Join a Sewing or Dressmaking class this term
Don't leave your sewing machine idle; join an evening course and learn the skills you need to get it producing beautiful fabric items.
Do you have a sewing machine lying idle because you don’t know how to use it, or are you looking to improve your dressmaking skills? Would you like to learn how to alter old clothes and design new ones? Many schools within the NACED Adult Education network offer evening classes in sewing, dressmaking and fashion design for beginners and improvers.
During a typical dressmaking or fashion design course you will be guided through every aspect of making a garment that you can wear yourself, from buying and cutting your pattern; choosing, cutting and matching fabric; assembling your garment; inserting zips and pockets; right through to finishing the final item. Beginners will be shown how to set up and operate a domestic sewing machine, thread and fill a bobbin and fix basic machine problems. You can also expect to learn how to do pleats, buttonholes and a variety of seams. Some courses also cover repairs and alterations to existing garments.
Topics covered and item created in the sewing classes vary from school to school, but typically you will learn how to use a sewing machine, and create a variety practical items, including cushion covers and other soft furnishings, shopping bags, soft toys, festive decorations, and handbags. The Sewing for All Levels courses at Donahies Community School (there are now five each term!) are so popular that classes are often full more than a term in advance. Participants there produce a wide range of items, from children's cloths and simple summer dresses, to handbags and glasses cases. They even do some basic patchwork.
During a typical dressmaking or fashion design course you will be guided through every aspect of making a garment that you can wear yourself, from buying and cutting your pattern; choosing, cutting and matching fabric; assembling your garment; inserting zips and pockets; right through to finishing the final item. Beginners will be shown how to set up and operate a domestic sewing machine, thread and fill a bobbin and fix basic machine problems. You can also expect to learn how to do pleats, buttonholes and a variety of seams. Some courses also cover repairs and alterations to existing garments.
Topics covered and item created in the sewing classes vary from school to school, but typically you will learn how to use a sewing machine, and create a variety practical items, including cushion covers and other soft furnishings, shopping bags, soft toys, festive decorations, and handbags. The Sewing for All Levels courses at Donahies Community School (there are now five each term!) are so popular that classes are often full more than a term in advance. Participants there produce a wide range of items, from children's cloths and simple summer dresses, to handbags and glasses cases. They even do some basic patchwork.
Items produced in the sewing classes at Pobalscoil Neasáin, Donahies Community School and Crescent College Comprehensive.
Where to find a sewing or dressmaking course
Most schools within the NACED network run sewing and dressmaking courses. If you've never sewed before, but would like to learn, or if you've already got a sewing maching that you'd like to put to better use, then check out the courses running at the following schools this term:
Ashbourne Community School, Co Meath (Get to Know your Sewing Machine) • Ashton School, Cork City (Dressmaking - sewing and patterns; Dressmaking - improvers; Sewing, Patchwork & Quilting) • Ballincollig Community School, Co Cork (Dressmaking) • Carrigaline Community School, Co Cork (Dressmaking - Beginners & Intermediates) • Coláiste Chiaráin, Leixlip, Co Kildare (Sew Your Own: garment alteration) • Crescent College Comprehensive, Dooradoyle, Limerick (Sewing) • Donahies Community School, Dublin 13 (Sewing for all Skill Levels) • Douglas Community School, Cork City (Dressmaking) • Hartstown Community School, Dublin 15 (Sewing & Textile Craft) • Malahide Community School, Dublin (Fashion Design; Sewing for Beginners) • O'Fiaich Institute, Dundalk, Co Louth (Dressmaking & Design) • Pobalscoil Neasáin, Baldoyle, Dublin 13 (Sewing for Beginners & Improvers) • Scoil Mhuire Community School, Clane, Co Kildare (Dressmaking - Beginners) • St Colmcille's Community School, Knocklyon, Dublin 16 (Fashion Design) • St Mary’s College, Naas, Co Kildare: Machine Sewing for Beginners • St Tiernan’s Community School, Ballally, Dublin 16 (Dressmaking Beginners; Dressmaking Continuation).
Courses are added at other schools in our network from time to time. Check out links to your local schools on our homepage for the most up-to-date course lists. A small number of our schools also run Patchwork Quilting courses.
Ashbourne Community School, Co Meath (Get to Know your Sewing Machine) • Ashton School, Cork City (Dressmaking - sewing and patterns; Dressmaking - improvers; Sewing, Patchwork & Quilting) • Ballincollig Community School, Co Cork (Dressmaking) • Carrigaline Community School, Co Cork (Dressmaking - Beginners & Intermediates) • Coláiste Chiaráin, Leixlip, Co Kildare (Sew Your Own: garment alteration) • Crescent College Comprehensive, Dooradoyle, Limerick (Sewing) • Donahies Community School, Dublin 13 (Sewing for all Skill Levels) • Douglas Community School, Cork City (Dressmaking) • Hartstown Community School, Dublin 15 (Sewing & Textile Craft) • Malahide Community School, Dublin (Fashion Design; Sewing for Beginners) • O'Fiaich Institute, Dundalk, Co Louth (Dressmaking & Design) • Pobalscoil Neasáin, Baldoyle, Dublin 13 (Sewing for Beginners & Improvers) • Scoil Mhuire Community School, Clane, Co Kildare (Dressmaking - Beginners) • St Colmcille's Community School, Knocklyon, Dublin 16 (Fashion Design) • St Mary’s College, Naas, Co Kildare: Machine Sewing for Beginners • St Tiernan’s Community School, Ballally, Dublin 16 (Dressmaking Beginners; Dressmaking Continuation).
Courses are added at other schools in our network from time to time. Check out links to your local schools on our homepage for the most up-to-date course lists. A small number of our schools also run Patchwork Quilting courses.
