Sewing workshop ideas!

[Oxydziedhens]

Hey y’all! I absolutely love sewing and I volunteer at my local community resource centre in which we do lots of different workshops! At the moment we are currently doing a tote bag workshop which is beginner level where I also go over the basics. And I wanted to ask if anyone on here has any good ideas for any sewing workshops in the future as I can’t think of all too many other than tote bags!
Any ideas is greatly appreciated!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Sounds like fun!

How about aprons, sunglasses cases, small zipper pouches or makeup cases, something for the kitchen like tea towels or pot holders. Table runners or placemats. Pillow cases.

I'm sure there's tons of projects, so hopefully others will chime in with their thoughts too!

 

[Oxydziedhens]

Sounds like fun!

How about aprons, sunglasses cases, small zipper pouches or makeup cases, something for the kitchen like tea towels or pot holders. Table runners or placemats. Pillow cases.

I'm sure there's tons of projects, so hopefully others will chime in with their thoughts too!

Oo! I didn’t even think of any of those! Those are some very good ideas and I’ll be sure to note those down for later!

 

[Pukkits]

Wyorp Rock had some great ideas!

Things with zippers are intimidating, so teaching something small with a zipper could really empower your students.

My suggestion would be common clothing repairs, as it can help people make clothes last longer. Mending, invisible and visible/decorative mending.

How about small projects that demonstrates quilting? Book pouches are popular right now. Or oven mitts, but those will require your students to have 100% cotton thread, fabric and batting, plus insulbrite which may be more expensive to source. The nice thing about teaching oven mitts is they are a commonly used item and make a great gift. Even my cousin that only uses his oven to bake frozen pizza uses oven mitts. Cheap tip: Elmer's washable glue, especially the sticks, is a super affordable basting glue that washes out. It's great for gluing fabrics and batting together for quilting small projects like oven mitts without the layers sliding around everywhere. One fat quarter of pretty outside fabric, one fat quarter boring inside fabric(or muslin), one fat quarter each of 100% cotton batting like wrap-n-zap and one of insulbrite. Also there are a lot of free printable templates online for them.

If you can score extra 100% cotton fabric, thread, and wrap-n-zap, bowl cozies are also popular.

 

[SnackMeat]

I knew someone who sewed for a couple of charity organizations. One sewed blankets for women having rape kits done at the hospital. I might consider a poncho to be a good project as well considering clothes are typically taken with the kit if they are coming straight from the assault.


Another one was cloth period pads. Those are good in general but I can't remember who they went to. I think it was for women in a different country who didn't have access to expensive period products.

If you get into crochet (though maybe a sewing project with a stretchy fabric could be good) I have heard of premi baby hats.

I'm sure something like a stuffed animal (something fairly easy like a squishmallow, though stuffing can be expensive) for a children's hospital would be good.


You could reach out to program coordinators (there's likely different position titles but I might look for words like "outreach," "fundraising," "activities coordinator,") to ask what they could be looking for in terms of sewn items, and what the rules would be (for example, no buttons or things that could be considered choking hazards, or certain colors or patterns that are encouraged.)


It's been awhile since I've been involved but there are a couple of well known websites for teachers to put classroom wishlists out on. You can look up your local teachers and avoid the ones looking for corporate sponsors (typically only have very expensive items on their lists.) you might find someone who could love some classroom decorations, stuffed animals, maybe something simple like pencil/pen zipper bags, or something for classroom raffles. The nice part about that is you would be working more closely with someone in your community and can likely get referred to another classroom teacher if a project works really well but the first teacher doesn't need anymore of that particular item.

 

[Oxydziedhens]

Wyorp Rock had some great ideas!

Things with zippers are intimidating, so teaching something small with a zipper could really empower your students.

My suggestion would be common clothing repairs, as it can help people make clothes last longer. Mending, invisible and visible/decorative mending.

How about small projects that demonstrates quilting? Book pouches are popular right now. Or oven mitts, but those will require your students to have 100% cotton thread, fabric and batting, plus insulbrite which may be more expensive to source. The nice thing about teaching oven mitts is they are a commonly used item and make a great gift. Even my cousin that only uses his oven to bake frozen pizza uses oven mitts. Cheap tip: Elmer's washable glue, especially the sticks, is a super affordable basting glue that washes out. It's great for gluing fabrics and batting together for quilting small projects like oven mitts without the layers sliding around everywhere. One fat quarter of pretty outside fabric, one fat quarter boring inside fabric(or muslin), one fat quarter each of 100% cotton batting like wrap-n-zap and one of insulbrite. Also there are a lot of free printable templates online for them.

If you can score extra 100% cotton fabric, thread, and wrap-n-zap, bowl cozies are also popular.

Those ideas are amazing! And that way my students can slowly gain confidence to do more complicated tasks!

 

[Oxydziedhens]

I knew someone who sewed for a couple of charity organizations. One sewed blankets for women having rape kits done at the hospital. I might consider a poncho to be a good project as well considering clothes are typically taken with the kit if they are coming straight from the assault.


Another one was cloth period pads. Those are good in general but I can't remember who they went to. I think it was for women in a different country who didn't have access to expensive period products.

If you get into crochet (though maybe a sewing project with a stretchy fabric could be good) I have heard of premi baby hats.

I'm sure something like a stuffed animal (something fairly easy like a squishmallow, though stuffing can be expensive) for a children's hospital would be good.


You could reach out to program coordinators (there's likely different position titles but I might look for words like "outreach," "fundraising," "activities coordinator,") to ask what they could be looking for in terms of sewn items, and what the rules would be (for example, no buttons or things that could be considered choking hazards, or certain colors or patterns that are encouraged.)


It's been awhile since I've been involved but there are a couple of well known websites for teachers to put classroom wishlists out on. You can look up your local teachers and avoid the ones looking for corporate sponsors (typically only have very expensive items on their lists.) you might find someone who could love some classroom decorations, stuffed animals, maybe something simple like pencil/pen zipper bags, or something for classroom raffles. The nice part about that is you would be working more closely with someone in your community and can likely get referred to another classroom teacher if a project works really well but the first teacher doesn't need anymore of that particular item.

I love that idea! There’s alot of different things we can sew for too! Maybe after my students get a bit more confident in their sewing capabilities we can look into that!

 

[Finchbreeder]

Pillowcases are always of use, as are mobile phone pouches.
Both an easy thing to make.

 

[SnackMeat]

Yeah, halfway houses and domestic abuse shelters could probably use a ton of pillowcases and larger totes.

If you're affiliated with or doing these classes at a community center that has their 401c, you might be able to ask what that might help you with tax-wise for supplies, or possibly asking for donations (so people know you're legit and not just flipping their donations for money.)


You might also consider running a class on repurposing-- taking "junk" from a thrift store, the trash, a garage sale, your own closets and then what can be done to change it.

I also love the "Saran wrap and duct tape" dressmakers dummies videos on YouTube. I can't pattern see to save my life (I can do okay and then stall on the last 10-20%) but I can do pretty good with fitting sewings. Having a cheap dressmakers dummy that is based off of one's own body (if you do an intermediate or advanced class eventually) is so valuable for visualizing and time management (versus having to check fit with something with a lot of pins in them.)


But as far as a beginner's class, even a hanging sampler of stitches can be a good intro to function and form:

 

[Oxydziedhens]

Yeah, halfway houses and domestic abuse shelters could probably use a ton of pillowcases and larger totes.

If you're affiliated with or doing these classes at a community center that has their 401c, you might be able to ask what that might help you with tax-wise for supplies, or possibly asking for donations (so people know you're legit and not just flipping their donations for money.)


You might also consider running a class on repurposing-- taking "junk" from a thrift store, the trash, a garage sale, your own closets and then what can be done to change it.

I also love the "Saran wrap and duct tape" dressmakers dummies videos on YouTube. I can't pattern see to save my life (I can do okay and then stall on the last 10-20%) but I can do pretty good with fitting sewings. Having a cheap dressmakers dummy that is based off of one's own body (if you do an intermediate or advanced class eventually) is so valuable for visualizing and time management (versus having to check fit with something with a lot of pins in them.)


But as far as a beginner's class, even a hanging sampler of stitches can be a good intro to function and form:

That sounds very good! I always loved flipping items into others and stopping things from goijg to land fill ect ect!
The resource centre that I volunteer with also has its own small op shop in which we can use fabric that isn’t selling or can keep some aside!