Knitwear for Beginners:
The Everyday Jumper

COURSE LENGTH
4-Week Course: 4 x 3 hour sessions 

TOPICS COVERED
Choosing knit fabric, cutting patterns, using your home sewing machine to sew knits - tips and techniques, attaching ribbing, basic seams, raglan sleeves, hems, and using a twin needle..

OUTCOMES
By the end of this course, our goal is for you to come away with:

• A Linden Sweatshirt or Paxson Sweatshirt in a fabric of your choice.
• A basic understanding of how to sewing with knit fabrics, and the confidence to go on and try more. 

What Do I Need to Bring?

For this weekend workshop you will need to bring:

• A basic sewing kit
• Fabric & Thread - Because this is a short course, we're asking students to bring their chosen fabric to the first class. We've detailed fabric requirements below, but if you have any questions please feel free to get in touch. And remember to pre-wash your fabrics before bringing them along!

Do I Need To Bring a Sewing Machine?

No, but you are welcome to if you wish. We have a Janome CXL301 sewing machine available for each student to use. We also sell a range of Janome machines, and offer discounts on these to our students.

If you're planning on bringing your own machine, please contact us and let us know the make and model. 

How Do I Pay My Balance?

If you booked your place with a deposit, you're balance is due no less than 14 days before your course begins. For instructions on how to pay please visit our balance payments page.

If you're thinking of cancelling your booking, for any reason, please let us know as soon as possible, so that we can offer your place to someone on the waiting list. And also please have a look at our Cancellations & Refunds Policy on the FAQs page before doing this. Thanks.

For this course you'll need a basic sewing kit. You can buy all the items separately or, alternatively, find a ready made kit that includes the essentials, such as this one from IKEA costing just £10. 

If you're purchasing kit items separately, we've listed some essentials below. You can read more about these in our blog post.

All of these items are available to purchase at The Stitchery (cash and all major credit/debit cards accepted):

• Fabric scissors - We have a small stock of Fiskars
• Seam ripper
• Dressmaking pins
• Sewing machine needles
• Hand sewing needles
• Thread - we stock a range of Gutermann thread.
• Sewing gauge
• Tape measure (not the kind that Plumbers use!)
• Temporary marker pens

You should also bring a pair of paper scissors to cut out your pattern. 

Your fabric requirements will depend on your body measurements and the pattern you're choosing to make.

If you'd appreciate some help choosing fabric and getting the right amount, then a useful place to visit is The Stitchery's very own section on The Splendid Stitch website. Here you'll find ready made kits for each of our courses. Just click on the name of your course and you'll be presented with options for your pattern and size.

If you'd like to purchase your fabric elsewhere, we've given a general overview of the requirements below. 

PAXSON SWEATSHIRT

For the Paxson Sweatshirt pattern, a stable knit fabric, with minimum 50% stretch is recommended. Look for Double Knit, Ponte Knit, French Terry, Sweatshirt Fleece, or Sweater Knits.

If you're confident in reading a pattern envelope, then you can refer to the Paxson page on Seamwork's website for fabric requirements. Otherwise, to be safe, we recommend you bring the following:

• 150cm wide - 2.2 metres
• 115cm wide - 2.8 metres

LINDEN SWEATSHIRT

For the Linden Sweatshirt pattern, a medium weight fabric, with minimum 20% stretch is recommended. Look for French Terry, Sweatshirt Fleece, or Sweater Knits.

If you're confident in reading a pattern envelope, then you can refer to the Linden page on Grainline's site for fabric requirements. Otherwise, to be safe, we recommend you bring the following:

• 150cm wide - 2 metres
• 115cm wide - 2.5 metres

You will also need 0.6metres of 36" (0.92m) ribbing for your sweatshirt. You can either purchase ready-made ribbing, or make it from your main fabric in class. If you're buying ribbing, then it can match your main fabric (tricky to find sometimes!) or be in a contrasting colour. We will be covering ribbing in the class, so feel free to hold off on making a decision on this. 

SHOPPING FOR KNIT FABRICS

Students are free to purchase their fabric from wherever they like. And there are a small handful of local fabric shops in Glasgow, such as Mandors, Remnant Kings and the John Lewis Fabric Department. 

Also note that Stitchery students can receive 10% off their first purchase at The Splendid Stitch by simply entering THESTITCHERY in the discount code box at the checkout.