Today I went on a sewing course and made a lovely cushion! I had never even touched a sewing machine before so I was pretty clueless. Luckily I had a great teacher! I heard from Sarah about The Make & Do Studio in Stockton Heath, Warrington. They run a range of crafty courses – knitting, sewing, jewellery making, quilting etc.. I have wanted to learn to sew for ages so I was so excited to sign up for the Everything You Need To Know To Sew workshop!
The classes are kept pretty small but I had special 1 to 1 tuition today – talk about pressure haha! 
My tutor, Maeri, talked me through everything – from where to buy fabric and supplies locally, to how to set up my sewing machine. Note, I didn’t have my own machine, but they are supplied on the day for you to use (as is all the fabric etc).
I practised my stitches on a scrap of fabric first and had a play about with all the different types and lengths of stitches. I had a bit of trouble controlling the speed of the machine with the foot pedal haha but that will come with practice. I also didn’t like having to reverse the machine to do the “stay-stitches” but I think I got the hang of it in the end!
I had cups of tea & lovely lemon drizzle cake to keep my energy levels up! 
Making my first cushion was quite simple really – I measured, cut & ironed (!)* my fabric, pressed & pinned the sides, stitched my seams etc etc.. I had a bit of trouble keeping the seams straight, but I didn’t make a complete mess of it. I was left with a rather impressive cushion – yay! So pleased with it.
* The exclamation mark is because I never use an iron at home, so today was the most I have used one in years haha!
I always thought I was the most un-creative person ever, but I really loved my first experience of sewing and can’t wait to make more lovely cushions, and bags!! Sarah can sew stunning bags – see HERE, hopefully I will be able to make them too soon…
Oh – I also got to take a sewing machine home for a couple of weeks to practice on – how fab is that?! I am wanting Santa to bring me a machine for Christmas but if I had left it till then I probably would have forgotten a lot of things!
A big thank you to Maeri from The Make & Do Studio for a fab day. Most courses are about 3-4 hours long and there are day & night classes available. You can get 10% off your first class that you book online as well – if anyone lives near Warrington and is interested in crafty things I would really recommend the courses! You can see a complete list of the courses available HERE!
Ohhhh, go you! It looks great! I am a tad scared of sewing machines, I always used to break the needle when I used them at school!
Oh wow! Fab cushion! Well done!
That's wonderful! Well done! I'm terrified of sewing for some reason, but you make it seem less scary
I love the cushion 
Wow, that's awesome! Sounds like you had a fab day. Sewing is another thing on my lists of things to master – I can't even sew a button on! Can't wait to see what else you make!
How exciting! Well done on the cushion! Once you get the sewing, you never go back…it is soo addictive!
Well done you, thats some quite impressive beginner stitching! I hope santa does get you a sewing machine for christmas. The one I use is borrowed from my sister but I am completely in love with it. Good luck on your next project! xx
That's so cool! I did textiles at school and made a bag, a christmas stocking and a quilt…all of which were very poor qaulity, I think I only managed to pass because I did really well in the written exam! haha x
This is such a lovely idea – my Mum got a sewing machine recently but doesn't know how to use it so I'll pass the link onto her
x
Your cushion looks fab! You should check out my recent giveaway winners post too.
Wow! I'm seriously impressed by the neatness of this. I bought myself a sewing machine a couple of years ago and I love it. I currently making a quilt – although it's nowehere near going to be as neat as your cushion! xx
How clever! That is fantastic! amazing! My mum has a sewing machine but the speed at which it goes was always a bit scary (it was one with a pedal) and I could never use it!
Thank you so much for your lovely comments about us here at the Studio and you were a great student!:) And you were just fine with the pedal speed – as I said when we were having a start, it is probably the most difficult part of the sewing process to get used to. But it doesn't take long to master it – you can always have the hand cranking Singer that was in the studio if you prefer!
And yes, Sarah's bag(s) is/are stunning!
Oooh I'm so impressed! I'd love to learn to sew x
Wow! You did good! Your stitching is really straight, I'm a bit wonky on a machine
xx
I recently saw a lovely pink sewing machine, it was really cute. Not sure, but I think it was in John Lewis in the Trafford Centre?!
Pretty darn impressive. My sewing (which I also only began at the beginning of the year) is languishing a bit but I want to make new cushion covers for our new home so fingers crossed I haven't lost all my skills.
Fab post!!! Thank you for the lovely mention too
so glad you got on ok and made such a lovely cushion. Can’t wait to see your next creation! Xx
I have an 11 year old Janome, they are great little machines.
Your much better than I am at finding crafty places. I think I may have to ask for that knitting course for Christmas!
Did they suggest any good fabric shops? I have a few projects on hold because I can’t find a pretty fabric.
Yes, I will email you the details of the fabric shops! x