore her creations on stage in musicals and operas, eventually doing cosplay as well.

In her twenties, Dana-Lynn began working as a seamstress full-time, accepting a job at lululemon in Halifax doing repairs and alterations, and opening a small studio for her own clients, doing repairs, alterations, and custom pieces.

In 2020, she made masks of various sizes to accommodate beards, large chins, small chins, and a special kind of mask for singers. Though she no longer works as a seamstress, she continues to enjoy sewing as a hobby, occasionally making pieces for friends and family.